CHAPTER LI.-MENTION GHENT MEN.-THE MADE OF DIFFERENT ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE PICARDS AND THEY ARE MET BY THE PICARDS SOON AFTERWARD. On the 24 day of December, sir Philip de Lalain, a young, bold and enterprising knight, made an excursion to the walls of Ghent with the garrison of Oudenarde. Two hundred men on horseback sallied forth out of Ghent, and a combat commenced; when one of the principal townsmen was killed at the onset, who had, a little before, taken a youth of the duke's party prisoner, and made him his page. The page, seeing his master dead, hastened to surrender himself to sir Philip, and assured him that upwards of four thousand men had sallied out at different gates to surround and make him and his party prisoners: it therefore behoved him to secure a retreat. At this moment, full three hundred men on horseback issued out of the gates, on which sir Philip began to retreat, often wheeling round to skirmish and check the enemy. Sir Philip de Lalain, his brother, having heard of his danger, hastened out of Oudenarde, with all he could collect at the moment, to his succour he was then within a league of Oudenarde, skirmishing all the time with the Ghent men, who pursued him with great caution, that their other divisions might arrive to their support; but the Picards, noticing this, made their retreat good into Oudenarde; and the Ghent men took up their quarters for the night at an abbey half a league from that town, and on the morrow returned to Ghent. Not long afterward, the Companions of the Verde Tente, to the amount of ten thousand, advanced into Hainault, killed many of the peasantry, and burnt from sixteen to seventeen villages without any molestation. A few days prior to this excursion, about fifty English marched out of Ghent on pretence of attacking the Picards, but they went to Dendermonde and surrendered themselves to sir Anthony, the bastard, who received them very graciously, and enrolled them among his own men. One of the duke's commanders, hearing that the Ghent men were marching back from Hainault, hastened toward Ghent to meet them on their return; and, being in great force, attacked them, and slew more than two hundred the rest saved themselves in Ghent, except some prisoners the Picards had made and carried to Dendermonde. MEDIATE A PEACE. CHAPTER LII.-THE GHENT MEN SEND A DEPUTATION ΤΟ THE COUNT D'ESTAMPES, TO IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY BESIEGE COURTRAY, BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS. THEY ARE NEAR TAKING PRISONER THE DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY, ON HER ROAD TO BRUGES. WHILE the Companions of the Verde Tente were thus employed in the field, the municipality of Ghent sent to entreat the count d'Estampes to procure passports from the duke their lord, that a deputation might wait on him respecting a peace. The count succeeded in obtaining them passports; and the place of conference was fixed at Bruges, whither the duke sent some of his ministers, and the count d'Estampes as his representative. The Ghent men sent thither a deputation, with a Carthusian friar, and an ancient knight called sir Baudouin de Bos, whom they had long kept prisoner on account of their suspicions of his fidelity to them, he having declared an opinion contrary to their proceedings; and they even had him carried, with his eyes banded, to the scaffold to behead him he would have suffered death, had not some steady friends, by their exertions, prevented it. These Ghent commissioners behaved with the greatest insolence and pride on their arrival at Bruges, as if they had no way acted wrong toward their prince; and on their departure they received no answer. They all returned except the knight and the Carthusian, who refused to accompany them back and remained in Bruges. The other commissioners staid so long on their road to Ghent that the term of their passports expired, and, falling in with a body of Picards, they were made prisoners and carried back to Bruges: among them were two of the greatest enemies the duke had in Ghent. : When the men of Ghent learned that their deputies were prisoners, they sallied forth, on the 17th of February, in great numbers, and in three divisions. In this array they came before Courtray, the marshal of Burgundy being then absent with the duke at Lille. There was at this time in the town a very valiant and adventurous knight from Picardy, called Gauvain Quieret, who, fearless of their numbers, issued out with the few people he had, and began a sharp skirmish; but he was soon forced to retreat into the town, as the Ghent men were too many he could not, however, retire without the loss of two of his men-at-arms and one archer. The Ghent men then attacked the suburbs; but they were so well defended that they gained nothing, except killing one man-at-arms: they now returned to Ghent. On the 2d of March following, sir Anthony, the bastard, on his advance toward Ghent, fell in with a considerable body of the enemy, and charged them so rapidly that he slew more than fifty, and took many prisoners, whom he carried to Dendermonde. On the 5th day of this same month, the duchess of Burgundy left Lille, by orders from the duke, to go to Bruges. The Ghent men soon had intelligence of this; and, supposing that she would travel the straight road, they posted a strong ambuscade near that road, intending to overpower her escort, and put those who composed it to death. The duchess was informed of their plan, and consequently took a different road, and arrived safely at Bruges. Sir Simon de Lalain, governor of Sluys, hearing that the duchess was to travel from Lille to Bruges, set out with two hundred combatants to escort her thither, and followed the main road, ignorant of the Ghent men being there. In his company was the lord de Maldeghen, a Flemish knight, well acquainted with all the roads and passes. Happening to ride at some little distance from the great road, he espied the ambush of Ghent men, who were watching the coming of the duchess, and also of sir Simon, whom they had perceived. The lord de Maldeghen instantly sounded his trumpets, as loudly as he could, that sir Simon, on hearing them, might retire; but he was too far advanced for this, being already in the midst of his enemies without perceiving it. He was sharply attacked on all sides, his banner beaten down; and he and his men were forced to show all their courage, to save their lives. They exerted themselves so manfully that, with the aid of the lord de Maldeghen, who hastened to their succour, the Ghent men were repulsed, and they continued their march in safety to Bruges, having only lost three or four men-at-arms, and from twelve to sixteen archers, which was not much, considering how severe the attack had been. Three or four days before this skirmish took place, the Ghent men in Poulcres burned Englemonstier, a considerable village belonging to the count d'Estampes, in right of his countess. They could do no harm to the castle, for it was strong and well garrisoned. A few days after this, the Ghent men again demanded passports from the duke for twenty commissioners to meet his ministers anywhere he should appoint, to consider if they could find means to put an end to this disastrous war. The good duke complied with their request, and fixed on Seclin* as the place of conference, whither he sent the count d'Estampes as his representative, and some of his ministers; but nothing was done, by reason of the insolent pride of the Ghent deputies. Not long after the return of the deputies from Seclin, a French man-at-arms, who had offered his services to Ghent for gain, called Pierre Moreau, who also was one of their captains, collected a large company, and marched to attack Dendermonde, wherein was sir Anthony of Burgundy. The knight, having had notice of their coming, issued out to meet them, and, after killing several, forced them to retreat to Ghent. CHAPTER LIII.-PIERRE MOREAU MAKES ANOTHER ATTACK ON DENDERMONDE.—THE GHENT MEN INVADE HAINAULT, AND COMMIT GREAT RAVAGES THERE. [A. D. 1453.] On the 3d day of April, in the year 1453, immediately after Easter, Pierre Moreau collected a greater force than before, and made another attempt on Dendermonde, but with no better success than formerly, and, having lost from nine to ten of his men, returned to Ghent. On the 14th of the same month, the Ghent men made another irruption into Seclin,- Hainault, with a very numerous army, as far as Tournay and Enghien, setting fire to all villages, and slaying every one they met without opposition. To this they were incited, as it was said, by the duke's not having paid his soldiers, on which account very many had refused to serve him. When this came to the knowledge of the duke, he issued his summons for greater levies of men than he had raised during the war; every vassal was summoned, and all who had been used to arms; for he was determined to put an end to the war; and all were to be ready by the 15th day of May. The artillery which the duke meant to carry with him to Flanders was kept in the great hall of the town-house at Lille. It happened, but it was never known how, that fire was thrown through a crack in a tower, the cellar of which served as the magazine of powder for this artillery; but mischief was prevented by a person going accidentally into the cellar, and putting it out, as it was burning the hoops of a barrel of powder. Had not this person fortunately gone thither, the town-house, artillery, and probably the whole town, would have been destroyed. CHAPTER LIV.-THE GHENT MEN WOULD HAVE TAKEN ALOST BY STORM, HAD IT NOT BEEN WELL DEFENDED. THE THREE ESTATES OF FLANDERS ARE URGENT FOR PEACE. On the 8th day of May, upwards of fourteen thousand infantry, and two hundred cavalry, marched out of Ghent to besiege Alost, wherein were no more than three hundred fighting men, commanded by sir Louis de la Viefville, as lieutenant to the governor, sir Anthony de Wissoc, who had that day gone to Dendermonde. Sir Louis sallied forth to meet the cavalry of Ghent, which had advanced before the infantry: a combat ensued, when some were killed, and the cavalry forced to fall back on their main body; after which the Picards retreated into the town, and the Ghent men encamped before it. When day broke, they attacked the town at four different places, and made so severe an attempt on one of the bulwarks that six men-at-arms were killed; but sir Louis hastening to its relief, he fought so valiantly that the enemy were obliged to retire, with the loss of twenty of their men. These attacks lasted full three hours, and many were killed on each side; but the Ghent men found it prudent to return to their encampment of the preceding night. When sir Anthony de Wissoc heard of this attack at Dendermonde, he collected about six hundred Picards, and marched to offer battle to the Ghent men; but on perceiving their superior numbers and order of battle, he dissembled his intentions, and lodged his army near them for the night, intending to combat them on the morrow if he should see it advantageous for him. This same night, however, the Ghent men decamped and returned with all their baggage in safety to their town. The While these things were passing, a deputation of the three estates of Flanders, in conjunction with those of Bruges, waited on the duke at Lille, to request passports for certain of the Ghent men to come to him, and treat of putting an end to the war. noble duke, from his affection to them, granted their request; and soon after, twenty commissioners arrived at Lille from Ghent, who laboured so earnestly in the business that it was imagined peace must now be concluded. In this expectation the ambassadors returned to Ghent but when they had reported the preliminary terms, the commonalty refused to abide by them, and thus was the treaty broken off. While this negotiation was going forward, the men-at-arms whom the duke had raised were doing all possible mischiefs to his country; and no person could venture abroad without being robbed, even to the very gates of the principal towns; and this plague lasted for upwards of six weeks. CHAPTER LV.-THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY SENDS AN ARMY INTO LUXEMBOURG AGAINST SOME GERMANS, WHO, FROM THIONVILLE*, WERE WASTING THAT COUNTRY.-THE DUKE ENTERS FLANDERS WITH A LARGE FORCE, TO MAKE WAR ON GHENT. ABOUT Easter, in this year, some Germans, who had possessed themselves of the strong town of Thionville, overran, at different times, the duchy of Luxembourg, which was under obedience to the duke, and all its towns, excepting this town of Thionville. These Germans continuing their incessant inroads, the duke was constrained to send thither the lord de Rubempré †, a Picard, with one hundred men-at-arms and four hundred archers: but he found the enemy in such strength that he was unable to oppose them. The duke, although hard pressed to find men to carry on his war against Ghent, was forced to send reinforcements into Luxembourg. He therefore ordered thither the lord de Croy, his first chamberlain, and governor of Luxembourg, with one hundred lances and eight hundred archers, whose principal captains were the lord of Hames, the lord of Mareuil, the lord of Dommarcq ‡, and others. The Ghent men, on the other hand, did not cease from carrying fire and sword into Hainault and the defenceless parts of Flanders. On the 15th day of June, they advanced toward Ath §, to burn that part of the country; but sir John de Croy lord of Chimay, having had early notice of their intentions, defeated them completely, killing three hundred, and taking numbers of prisoners, whom he carried off without molestation. The duke of Burgundy marched from Lille on the 20th day of June, with a most numerous army to Courtray: he had a large train of artillery, and plenty of pioneers to open the woods and clear the roads, and numbers of carpenters to construct warlike engines. These pioneers and carpenters had been sent thither at the expense of the countries under the duke's obedience. The principal nobles in this army were the count d'Estampes, sir James de St. Pol, brother to the count de St. Pol, who was then employed by the king of France in the Bordelois against the English. The marshal of Burgundy was also with the duke, having with him three hundred men-at-arms, whom he had brought from Burgundy, and many other great lords and esquires from the territories of the duke. The duke marched his whole army from Oudenarde the 25th day of June, to besiege the castle of Helsebecque, and a strong monastery hard by. The monastery was instantly won by storm, and thirty-two Ghent men taken within it, whom the duke caused to be hanged. The castle surrendered unconditionally the second day afterward, when about one hundred and fifty men, that were made prisoners, suffered a similar fate, by command of the duke. CHAPTER LVI.-THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY TAKES THE CASTLE OF POULCRES, BUT THAT FLOWER OF CHIVALRY SIR JAMES DE LALAIN IS SLAIN BEFORE IT. HE BESIEGES THE CASTLE OF GAVERE, TAKES IT, AND HANGS ALL WITHIN, BEFORE THE GHENT MEN ADVANCE TO OFFER HIM BATTLE,-THEY ARE DEFEATED. AFTER the capture of the castle of Helsebecque, the duke advanced to besiege the castle of Poulcres, which the Ghent men obstinately defended. It happened, that during the time the artillery-men were pointing a bombard against the wall, in the presence of sir James de Lalain ¶ and other lords, sir James was hit on the head by a stone from a veuglaire in the * Thionville, a strong town of Luxembourg on the Moselle, twelve leagues from Treves. Anthony lord of Rubempré, a great favourite of Philip duke of Burgundy, married Jacqueline de Croy, lady of Bievres, daughter of John lord de Croy, grandbutler of France, by whom he had issue John de Rubempré lord of Bievres, who was strongly attached to duke Charles, and perished by his side at the battle of Nancy. Dommarcq.-DU CANGE, Dormnast. Q. Dommart? Anthony de Craon, lord of Dommart, son of James lord of Dommart and Jane des Fosseus, was laid under con fiscation by Louis XI., for his adherence to the duke of Burgundy. § Ath a town in Hainault, nine miles north-west of Mons. || Gavere,--Gaveren, a town on the Scheldt, seven miles from Ghent. James lord of Lalain, killed at this siege, was the eldest son of William lord of Lalain before mentioned. He was succeeded in his title and estates by his next brother John, who sold Lalain to Josse, the son of Simon lord of Montigny, younger brother of the lord William. castle, which carried away part of his skull, and he fell down dead. It was a great loss, for he was renowned as not having his equal in all France,-witness his many deeds of chivalry in Scotland, Spain, and in other parts, where he had displayed his gallantry. He was also the most modest, the most prudent, most courteous, and most liberal of mankind, fearing and serving God above all things. He was but thirty-two years of age when death so unfortunately seized him; and this same shot from the veuglaire killed also a man-at-arms and four archers. The duke of Burgundy was very much affected by the death of sir James, for he loved him more than any other of his household for his numberless virtues, and had the place attacked with such violence that the garrison were forced to submit to his will. He had the whole hanged, excepting five or six, one of whom was a leper, and the rest boys. He then had the place raised to the ground, and the body of sir James de Lalain most honourably interred at his church of Lalain*. After the surrender of Poulcres, the duke returned to Courtray, and left his army to live on the country, where the men-at-arms did innumerable mischiefs; for he had not money sufficient to pay them until his revenues were paid, and he had borrowed as much as he could from the rich merchants and burghers of his territories, the war having totally exhausted his treasury. He resided at Courtray twelve days, and during that time his finances were recruited, and he paid his army one month in advance; so that, on the 16th day of July, he departed from Courtray to besiege the castle of Gaveren, which was strongly fortified and held by the Ghent men. It is situated between Ghent and Oudenarde. In marching thither, he formed his army into three battalions. The marshal of Burgundy, as commander-in-chief, sir Anthony the bastard, the lord de Chimay bailiff of Hainault, with a numerous company of men-at-arms and archers, led the van. In the centre was the duke, the most fearless, courageous, and gallant of men: with him were his son the count de Charolois, the count d'Estampes, sir Adolphus of Cleves, and almost all the knights and esquires of Picardy. In the rear division were sir James de St. Pol, the lord de l'Isle-Adam, and the whole chivalry of the Boulonois. This army was in truth very strong; and there was need that it should be so, for the men of Ghent had boasted, that this time, they would fairly meet the duke in battle. When they learnt that the duke intended to besiege Gaveren, they sent thither an Englishman, called John de Voz, a very able man-at-arms, with sixteen others, and swore to him, on his departure, that the duke should not remain four-and-twenty hours unfought with. Nevertheless, the duke's army posted themselves around the place, and the batteries were erected without any molestation. There was at this time in the place a trumpeter, who had formerly served one of the lords in the duke's army, but had turned to the Ghent men: he mounted the highest rampart, and, having sounded his trumpet as loudly as he could, he abused the duke in the grossest manner, calling him a tyrant, and threatening him that the men of Ghent would soon lower his pride. The duke, when told of this, like a good prince, laughed at it, and turned the trumpeter's folly into ridicule. Although the place was unfavourably situated for the batteries to have their full effect, they alarmed the garrison so much that they offered to surrender on having their lives spared, seeing also that the Ghent men did not fulfil their promises when they left that town; but the duke refused their offer. When the Englishmen heard this, and found that the men of Ghent had deceived him, it is said that he had a communication with some of the English in the duke's army, and promised to deliver up to them one of the towers of the castle; but this he could not accomplish, for the Ghent men had no confidence in him, nor in any of the English. A vessel happened to be lying in the river, near to the castle, and during the night John de Voz, and fourteen others, embarked on board and went to Ghent. When those in Gaveren saw the next morning that their captain had deserted them, they abandoned all hope of succour, and surrendered themselves to the duke's will before twelve of the clock. His will was that they should be all hanged or strangled, together with two cordelier friars that were in the place, and the trumpeter who had abused the duke. Philip, the third son of William, was killed at the battle of Montl'hery and Anthony, the fourth son, lost his life in Switzerland, both under the command of duke Charles the Bold, so that there is no want of foundation for the honourable testimony given by Comines to the merits of the family. * Lalain-a village in Flanders, near Bouchain. |