CHAPTER CVII. - THE DUCHESS OF BOURBON COMES TO RESIDE WITH HER BROTHER THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY. THE KING OF FRANCE GRANTS SUCCOURS TO THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.-OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN DIVERS PARTS. At this time the widowed duchess of Bourbon came to visit the noble duke of Burgundy, accompanied by three or four of her sons and two of her daughters; for she had had by her late husband six boys and five girls. The eldest son, John, succeeded his father in the dukedom; the second was married to a daughter of the king of Cyprus, but died of leprosy before he went thither; the third, Charles, was archbishop of Lyons, on the Rhône, and abbot of St. Vaast, at Arras; the fourth, named Louis, was bishop of Liege; the fifth was lord of Beaujeu, and married to a daughter of the duke of Orleans *; the sixth, James, died when young. Of the daughters, one was married to the duke of Calabria, by whom she had a fair son, but died shortly after the second married her cousin-german the count de Charolois, and had only a daughter, when the good lady died: the third espoused the duke of Gueldres, nephew to the duke of Burgundy: another was afterwards married to the lord d'Arquel † ; and another was then to be married; for the duke of Burgundy, their uncle, had always very earnestly promoted the advancement of his friends and relatives. About this period the king of France sent two thousand combatants to England, to the aid of queen Margaret, under the command of the lord de Varennes, high seneschal of Normandy, who, under the late king's reign, had governed everything, and it was reported that king Louis had given him this command for the chance of his being slain : nevertheless, he bore himself well, and conquered several places, in the expectation of being joined by the duke of Somerset, who had promised to come to him with a large body of Scots and others; but he failed; for he had found means to make his peace with king Edward, who had restored to him his estates and honours. The French were now besieged in the places they had won • Q. Peter, lord of Beaujeu, was married to Anne daughter of Louis XI. This might be a second marriage; but I do not find it so in the genealogical tables which I have consulted. + Here is a double mistake in the genealogy. Catherine, third daughter of the duke of Bourbon, married Adolphus, son of Arnold duke of Gueldres, who was himself duke of Gueldres after his father's death in 1473, and might, during his father's lifetime, have been sometimes styled the lord of Arckeln, which lordship came into his family by the marriage of his grandfather John count of Egmond John d. of Mary, one of John d. of C. (married the heiress of Nevers.) John II. &c. Philip the Philip the Philip c. of Nevers, Charles c. of Nevers, Burgundy. d. s. p. 1464. John count d. 1491. Elizabeth, heiress by the earl of Warwick, and were glad to return to France with their lives spared. All were not so fortunate, for many were slain or captured in the different skirmishes that had passed between them*. The duke of Burgundy now sent one hundred men-at-arms and four hundred archers to the aid of the bishop of Mentz, who was engaged in a destructive warfare with one of the princes of Germany, insomuch that the extent of three or four days' journey of the flat country was burnt and totally ruined. On the 21st day of November in this year, was an eclipse of the sun; and shortly after there were tiltings and other entertainments at Brussels, in honour of the arrival of the duchess of Bourbon, and of her children, whom she had brought with her. Το these feasts the duke of Burgundy came with great pomp, and most superbly dressed. About the same time the count de Charolois had three men and an apothecary imprisoned at Brussels; which three men had caused the apothecary to make three images of wax, of the form of men and women; three of each for some sort of sorcery, and even, as it was said, touching the said count de Charolois. This was found out from the apothecary telling some of the count's servants what he had made, and that those who had ordered them would do wonders with them; that they would make these images talk and walk, which would be miraculous in short, so much was said that it came at length to the ears of the count, who ordered the three men to be arrested, who belonged to the count d'Estampes. The apothecary was also arrested, but soon set at liberty, because he was ignorant for what purposes these images had been made. A gentleman of the household of the count d'Estampes fled, but was retaken and carried prisoner to Quesnoy-le-Comte in Hainault: his name was Charles de Noyers. It was rumoured that these four persons had been closely interrogated, and had confessed wonderful things; but they were kept so secret that few knew what to say about them. The prisoners, however, remained very long in confinement. CHAPTER CVIII.-OF THE MANY DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR.-OF THE HARD FORTUNE OF MARGARET QUEEN OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1463.] On the 19th of April this year, after Easter, died master Robert le Jeune, governor of Arras, aged ninety-two years. He began life as an advocate at Amiens, and was afterward retained of the council of king Henry V. of England, who made him a knight, and gave him great riches. After the death of king Henry, the duke of Burgundy made him bailiff of Amiens, in which office he governed so partially towards the duke and the English, that he put to death, by hanging, drowning, or beheading, upwards of nineteen hundred persons, and many more of the French party, called Armagnacs, than of the other; for which the populace of Amiens so much detested him that he dared not longer abide there, but went to Arras, of which place the duke of Burgundy made him governor! In whatever place he resided, he managed so well for his own interest that his two sons became great and rich lords. One of them was bishop of Amiens, and afterward bishop and cardinal of Therouenne, the richest of all the cardinals, but he died when only forty years old, and it was said that his death was hastened by poison. The other son was a knight-at-arins, and a considerable landholder, who had the greater share of the government of the duchess of Burgundy's household, and afterward of that of her son, the count de Charolois. The daughter of sir Robert le Jeune was nobly and richly married. The 6th day of July the duke of Burgundy came from Bruges to Lille, where he had not been since his severe illness the preceding year. The townsmen received him with greater honours than at any former time; for a procession of upwards of four hundred of them went Henry says, that the French fleet appeared off Tinmouth; that many of their ships were driven on shore near Bamborough in a storm; that the French took shelter in Holy Island, where they were attacked and beaten by VOL. II. a superior force; that sir Pierre de Brézé, their commander, and the rest, saved themselves in Berwick.—Hist. of England, A.D. 1461. U out of the town to meet him, with lighted torches in their hands, not to mention the principal burghers, who went out in numbers. The streets were all hung, and illuminated so brilliantly that it appeared like noon-day, and many pageants and mysteries were exhibited, although it was late, and the night very dark. In this state was the duke escorted to his hotel. Duke Philip, ever anxious to fulfil the vow which he had made in the town of Lille, in 1454, to attack the Grand Turk, and drive him back to his own territories beyond the Straits of St. George, would most cheerfully have gone thither in person, had he not feared that, during his absence, the king of France would attack and perhaps conquer his country. For this reason, therefore, he sent a notable embassy to pope Pius, the principal of which were the bishop of Tournay, the lord de Montigny and the lord de Forestel, knights, to learn the will of the pope respecting his vow, which, as has been said, he was unable to accomplish, making offer, in lieu thereof, to send six thousand good combatants at his own costs and charges against the Turk, in any way the pope might be pleased to order. I must mention here a singular adventure which befel the queen of England. She, in company with the lord de Varennes and her son, having lost their way in a forest of Hainault, were met by some banditti, who robbed them of all they had. It is probable the banditti would have murdered them, had they not quarrelled about the division of the spoil, insomuch that from words they came to blows; and, while they were fighting, she caught her son in her arms and fled to the thickest part of the forest, where, weary with fatigue, she was forced to stop. At this moment she met another robber, to whom she instantly gave her son, and said; "Take him, friend, and save the son of a king." The robber received him willingly, and conducted them in safety toward the seashore, where they arrived at Sluys, and thence the queen and her son went to Bruges, where they were received most honourably. During this time, king Henry, her husband, had retired into the strongest parts of Wales. Some The queen left prince Edward at Bruges, and went to the count de Charolois at Lille, who feasted her grandly, whence she set out for Bethune, to hold a conference with the duke of Burgundy. The duke, hearing that large reinforcements of English were landed at Calais, sent a body of his archers to escort her from Bethune to St. Pol, where he went to meet her, notwithstanding he knew well that she had never loved him; but, according to his noble nature, he received her with much honour, and made her rich presents. said that he gave her two thousand crowns of gold, and to the lord de Varennes one thousand, and to each of the ladies that attended on the queen one hundred crowns: he had her also escorted to the country of Bai, which appertained to her brother the duke of Calabria. The queen repented much, and thought herself unfortunate, that she had not sooner thrown herself on the protection of the noble duke of Burgundy, as her affairs would probably have prospered better! CHAPTER CIX.-THE KING OF FRANCE GIVES THE COUNTY OF GUISNES TO THE LORD DE CROY. THE COUNT D'ESTAMPES QUITS HIS ATTACHMENT TO THE HOUSE of burgundY.— OTHER EVENTS. DURING this year of 1463, king Louis of France made a progress through his kingdom, to examine into the state of it. On his return to Paris, he caused proclamation to be made by sound of trumpet, that he had given to the lord de Croy the county and lordship of Guisnes, having before this made him grand-master of his household. The lord de Croy had at this time left the house of Burgundy and resided with the king, which seemed to many very strange,—for the lord de Croy had been brought up and educated by the duke and his family, and had been better provided for than any others, being first chamberlain and principal minister to the duke, and had acquired by his services from forty to fifty thousand francs of landed rent, besides the advancement of all his friends, so that there was none like to him in that whole country. If he had been in the good graces of the duke, he enjoyed Simon de Lalain, lord of Montigny, who died in tigny, governor of Holland, who was killed at the siege of 1478, was the father of Jodocus, lord of Lalain and Mon- Utrecht in 1483. the same favour with the king, who refused him nothing that he asked for himself or his friends. The common report was, that he was so much beloved by the king because he had drawn up the plan for the repurchase of the lands and towns on the Somme, from the duke of Burgundy, for four hundred and fifty thousand crowns, and because he had induced the duke to accede to this bargain,- for he listened to him in council more than to any others. The lord de Croy having made some stay at the court of France, returned to that of Burgundy, and exercised his charges the same as before. During the king's progress through Guienne and the Bordelois, he made up the quarrel between the king of Spain and the count de Foix, which had risen to a great height, although they had married two sisters, daughters to the king of Navarre *. At this time, John of Burgundy, count d'Estampes, quitted the house of Burgundy, and attached himself to the king of France, to which he was instigated, according to report, by his being in disgrace with the duke, and still more with the count de Charolois, on account of those waxen images before mentioned; for it was said the count de Charolois was suspicious of being in his company, for fear of sorcery, and he now kept the count de St. Pol constantly with him, and gave him the principal management of himself and his household. Some said, that this was the reason why the count d'Estampes and the lord de Croy had quitted the noble house of Burgundy,-for it was well known that the count de St. Pol loved neither of them. About this time, the queen of France, Isabella of Savoy, came to the king at Senlis, with but few attendants; for the king was then as saving as possible, in order to amass a By the terms of the marriage contract between John of Arragon and Blanche queen of Navarre, Charles prince of Viana, the eldest son of that marriage, ought to have succeeded to the kingdom immediately on the death of his mother. This was, however, delayed from time to time, and at last effectually prevented through the intrigues of Johanna Henriques the second wife of king John. A civil war was the consequence of these acts of injustice, and the prince sought the protection of a stronger power by an alliance with Isabella sister of Henry IV. of Castile. This treaty also was rendered abortive by the intrigues of his step-mother. He was then inveigled to Lerida under colour of a pacification, and treacherously made prisoner. Being at last liberated from his confinement to appease the dangerous indignation of his adherents, he ended his life in a few days, being, as some say, poisoned while in prison, but more probably from the effects of ill-treatment and sorrow. VII., and by a further union of interests between the crowns of France and Arragon. The advantage of these skilful manœuvres soon displayed itself, when the Catalans, enraged at the death of the prince of Viana, which they attributed whether justly or unjustly to the king his father, revolted, and their example was followed by almost all the states of Arragon. King John, upon this, mortgaged the counties of Cerdagne and Roussillon to France, in order to obtain supplies to carry on the war, and the count de Foix obtained the principal command in the conduct of it. The rebels finding themselves too weak, naturally applied for assistance to Castille, and the war soon assumed a new face, the principals on each side being the king of Arragon and the count of Foix, and the king of Castille. The treaty here alluded to, at which the king of France assisted, was made in an island of the river Bidassoa, which separates France from Spain. Its articles were such as to offend all parties concerned, and in particular to sow the seeds of future dissension between the French and Spanish nations. Those historians, however, may be thought rather too refined who attribute to this celebrated interview the foundation for that enmity between the two countries for which they have been remarkable in modern times. The connexion between the different crowns of Spain, and succession to the crown of Navarre, will be best seen from the following table : Meanwhile, Blanche, his eldest sister, was divorced by her husband Henry IV., for no fault of her own; and the count of Foix (the husband of Leonora her sister) in order to possess himself of her right to the crown of Navarre, gained possession of her person, and is reported, by connivance with his own wife, to have put an end to her days. After this, he turned his views toward the protection of France, which he hoped to secure by the marriage of his son Gaston to Magdalen, daughter of Charles the John, king of Arragon and Navarre, 1st wife, Blanche, daughter and heir 2nd wife, Johanna, daughter of the died 1479. 1. Charles, prince to Charles III, king of Navarre, died 2. Blanche mar- 3. Eleanor mar- admiral of Castile. Ferdinand the Ca- 2. John, viscount of Narbonne, and count of Estampes, who, by his marriage with Mary of Orleans, had issue, Gaston de Foix, the famous general under Francis I. and Germaine de Foix, the second wife of Ferdinand the Catholic. sufficient sum for the repayment of the money for which the towns on the Somme had been pledged. His expenses were chiefly for his amusements of hunting and hawking, of which he was immoderately fond,—and he was liberal enough to huntsmen and falconers, but to none others. He was very careless in his dress, and was generally clothed meanly, in second-priced cloth and fustian pourpoints, much unbecoming a person of his rank,and he was pleased that all who came to him on business should be plainly dressed. He did not diminish any of the taxes, but, on the contrary, added to them, which greatly oppressed his people. On the 6th of September, the parliament pronounced sentence on sir Anthony de Chabannes, lord de Dammartin, who, after the death of king Charles, had fled for fear of his successor; but a year afterward he had sought the king's mercy, and put himself into his hands. The king sent him prisoner to the Conciergerie of the palace, and ordered the parliament to bring him to trial; which being done, he was convicted of high treason against king Louis, and sentenced to death, and his effects confiscated to the crown *. The king, nevertheless, granted him a pardon, on condition that he would transport himself to the island of Rhodes, and remain there for his life; but he was to give security for the performing of this, which not being able to do, he was confined in the bastile of St. Anthony. At this time, king Louis, from his will and pleasure, ordered all nets and engines to take and destroy the game to be burnt throughout the Isle of France. No one was spared, whether of noble or peasant, except in some warrens that belonged to the princes. It was said that he did this that no one might hawk or hunt but himself, and that there might be a greater plenty of game,-for his whole delight was in hunting and hawking. CHAPTER CX.-THE KING OF FRANCE REPURCHASES THE TOWNS AND LANDS ON THE RIVER THE king of France, having determined to repurchase the towns on the Somme from the duke of Burgundy, made such diligence that he collected a sufficiency of cash; for there was not an abbey or canonry, or any rich merchant in France, who did not lend or give him some sums of money. When he had amassed the amount, he sent it as far as Abbeville to the duke, who had it transported thence to Hêdin, where he then resided. Shortly after, the king came to Hêdin,—and the duke went out to meet him, received him most honourably, as he well knew how to do, and lodged him in his own proper apartments in his castle. The king then promised the duke, that he would punctually fulfil all the articles of the treaty of Arras, which promise he did not so punctually perform. While the king and the duke were at the castle of Hêdin, a grand embassy arrived there from England, the chief of which was a bishop †, brother to the earl of Warwick, and from three to four hundred horsemen handsomely dressed and equipped. Before they departed from Hêdin, the duke had sent repeated messages to his son, the count de Charolois, then in Holland, for him to come and pay his respects to the king,— but he refused, saying, that so long as the count d'Estampes and the lord de Croy were with the king (as they then were), he would never appear before him. He knew in what great favour they were with the king; and it was currently reported, that it had been through the counsels of the lord de Croy that the duke had consented to the reimbursement for the towns on the Somme, which was contrary to the will of the count de Charolois, and *The principal crime of this nobleman, in the eyes of Louis, was his high favour with Charles VII. He afterwards escaped from prison during the War of the Public Good, and was at last restored to his offices about the court, and taken into the peculiar confidence of the king. One act of justice resulted from his temporary disgrace, the restoration to the beirs of Jacques Cœur of great part of the plunder made from the wreck of that unfortunate merchant's affairs. The count de Dammartin is said to have been one of the seven persons whom Louis excepted out of the amnesty which he granted to the duke of Burgundy's intercession on ascending the throne. Others were, as is reported, the mareschal de Brézé, the lords de Lohéac, and de Chatillon, and the chancellor des Ursins. DUCLOS. ↑ A bishop. George Neville, bishop of Exeter, and afterwards archbishop of York. |