they fled from the castle, and sought a refuge with Mary queen of Scotland, daughter to the duke of Gueldres. The two queens concerted a marriage between the young prince of Wales and queen Mary's eldest daughter, to secure the aid of the Scots against Edward; but the duke of Burgundy, uncle to Mary, instantly despatched to her the lord de Groothuse, to break off this marriage, because the king of Sicily, father to queen Margaret, was no friend to the duke,-and thus the match was interrupted *.

However, soon after the lord de Groothuse had left Scotland, the Scots formed an alliance with the queen of England and her son, on condition that the town and castle of Berwick, with its dependencies, then possessed by the English, on the borders of Scotland, should be restored to them; and the marriage before mentioned was agreed on, the Scots thus adventuring their princess to regain Berwick rather than not obtain it, as it was of very great strength, although the prince and princess were both too young to be then united, as neither of them was more than seven or eight years old.

During these troubles, and prior to the coronation of king Edward, he had sent his two younger brothers into Holland that they might escape should he prove unsuccessful, confiding in the generous mind of the noble duke of Burgundy. They remained in that country some time in secret: but the duke no sooner knew who they were than he sent to seek them, and had them brought to him at Bruges, where he showed them every honour, and grandly entertained them. When king Edward had conquered his enemies, he sent to request the duke to cause his brothers to be escorted home, which the good duke very cheerfully complied with, and had them honourably accompanied as far as Calais, toward the end of April, in the year 1461.

CHAPTER XCVI.-KING CHARLES OF FRANCE, HAVING BEEN TOLD THAT IT WAS INTENDED TO POISON HIM, FELL SICK AT HEART AND DIED.

[A. D. 1461.]

ABOUT the beginning of July, in this year, certain rumours having been spread abroad by evil-minded persons, that it was intended to poison the king while he resided at Mehun-surYèvre †, and these reports coming to his ears, he never afterward tasted joy. It was told him by one of his captains, whose attachment he knew, and therefore he put such confidence in the tale that he refused to take any kind of food, because he had not any faith in those about his person; nor could he be prevailed on to take any nourishment for eight days, until his physicians told him, that if he pursued this plan, he would die. He then attempted to eat, but he had left off so long that his stomach refused its functions. On this, he confessed himself, and made his preparations like a good Catholic; and finding himself grow daily weaker, he devoutly received all the sacraments of the church, and made his last arrangements and will according to his pleasure. He ordered his executors to bury him in the same chapel where his father and grandfather had been interred, in the church of St. Denis, and ended his days on Magdalen-Day in the month and year above-mentioned, in the town of Mehun-sur-Yèvre.

was crowned the 29th of June at Westminster. The dukes of Somerset and Exeter, seeing the battle lost, fled with the king, queen, and prince of Wales, and never thought themselves safe until they arrived at Edinburgh. Henry, on coming to Edinburgh, was only attended by four men and a boy.-Note to Pinkerton's Hist. of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 248.-From the Paston Letters.

"A marriage between Edward prince of Wales and Mary the daughter of Scotland, was proposed and resolved, but delayed by the youth of the parties, and finally prevented by the misfortunes and death of the prince. To conciliate the expected aid, Berwick was surrendered to the Scots: an object often wished and attempted since the disgraceful invasion of Edward Baliol. In return, a Scot

VOL. II.

tish army entered England and laid siege to Carlisle, which held for Edward IV.; but the English, led by lord Montague, raised the siege, and defeated the Scots with great slaughter."-Pinkerton, p. 248.

The Paston Letters say, that six thousand Scots were slain at Carlisle. The lord Montague, I imagine, should be sir John Nevel, brother to the earl of Warwick, created lord Montacute after the battle of Towton. He was created earl of Northumberland in 1463, and marquis of Montacute or Montague a short time after, but in 1466 resigned the earldom in favour of Henry Percy, son of the earl who was killed at Towton,

Mehun-sur-Yèvre,-a town in Berry, four leagues

from Bourges.

T

CHAPTER XCVII.-TWELVE HOUSES ARE BURNT IN THE VILLAGE OF JUCHY, NEAR CAMBRAY. THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY HOLDS THE FEAST OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE, AT ST. OMER.THE DAUPHINESS BROUGHT TO BED OF A PRINCESS, AT GENAPPE.AMBASSADORS FROM THE HOLY LAND COME TO THE COURT OF FRANCE, AND THENCE TO THE COURT OF BURGUNDY.

ABOUT this period, twelve houses were burnt in the village of Juchy, near Cambray. The fire began in the house of a man who had thrice, that same day, thrust his own mother out of it, saying the third time, with great malice, that he would see his house on fire rather than that she should remain another day in it. Shortly after, his house took fire, nobody knew how, and was burnt down, with twelve of the adjoining houses, which seemed to prove the Divine vengeance against this wicked man.

The good duke of Burgundy held his feast of the order of the Golden Fleece on the first of May, in this year, at St. Omer, right nobly. Most of the knights of the order were present; among whom were Charles count de Charolois his son, the duke of Cleves, his brother Adolphus nephew of the duke of Burgundy, the count d'Estampes, the marshal of Burgundy, the lord de Croy, his brother, and the lord de Launoy their nephew, the lord de Hautbourdin, the bastard de St. Pol, the lord de Bievres bastard of Burgundy, and many more. The dukes of Orleans and of Alençon were not present, but they sent their proxies. Several great lords from Germany, France, Scotland, and other countries, came to this feast, which lasted for three days in the usual manner. Notwithstanding the regulations of this order, that every knight of it must be without reproach, a knight assisted at the feast as proxy for the duke of Alençon, whom the king of France had declared guilty of high treason against him, and for this had sentenced him to perpetual imprisonment. But the duke of Burgundy held him for a nobleman of honour, and without reproach, and said that the king of France had thus condemned him through the envy and wicked insinuations of others, and had wrongfully dishonoured him! This language he publicly held during the three days of the feast!

As it was the custom, after this feast, to hold a chapter of the order and to elect new companions in the room of such as had deceased, they now elected sir Philip Pot lord de la Roche-Bourguignon*, the lord de Groothuse, a Fleming, the lord de Roye, a Picard, and also the king of Arragon, to whom the duke sent the collar of the order, by the lord de Crequy, notably accompanied. At the conclusion of the feast, and when all business was done, the count de Charolois, Adolphus of Cleves, and Anthony bastard of Burgundy, held a joust against all comers, which was followed by another noble feast.

At this time the dauphiness, consort to the lord Louis, eldest son to the king of France, was brought to bed of a daughter at Genappe, in Brabant, where he resided for fear of his father, in whose ill graces he was, as mentioned before.

In this same month of May, there arrived at the court of France, ambassadors from the Holy Land and other Eastern countries. In the number was a prelate dressed like a cordelier friar, who called himself patriarch of Antioch,—a knight from the king of Trebisonde,— another knight from the king of Persia,-one from the king of Georgia and Mesopotamia, who was more strangely dressed than the rest. He was a stout, robust man, having two tonsures on his head like to the one our priests have in France, and to each ear hung a ring. There was also an ambassador from the little Turkt, who said, that if the Christians would make war on the Grand Turk, his lord would join them with fifty thousand combatants. There was another ambassador from the king of Armenia, a handsome and genteel knight; and, to conclude, there was another from Prester-John, who, the others said, was a most learned man. It was reported that they had been more than seventeen months journeying from their own countries before they came to France.

On their presentation to the king of France, they styled him the "most Christian king,"

*Not de la Roche Bourguignon, but de la Roche, a Burgundian. This Philip lord de la Roche was afterwards in high favour with king Louis, who advanced him to the

dignity of count of St. Pol, on the attainder and confiscation of the constable and his estates.

Little Turk. Q. The cham of the Tartars?

and requested that he would send an army under his banner against the Grand Turk, and assured him that he would have the assistance of all the kings and princes whose ambassadors were now before him. They declared, that they wanted not his money, for of that their lords had enough; but that if the king would send his banner, under the command of one of his experienced captains, the Grand Turk and his whole army would be more alarmed than by one hundred thousand other persons. I know not what answer the king made them, but he caused them to be grandly feasted and entertained. Shortly after, they departed from France, for the court of the duke of Burgundy, who received them most honourably, entertained them well, and made them many rich presents. It is to be supposed that they made to the duke a request similar to that which they had made to the king of France; for the duke replied, that if they could prevail on the king of France to guarantee his possessions during his absence, he would assist them personally, and to the utmost of his power.

CHAPTER XCVIII.-OF THE DEATH OF CHARLES VII. KING OF FRANCE. OF THE TROUBLES AND DIFFICULTIES HE HAD TO ENCOUNTER AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS REIGN,AND OF HIS GLORIOUS AND GREAT FEATS OF ARMS.

On the 22d day of July, in the year 1461, departed this life, at Mehun-sur-Yèvre, king Charles VII. of France, in the 58th year of his age and the 39th of his reign. Fortune was so adverse to him at the beginning of his career, that he lost the whole of that part of his kingdom which extended from the seas of Flanders and England to the river Loire, by the efforts and courage of Henry king of England, who had married his sister, and contended to be king of France through the aid of the duke of Burgundy, because king Charles had been consenting to the murder of his father duke John of Burgundy, at the town of Montereausur-Yonne, notwithstanding they had sworn to keep peace and friendship between them on the holy sacrament, and had divided the wafer between them as a pledge of their amity,— which was a most disgraceful act, and never can be enough condemned. However, duke Philip of Burgundy, from loyalty to the crown of France, and a dislike to see the English in possession of that country, which they were destroying, at the earnest request and solicitations of king Charles agreed to a peace, which was signed at Arras in the 35th year of the king's reign.

The English from that moment lost ground in France; and king Charles prospered so much that he reconquered from them the whole of his kingdom, with the exception of Calais, Guines, and Hammes, which are situated on the confines of the Boulonois. After these conquests, he always kept on foot fifteen hundred lances, and from five to six thousand archers, on regular pay,—namely, for each man-at-arms and three horses fifteen florins, royal money, and for each archer seven florins, per month. These sums were raised by taxes on the inhabitants of the good towns and villages, and, in common, so punctually collected that there was scarcely any delay in the payments.

The men-at-arms and archers were under such good discipline that no pillager or robber dared to infest the highways for fear of them, as they were continually on the look-out and in pursuit of such with the officers of justice. These men-at-arms escorted the merchants who travelled with their merchandise from place to place, so that every one was pleased with them; for before their appointment, those called Skinners, from their robbing all who fell in their way, were the sole guides of merchants, whom they plundered.

CHAPTER XCIX.-THE DAUPHIN AND THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY MAKE PREPARATIONS TO GO TO RHEIMS, FOR THE CORONATION OF THE DAUPHIN. OF THE INTERMENT OF THE LATE KING CHARLES.-THE CORONATION OF KING LOUIS XI. AT RHEIMS. OTHER MATTERS.

As soon as the dauphin heard of the death of his father, he sent off in haste a messenger to Hêdin, to inform the duke of Burgundy of this event; but he was already acquainted with it. These two princes now appointed a day for meeting at Avênes, in Hainault, thence

to proceed to the city of Rheims, for the coronation of the dauphin as king of France. For greater security, the duke ordered all his nobles to be under arms, in and about St. Quentin in the Vermandois, on the 8th of the ensuing month of August; and there was not a lord or baron who did not equip himself in the handsomest array, and come attended with the greatest possible number of archers,-so that, when all assembled, it was a fine sight to be viewed.

But when the dauphin learned that the duke of Burgundy had collected so numerous an army, he was fearful that all the country it should march through would be ruined and wasted he therefore requested the duke to disband it, and bring with him only the greater barons of his country in their usual state, armed or disarmed. The duke willingly complied with this request, and dismissed to their homes the greater part of his army, retaining, to attend him, only about four thousand combatants, the best appointed that ever nobles were; but it was said, that if he had not disbanded the army he would have been escorted by more than one hundred thousand fighting men. The great lords of France came daily to pay their obedience to the dauphin, and to acknowledge him for their king, as did deputations from the principal towns.

Soon after the news of the late king's death was known to the duke of Burgundy, he set out for Avênes in Hainault, where the dauphin waited for him; and on his arrival, a grand funeral service was performed for king Charles during the second and third days of August. At this service the dauphin was the chief mourner, dressed in black, supported by the duke of Burgundy and the count of Charolois, and followed by the count d'Estampes, James de Bourbon, Adolphus of Cleves, and many other great lords. When the service was over, the dauphin, whom I shall henceforth call king, immediately dressed himself in purple, which is the custom in France; for as soon as a king there dies, his eldest son, or next heir, clothes

himself in purple, and is called king,-for that realm is supposed never to be without a king. King Louis departed from Avênes on the 4th day of August for Laon; and on the next day the duke of Burgundy set out for St. Quentin to meet the nobles of his country, whom he had ordered to assemble there and to accompany him to the coronation of the king.

While these things were going on, the body of the late king was embalmed, placed on a car covered with cloth of gold, and carried to the church of Notre Dame in Paris, where a solemn funeral service was performed, and thence carried to St. Denis, where another service was performed, and the body was then interred with the kings his ancestors, who were all buried in the church of this abbey. On the 14th of August, king Louis made his entry into the city of Rheims, attended by the noble duke Philip of Burgundy, the count de Charolois his son, the duke of Bourbon, the duke of Cleves, his brother the lord of Ravenstein-all three nephews to duke Philip,-the count of St. Pol, and such numbers of barons, knights, and gentlemen, all richly dressed, that it was a handsome spectacle. There were also present, the counts of Angoulême*, of Eu, of Vendôme, of Grand-pré †, sir Philip de Savoye‡, the count de Nassau, and numbers of other lords.

The morrow, being the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, king Louis was crowned king of France by the hands of the archbishop of Rheims, in the presence of all the peers of France, or their proxies. When the king was dressed and on the point of being mounted, he drew his sword, and, presenting it to the duke of Burgundy, desired that he would make him a knight by his hand,-which was a novelty, for it has been commonly said that all the sons of the kings of France are made knights at the font when baptised. Nevertheless, the duke, in obedience to his command, gave him the accolade, and with his hand dubbed him knight, with five or six other lords then present,—namely, the lord de Beaujeu, his brother James, both brothers to the duke of Bourbon §, the two sons of the lord de Croy, and master John Bureau, treasurer of France. The duke was then entreated to make all knights who wished to be so, which he did until he was weary, and then gave up the office to other lords, who made so many that it would be impossible to name them all: let it suffice, that it was said that upwards of two hundred new knights were created on that day. Many fine mysteries were performed at this coronation,-at which were present, besides the twelve peers and great officers of state, the cardinal of Constance, the patriarch of Antioch, a legate from the pope, four archbishops, seventeen bishops, and six abbots.

After the ceremonies in the church, the twelve peers of France dined, as usual, with the king. When the tables were removed, the duke of Burgundy, with his accustomed benevolence and frankness, cast himself on his knees before the king, and begged of him, for the passion and death of Our Saviour, that he would forgive all whom he suspected of having been the cause of the quarrel between him and his late father; and that he would maintain all the late king's officers in their places, unless, after due examination, any should be found to have acted improperly in their situations. The king granted this request, with the reserve of seven persons,- -but I know not who they were.

After this, the duke said, My most redoubted lord, I at this moment do you homage for the duchy of Burgundy, the counties of Flanders and of Artois, and for all the countries I hold of the noble crown of France. I acknowledge you as my sovereign lord, and promise you obedience and service, not only for the lands I hold of you, but for all others which I do not hold of you; and I promise to serve you personally so long as I shall live, with as many nobles and warriors as I shall be able to assemble, and with as much money in gold and silver as I can raise." Then all the other princes, dukes, and counts and lords, did homage to the king. From Rheims the king departed, after the coronation, to Meaux in

* John count of Angoulême, brother to the duke of Orleans;-Charles of Artois, last count of Eu;-John of Bourbon, count of Vendôme.

Henry de Borselle, a nobleman of Holland, who purchased the county of Grand-pré from Raoul le Bouteiller. He was father to Wolfhard de Borselle, marshal of France.

Philip of Savoy, lord of Bauge, younger brother to the prince of Piedmont, who married a daughter of the

duke of Bourbon, and became duke of Savoy on the death of his grand-nephew, Charles II., in 1496; John the elder, count of Nassau.

§ Peter de Bourbon, lord of Beaujeu, who married Anne of Valois, daughter of Louis XI., and became duke of Bourbon on the death of his elder brother without lawful issue in 1488. James de Bourbon, a younger brother of these, died young and unmarried.