CHAPTER CCXXXVIII.-THE KING OF FRANCE MARRIES THE PRINCESS MARY, SISTER TO KING HENRY OF ENGLAND.-FRANCIS DUKE OF VALOIS AND COUNT OF ANGOULEME MARRIES THE PRINCESS CLAUDE, DAUGHTER TO THE KING OF FRANCE. THE NEW QUEEN MAKES HER PUBLIC ENTRY INTO FRANCE.

AFTER the funeral of the late queen of France, the king came to Paris, and was lodged at the hôtel of the Tournelles, and would not that any one should appear in his presence but in mourning. He sent for his two daughters, the princesses Claude and Renée, who were conducted to him from Blois by madame d'Angoulême, and shortly after summoned the princes and great barons of his realm to a council on the present state of affairs, and respecting a peace with England. In consequence of what had been resolved on in this council, the king sent, as his ambassadors to king Henry, the governor of Normandy, the president of Rouen, and the lord Longueville, then a prisoner of war in England, was added to them, to treat of a peace.

While this was passing, the king was taken very ill at the castle of Vincennes, and had ordered, for his recovery, that "O Salutaris Hostia" should be chanted daily in all the churches of France, at the elevation of the holy sacrament, which had been of the utmost benefit to him. On his recovery, the king went thence to St. Germain-en-Laye, to recreate himself, and to temper the melancholy of his mourning; for it was a pleasant country, interspersed with woods and dales, and full of game.

Much public business was transacted during the king's stay at St. Germain; and a marriage was concluded between the duke of Valois, count of Angoulême, and the princess Claude. They were married in their mourning, in the chapel of the castle, in the presence of the king, the princes of the blood, and many others of high rank, on the 18th of May, in the year 1513. About this period, and before the king had quitted St. Germain-en-Laye, his ambassadors sent him intelligence of their having concluded a peace with England, on condition of his marrying the princess Mary. King Henry sent ambassadors to Paris, to confirm the marriage between king Louis and his sister, and to ratify the treaty of peace that had been agreed on between the two kingdoms, which was now publicly proclaimed in both realms.

On Monday the 16th of August, in this year, a grand procession was made from the great hall of the palace, with trumpets and clarions, when the herald, called Mont-joye, proclaimed a magnificent tournament to be holden at Paris, by the duke of Valois, Brittany", and count of Angoulême, to which he invited all princes, lords, and gentlemen, to assist. It was about this time that the princess Mary was escorted to France by many of the great nobles of England, in company with the lords of France who had gone thither to attend on her. The king left Paris, with his court, and went as far as Abbeville to meet the new queen, where she arrived on the 8th of October, and made her public entry very triumphantly, attended by the duke of Valois and numbers of nobles, as well English as French, all most richly dressed, with large golden chains, especially the English. The queen was most handsomely attired, and seated in a brilliant car: in short, the whole was a beautiful sight. She was preceded by a body of two hundred English archers, gallantly accoutred, with their bows in hand, and quivers full of arrows.

The king, hearing of her coming, mounted his horse, and, attended by his nobles, rode out into the plain, under pretence of hawking, but it was to meet her; and on his approaching her, he kissed her on horseback, paying her many fair compliments, as he knew well how to do. Her reception in Abbeville was most honourable,-and the inhabitants exerted themselves who should surpass the other in testifying their joy at her arrival. On the morrow, the feast of St. Denis, the king of France was married to the princess Mary of England.

* Francis was duke of Brittany in right of the princess Claude, who succeeded to that duchy on the death of her mother queen Anne. For, although the two crowns, the royal and ducal, had been united in the person of Louis XII., yet the duchy remained distinct from the kingdom, VOL. 11.

and would have passed away from it again had the princess Claude not married the heir of the crown of France. The countries were not incorporated till the reign of Francis I., who procured an act of union and settlement to be passed.

LL

She was most magnificently dressed, with an immense quantity of diamonds and precious stones. A singular banquet succeeded, with a great variety of all sorts of amusements. Having staid a few days in Abbeville to solace themselves, they set out for Paris; and through the towns of Picardy they passed, the greatest honours were paid them. In every town, the queen gave liberty to the prisoners, by the king's command. On their arrival at St. Denis, the ceremony of the queen's coronation took place, which was very splendid, and numerously attended by archbishops, bishops, and nobility.

Monday, the 6th of November, the queen made her triumphant entry into the city of Paris, the clergy, courts of parliament, of exchequer, &c., and all the municipal officers, with crowds of people, having gone out in procession to meet her. She was seated on a rich litter, adorned with precious stones, and escorted by the duke of Valois, the lord of Alençon*, the lord of Bourbont, the lord of Vendôme‡, his brother the lord Francis, Louis de Nevers§, with other great lords, as well of England as of France, prelates and churchmen. Her litter was followed by those of the princess Claude, duchess of Valois, madame d'Angoulême, madame de Vendôme, madame de Nevers, and other princesses of both kingdoms. Thus was she conducted to the church of Notre-Dame, and took the usual oaths: she thence proceeded to the royal palace, where a most splendid banquet was provided. The king and queen lay that night at the royal palace, which served to shorten his days.

CHAPTER CCXXXIX.-OF THE TILTS PERFORMED AT PARIS.-THE DEATH AND INTERMENT OF LOUIS XII. KING OF FRANCE.

THE next day, the king and queen went to the Tournelles, to see the tournaments, that had been before proclaimed. At the entrance of the lists was a triumphal arch surmounted with the shields of arms of the king and queen: below them were the emblazoned shields of the lords and princes, the tenants and defendants of the lists. The duke of Valois was the

chief tenant, with his assistants, and many gallant courses were ran with lances, to the advantage of some, and to the loss of others. In short, it was a handsome spectacle, and all in compliment to, and for the love of, queen Mary; but her popularity would not have lasted long, for although the poor people were already heavily taxed, yet the king intended, had he lived longer, to have greatly increased the taxes. After these jousts and tourneys, the king carried the queen to St. Germain-en-Laye, where they spent some time, leading as joyous a life as he was able. He thence returned to his palace of the Tournelles at Paris, and was taken so dangerously ill that he made preparations becoming a good Christian, and rendered his soul to God on the 1st day of January, in the year 1514. His body was aromatically embalmed, and lay in state some days at the Tournelles, where everybody went to see it who pleased. The usual ceremonies on such occasions were then performed, but it would be tiresome to detail them. Some days after, the body was carried to the church of Notre-Dame, and placed in a chapel that had been purposely erected in the choir,—and a solemn service was performed by the bishop of Paris. The next day it was borne to a cross near to St. Denis, where the abbot and his monks of St. Denis met it, and was, by them, interred with great pomp, amidst the tears of his officers and domestics. He was buried beside his queen, Anne of Brittany. May God receive their souls! The principal mourners were, the lord of Alençon, the lord of Bourbon, the lord of Vendôme, and other princes and great lords.

It is of some moment when a king or great prince dies, who may, perhaps, have caused the deaths of numbers of human creatures like themselves; for I believe that in the other world they will have enough to do, more especially respecting this circumstance, that a poor

Charles, the second duke of Alençon, son of René
and grandson of John II., who was beheaded. He married
Margaret the sister of Francis the First, afterwards wife of
Henry d'Albret, king of Navarre.

Charles, duke of Bourbon, mentioned before.
Charles, duke of Vendôme, and Francis lord of St.

Pol, both mentioned before.

§ Count of Auxerre, second son of Engilbert of Cleves count of Nevers, who died in 1506.

Mary d'Albret, the wife of Charles, count of Nevers, eldest son of Engilbert of Cleves.

man, with six or seven small children, not worth twenty sols in the world, shall be taxed from ten to twenty sols, and when the collector shall come to receive the tax, finding the man worth nothing, and without means of raising the money, he commits him to prison, where he languishes out his days. Now I would like to have shown any written law for this injustice; but no one will attempt so to do, because every one is eager to push himself forward in this world. May God assist the poor people!

CHAPTER CCXL.-FRANCIS I., KING OF FRANCE, IS CONSECRATED AT RHEIMS.-HE MAKES HIS PUBLIC ENTRY INTO PARIS.-HE LEAVES FRANCE TO ATTACK THE SWISS IN THE MILANESE, WHO HAVE TAKEN POSSESSION OF THAT DUCHY.

AFTER the death of Louis XII., Francis, the first of the name, succeeded him on the throne, as the fifty-seventh king of France. He set out from Paris, to be consecrated king in the cathedral of Rheims, according to the custom of his ancestors kings of France, and was there anointed with the holy oil on the 25th day of January, in the year 1514. The twelve peers of France, or their substitutes, were present, exercising their functions in the usual manner on such occasions. Madame d'Angoulême, the king's mother, was present at the ceremony, accompanied by madame de Bourbon, madame de Vendôme, and other ladies and damsels. The king went from Rheims to be crowned at St. Denis, and on his return made triumphal public entries into Laon, Noyon, Compiégne, Senlis, and other towns. He continued his way towards Paris, very grandly attended, and made the most brilliant public entry into that city that had ever been seen. The accoutrements and trappings of the horses were of wrought silver, with frized cloth of gold; and, to sum up the whole in few words, the lords and gentlemen, with their horses, were covered with cloth of gold: some had their dresses interwrought with solid silver.

FRANCIS I. AND ATTENDANT NOBLES. Designed from the celebrated picture of the Field of the Cloth of Gold; and the sculpture in the Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, Rouen.

The king entered in triumph, dressed magnificently: the trappings of his horse were of worked silver, and his attendants equipped in cloth of silver brocade. He went, as usual,

to the royal palace, where a sumptuous banquet had been prepared, with a numerous band of trumpets and clarions; after which a grand tournament was held in the rue St. Antoine, when the king acquitted himself most gallantly.

A treaty was concluded between the king of France and the archduke, and a marriage agreed on between the archduke and the princess Renée, daughter to the late king, Louis XII., by the count of Nassau, and other ambassadors despatched for this purpose. The count of Nassau was also betrothed to the daughter of the prince of Orange, whom he afterwards married. At this time the duke of Bourbon was made constable of France,and while the king remained at Paris, the duke of Suffolk espoused the queen-dowager of France, sister to Henry king of England. That king had sent the duke of Suffolk to France, and when he carried his queen to England, he was grandly accompanied by the highest of the nobility. Thus was confirmed the peace between the two kingdoms. At this time also, the king of France sent to seek Pedro de Navarre, a prisoner of war, whom he set at liberty, gave him many rich gifts, and the command of a large body of men.

When all these marriages and other matters had been concluded, the king celebrated the feast of Easter in Paris, and then, with his queen and court, went by water as far as Montereau-faut-Yonne. He thence went, on the. 1st of May, to a small castle called Egreville, where were some joustings, and proceeded to Montargis and Briare, where he embarked on the Loire for Amboise. He made a public entry into all the towns he passed; namely, Mehun, Montereau, Montargis, Blois, Amboise, and other small towns, where every honour was paid him. While he was hunting at Amboise, a thorn pierced his leg through boot and hose, and gave him such pain that he was for a time very ill. During his residence at Amboise, the lord de Lorraine was married to mademoiselle de Bourbon, sister to the constable of France. Great feasts were displayed on the occasion, and the court of the donjon of the castle was covered with an awning of cloth, to keep off the rays of the sun. In the evening of that day were great maskings and mummeries, with morris-dancers richly dressed, and divers pastimes.

These feastings being over, the king departed very early one morning for Romorantin *, where he was also grandly entertained by the lady his mother. While with her he received intelligence that the Swiss had entered Dauphiny, near to Briançon, and burned a village close to Château Dauphin; on which he took a hasty leave of his mother, and set off suddenly for Bourges, where he made a public entry. The king departed on the morrow in haste for Moulins, where the duchess of Bourbon handsomely received him, and his entry was splendid for so small a town; for there were triumphant cars filled with the handsomest ladies of the country, representations of ships and wild beasts, mounted by the beauties of the town, who preceded the king on his entry. The king left Moulins for Lyon, where a most magnificent entry was prepared for him. He gave there his final orders respecting the provision and stores, which were in a state of forwardness to be transported over the Alps, for the prosecution of the war in the Milanese. During his absence in Italy, he nominated his mother, the duchess of Anjou and Maine, countess of Angoulême, &c., regent of the kingdom. Shortly after the king departed from Lyon, and went to Grenoble, where he made a handsome entry, and staid there until his preparations should be completed. About this period, the young son of Frederic, late king of Naples, died: he had already commenced a warlike career; and had he lived, I believe he would have made a figure as a warrior, for he was very courageous and virtuous.

When the king set out from Grenoble, he passed through Embrun, although his army, or the greater part, had taken the road through the small town of Duissant, for there had been formed stores of provision on all that line of march. The king halted at Guillestre +, and afterward at St. Paul ‡, and then traversed a road so bad, that it was thought no man had ever before attempted it. Great difficulties attended this march, and the poor infantry suffered much; for as the artillery was to pass this road, the cannon were dismounted, and dragged by men over the rocks.

* Romorantin,-fifteen leagues from Amboise, eleven from Blois.

+ Guillestre, near Mont-Dauphin, in Dauphiny.

St. Paul, a village in Dauphiny.

During this time, the pope had sent fifteen hundred horse, well appointed, under the command of Prospero Colonna, to join the forces of Maximilian, in the hope of surprising the king before he could pass the mountains; but Prospero, ignorant how near he was to the French, or that they had succeeded in passing the Alps, had halted at a town in Piedmont, called Villa-franca *. Of this circumstance a peasant of that country had informed one of the king's gentlemen, named the lord de la Morette, and that, as Prospero was quite unsuspicious of the French being so near, it would be easy to surprise him. The lord de la Morette lost no time to carry this news to the marshal de la Palisse, the lord d'Aubigny, the lord d'Imbercourt, Bayard, and others, who all instantly agreed to follow the lord d'Imbercourt in the attempt to surprise Colonna. He had sent forward one of his archers to reconnoitre, who reported, that as Colonna and his men were just sitting down to dinner, and entirely off their guard, an immediate attack would be necessary: d'Imbercourt sent, therefore, to hasten the march of La Palisse and the others.

Notwithstanding this, d'Imbercourt boldly advanced to enter Villa-franca,-when, as his trumpet was within the gates, and had sounded his charge, his horse's neck was inclosed within them; but the men-at-arms came to his relief, by crossing their lances over the horse, and put to death all who had opposed them at the gate. They galloped up the streets, shouting out" France, France!" and advanced to where Colonna was at dinner a sharp conflict now took place,-but the lord de la Palisse and the others arrived, who soon ended it, by making Colonna prisoner, and slaying great numbers of his men. All his baggage was pillaged, and very many fine horses gained that were in the stables of the town. Prospero Colonna was carried, with the other prisoners, to the king of France, and thence sent into confinement at the castle of Montagu, belonging to the lord de la Palisse.

CHAPTER CCXLI.-THE KING OF FRANCE PURSUES THE SWISS WITH HIS WHOLE ARMY.THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF NOVARA SURRENDER TO THE KING.

THE pope, when he heard of the defeat of Prospero Colonna and his army, and that he was sent prisoner to France, was very much surprised, and not without reason; for he never had imagined that the king of France would attempt to cross the Alps where he had, and for some time would not believe it. The Swiss cantoned at Susa, Villaine, Rivoli, and other parts, hearing of what had passed at Villa-franca, retreated toward Milan, followed by the French as far as Turin, whence the duke of Savoy came out to meet the king, and gave him a handsome reception. The king, having received from the duke of Savoy five large pieces of artillery, continued his pursuit of the Swiss, who had passed the Po in an extraordinary hurry, for they had no boats, nor any means but cords to drag their artillery and baggage over, with which they marched day and night. They burned the castle of Chivazzo, and part of that small town, belonging to the duke of Savoy, which lay on their line of march, killing many of the inhabitants and plundering the town, because they would not afford them provision, nor allow them passage through Chivazzo. Some of the Swiss were slain that had remained behind to pillage.

In this interval, the lord de Prie, with a body of Genoese, arrived at Alexandria and other towns, which he sacked, although their inhabitants had fled,—but they were deserving of punishment for the many tricks they had before played the French. The French army kept pursuing the Swiss, who seemed inclined to march to Jurea †, but, turning short, entered Novara. The king arrived with his army at Vercelli †, where it was rumoured that an agreement would take place between the king and Swiss. The lord bastard of Savoy and the lord de Lautrec, with others, were charged with this commission; but notwithstanding this, the king continued his march after the Swiss, who had quitted Novara, and taken the road to Milan. He was now joined by a considerable reinforcement of Lansquenets,

Villa-franca,-sixteen miles s.s.w. of Turin.

Jurea, on the great Dora in Piedimont.

Vercelli,-thirty miles s.w. of Milan, thirty-eight N.E. of Turin.