called sir John Vbouailles; and the Scots then returned unmolested home. The account of these battles was given to the writer of the Chronicles of St. Denis, at that abbey, by three Scots priests of the diocese of Dunblaine, of which church one was a canon, and affirmed it for true before the holy shrine of St. Denis, in the manner above related, and in the presence of the monks of that abbey. On the 12th of August the king of France came to Vendôme, grandly accompanied by men-at-arms, as well lords, knights and esquires, as others. He remained there until the 18th; and during this time the lord de Lohéac, marshal of Brittany, sir Geoffry de Couren*, and Joachim Rohault and others, attacked the town of St. Jacques de Beuvron with great vigour, from nine in the morning until night, and, with heavy and small artillery, kept up a continual fire on the walls. It was, however, gallantly defended; but on the morrow the English capitulated for its surrender, on being allowed to march away in safety with their effects. On the 22d of the said month the king of France entered Chartres; and on the next day the garrison of the tower of Verneuil surrendered themselves prisoners. They were but thirty, of whom the greater part were renegado French,-several having escaped a little before, carrying off all their valuables, owing to the negligence of those who had the guard during the night. Sir Florent was very much blamed for this, as the king had sent him orders, by one of his heralds, to be very attentive in guarding the place. The king, on the departure of the principal leaders, made matters easy to those who had remained, from the consideration that the place was impregnable but from want of provisions; and he concluded a treaty with the lords de Presigny and de Baugey, for their paying a moderate ransom on delivering up the tower to the king. At this time, or a little after, Joachim de Rohault, with these lords who had gained St. Jacques de Beuvron, took, after an attack of ten hours, the town of Mortaint. The count de Dunois, with the count de St. Pol and those who had been at the capture of Pont Audemer, marched to lay siege to the city of Lisieux; but when those within the city observed the great force brought against it, and which it was impossible for them to resist.fearing also, that, should it be taken by storm, they would lose everything, they held several conferences together, and, by the advice of their bishop, offered to surrender the place to the king of France. The bishop managed so honourably and ably that not the smallest damage was done to any individual, but each peaceably enjoyed his property as before the surrender. Several small places round Lisieux surrendered to the count de Dunois at the same time. CHAPTER XV.—THE KING OF FRANCE SUMMONS MANTES TO SURRENDER, WHICH IT DOES, AND IS TAKEN POSSESSION OF, IN THE NAME OF THE KING, BY THE COUNT DE DUNOIS, HIS LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. On the 26th of this same month of August, and on the morrow of the feast of St. Louis, the king left Chartres with a noble company, and fixed his quarters at Châteauneuf-enTimerais, and, the same day, sent his heralds to summon the garrison of Mantes, which town was held and occupied against his will. While the heralds were on their embassy, the counts de Dunois and St. Pol arrived with five or six hundred combatants, the same day, before the town of Mantes, and summoned the inhabitants to return to their obedience to the king of France. They at first refused, from fear of the garrison, although in their hearts they were well inclined to obey the summons; and the lieutenant-general ordered preparations for an immediate attack. The inhabitants noticed this, but were fearful that the English garrison, amounting to two hundred and sixty men, under the command of sir Thomas Hos§, knight, and chancellor for the king of England in these parts, would make a defence. He * De Couren. Couvren. MS. DU CANGE. Mortain. a town in Normandy, on the river Lances, on the borders of Maine. Châteauneuf-en-Timerais, a town in Perche, elec tion of Verneuil. § Q. Hoo? Sir Thomas Hoo, knight, in 1436 suppressed a rebellion in the Pays de Caux. In 1442, he obtained a grant of revenue from the crown in consideration of his great services in war. In 1448, he was created lord Hoo and Hastings, and knight of the Garter, and was summoned to Parliament from 26 H. 6, to 31 H. 6 inclusive. Thomas, his only son, died in his lifetime without issue. was indeed, not in the town; but his lieutenant, Thomas de St. Barbe, bailiff of the place, was present, and determined on resistance as long as he could. The inhabitants, therefore, foreseeing the ruin of their town, caused the bailiff to be informed, that if he would not enter into a capitulation for the surrender of the place, they should certainly do so. This they would not have dared to say, if they had not felt themselves the strongest; and the better to force the English to terms, they seized the tower and gate called the Port-au-Saint, with the whole of that quarter, and then went in a body to the lieutenant-general, and concluded with him a treaty for the surrender of their town. The English were desirous of making resistance, and would have opposed the French, had not this tower and its defences been occupied by the townsmen. A copy of the capitulation was sent them, about four o'clock in the afternoon, by a herald, accompanied by fifty menat-arms, who were received by the inhabitants, and posted in this tower, to guard them against the English, should there be occasion. Although the lieutenant-governor had accepted the terms for himself and his companions the bailiffs, the count de Dunois remained with his army in order of battle before the walls from morning to evening, when he entered the place with a strong detachment, to guard the inhabitants from pillage and other mischiefs, which men-at-arms were accustomed to do on similar occasions, and also to confirm the townsmen in their loyalty and obedience towards the king. CHAPTER XVI.-THE KING OF FRANCE MAKES HIS ENTRY INTO VERNEUIL. THE RECEPTION ARE TAKEN IN IT.-VERNON SURRENDERS TO THE KING. On the 27th of August in this year, the king of France made his entry into Verneuil with much pomp, and grandly attended. He was received there as magnificently as possible; for the churchmen and chief inhabitants came out in procession to meet him, dressed in their best clothes and hoods. The populace issued out also in crowds to welcome his arrival: they made bonfires, and strewed the streets with flowers in the best manner they could, singing carols day and night. The king remained some time in Verneuil, and thither came the bishops of Lisieux and Auxerre to do him homage. During this interval, the seneschal of Poitou formed a plan to gain the castle of Loigny, held by an esquire of Normandy, called the lord de Sainte Marie, as governor for sir Francis de Surienne, called the Arragonian, the owner of this castle, and who had married sir Francis's daughter. Although the seneschal did not come before the place personally, he had practised with the governor (who had under his command two hundred combatants quartered in the lower court); so that when the French appeared, they were admitted into the dungeon, without the knowledge of the men-at-arms sent by sir Francis for its defence, or of his lady, who was in the castle. The English, when they saw the French, thought to defend themselves; but finding they were too weak in numbers, they desisted, and were with their horses in the lower court, and all their effects, seized in the name of the king of France, except the lady of sir Francis, who departed with her baggage, much enraged at the treachery of her son-in-law. The lord de Sainte Marie was re-appointed to the government of the castle, on the terms he had held it before. On the same day, the captain of Robert de Flocques, bailiff of Evreux, was sent with a certain number of men-at-arms to summon the garrison and inhabitants of Vernon to submit themselves to the king of France, by sending to him the keys of the town. The governor, John Ormond, an esquire, son to the earl of Ormond in Ireland, replied, that he would willingly do so,—and, by way of derision and mockery, sent for all the old keys he could from the locksmiths in the town, and presented them to the pursuivant who had brought the summons; but he made answer, that they were too old to be of use to such a place, and departed, to make his report of what had passed to the count de Dunois, who was not far off with the Loigny, a village in Beauce. main army. On the morrow morning, the 28th, came the lieutenant-general, attended by the counts de St. Pol and d'Eu, the lord seneschal of Poitou, and several other captains, with a large body of franc-archers, (an institution lately established in France) attacked, and instantly gained possession of a small island, on which they raised a battery of cannon, although they did not fire them, but some sharp skirinishings took place between the archers; and the English lost the bridge, when their governor was pierced through both his cheeks with an arrow, to their great dismay. Seeing, therefore, the great force that was brought against them, and that numbers of towns and castles had of late surrendered, they, in conjunction with the inhabitants, demanded from the count de Dunois passports for four or six persons to hold a parley respecting the summons that had been sent them. This was agreed to; and the following persons were selected by the governor and inhabitants to wait on the count de Dunois, namely, John Abaron, an Englishman, captain of the troops in the town, master Guillaume d'Aguenet, a most determined partisan of the English, Regnault de Bordeaux and others, and d'Aguenet was appointed spokesman. Having made the usual salutations to the lieutenant-general, he thus addressed him: "My lord, you have summoned us to surrender the town of Vernon to the king your lord: tell us on what grounds you have made this demand." The count de Dunois, with coolness and dignity becoming the representative of a king, answered most eloquently, (for he was one of the most eloquent men in all France) that the said town of Vernon, and its dependencies, belonged to the king his lord by rightful inheritance; that it had been taken from him more by violence than otherwise, with great part of his kingdom, during the life of the late king his father; and he then recited, in a style that would have done credit to a doctor, a history of the war between the kings of France and England, and the innumerable evils that had resulted from it that the king of France, moved by his great charity, had consented to certain truces, in the hope that, during their continuance, means might be found to establish a permanent peace; but that the English had, through their disorderly love of conquest, in the interval, gained by force the town of Fougeres from the duke of Brittany, a relative and subject of the king, and especially named in the said truces. He then related all the conferences that had taken place on the occasion, and their result, which have been already mentioned. "The king, therefore, having maturely considered this conduct with his council, captains and allies, and witnessing the infidelity of the English, has raised a sufficient army to regain all that legally belongs to him, and has appointed me his lieutenant-general to carry his intentions into execution: I therefore have summoned, and do now summon, you to restore this town to its rightful lord, to avoid the perils you will run into from your rebellion and disobedience, and that you may not attribute the evils that will ensue from your refusal to your lawful lord and mine, whose benign grace is willing to receive you again as his subjects." At the close of this speech, the English and the other deputies withdrew to consult how they should act. In the discussion, great disputes arose; for the French, considering king Charles as their lawful king, and feeling that what the lieutenant had said was founded in reason, wanted to surrender, but the English would not. After much altercation, the townsmen declared that they would surrender, whether the English would or no, if a fair treaty were offered for the tower, in which the English should be included if they were agreeable to it. The English, perceiving they could not resist the will of the inhabitants, so plainly discovered, demanded letters under the town-seal, declaratory that the surrender was agreed to without their consent, which were given them. The deputies returned to the count de Dunois, who concluded a treaty with the assent of the lords in his company, by which the town and castle of Vernon were surrendered,—in which were twelve score English, under the command of the son of the earl of Ormond. They marched away in safety with their baggage, and the inhabitants remained peaceably in the town, without losing an article of their effects. The king afterwards gave this town and castle to the count de Dunois, for the great services he had rendered him, and in the expectation that he would do more in conquering Normandy, or wherever else he might be employed. *John Abaron. Q. CHAPTER XVII.—THE KING OF FRANCE COMES TO THE TOWN OF EVREUX, WHERE HE IS HANDSOMELY RECEIVED, AND GOES THENCE TO LOUVIERS.-THE CASTLE OF ANJOU SUBMITS TO THE KING.-GOURNAY SURRENDERS ALSO.-JOHN HOWEL YIELDS UP THE CASTLE OF LA ROCHE-GUYON TO ITS LORD, AND TURNS TO THE FRENCH. ABOUT the end of August, the king departed from Verneuil, and made his entry into the city of Evreux with great pomp. He was sumptuously received by the inhabitants, who went out in procession to meet him, made bonfires, sang carols, and hung all the streets with tapestry through which he passed. He slept one night only in Evreux, and on the morrow went to Louviers, where he was equally well received. He was accompanied by the count du Maine, brother to the king of Sicily and the queen of France, the count de Clermont, eldest son to the duke of Bourbon, the viscount de Lomagne, eldest son to the count d'Armagnac, the count de Castres, son to the count de la Marche, the youngest son of the house of Albreth, John lord of Lorraine, many other great lords and barons, and knights and esquires without number. The king had two hundred lances for his body-guard, and his usual archers, without including four armies he had in the field,-namely, the army of the duke of Brittany, another under the command of the count de Dunois lieutenant-general, the army of the counts d'Eu and de St. Pol, and that of the duke d'Alençon. The king was very active in supplying these armies with everything they might want, as well with money as bombards, artillery, and all kinds of stores; and couriers were constantly passing and repassing between him and them, to convey orders and intelligence. During this time, William de Chance, governor of Pontoise, marched a body of men before the castle of Anjou, and summoned Portugal, the governor, to surrender it to the king of France. Portugal, hearing how the whole country, with its towns and castles, was submitting daily to king Charles, and knowing the impossibility of any effectual resistance, capitulated for its surrender,-when de Chance was appointed, by the king of France, the governor. Sir Louis de Luxembourg, count de St. Pol, marched, on a Sunday, from Vernon, to lay siege to Gournay. On his march he was met by some of the townsmen, who came to make an offer to yield up the place, which was under the guard of William Harper, lieutenant to William Coram, an Englishman. The lieutenant, fearful of the event of a siege, and knowing also how the tide of war was turned,—and that all the towns and castles were surrendering to the French,—having also in mind that prudent maxim, "Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum," went out with one of the inhabitants, called Raoullet Pailleavoine, and some others, to the count de St. Pol, on his arrival before the place, and confirmed the treaty that had been made at Longueville. It was articled that the town and castle should be surrendered to the count de St. Pol, notwithstanding that the lord de Moy and William de Chance, ignorant of the count's enterprise, had attempted to take it by storm, and had opened batteries against its walls. The moment they were informed of the count's intentions, they abandoned their enterprise, and the king of France gave it to the count, with all its dependencies, for his life. He appointed, therefore, as governor of the castle and town, sir George de Croix, lord of Blainsel. While this treaty was carrying on, the count d'Eu remained at Andeli-sur-Seine*, and thence went to quarter himself and his forces at Pont Saint Pierre†, where he staid three days, when he crossed the Seine to besiege Harcourt. On Monday, the 29th of August, all the lords who had been at the surrender of Vernon joined the king at Louviers, to arrange their plans for further conquests. During their assembly, the lord de Jalognes, marshal of France, and the lord of Roche-Guyon, marched a large body of men-at-arms to conquer the castle of La Roche-Guyon§. To effect this, they detached about thirty men by water, well supplied with cannon and ammunition, who approached the place as if intending to besiege * Andeli-sur-Seine,-three leagues from Mantes. + Pont St. Pierre,-four leagues from Andeli. Harcourt, teu leagues from Rouen, near Brionne. La Roche-Guyon,—a market-town in Normandy, three leagues from Mantes. The lord of Roche-Guyon mentioned above was Guy VII., son of Guy VI., who was killed at Azincourt, and of Perette de la Riviere. He died in 1400, leaving issue one daughter only, who by marriage conveyed Roche-Guyon to the house of Silli. it, making as much noise as though they had been two hundred, and remained before it for three days, constantly skirmishing with the garrison; but although this garrison did not consist of more than sixteen men, the French gained no advantage over them. On Thursday the 3rd of September, the lords de Jalognes and de la Roche-Guyon appeared before it with their forces; and when John Howel, the English governor, saw so numerous a body that it would be vain for him to oppose it, at the same time fearing the event of a siege, and considering the right the king had to reconquer his kingdom, entered into a treaty with these lords conditionally to surrender the castle, unless he should be reiieved by the king of England, or his lieutenant in Normandy, within fifteen days; and that he and his men should have free liberty to march away with their baggage whither they pleased. Intelligence of this was sent to the duke of Somerset, lieutenant of Normandy, in Rouen, who tampered with the messenger to introduce four-and-twenty English into the castle, and put Howel to death. On his return, he attempted to gain over some of the garrison to his purpose, of admitting the twenty-four Englishmen to execute his damnable design; but knowledge of this plan coming secretly to the ears of Howel, he sent in haste for the lord de la Roche-Guyon, who had withdrawn himself and his forces until the fifteenth day should arrive, to whom he surrendered the place. The garrison marched away, under passports, with their effects; but Howel was so indignant at the plot formed against his life that he became a Frenchman, and took the oaths of allegiance, on condition that he should enjoy the landed property of his wife, who was a native of France,—and the lord de la Roche-Guyon continued him in the government of his castle. CHAPTER XVIII.-THE COUNTS OF EU AND OF ST. POL TAKE BY STORM THE NEW CASTLE OF NICORPS*.-THE CASTLE SURRENDERS ON TERMS. THE COUNT DE DUNOIS GAINS THE CASTLE OF HARCOURT. ABOUT the middle of September it was resolved, in the councils held at Louviers, that, considering the great body of French chivalry, it would be necessary to form two divisions: the one under the command of Charles d'Artois count of Eu, Louis de Luxembourg count of St. Pol, and other captains, having with them from three to four thousand combatants, were ordered to besiege the new castle of Nicorps, which was held by the captain, Adam Illetont, an Englishman. The French army came before it on Tuesday the 12th day of September, and took the town by storm on the following Thursday. The castle was then besieged,—and surrendered on capitulation fifteen days afterward. The other division was under the command of the count de Dunois, lieutenant-general, having with him the counts de Clermont and de Nevers, with four thousand veteran soldiers. On leaving Louviers, they marched to lay siege to the castle of Chambrais ‡ on the 18th of September, of which an Englishman, called William Crinton §, was governor, and had under him two hundred men for its defence. After seven days' siege it surrendered on capitulation with the count de Clermont, and thus was it restored to the obedience of the king of France. Without losing time, the lieutenant-general marched his army before the castle of Harcourt, which is handsome and strong. It was governed by sir Richard Frongueval ||, an Englishman, having under him about eight score of his countrymen. The siege lasted about fifteen days, with daily skirmishes with the garrison. Great advances were made, in which a very valiant man-at-arms from the garrison of Louviers was killed by a cannonshot, and an Englishman lost his life by the shot of a culverine, on the portal of the lower court. A mutiny now took place in the garrison, when the governor was disgraced, and hung by his feet under the gate,-when the French, taking advantage of it, played their cannon so well that they greatly damaged the walls of the lower court. The English, § W. Crinton. Q. Clinton ? Sir Richard Frongueval. Q. Freschevill? Sir Ralph Freschevill, who served under John of Gaunt in the wars of Edward III., left descendants. Nicorps, a village in Normandy, diocese and election of Coutances. + Adam Illeton. Q. Elton or Hilson ? Chambrais, a market-town in Normandy, thirteen leagues from Evreux, |