them before, threatening that if they should set foot in them he would drive them back by force. They promised not to touch the duke's lands,—but a few broke their word, and entered Ponthieu, drawing toward Amiens, and committed great damages; but the counts d'Estampes and de St. Pol, having collected a large force of men-at-arms, attacked and repulsed them. Some skirmishes took place on each side; but at length, for certain considerations, they promised to withdraw from the duke's territories and make for Santois, and for the lands of sir John de Luxembourg, threatening to carry thither fire and sword. Sir John was, however, so well provided with troops to resist them that they were happy to pass quietly through his possessions, for the count de St. Pol was hard on their rear, with a very numerous body of men, ready to succour his uncle should there be any need of it. They advanced into Champagne, doing great waste to all the poor people whose countries they passed through, and who were unable to oppose them. The lord de Rambures concluded a treaty with the earl of Somerset and the other English captains for the surrender of Harfleur, that the inhabitants might depart in safety, each with a white staff in his hand. In like manner was Montivilliers reduced, for it was forced to surrender from want of provisions. CHAPTER CCXLVIII.—A VERY GREAT LORD IN BRITTANY, CALLED THE LORD OF RETZ, IS ACCUSED AND CONVICTED OF SORCERY. In this year, a very extraordinary event happened in Brittany. The lord of Retz*, then marshal of France, and of a very noble birth, and a great landed proprietor, was accused and convicted of sorcery, which he had long followed, by the instigation of the devil and his adherents. He confessed having put to death many young children and women with child, with the intent of arriving at great fortunes and honours,-and that with the blood of these victims to his superstition, whom he had violently murdered, were written divers books of diabolical conjurations, and other things contrary to the catholic faith. When he was arrested and examined, he confessed that in this way he had caused upward of eight-score persons of different sexes and ages to be put to death. After a trial before competent judges, he was condemned to be hanged and strangled until he should be dead, and then his body to be burnt. The duke of Brittany and numbers of the nobility, as well secular as ecclesiastical, were present at this trial in the town of Nantes, where the sentence was executed. However, when the first part of it was done, and his body partly burnt, some ladies and damsels of his family requested the body of the duke, that they might inter it in holy ground, which the duke granted. Notwithstanding the many and horrid cruelties he had been guilty of, he made a very devout end, full of repentance, requesting most humbly of his Creator to have mercy on his manifold sins and wickednesses. The greater part of the nobles of Brittany, more especially those of his kindred, were in the utmost grief and confusion at his disgraceful death. Before this event, he was much renowned as a most valiant knight at arms. * Giles de Laval, lord of Retz, descended in the fourth degree from Fulk Laval, second son of Guy VIII. lord of Laval, who married the heiress of the ancient house of Retz. Giles was a marshal of France in 1429, and a man of distinguished valour, but of a heart and mind depraved to an incredible degree. Some historians however allege that reasons of state precipitated, if they did not occasion his downfall, and that duke Francis was too well pleased with the opportunity of getting rid of a dangerous enemy, to examine very carefully into the truth of the articles preferred against him. He suffered at Nantes on the 23rd of December, 1440, the duke himself attending at his execution. By his wife Catherine de Thouars, he left but one daughter Mary, who married, first, the admiral de Coetivy, secondly the marshal de Lohèac. CHAPTER CCXLIX.-PIERRE DE REGNAULT, BASTARD-BROTHER TO LA HIRE, GOES ON A FORAGING PARTY TO THE COUNTRY ROUND ABBEVILLE. ABOUT this period, Pierre de Regnault, bastard-brother to La Hire, who resided in the castle of Mailly, near to Beauvais, which he had repaired, set out with about eight-score combatants, as well horse as foot, to forage the country round Abbeville. He took the castle of Yancourt*, and the lord within it, whence he carried away everything that was portable. Intelligence of this was soon carried to Abbeville, wherein were the lord d'Auxi, Guillaume de Thiembrone, Philip de Vaucourtt, Guy Gourlet, and other captains, who no sooner heard it than they armed themselves and their men, and sallied out horse and foot, to the amount of more than three hundred, with the intent of overtaking the marauders and recovering the plunder they had made from the castle of Yancourt. Pierre de Regnault, having had notice of this assembly, sent to the lord d'Auxi to excuse himself for what he had done, saying, it was only provisions he was seeking, but this excuse was not admitted. Great discord now arose on the meeting of the two parties,—but Pierre de Regnault, observing that most of those who had come from Abbeville were only common men, charged them furiously; and breaking through them with little resistance, he turned on their rear, and, with great slaughter, totally defeated them. Twenty or thirty were killed on the spot, and nine were drowned in attempting to cross the Somme,-in which last number was Guy de Gourlay,-and upward of sixty were made prisoners; the principal of whom were, sir John de Fay, knight of Rhodes, sir Philip de Jaucourt, and sir William de Thiembrone. After this defeat, Pierre de Regnault returned with his prisoners and booty, unmolested, to his castle of Mailly, and ransomed his prisoners as if they had been Englishmen. He made during this year frequent excursions on the territories of the duke of Burgundy, who was very much displeased thereat, and in consequence sent information thereof to king Charles, and complained that those of his party were daily robbing and pillaging his country and subjects, and committing such devastations as were not to be endured, considering that peace had been concluded between them. The king made answer, that he was equally vexed at such misconduct, and offered many excuses; adding, that he would provide as speedy a remedy for it as he could, but that he should be no way displeased at the duke if he could arrest any of these marauders and put them to death, or punish them by any other method he might choose. Notwithstanding this, the same inroads and plundering were continued, to the ruin of the poorer ranks of people. At the same time, La Hire's companions, who resided in the castle of Bonne, near Laon, began to make inroads on Hainault, the Cambresis, and other places dependent on the lord de St. Pol, who, dissatisfied with their proceedings, placed a strong garrison in the town of Marle§ to oppose them. This garrison one day marched toward Rheims,-and, to secure a passage over the river, took the fort of Bac-a-Bery ||, of no great value, but possessed by La Hire's men. They left about thirty combatants to guard it, under the command of a captain; but within a few days the men of La Hire returned, having been joined by some from the garrisons in the Valois, who had been lately beaten by sir John de Luxembourg, amounting in the whole to full three hundred fighting men. They instantly attacked the fort, which was soon won, and all within it put to the sword or forced into the river and drowned,-after which, the French left a stronger garrison in the fort. Within sixteen days, the vassals of the count de St. Pol, and of his uncle sir John de Luxembourg, again assembled in great numbers with the intent of attacking this garrison in the fort of Bac-a-Bery; but they, having had notice of their coming, abandoned the place before they arrived. The fort was now demolished and razed to the ground. Thus were the countries about Rheims, Laon, and other parts, sorely oppressed by the inroads of both parties; and this was done by one side, as it has been said, because sir John de Luxembourg would not take the oaths of allegiance to king Charles, and had kept all his garrisons on a war establishment to prevent them being insulted. Yancourt,-in Picardy, near Peronne. VOL. II. § Marle, a town in Picardy, five leagues from Laon. Bac-a-Berry. Q. Berru? a village in Champagne diocese of Rheims. II CHAPTER CCL.-AMBASSADORS FROM FRANCE, ENGLAND, AND BURGUNDY, MEET AT CALAIS TO TREAT OF A GENERAL PEACE. In these days, several ambassadors of note were sent by king Charles to St. Omer to treat of a peace with the English, who were to come to that town according to their promise of last year. The principal of these were the archbishop of Rheims and of Narbonne, and the count de Dunois, bastard of Orleans. On their arrival at St. Omer they were grandly feasted by the duke of Burgundy, and soon after heard that the duke of Orleans was come to Calais, being brought thither by the English; on which they sent to Calais to know at what place it would be agreeable to them to hold their convention. The answer returned was, that the English would not quit Calais with the duke of Orleans, but that, if the French ambassadors would come thither, they would be ready to enter upon the business. Having considered the proposal, the archbishop of Rheims, the count de Dunois, and others, went thither under passports, together with the lord de Crevecœur, and the envoys from the duke of Burgundy. On their arrival at Calais, the count de Dunois was conducted to the duke of Orleans his brother, who received him with much joy, and most courteously thanked him for the attentions he had paid to his property during the time of his imprisonment. After this, the parties met on business several times, and divers proposals were made respecting the deliverance of the duke of Orleans, and for a general peace; but as they could not agree as to several articles, they appointed another meeting, before which each was to inform his sovereign of the grounds they had laid for a negotiation to establish peace between the two kingdoms. The French and Burgundians returned to St. Omer, and, shortly after, the duke of Orleans was carried back to England. CHAPTER CCLI.-THE BARROIS AND LORRAINERS OVERRUN THE COUNTY OF VAUDEMONT, WHERE THEY COMMIT GREAT WASTE AND DESTRUCTION. WHILE these things were passing, the Barrois and Lorrainers collected a large force, together with some Frenchmen, and marched for the county of Vaudemont, where they carried destruction with fire and sword, committing sacrilege on many churches and doing inestimable mischiefs. The count de Vaudemont, to avenge himself, not having sufficient forces of his own, sent to demand succour from the duke of Burgundy, and from his son-inlaw the lord de Croy, and to beg of them not to delay sending him reinforcements of In consequence, sir John de Croy was despatched to him, accompanied by sir Simon de Lalain, the lords de Launoy and de Maingoual, nephews to the lord de Croy *, sir John bastard de Reuly†, sir Anthony de Wissoch, and other nobles, with a body of one thousand combatants, who fixed their rendezvous at Aubanton ‡, and thence marched toward the duchy of Bar, for the Barrois had evacuated the county of Vaudemont. They continued advancing until they came before the town of Bar-le-Duc§, in which were the marquis du Pont, son to the king of Sicily, duke of Bar, and others of the nobility of that country. They summoned the marquis to come out and give them battle, for that they were ready and anxious to meet him in the field. The marquis, by advice of his council, made answer, that he would not combat them at their request and pleasure; but he had that intention in proper time and place, when he should judge most fitting. The Burgundians, on hearing this answer, departed thence for a large village, called Longueville||, where they were met by the count de Vaudemont with all the forces he could muster. On the morrow, they advanced farther into the duchy of Bar, destroying everything with fire and sword; and thence into Lorraine, where they despoiled all that was not secured in * John I. lord of Launoy (a noble and ancient house in Flanders) married Jane daughter of John, and sister of Anthony, lords de Croy, by whom she had the two sons here mentioned, viz., John II. lord of Launoy, knight of the Golden Fleece, who died in 1492; secondly, Anthony lord of Maingoval, who was ancestor-to the famous Charles de Launoy, prince of Salmone and count of Asti, one of Charles the Fifth's greatest generals. Reuly. Rely.-DU CANGE. Q. Renti? Aubanton,- -a town in Picardy, near Vervins, diocese of Laon. § Bar-le-Duc,-a strong town of Lorraine, on the confines of Champagne. Longueville,-three leagues north from Faquemont. the fortified towns and castles; and what was worse, they took by force some churches and committed divers sacrileges. In truth, the count de Vaudemont was so determined on his revenge that he would have continued this cruel treatment throughout the duchies of Lorraine and Bar, had not the lords who had come to his aid been dissatisfied with it. He could not keep them longer with him, nor indeed his own men; so that after they had been employed on this business for the space of twenty-six days, without meeting with any force to combat, they returned whence they had come, but by another road, after having suffered greatly from want of provision for themselves and their horses. Such was the mode in which war was carried on between these two great lords, to the ruin and destruction of the poorer people. CHAPTER CCLII.-THE DUKE OF ORLEANS OBTAINS HIS LIBERTY BY MEANS OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, AND MARRIES THE LADY OF CLEVES, NIECE TO THE SAID DUKE*. SEVERAL embassies, as you have seen, took place between the kings of France and of England, and the duke of Burgundy, to endeavour to bring about a general peace, and also to obtain the deliverance of the duke of Orleans from his confinement in England. They had, however, been attended with little success, for the English held out no hopes of peace, but to the prejudice and loss of the king of France and his realm. volume of Poems written by the Duke during his imprisonment, and preserved in the Brit. Mus. Bib. Reg. 16. F. 2. They would not condescend to treat in earnest but on condition that all the conquests they had made in France should remain freely to them, without any dependence whatever on Charles duke of Orleans had been twice married before, first to Isabel his first-cousin, daughter of Charles VI., and widow of Richard II. king of England, by whom he had a daughter married to John, duke of Alençon ;secondly, to Bona the daughter of Bernard constable d'Armagnac, by whom he had no issue. His third wife was Mary, sixth daughter of Adolph duke of Cleves, who died in 1487, who brought him three children, Lewis afterwards king of France, Mary, married to the viscount de Narbonne, and Anne abbess of Fontevrault. the crown of France, and they particularly insisted on holding the duchies of Guienne and Normandy on these terms. This had prevented the conclusion of a general peace, for neither the king of France nor his council would submit to them. In regard to the duke of Orleans, the English (as I heard from one who pretended to be acquainted with the secrets of their government) were not desirous that he should gain his liberty; for many persons about the court received very large sums to defray his expenses, and this was the cause why he had been so long detained prisoner. In truth, had the king of France, or those who had the management of the duke of Orleans' estates, refused to send over any more money, it is to be supposed that his deliverance would have been sooner effected. Nevertheless, I believe that everything was done honourably, and with good intentions. While these negotiations were pending, and afterward, the duke of Burgundy had a great desire to aid the duke of Orleans in his deliverance, as well from their near connexion by blood, as that, on his return to France, they might remain good friends, forgetting all former feuds that had existed between their houses. In consequence, he caused frequent overtures to be made to the duke of Orleans, and to those who governed him, to learn in what manner he could best assist him for the accomplishment of this purpose; and at the same time, he caused him to be sounded, whether he would be willing to marry his niece, a daughter of the duchess of Cleves his sister, then with him; and also, in case of his deliverance, if he would agree to ally himself with the duke of Burgundy, without taking any measures in times to come against him or his family, in consequence of the former quarrels between their fathers, against their mutual enemies, the king of France and the dauphin always excepted. The duke of Orleans, considering the long imprisonment he had suffered and might still undergo, readily assented to these propositions. He gave his promise, on the word of a prince, that if the duke of Burgundy should obtain his liberty, he would instantly espouse his niece, the lady of Cleves, and satisfy the duke completely as to his other proposals. In consequence of this engagement, measures were taken in earnest, for the ransom of the duke of Orleans, with the king of England and his council; when after many delays, it was agreed to by the king of England, on condition that the duke of Burgundy would give security, under his seal, for the due payment of his ransom. * By the conclusion of this treaty, the duke of Orleans obtained his full liberty and after he had solemnly promised to employ himself earnestly to bring about a general peace, and taken his leave of the king of England and some of the nobility, he set out from London, and arrived at Calais, furnished with ample passports, and thence was conducted to Gravelines, escorted by the lord de Cornewall and sir Robert de Roix †, and other gentlemen. The duchess of Burgundy, attended by many great lords and gentlemen, came out of Gravelines to meet him; and both expressed much pleasure on the occasion,-the duke of Orleans for his liberty, and the duchess for his arrival. Within a few days, the duke of Burgundy came thither to see him, when, as before, great joy was testified on each side, and many and frequent embracings took place: indeed their pleasure was so great, on this meeting, that neither could for some time utter a word. The duke of Orleans broke silence first, and said, "On my faith, fair brother and consin, I ought to love you more than all the princes on earth, and my fair cousin the duchess also; for had it not been for you and her, I should have remained for ever in the power of my adversaries,—and I have never found a better friend than you." The duke of Burgundy replied, that the not having done it sooner had weighed much on his mind,-for that he had for a considerable time been desirous of exerting himself for his deliverance. Such was the conversation, often renewed, between these two princes, which rejoiced all that heard it ; and every one was glad of the return of the duke of Orleans, who had been a prisoner in England since the Friday before All-saints day, in the year of grace 1415, until the month of November in the year 1440. The ambassadors from the king of France were present at this meeting; the principal of whom were, the archbishop of Rheims, lord chancellor of France, the archbishop of Narbonne, the count de Dunois, bastard of Orleans, and some others,-to each of whom, in his turn, the duke of Orleans gave a most gracious reception, but particularly to his brother. *Lord de Cornewall.-Sir John de Cornewall, summoned to Parliament 11 Henry VI. |