[1] Lectures on Modern History, pp. 117-119.
[2] Stephen’s Lectures on the History of France, vol ii., pp. 221-223.
[3] Angelo Cato, born at Sopino, in the diocese of Benevento, was “a
person of exemplary life, great learning, extreme modesty, and wonderful
knowledge of mathematics.” In his youth, he entered the service of the
princes of Anjou; but, being sent by them on a mission to the Duke of
Burgundy, he transferred his allegiance to that prince, at whose court
he began his life-long friendship with Commines. Cato was a skilful
astrologer, and predicted to Charles the Bold that he would lose the
battles of Granson and Morat. After the fulfilment of his predictions,
he took leave of the duke, and was immediately taken into the service
of Louis XI., who appointed him his physician and almoner, and made him
Archbishop of Vienne in 1482.
[4] Louis XI., son of Charles VII. and Mary of Anjou, was born on the 3rd
of July, 1423; consecrated and crowned on the 15th of August, 1461; he
was married, first, to Margaret of Scotland, and, secondly, to Charlotte
of Savoy; and he died on the 30th of August, 1483.
[5] Imbert de Batornay, knight, Count du Bouchage, and Lord of Ornaciuex,
was one of the councillors and chamberlains of Louis XI. He died on the
12th of May, 1523.
[6] Commines died in 1511, at the age of sixty-four; so that he was about
seventeen years old when he entered the service of the Duke of Burgundy.
[7] Charles, Count of Charolois, and afterwards Duke of Burgundy, was the
son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. He was born on the 10th
of November, 1433, and married 1. Catherine, the daughter of King Charles
VII. of France; 2. Isabella of Bourbon; and 3. Margaret of York, sister
of Edward IV., King of England. He was killed at the battle of Nancy, on
the 5th of January, 1477.
[8] Charles of Artois, Count d’Eu, was the son of Philip of Artois and
Mary of Berry. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Agincourt, and
remained for twenty-three years in captivity in England. He died on the
25th of July, 1472, at about seventy-eight years of age.
[9] Pierre de Morvilliers, knight, Lord of Clary, was the son of Philip
de Morvilliers and Jeanne du Drac. Though created Chancellor of France on
the 3rd of September, 1461, he did not begin to discharge the duties of
his office until November, 1465. He died on the 15th of December, 1476.
[10] Antoine du Bec Crespin was appointed Bishop of Laon on the 3rd of
March, 1449, and translated to the Archbishopric of Narbonne on the 18th
of January, 1460. He died at Rouen on the 15th of October, 1472.
[11] According to documents discovered by Mdlle. Dupont, the Seigneur de
Rambures was also a member of this embassy.
[12] Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, son of John the Fearless and
Margaret of Bavaria, was born on the 30th of June, 1396. He married 1.
Michelle, daughter of Charles VII. of France; 2. Bona of Artois; and 3.
Isabella of Portugal. He died on the 15th of June, 1467.
[13] This took place on the 6th of November, 1464.
[14] The natural son of Antony, Lord of Rubempré, in Picardy.
[15] Oliver de la Marche, councillor, chamberlain, and captain of the
guard of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and chief steward of the household of
the Archduke of Austria, was the son of Philip de la Marche and Jeanne
Bouton. He was born in 1426, married Isabeau Machefrin, and made his
will at Brussels, on the 8th of October, 1501. He is the author of some
valuable memoirs relating to the times in which he lived, and also of
several poetical works.
[16] Isabella, daughter of John I., King of Portugal, and Philippa of
Lancaster, married the Duke of Burgundy on the 10th of January, 1430.
She died on the 17th of December, 1472, and was buried in the Carthusian
convent of Gosnay-les-Béthunes.
[17] Francis, son of Richard, Count d’Estampes, and Margaret of Orleans,
succeeded his uncle Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, in 1458. He married, 1.
Margaret of Bretagne, and 2. Margaret de Foix. He died on the 9th of
September, 1488.
[18] The Count of Charolois paid Louis XI. a visit at Tours in 1461. He
arrived there on the 22nd of October, and left the king on the 11th of
December following.
[19] Tanneguy du Chastel, Viscount de la Bellière, filled the office
of Grand Ecuyer of France until the death of Charles VII., on the 21st
of July, 1461; upon which he withdrew to the Duke of Bretagne, who had
him appointed Governor of Roussillon, in 1472. He afterwards entered
the service of Louis XI. He was the son of Oliver, Seigneur du Chastel,
and Jeanne de Ploeuc; he married Jeanne de Raguenal, Viscountess de la
Bellière, in 1462; and he died in consequence of a wound received at the
siege of Bouchain in 1477.
[20] Chastellain relates that when the Count of Charolois visited Louis
XI. at Tours, “the king, after having treated him handsomely, appointed
and constituted him Governor of Normandy, with a pension of thirty-six
thousand francs.”
[21] The duke’s answer is given in full by Monstrelet, vol. ii. pp.
303-304 (Bohn’s edition.)
[22] Charles VII., King of France, son of Charles VI. and Isabel of
Bavaria, was born on the 22nd of February, 1402, married Mary of Anjou in
1422, and died on the 22nd of July, 1461.
[23] The treaty of Arras was concluded on the 21st of September, 1435. It
is given in full in Monstrelet, vol. ii. pp. 9-17.
[24] The sum was paid in two instalments; the first receipt of Philip the
Good is dated at Hesdin, on the 12th of September, 1463, and the second
on the 8th of October following.
[25] Antony, Lord of Croy, Count of Porcean, first chamberlain to Philip
the Good, and Knight of the Golden Fleece, became lord steward to Louis
XI., on the accession of that prince to the throne. He was the son of
John of Croy and Margaret of Craon; and he died in 1475.
[26] John of Croy, Lord of La Tour-sur-Marne, Count of Chimay, Knight
of the Golden Fleece, and High Bailiff of Hainault, married Marie de
Lallain, Lady of Quiévrain, and died at Valenciennes in 1472.
[27] John II., Duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, Count of Clermont, peer,
constable, and chamberlain of France, was the son of Charles I., Duke of
Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy; he married Jeanne, daughter of Charles
VII. of France, and died on the 1st of April, 1488. He arrived at Lisle
on the 14th of October, 1464.
[28] Agnes of Burgundy, married on the 17th of September, 1425, to
Charles I., Duke of Bourbon. She became a widow on the 4th of December,
1456, and died on the 1st of December, 1476.
[29] These princesses were, 1. Catherine, who married Adolphus of Egmont,
Duke of Guelders, on the 18th of December, 1463; 2. Margaret, who married
Philip II., Duke of Savoy, on the 6th of April, 1472. The third was
probably Isabella, Countess of Charolois. The son was John, Duke of
Bourbon, named above.
[30] Louis de Luxembourg, Count of St. Paul, was created Constable of
France on the 5th of October, 1465, and took the oaths on the 12th of the
same month. He was the son of Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of Couversan,
and Margaret de Baux. He married, 1. Jeanne de Bar, on the 16th of July,
1435; and 2. Mary of Savoy, on the 1st of August, 1466. He was beheaded
on the 19th of December, 1475.
[31] Thibault IX., Lord of Neufchâtel and Blamont, and Marshal of
Burgundy, was the son of Thibault, Lord of Neufchâtel, and Agnes de
Montbéliard. In reward for his services, the king bestowed the town of
Espinal upon him in 1463. He died about 1470.
[32] John, Bastard of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambray in 1440, was a natural
son of John, Duke of Burgundy, and Agnes de Croy. He died in 1479.
[33] The manifesto of the Count of Charolois against the Lords of Croy
will be found in M. Gachard’s _Collection de Documents Inédits_, vol. i.
p. 132. It is dated Brussels, March 12th, 1464, (O. S.).
[34] Philip of Croy, son of Antony, Lord of Croy, and Margaret of
Lorraine, was first Hereditary Chamberlain of Brabant. Having joined the
Duke of Burgundy, who created him a Knight of the Golden Fleece, his
estates were confiscated by Louis XI. in 1476. He married Jacqueline de
Luxembourg, daughter of the Count of St. Paul, in 1455; and he died in
1511.
[35] Philip of Croy, Count of Chimay, Baron of Quiévrain, and Knight of
the Golden Fleece, was son of John of Croy, Lord of La Tour-sur-Marne,
and Mary de Lalain, Lady of Quiévrain. He married Walpurge de Mœurs; and
died on the 8th of September, 1482. Du Clercq says, “He was reputed to be
a very wise young man, and a great _historian_.”
[36] According to Du Clercq, he threw himself at the duke’s feet,
“thanking him for the favours he had bestowed upon him, and begging him
to think with favour of his services; beseeching him to give him leave
to quit his court, and in great terror telling him that his life was in
danger.... When the duke had heard this, he was greatly troubled, and
forbade him to depart, and very angrily took a truncheon or spear in his
hand, and went out of his chamber, saying that he would see whether his
son would kill his servants.”
[37] Adolphus of Cleves, Lord of Ravestain, was the son of Adolphus, Duke
of Cleves, and Mary of Burgundy, sister of Philip the Good. He married,
1. Beatrice of Portugal; and 2. Anne of Burgundy, bastard daughter of
Duke Philip. He died on the 18th of September, 1493.
[38] John I., Duke of Cleves, was born on the 10th of January, 1419;
married Elizabeth, daughter of John of Burgundy, Count of Nevers; and
died on the 5th of September, 1481.
[39] Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy, surnamed the Great Bastard, Lord of
Beures, in Flanders, Count of La Roche, in Ardennes, and knight of the
orders of the Golden Fleece and of St. Michael, was the son of Philip
the Good and Jeanne de Prelle. He was legitimated in January, 1485. He
died in 1504, at the age of eighty-three. He was for some time first
chamberlain to his half-brother, Duke Charles.
[40] John, surnamed Hennequin, Bastard of St. Paul, Lord of Haut-Bourdin,
Knight of the Golden Fleece, councillor and chamberlain of Charles, Duke
of Burgundy, was the son of Waleran de Luxembourg, Count of St. Paul, and
Agnes de Brie. He was legitimated on the 19th of February, 1436; and he
died on the 28th of July, 1466, at about sixty-six years of age. He was
the second cousin, and not the brother of Louis, Constable of St. Paul.
[41] Henry V., son of Henry IV. and Mary of Hereford, was born in 1388;
crowned on the 9th of April, 1413; married Catherine, daughter of Charles
VI., on the 2nd of June, 1420; and died at Vincennes on the 31st of
August, 1422.
[42] William le Jeune, Lord of Contay, Governor of Arras, was the son of
Robert le Jeune and Jeanne de Beauvoir, Lady of Laignicourt. He married
Margaret de Sully; and died in 1468. He was a councillor, chamberlain,
and chief steward of Duke Philip the Good.
[43] Philip de Lallain, knight, chamberlain of Philip, Duke of Burgundy,
was the son of William de Lallain and Jeanne de Créqui. He was killed in
the battle of Montlhery, on the 16th of July, 1465.
[44] As the treaty of Arras was concluded on the 21st of September, 1435,
peace had lasted only twenty-nine years.
[45] The attack began on the 7th of June, 1465.
[46] Joachim Rouault, Lord of Boismenart, a councillor and chamberlain of
Louis XI., and created Marshal of France in 1461, was the son of John de
Rouault and Jeanne du Bellay. He died on the 7th of August, 1478.
[47] On Friday, the 5th of July: he remained there until the 10th.
[48] John de Rouville, doctor of laws, Vice-chancellor of Bretagne, was
the son of Pierre Gougeul, Lord of Rouville, and Aldonce de Braquemont.
He was still living in February, 1476.
[49] On the 8th of July.
[50] Charles de Melun, knight, Lord of Nantouillet and Normanville, and
Grand Master of France, was the son of Philip de Melun and Jeanne de
Nantouillet. After having for some time enjoyed the favour of King Louis
XI., he fell into disgrace, was accused of treason, and beheaded on
Saturday, the 20th of August, 1468.
[51] Charles of France, Duke of Berry, and brother of Louis XI., was born
on the 28th of December, 1446. He died Duke of Guienne, most probably
on the 28th of May, 1472; having made his will on the 24th. He had
taken advantage of the king’s absence to leave Poitiers, and join the
disaffected nobles in Bretagne.
[52] Claude de Montagu, Lord of Coulches, councillor and chamberlain of
Dukes Philip and Charles of Burgundy, Knight of the Golden Fleece, was
killed in the battle of Bussy in 1470.
[53] Philip, Marquis of Hochberg, Count of Neufchâtel, in Switzerland,
Lord of Rottelin, and Marshal of Burgundy, was the son of Rodolph of
Hochberg, and Margaret, the daughter of William de Vienne, Lord of
Saint-George. He married Mary of Savoy in 1480; and died in 1503.
[54] John de Neufchâtel, Lord of Montagu and Resnel, councillor and
chamberlain of the King of France and of the Duke of Burgundy, and Knight
of the Golden Fleece, was the son of Thibault VIII., Lord of Neufchâtel,
and Agnes de Montbéliard. He was still living in August, 1486.
[55] William, Lord of Rochefort and Pleuvant, knight, chamberlain of
Philip the Good, was created Chancellor of France on the 12th of May,
1483. He was the son of James, Lord of Rochefort, and Agnes de Cléron. He
died on the 12th of August, 1492.
[56] Pierre II., Duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, Count of Clermont, and
Lord of Beaujeu, was born in November, 1439. He was the son of Charles
I., Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy. He was betrothed on the 22nd
of March, 1463, to Mary of Orleans; but this alliance was broken off by
Louis XI., who gave him his daughter Anne in marriage. He married her in
1474; and died on the 8th of October, 1503.
[57] Charles II., Duke of Bourbon, brother of the Count of Beaujeu,
Cardinal of the Holy See, Archbishop and Count of Lyons. He died on the
13th of September, 1488.
[58] Jacques d’Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, Count of La Marche, son of
Bernard d’Armagnac and Eleanor of Bourbon; married Louisa, daughter of
Charles of Anjou, Count of Maine; beheaded on the 4th of August, 1477.
[59] John V., Count of Armagnac, son of John IV. and Isabella of Navarre;
assassinated on the 5th of March, 1473.
[60] Charles II., Lord of Albret, son of Charles I., Lord of Albret, and
Mary de Sully; died in 1471, at the age of seventy.
[61] This oath, dated November 5. 1465, is quoted by Lenglet, vol. ii.,
p. 561.
[62] Charles of Anjou, first of the name, Count of Maine, son of Louis
II., Duke of Anjou, and Yolande of Arragon. He was born on the 14th of
October, 1414, and died on the 10th of April, 1472.
[63] John, Bastard of Orleans, Count of Dunois, and Grand Chamberlain of
France, was the son of Louis of Orleans and Mariette d’Enghien, the wife
of Aubert Le Flamenc, Lord of Cany. He died on the 24th of Nov., 1468.
[64] André de Laval, Lord of Loheac, Admiral and Marshal of France, died
in 1486, at the age of seventy-five.
[65] Antoine de Chabannes, Count of Dammartin, Lord of Saint-Fargeau, and
grand-master of the king’s household, was born in 1411. He was the son of
Robert de Chabannes, and Alix de Bort. He married, by contract signed on
the 20th of September, 1439, Margaret de Nanteuil, Countess of Dammartin;
and he died on the 25th of December, 1488.
[66] John, fifth of the name, Lord of Bueil, Count of Sancerre, knight,
councillor and chamberlain of the king, and Admiral of France, was the
son of John, Lord of Bueil, and Margaret Dauphine, Lady of Mermande. He
commanded ninety-five lances in 1474.
[67] Oliver de la Marche, who is generally well informed, mentions the
Count of Maine among the princes and lords who were in league with the
Count of Charolois.
[68] “The Count of Maine was with the king, to whom he brought about
five hundred lances, and blamed him for having determined to fight; and
as he could not divert the king from his purpose, he said to him, ‘My
lord, I had come to you to serve you and accompany you, and endeavour to
effect a friendly arrangement between you and your cousin of Charolois,
and the other princes of your blood, and not to fight against them;
and as it pleases you to do so, and not otherwise, I shall depart; so
farewell.’ And so he departed with all his company, many of whom murmured
greatly against him; for they thought he should have taken leave earlier,
and without coming so far. And when the king heard that he had really
departed, and abandoned him in this peril, he said that he was betrayed.
Nevertheless, he remained unmoved, and kept his army together; and,
having exhorted his men, determined to fight Charolois before the arrival
of his brother, the Duke of Berry, and the Duke of Bretagne.”—_Hennin_,
p. 430.
[69] Pierre de Brézé, Lord of Varenne, Count of Maulevrier, Grand
Seneschal of Anjou, Poitou, and Normandy, was the son of Pierre de Brézé
and Clemence Carbonnel. He married Jeanne Crespin, and was killed in the
battle of Montlhery, on the 16th of July, 1465.
[70] John, Lord of Montauban and Romilly, Marshal of Bretagne, and
Admiral of France, was the son of William of Montauban and Bona Visconti.
He died in May, 1466.
[71] The battle of Montlhery was fought on Tuesday, the 16th of July, see
the _Chronique Scandaleuse_, and Lenglet, vol. ii. p. 27.
[72] The _Chronique Scandaleuse_ names him Madre, and says that he was
captain of Pont Saint Maxence, “for Master Pierre L’Orfèvre, Lord of
Ermenonville.”
[73] Philip of Crevecœur, Lord des Cordes or Desquerdes, Governor of
Artois and Picardy, and Knight of the Golden Fleece, passed over to the
service of Louis XI. after the death of Charles the Rash, and was named
Marshal and Grand Chamberlain of France. He was the son of James of
Crevecœur, and Margaret de la Tremoille, Lady of Desquerdes. He died on
the 22nd of April, 1494, at the age of seventy-six.
[74] Antony, Lord of Crevecœur and Thiennes, councillor and chamberlain
of Duke Philip the Good, Knight of the order of St. Michael, councillor
and chamberlain of Louis XI., and Grand Louvetier of France, was the son
of James de Crevecœur and Bonne de la Viefville. He died about 1493.
[75] Thomas Montague, Earl of Salisbury, was the son of John Montague,
and Maude, the daughter of Sir Adam Francis. He married Eleanor, daughter
of Thomas, Earl of Kent; and was killed at the siege of Orleans, on the
3rd of November, 1428. In his will he assumes the titles of Earl of
Salisbury and Perch, and Lord Monthermer.
[76] John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and Weysford, was the son of Richard
Talbot, and Ankaret, daughter of John Strange, of Blackmere. He married,
1. Maude, daughter of Sir Thomas Neville, knight; and 2. Margaret,
daughter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. He was killed at the
siege of Châtillon, on the 20th of July, 1453.
[77] Henry VI., son of Henry V. and Catherine of France, was born on the
6th of December, 1421; crowned at London on the 6th of November, 1429;
and consecrated King of France, at Paris, on the 17th of December, 1431.
He married Margaret of Anjou in November, 1444; and died on the 23rd of
May, 1471.
[78] Edward IV., Earl of March, was the son of Richard, Duke of York; he
dispossessed Henry VI. of the throne, on the ground of being descended
from an elder son of Edward III.
[79] He was then the captain of a hundred lances, of which office he was
deprived by the king soon after, and in exchange for which he received
the title of Bailiff of Montferrant. He subsequently left the service of
Louis XI., and entered that of the Duke of Bretagne, who appointed him
one of his councillors and chamberlains.
[80] He was killed in the battle of Morat, on the 22nd of June, 1476.
[81] James of Luxembourg, Lord of Richebourg, councillor and chamberlain
of the King of France, and Knight of the Golden Fleece. He was brother of
the Constable of St. Paul. He died on the 20th of Aug., 1487.
[82] Among them were the Lords of Happlaincourt, Ameries, Inchy, and
Robodenghes; the last of whom returned on learning that Charles had
gained the victory.
[83] Philip D’Oignies, Lord of Bruay and Chaulnes, son of Antony, Lord
of Bruay, and Jeanne de Brimeu, Lady of Chaulnes. He was Bailiff of
Courtray; and married Antoinette de Beaufort.
[84] “The Count of Charolois,” says the _Chronique Scandaleuse_, “was so
hotly pursued that he was twice taken prisoner by Geoffroy de Saint-Belin
and Gilbert de Grassay, and afterwards rescued again.” See Lenglet, vol.
ii. p. 28.
[85] Oliver de la Marche names him Robert Cotereau, and adds that “the
Count immediately dubbed the said Master Robert Cotereau a knight, and
bestowed on him the office of lieutenant of the fiefs in Brabant.” La
Marche, vol. ii. p. 237.
[86] Simon de Quingy was, in 1471, cup-bearer, and in 1472 gentleman of
the bed-chamber, to the Duke of Burgundy. Molinet speaks of him as “Lord
of Montbaillon.” According to Commines, he became Bailiff of Troyes; and
perhaps it is he who figures, with the title of “knight of the court of
Parliament,” among the plenipotentiaries sent to Saint-Jean-de Lône, in
the year 1515, by the Archduchess Philiberte of Luxembourg.
[87] In addition to the Count of Maine, the _Chronique Scandaleuse_
mentions “the Admiral de Montauban, the Lord of La Barbe, and other
captains, who had fully seven or eight hundred lances.” See Lenglet, vol.
ii. p. 28.
[88] The king arrived at Corbeil, “on the day of the battle, at about
eleven o’clock at night; and sojourned in that place until the 18th of
July.” Du Clercq, vol. xv. p. 26.
[89] Geoffroy de Saint-Belin, knight, Baron of Saxefontaine, was the
son of Pierre de Saint-Belin, Lord of Blaisy, and Simonne de Nogent. He
married Margaret de Baudricourt; and is mentioned, with the title of
Bailiff of Chaumont, as one of the chamberlains of the King of France, in
the years 1463 and 1464.
[90] Robert de Flocques, or Flocquet, son of Robert and brother of James,
both of them Bailiffs of Evreux. He also filled that office; and was
buried in the Abbey of St. Catherine-du-Mont, at Rouen.
[91] In the place “anciently called the Champ de Plours.” Oliver de la
Marche, vol. ii. p. 240.
[92] “On Friday, the 19th of July, the count marched to Estampes, where
the Dukes of Berry and Bretagne, and the other princes of their alliance,
arrived soon after; and they remained there until Wednesday, the 31st of
July.” Lenglet, vol. ii. p. 183.
[93] Peter of Amboise, Lord of Chaumont, knight, councillor and
chamberlain of Kings Charles VII. and Louis XI., was the son of Hugh of
Amboise and Jeanne Guenand; he died on the 28th of June, 1473.
[94] Charles of Amboise, Count of Brienne, Lord of Chaumont, Governor of
the Isle of France, Champagne and Burgundy; he died on the 16th of March,
1481.
[95] The brigandine was a species of corslet, made of plates of iron,
riveted to one another longitudinally, by nails or hooks.
[96] William de Cluny, born about 1423, was the son of Henry de Cluny,
Lord of Conforgieu, and Perrette Collot, Lady of Sagy. He was a
councillor of the Duke of Burgundy, and prothonotary of the Holy See. He
was appointed to the bishopric of Poitiers in 1479, and died about a year
afterwards.
[97] Edward IV., son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cicely Neville,
daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland; he married Lady Elizabeth Woodville
in 1464, and died on the 9th of April, 1483.
[98] Isabella of Portugal, the mother of the Count of Charolois, was the
daughter of John, King of Portugal, by Philippa, daughter of John, Duke
of Lancaster.
[99] Margaret of York married Charles of Burgundy, in pursuance of a
treaty signed at Brussels on the 16th of February, 1467 (O. S.); and the
marriage was celebrated at Dan, on the 3rd of July, 1468. She died on
the 28th of November, 1503. Unless Commines is in error with regard to
the time at which William of Cluny was despatched on his mission, the
Count of Charolois contemplated this new alliance whilst his second wife
was still living; for Isabella of Bourbon did not die until the 26th of
September, 1465, two months after the battle of Montlhery.
[100] In Rymer, vol. v. part ii. p. 173, is a letter from Duke Charles,
acknowledging the receipt of the garter from the English ambassadors.
[101] “On Thursday, the 1st of August, the Count of Charolois encamped
at Saint-Mathurin de l’Archamp, where he remained till the 5th, when he
transferred his quarters to Moret.” Lenglet, vol. ii. p. 184.
[102] John de Salazar, a native of Spain, knight, chamberlain and
councillor of the king, captain of a hundred lances of his own raising,
and Lord of Montagne, Saint-Just, Marcilly, Laz, Lonsac, and Issodun,
married Margaret de la Tremoille, Lady of Saint-Fargeau, on the 31st of
October, 1441; became a widower, by her death, on the 18th of December,
1457; and died at Troyes on the 12th of November, 1479.
[103] “The Dukes of Berry and Bretagne and most of the lords lodged at
Nemours.” Oliver de la Marche, vol. ii. p. 243.
[104] John of Anjou, Duke of Calabria, son of René, King of Sicily, and
Isabella of Lorraine, was born on the 2nd of August, 1424; married Mary,
daughter of Charles I., Duke of Bourbon; died at Barcelona, on Sunday,
the 16th of December, 1470, and was buried in the cathedral church of
that city.
[105] Jacques Galiot died on the 28th of July, 1488, at the battle
of Saint-Aubin du Cormier, according to Molinet, who calls him “a
Neapolitan.” Previous editors have erroneously confounded him with
Jacques Ricard de Genouillac, surnamed Galiot.
[106] Nicolas de Montfort, Count of Campobasso, leader of Italian
men-of-war, as he signs himself in a document quoted by Godefroy. He was
also one of the chamberlains of Charles, Duke of Burgundy; and claimed
kindred with the Duke of Bretagne.
[107] John, Lord of Baudricourt, councillor and chamberlain of Louis XI.,
King of France, and Marshal of France under Charles VIII., was the son
of Robert, Lord of Baudricourt, and Alearde de Chambley. He sided with
the Duke of Burgundy in the war of the Public Good; but the king, having
gained him over to his party, made him Governor of Burgundy by letters
patent, dated the 18th of March, 1480; he died on the 11th of May, 1499.
[108] Frederic I., surnamed the Victorious, Governor of the Electorate
during the minority of his nephew Philip, obtained from the Estates of
the Palatinate permission to retain the electorate during his life-time.
He was the son of Louis III. and Matilda of Savoy. He was born on the 1st
of August, 1425; and died on the 12th of December, 1476.
[109] Odet d’Aydie, Lord of Lescun, was the son of John d’Aydie, a
gentleman of Gascony. He married Marie de Béarn, daughter of Mathieu de
Béarn, Lord of Lescun. Louis XI., having gained him over to his side,
made him his councillor and chamberlain, gave him the office of Admiral
of France, and created him Count of Comminges in 1472. After the death
of Louis, Odet d’Aydie joined the party of the Duke of Orleans, in
consequence of which he was deprived of his admiralty. He died before the
25th of August, 1498, at more than seventy years of age.
[110] “On Tuesday, 20th August, he encamped at Conflans, where he
remained until the end of the month of October.” Lenglet, vol. ii. p. 184.
[111] Charles VI., King of France, born on the 3rd of December, 1368, was
the son of Charles V. and Jeanne de Bourbon; he married Isabel of Bavaria
on the 17th of July, 1385; and died on the 22nd of October, 1422.
[112] John of Lancaster, Count of Kendal and Duke of Bedford, was the
third son of King Henry IV. and Mary, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun. He
married 1. Anne, sister of Philip, Duke of Burgundy; and 2. Jacqueline,
daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of Saint Paul. He was appointed
Regent of the Kingdom of France on the death of his brother Henry V.; and
he died at Rouen, on the 14th of Sept., 1435.
[113] The commissioners for England were Henry Beaufort, Cardinal and
Bishop of Winchester; John Kemp, Archbishop of York; William de la
Pole, Earl of Suffolk; John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon; the Bishops of
Norwich, St. David’s, and Lisieux, with divers knights and gentlemen.
[114] Eugenius IV. (Gabriel Condolinieri), elected in 1431; he died on
the 23rd of February, 1447.
[115] In August, 1465; he was liberated again in October, 1470, and
re-imprisoned in the following year.
[116] Richard of Coningsburgh, Duke of York, was the son of Richard, Earl
of Cambridge, and Anne, daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. He
married Cicely, daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, and was
killed on the 24th of December, 1460, at the battle of Wakefield.
[117] The Duke of York never assumed the title of king, which was
retained by Henry VI. until his death, though the parliament had declared
the Duke of York his successor on the throne.
[118] The Earl of Salisbury, father of the great Earl of Warwick, was
not slain in the battle of Wakefield, but taken prisoner to Pontefract
Castle, and soon after beheaded.
[119] Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was the son of Richard Neville,
Earl of Westmoreland and Salisbury, and Alice, daughter of Thomas
Montague, Earl of Salisbury. He married Anne, daughter of Richard
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick; and he was killed in the battle of Barnet, on
Easter Day, the 14th of April, 1471.
[120] It was after the defeat at Ludlow, in October, 1459, that the
Earl of Warwick retired to Calais with the Earl of March, and not,
as Commines’ narrative would lead us to suppose, after the battle of
Wakefield.
[121] Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was the son of Edmund Beaufort,
Duke of Somerset, and Eleanor, daughter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick. He was slain in the battle of Tewkesbury on the 4th of May, 1471.
[122] George of York, Duke of Clarence, brother of King Edward IV., died
on the 18th of February, 1478. He married Isabel, the eldest daughter of
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, by whom he had two children: Edward,
Earl of Warwick, who was three years old when his father died; and
Margaret, who afterwards married Richard de la Pole.
[123] Richard of York, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King of England,
under the name of Richard III. He was killed at the battle of Bosworth
Field on the 22nd of August, 1485.
[124] Henry, Earl of Richmond, was the son of Edmund of Hadham, Earl of
Richmond, and Margaret, daughter of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. He
was proclaimed King of England under the name of Henry VII., on the 22nd
of August, 1485. He married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King Edward
IV.; and he died on the 21st of April, 1509. When escaping from England
in 1471, he fell into the hands of the Duke of Bretagne, who detained him
prisoner for thirteen years, after which he escaped, hearing that the
duke was negotiating to deliver him up to King Richard III.
[125] Born at Bayeux; he was Bishop of Paris from 1447 until May 1, 1472,
when he died: he was a brother of the celebrated Alain Chartier.
[126] August 28, 1465.
[127] Francisco Sforza, Duke of Milan, born at San Miniato de Cotignola
on the 23rd of July, 1401, was the natural son of Muzio Attendolo,
surnamed _Sforza_, on account of the vigour of his character. This
surname was adopted by his descendants, in preference to that of
Attendolo. The mother of Francisco Sforza was Lucia de Torsciano. He died
at Milan on the 8th of March, 1466.
[128] Galeazzo Maria Sforza, born on the 14th of January, 1444;
married successively Dorothea de Gonzagua, and Bona of Savoy; and was
assassinated on the 26th of December, 1476.
[129] The treaty of Conflans was made between Louis XI. and the Count of
Charolois on the 5th of October, 1465. On the 29th of the same month the
king made a separate treaty with the confederate princes, which is dated
at St. Maur-des-Fossés.
[130] “Not very far from Conflans,” says Oliver de la Marche. It was on
the site now occupied by Bercy, where there still exists a street called
the Rue de la Grange-aux-Merciers.
[131] See p. 12.
[132] Louis de Chalon, Lord of Chasteauguion, was son of Louis de Chalon,
Prince of Orange, and Eleanor of Armagnac. He was a Knight of the Golden
Fleece, and fell at the battle of Granson on the 3rd of March, 1476.
[133] Oliver de la Marche, however, says, “During these truces, we went
to Paris to indulge in good cheer, paying with our own money: and we were
very welcome.” La Marche, ii. 246.
[134] Louis XI., when Dauphin, fled in 1456 from Dauphiny, whither he had
retired ten years previously on account of a misunderstanding with his
father. He sought refuge in Burgundy from the authority of Charles VIII.,
who wished to force him to return to Court, and remained with his uncle
Philip until 1461, when his father died.
[135] Philip de Melun held the office of Captain of the Bastille Saint
Antoine from 1462, until his death, which occurred in 1466. See p. 14,
note [48].
[136] Antoine de Castelnau or Chasteauneuf, Lord and Baron of Lau, in
Armagnac, Grand Chamberlain and Grand Butler of France, and Seneschal
of Guienne. Having incurred the king’s displeasure, he was arrested and
taken to the castle of Usson, in Auvergne, whence he escaped in 1468,
and sought refuge with the Duke of Burgundy, under whom he fought at
the siege of Liege. He afterwards regained the favour of Louis XI.,
who appointed him Lieutenant-General and Governor of the county of
Roussillon, of Cerdagne, and of the town of Perpignan. He was still
living in 1483.
[137] This is a mistake: two years had elapsed since their re-purchase.
See p. 5, note [22].
[138] On Monday, September 9. 1465.
[139] Catherine of France, who was married in June, 1439, and died in
1446.
[140] Guillaume Bische, a native of Molins Engilbert, in the Nivernois,
was, according to Philip the Good, “the worst and subtlest fellow under
the sun.” This subtlety was not injurious to him in the opinion of
Louis XI., who made him Bailiff of St. Pierre-le-Moustier and Governor
of Soissonnois, and honoured him with his confidence and friendship.
In 1472, he was Lord of Clery, and chief steward of Duke Charles of
Burgundy: and in 1478, he received the additional titles of “knight,
councillor and chamberlain of the king, Governor of Peronne, Montdidier
and Roye.”
[141] Guillot or Guyon Dusye figures, as an equerry of the stable, in a
list of the household of Charles, Duke of Burgundy. He was afterwards
created a knight.
[142] After his reconciliation with the Count of Charolois, in February,
1456, the Duke of Burgundy “banished from his dominions two of the
principal servants of his son; the first named Guillaume Visse (Bische)
was master of his chamber, who not long before had come as a poor valet
from Champagne to Burgundy; the second was an esquire, named Guyot Duisy,
a native of Burgundy.” Du Clercq, xiii. 205.
[143] This treaty is dated October 2. 1465. See Lenglet, ii. 499.
[144] Jeanne Crespin, daughter of Guillaume Crespin, Lord of Mauny, and
of Jacqueline d’Auvricher. Letters of absolution from the treason here
recorded were granted her by Louis XI. in January, 1466.
[145] He entered on Friday, September 27. 1465.
[146] “At which the king was marvellously vexed, and said one day to the
Count of St. Pol, half between jest and earnest: ‘Fair cousin of St. Pol,
you have said and still say such fine words to me that I have lost Rouen
and Pontoise by them.’”—_Hennin_, 438.
[147] Jean de Montespedon, surnamed Houaste, Lord of Basoches, Beauvoir,
&c., chamberlain to the king, and Bailiff of Rouen. His wife was Drouette
de Bar. He was still alive in 1479, and is mentioned as bailiff in public
documents of that year.
[148] Guillaume Picart, Knight, Lord of Estelau, councillor and
chamberlain of the king. He was made Bailiff of Rouen, and chief
commander of all the artillery, on the 3rd of October, 1479. He was still
living in April, 1484.
[149] Jacques de Brézé, Count de Maulevrier, son of Pierre de Brézé and
Jeanne Crespin, became Grand Seneschal of Normandy after the death of his
father. He married Charlotte, a natural daughter of Louis XI.; and died
on the 4th of August, 1494.
[150] On Thursday, October 3. 1465.
[151] The treaty was concluded on the 5th of October, and peace
proclaimed on the 29th of the same month.
[152] On the following Thursday, October 10th, 1465. See Lenglet, ii. 49.
[153] Philip de Saveuses, long Captain of Amiens and Artois, was deposed
in 1463 by Louis XI. In 1465, the Duke of Burgundy appointed him
Captain-general of Artois. His wife was Marie de Lully: and he died at
Amiens, on the 28th of March, 1467, at the age of seventy-seven.
[154] John, surnamed Sans-Peur, Duke of Burgundy, was the son of Philippe
le-Hardi and Margaret of Flanders. He was born on the 28th of May,
1371; married to Margaret of Bavaria on the 9th of April, 1385; and
assassinated on the bridge of Montereau, on the 10th of September, 1419.
[155] On Friday, October 11. 1465.
[156] This town was given to the marshal in 1463, and taken from him by
royal letters dated August 6. 1466.
[157] On the 30th of October. See Lenglet, ii. 532
[158] On the 31st of October. See Lenglet, ii. 540
[159] The Count of Charolois left Conflans on Thursday, the 31st of
October, and proceeded to Villiers-le-Bel, whither the king accompanied
him. They remained there together until the 3rd of November.
[160] Two years before, Commines should say. He has made the same mistake
already: see p. 65.
[161] He encamped at Cleyngelm, in the territory of Liege, where he
remained until the 22nd of January, 1466.
[162] This treaty was concluded on the 22nd of December, 1465; Huy and
Dinant were excluded from its provisions. It was ratified by the Count of
Charolois on the 24th of January, 1466.
[163] He arrived at Brussels on the evening of Friday, the 31st January.
[164] This treaty, dated at Caen on the 22nd of December, 1465, was
ratified on the following day by Louis XI. The article mentioned by
Commines does not occur in it.
[165] The Count of Charolois was at Saint-Tron from December 21. 1465, to
January 12. 1466; and again from the 25th to the 30th of Jan. 1466.
[166] They made a treaty of perpetual alliance, which was signed by the
Duke of Bretagne on the 10th of August, 1467, and by the Duke of Normandy
on the 22nd of the same month.
[167] On Monday, August 25. 1466.
[168] On the 15th of June, 1467.
[169] For the first causes of this hostility, see several documents
published in M. Gachard’s _Collection de Documents Inédits_, vol. ii. pp.
205, 218, 343, in which the Dinantais charge the people of Bouvines with
the same acts of violence and cruelty with which Commines charges the
Dinantais.
[170] See p. 80, note [162].
[171] “On the first day of September, the duke departed from Bouvines,
and lay that night at Namur.” Du Clercq, xv. 125.
[172] It was Sunday, September 7., the eve of the nativity of the Virgin.
[173] The letters of the burgomasters are dated September 10. 1466.
Gachard, ii. 402.
[174] They had promised, by the treaty of December 22. 1465, to “pay
600,000 Rhenish florins in six years, 100,000 each year.” Du Clercq, xv.
129.
[175] This number of 300 hostages was to be furnished by annuity, as
it were; that is to say, fifty every year, until the full payment of
the 600,000 florins. The fifty were to be made up “of thirty-two men
for the city of Liege, six for the town of Tongres, six for the town of
Saint-Tron, and six for the town of Hasselt.” Du Clercq, xv. 129.
[176] Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liege, son of Charles I, Duke of
Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy. He was assassinated on the 30th of
August, 1482.
[177] By letter dated from Bruges, June 19. 1467. It will be found in
Lenglet, ii. 620.
[178] “It was far advanced in the month of September,” says Chastellain,
“when the town of Huy was taken by the Liegeois.” Jealousy led the
Liegeois to attack it, for “it had always sided with the bishop
against the city, and for that cause, Duke Philip had granted it great
immunities.” Chastellain, 426.
[179] The duke left Brussels for Louvain on the 13th of October, 1467.
[180] Jean Balue was born at Poitiers in 1422, and died in October, 1491.
He was appointed Bishop of Evreux in 1464, translated to the see of
Angers soon afterwards, and raised to the cardinalate in 1467.
[181] On the 27th of October, 1467, the count “came to the siege of the
town of Saint Tron, and on the 28th he gained a battle over the Liegeois
at the village of Brusten. On the 2nd of November, the town of Saint-Tron
surrendered at discretion, and the duke demolished its gates, towers, and
walls.” Lenglet, ii. 190.
[182] Guy de Brimeu, Count of Mehem, and Lord of Humbercourt, was created
a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1473. He was a son of Jean de Brimeu and
Marie de Mailly: he married Antoinette de Rambures; and he was beheaded
at Ghent on the 3rd of April, 1477.
[183] Renard de Rouvroy.
[184] It appears from a letter written on the 29th of October by Louis
Van den Rive, pensionary of the town of Ypres, that the Liegeois numbered
17,000 or 18,000 with 400 or 500 horse; whilst Jean de Halewyn, writing
on the 31st of the same month, says they had 1400 men-at-arms.
[185] François Rayer, Esquire, was Bailiff of Mâcon, and Seneschal and
Captain of Lyons, in 1462.
[186] On the 28th of October.
[187] Jean de Halewyn estimated their loss at “4000 men and more.” Louis
Van den Rive says, 2000 or 3000.
[188] The conditions of the surrender are stated in letters patent of the
Duke of Burgundy, dated November 1. 1467, and ratified on the 7th of the
same month by the mayor and notable inhabitants of Saint-Tron. Gachard,
ii. 420.
[189] Twelve. See Gachard, ii. 424.
[190] On the 6th of November. Lenglet, ii. 190.
[191] The duke arrived before Liege on St. Martin’s day, November 11.
1467.
[192] Raes de la Rivière, Lord of Lintre, Heers, &c., and Knight-master
of the city of Liege in 1463, died on the 8th of December, 1477. In
September, 1475, he appears in the list of chamberlains and councillors
of the King of France.
[193] “On the 12th of November, the men of Liege, ten of each trade, came
in their shirts to a place half a mile from the town, where my lord was
lodged, and prostrated themselves at his feet.” Gachard, i. 181.
[194] Collard, Lord of Moy, Knight, Bailiff of Cotentin. He was son of
Nicholas surnamed Colard, Lord of Moy, and Marguerite de la Heuse. He
married Marguerite d’Ailli. He was still living in 1493.
[195] On Tuesday, November 17. 1467.
[196] Until the 28th of November, 1467.
[197] In M. Gachard’s _Collection de Documents Inédits_, ii. 437, will be
found a copy of the sentence pronounced upon Liege by Duke Charles, on
the 18th of November, 1467.
[198] Commines is here guilty of an anachronism. The submission of the
Gantois was not made until the 15th of January, 1469. See Gachard, i. 204.
[199] On Sunday, June 28th, 1467.
[200] The duke remained only three days in Ghent: he left on the 1st of
July. Lenglet, ii. 190.
[201] The letters, dated Brussels, July 28th, 1467, by which the duke
granted the demands of the Gantois, will be found in Lenglet, ii. 628-630.
[202] Chastellain devotes twelve chapters of his _Chronique_ to details
of this sedition.
[203] The Gantois did not receive the duke’s full pardon until 1469.
[204] An interesting account of this assembly will be found in M.
Gachard’s _Collection de Documents Inédits_, i. 204.
[205] Pierre de Goux, Lord of Goux, Contrecœur, and Wedargate, knight,
chamberlain of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, was created Chancellor of
Burgundy by letters dated October 26. 1465. He married Dame Mathie de
Rye, and died on the 5th of April, 1470.
[206] The Flemings had to pay 1,200,000 crowns, within sixteen years;
the Brabanters 300,000 lions; and Valenciennes 100,000 livres tournois,
within fifteen years.
[207] The Liegeois, in 1462, put themselves under the protection of Louis
XI. and refused to obey their bishop, a nephew of the Duke of Burgundy;
upon which the duke solicited and obtained from the Pope a bull of
excommunication against them, by which he was ordered “to crusade against
them as against the infidels, and against a people disobedient to the
holy apostolical see.” The sentence of excommunication is dated December
23. 1465.
[208] On the 26th of May, 1468, there had been a prolongation of the
truce between the king and the three dukes: it was to last from the 1st
of June to the 15th of July. Morice, iii. 172.
[209] By the treaty of Ancenis, made on the 10th of September, 1468,
by the envoys of the contracting parties. It was ratified by the king
and the Duke of Bretagne on the 18th of September following; but the
adhesion of the Duke of Normandy was not obtained to it until the 21st
of June, 1470. No article in this treaty stipulates that the dukes shall
renounce their alliance with the Duke of Burgundy. This was probably
made the subject of a special treaty; for the king alludes to it in
his instructions to his envoys to the Duke of Bretagne on the 1st of
December, 1470. “Item, by the treaties and promises which the Duke of
Bretagne has made with the king, he has promised and sworn to serve the
king formally against the said Duke of Burgundy, at any time that he may
undertake any war against him.” Salazard, iv. Preuves, ccxcv.
[210] Jehan de Boschuise, first butler to the Duke of Burgundy. Etat de
la Maison du Duc Charles.
[211] On the 21st of August, 1468, the Duke of Bretagne had, in his own
name and in that of his allies, granted a truce of twelve days to the
Marquis du Pont, who commanded the French army at the siege of Ancenis.
[212] Dated Peronne, October 8. 1468.
[213] Appointed by letters patent of November 28. 1467.
[214] On Sunday, October 9. Lenglet, ii. 192.
[215] Philip of Savoy, Count of Beaugé, and Lord of Bresse, was the son
of Louis, Duke of Savoy, and Anne of Cyprus. He was born at Chambery
on the 3rd of February, 1438. At the request of his father, Louis XI.
arrested this prince in April, 1463, and imprisoned him in the Castle of
Loches, where he remained until 1466. On the death of his grand-nephew
in 1496, Philip ascended the ducal throne: but he did not long enjoy his
power, for he died at Chambery on the 7th of November, 1497.
[216] Jean Louis of Savoy, Bishop of Geneva, brother of the preceding. He
died at Turin on the 11th of June, 1482.
[217] Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont, Baron of Vaud, brother of the
preceding, was created a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478. He died at
the Castle of Ham on the 30th of January, 1486. In 1460, he had married
Marie de Luxembourg, Countess of St. Paul.
[218] Pierre, Lord of Urfé and La Bastie, councillor and chamberlain of
the king, was created Grand Ecuyer of France by Charles VIII. in 1483. He
was the son of Pierre d’Urfé and Isabeau de Chovigny. He died on the 10th
of October, 1508.
[219] History furnishes us with abundance of examples of the treachery
and perfidiousness that have been practised at such interviews. The
first we meet with in Roman history, is that of Jugurtha, who was taken
by his father-in-law, Bocchus, and delivered up to the Romans; to which
we may add that of Sertorius, who was slain at a banquet by Perpenna.
In England, the treason of Hengist to Vortigern is well known to all
that have read anything of history. The Scottish chronicles mention
the assassination of one William, Earl of Douglas, who was killed at a
treaty by James, King of Scotland. In Germany, one Albrecht, Earl of
Franconia, was betrayed by Otho, Bishop of Mentz. John of Anjou was slain
by Albertus Bavarus, Earl of Hainault and Flanders, notwithstanding
he had given him a passport, and engaged his honour as a security for
his person. In France, John, Duke of Burgundy, slain by Charles VII.
William, Duke of Normandy, by Arnulph, Earl of Flanders. Louis, King of
France, taken prisoner by the Normans and Danes at Rouen. John, Duke of
Bretagne, taken at a banquet, and imprisoned by Margaret, Countess of
Pontibera. Guido, Earl of Flanders, twice taken prisoner, notwithstanding
the promise of safe-conduct, by Philip the Fair, King of France. Charles
the Simple slain by the Earl of Vermandois. In short, it would be
endless to reckon up all the villanous and barbarous murders that have
been committed at these interviews between great princes, and which are
recorded in history, as our author here very well observes.
[220] Or rather, Jehan de Wilde. Oliver de la Marche says that he was
killed at the assault of Liege by the Burgundians. He is said by some
authorities to have been Provost of Liege and Lord of Hautpeene.
[221] Robert de Morialmé, Archdeacon of the Cathedral of Liege.
[222] A portion of this tower still remains incorporated in the existing
Castle of Peronne.
[223] Herbert II., Count of Vermandois, having traitorously seized
upon the person of Charles the Simple, imprisoned him in the Castle of
Peronne, where the unfortunate king terminated his life in 929, after six
years’ captivity. Herbert died in 943, and was buried at Saint-Quentin.
[224] Esquire, valet de chambre, and keeper of the jewels to Duke Charles
of Burgundy. He was appointed Captain of the Castle of Châtillon, by
letters patent granted by the duke at Lille, on the 15th of April, 1470.
[225] Henry IV., King of Castile, son of John II. and Marie of Arragon,
was born on the 6th of January, 1425, and died on the 12th of December,
1474. He married 1. in 1440, Blanche of Navarre, from whom he was
divorced in 1453; and 2. Juana, Infanta of Portugal. The interview
between Louis XI. and Henry took place at Andaia, near Fuentarabia, in
April, 1463.
[226] The Grand Master of the order of Santiago, in April, 1463, was
Bertrand de la Cueva, Count of Lodesma, in whose favour the Infante Don
Alphonso, the king’s brother, had resigned the grand-mastership in 1462.
The knights of the order complained bitterly of being thus deprived of
their right to elect their chief, and to appease their murmurs, the
king persuaded the Count of Lodesma to resign his new dignity of his
own accord, in return for which he bestowed on him several estates and
lordships, including the dukedom of Albuquerque. A bull of Pope Paul
II. restored the Infante Don Alphonso to the head of the order. On the
death of this prince, on July 5. 1468, the knights elected as their grand
master Juan Pacheco, Marquis de Villena, who died in 1474. This nobleman
was present at the interview between Louis XI. and the King of Castile:
and it is to him that Commines refers in the text.
[227] Alonzo Carrillo d’Acunha was appointed Archbishop of Toledo in
1447, and died on the 1st of June, 1482.
[228] He died on the 1st of November, 1492. See the first note.
[229] Juana, daughter of Frederick Henriquez, Amirante of Castile, and
Maria de Cordova, married John II., King of Arragon and Navarre, in 1447.
She died on the 13th of February, 1468.
[230] Sentence was pronounced by Louis XI. on the 23rd of April, 1463.
See Lenglet, ii. 378.
[231] The Bidassoa.
[232] John II., son of Ferdinand, King of Arragon, and Leonora of
Albuquerque. He died on the 19th of January, 1479. He was a Knight of the
Golden Fleece.
[233] It was terminated by a peace between the two powers, on the 9th of
November, 1478.
[234] Frederick III., son of Ernest, Duke of Austria, and Zimpurgis of
Mazovia, was born on the 23rd of December, 1415, and died on the 19th of
August, 1493. He married Eleanor, daughter of Edward, King of Portugal.
[235] On the 30th of September, 1473.
[236] Maximilian of Austria married in August, 1477, Mary of Burgundy,
the sole heiress of Duke Charles.
[237] Neuss, a town in the province of Dusseldorf, Prussia.
[238] On the 7th of January, 1471.
[239] The King of England was elected a Knight of the Golden Fleece, of
which order the Duke of Burgundy was sovereign, on the 13th of May, 1468,
and notified his acceptance of the honour on the 28th of October, 1469.
[240] On Tuesday, February 10. 1466.
[241] Sigismund, son of Frederick IV., Duke of Austria, and Count of
Tyrol, by Anne of Brunswick. He was born on the 26th of October, 1424,
and married 1. Eleanor, daughter of James II., King of Scotland; and 2.
Catherine, daughter of Albert the Courageous, Duke of Saxony. He died on
the 4th of March, 1496. Sigismund visited the Duke of Burgundy at Arras,
on the 21st of March, 1468 (O. S.), accompanied him in several journeys,
and was with him at St. Omer, on the 1st of May following.
[242] The Earl of Warwick came to the Duke of Burgundy at St. Omer, the
26th of April, 1469.
[243] On the 29th of August, 1475. See book iv. chap. x.
[244] As it happened at Venice, when Henry III., King of France, made his
public entry into that city. The French laughed at the Venetians dress,
upon which they were like to have come to blows.
[245] There can be no doubt that this friend was Commines himself. See
Lenglet, iv. 133; and Dupont, i. 173.
[246] “As soon as the king saw the duke enter his chamber, he could not
conceal his fear, and said to the duke, ‘My brother, am I not safe in
your house and in your country? and the duke answered, Yes, sir; and so
safe that if I saw an arrow coming towards you, I would put myself in
front to shield you?’ And the king said to him, ‘I thank you for your
good will, and will go whither I have promised you; but I pray you that
peace may be from this time sworn between us.’” Oliver de la Marche, ii.
287.
[247] Concluded at Peronne, on the 14th of October, 1468. See end of
chapter.
[248] See above, book i. chap. 13.
[249] As we have already seen, by the treaty of Ancenis, Louis XI.
granted his brother an appanage of 60,000 livres a year, in exchange for
the duchy of Normandy. If it be true, as Commines and Oliver de la Marche
both state, that the treaty of Peronne secured to that prince Champagne
and Brie, instead of Normandy, the clause concerning this new exchange
must have been contained in some secret article; for it does not occur in
the original draft of the treaty, or in any subsequent edition of it.
[250] They left Peronne on the 15th of October, and slept at Cambray on
the 17th. Lenglet, ii. 192.
[251] They arrived at Namur in the morning of the 21st of October, and
remained there until the 24th. Lenglet, ii. 192.
[252] Onofrio de Santa Croce, Bishop of Tricaria, in the kingdom of
Naples. He was a native of Rome, where he died on October 20. 1471.
[253] Pietro Barbo, a Venetian, Cardinal of San Marco, was elected Pope
under the name of Paul II., on the 31st of August, 1464. He died on the
28th of July, 1471.
[254] William VII., son of Louis the Good, Prince of Orange, by Jeanne de
Montbelliard, succeeded his father in December, 1463. He died on the 27th
October, 1475.
[255] Antoine de Luxembourg, Count of Brienne, Ligny and Roussy,
councillor and chamberlain of the king, was the son of the Constable of
St. Paul and Jeanne de Bar. He was originally attached to the household
of Charles the Bold, and on the 18th of February, 1472, received the
provisions of Lieutenant-general of Burgundy. He was taken prisoner by
the king’s troops at the battle of Guipy, near Chateau Chinon, on the
20th of June, 1475, and confined in the great tower of Bourges, whence
he was transferred to the Plessis-du-Parc. Louis XI. bitterly reproached
him with his perfidy and treason, and would only consent to grant him his
life on condition of his paying a ransom of 40,000 golden crowns within
two months. This was probably done, for Antoine de Luxembourg, Count of
Brienne, figured on the 12th of June, 1493, among the nobles whom the
King of France appointed to take back Margaret of Austria to her father,
the Emperor Maximilian. The count died in 1515.
[256] René, Count du Perche, son of Jean de-Beau and Marie d’Armagnac,
succeeded his father in the dukedom of Alençon in 1476: and died on the
1st of November, 1492.
[257] George de la Tremoille, Lord of Craon, Lieutenant-General of
Champagne and Brie, was the son of George, Lord of La Tremoille, and
Catherine, Lady of L’Isle Bouchard. He died in 1481.
[258] On Sunday, October 30. 1468.
[259] The treaty of Peronne was registered by the Parliament of Paris on
the 18th of May, 1469.
[260] The Duke of Burgundy, as we shall presently see, did not insist
on this demand, which the king craftily induced him to abandon. Two
years later, by letters granted at Angers in August, 1470, Louis granted
forgiveness to Pierre d’Urfé and Poncet de Rivière “of all the charges,
crimes, offences, and malefactions” of which they had been guilty in
contravention of his authority.
[261] John of Burgundy, Count of Nevers, Baron of Douzy, Peer of France,
Knight of the Golden Fleece, and Governor of Picardy, was born on the
25th of October, 1415. He was the son of Philip II., Count of Nevers, and
Bona of Artois. He died on the 25th of September, 1491. Having abandoned
the house of Burgundy to enter the service of Louis XI., he obtained
pardon from his uncle Duke Philip, after the peace of Conflans, by the
cession of various estates and lordships which he held in his dominions.
[262] On Wednesday, November 2. 1468.
[263] Antoine Rolin, Lord of Emeris, and Governor of Hainault, was the
son of Nicholas, Lord of Emeris, and Marie de Landes. His wife was a
sister of the Count d’Estampes. He was one of the conservators of the
peace of Senlis for the marches of Hainault.
[264] Until the 9th of November.
[265] When the duke left Liege, “he established there a captain named
Messire Frederic de Withem, who remained there about fourteen days,
and destroyed the city entirely by fire, after it had been pillaged.”
Gachard, i. 203.
[266] He arrived there on the 14th of October, and resumed his journey on
the 17th.
[267] On the 20th of November, he slept at Landen, in Brabant. Lenglet,
ii. 193.
[268] The Duke of Bretagne is not mentioned by name in any of the
articles of the treaty of Peronne; but perhaps he must be considered as
implicitly included in the clause which concerns the allies of the Duke
of Burgundy.
[269] In 1472. See note, book i. chap. 6.
[270] The treaty of exchange is dated in April, 1469.
[271] Guillaume de Haraucourt, son of Gerard de Haraucourt, Seneschal of
Barrois, was elected Bishop of Verdun on the 14th of October, 1456, and
took possession of his see on the 10th of August following. Possessed of
the most brilliant qualities, and supported by the credit of Cardinal
Balue, he met with a favourable reception from Louis XI., to whom he
rendered important services. Subsequently becoming involved in the
cardinal’s disgrace, Guillaume de Haraucourt was arrested, and confined
in that iron cage, the invention of which is ascribed to him by Commines,
book vi. chap. 12. He was kept a prisoner for fifteen years, and died on
February 20. 1500.
[272] On the 8th of September, 1469.
[273] The peace was published at Paris on Saturday, November 19. 1468.
See Lenglet, ii. 78.
[274] The declaration of Louis XI. against the Duke of Burgundy, dated
December 3. 1470, was the result of all the deliberations of this
assembly. After enumerating all his grievances against the duke, and
declaring that he would no longer tolerate his outrageous conduct, “we
have,” he says, “in order to proceed in so great a matter with mature and
due deliberation, assembled in our city of Tours, certain of the princes
and lords of our blood, prelates, counts, barons, and other nobles,
and notable members of our council.” The opinion of this assembly was,
that the king was free and discharged from the promises he had made to
the Duke of Burgundy by the treaty of Peronne and other treaties, and
that the lands and lordships of the duke should be confiscated to him.
Lenglet, iii. 68.
[275] Commines is in error on this point. The Estates had met at Tours in
1467, from the 6th to the 14th of April. See Lenglet, ii. 71.
[276] He died in 1488. See note, book i. chap. 2.
[277] The duke arrived at Hesdin on the 2nd of August, 1470, and remained
there five months and a half.
[278] Baudoin, Bastard of Burgundy, knight, councillor and chamberlain of
Duke Philip, was Lord of Falais, Bredain and Sommerdyk. He was a natural
son of Philip the Good, by Catherine de Tiesferies. He died in 1508.
[279] The others were, Jean Darsson, pantler to Duke Charles, and Jean de
Chassa, his chamberlain; who, with the Bastard Baudoin, were accused of
entertaining designs against the duke’s life.
[280] On the 10th of December, 1470. Lenglet, ii. 88.
[281] He arrived at Doullens on the 17th of January, 1471, and remained
there until the 3rd of February.
[282] The town of Amiens surrendered to the Count of Commartin, Grand
Master of France, and lieutenant of the king, on the 31st of January,
1471.
[283] The distance between Amiens and Doullens is 33 kilometers, about 24
miles.
[284] He arrived at Arras on the 5th of February, and remained there
until the 10th. Lenglet, ii. 197.
[285] Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold and Isabel of
Bourbon, was born on the 13th of February, 1457, married the Archduke
Maximilian on the 20th of August, 1477, and died on the 27th of March,
1482.
[286] Mary was successively promised by her father: 1. to Nicholas,
Duke of Calabria; 2. to Philibert, Duke of Savoy; 3. to the Archduke
Maximilian; 4. to the Duke of Berry; and 5. to the Dauphin Charles.
[287] On the 23rd of February, 1471, the duke encamped at Winencourt,
near Picquigny, and on the 24th at Belloy: his vanguard took the town
of Picquigny, which was immediately set on fire, and in the evening the
castle surrendered on composition. The Castle of Picquigny is now a
picturesque ruin, overlooking the town: in former times a stone stood
there to commemorate its capture by the Duke of Burgundy.
[288] On the 6th of March, 1471, he encamped at Mez, near Amiens; on
the 10th, he advanced to the Abbey of St. Acheul; and on the 27th, lie
encamped in the Valley of the Cross, close to Amiens. Lenglet, ii. 198.
[289] Nicholas, Duke of Calabria and Lorraine, was born in 1448. He
was the son of John of Calabria and Mary of Bourbon. He succeeded his
father in 1470, and died, unmarried, on the 24th of July, 1473. Anne, the
daughter of Louis XI., had been betrothed to him from her cradle; but,
probably from the hope of espousing Mary of Burgundy, he renounced that
alliance, although he had twice received the dowry of his intended bride.
[290] On the 10th of April, 1471, the king and duke made a truce for
three months; at the expiration of which term, another trace was made for
a year.
[291] The three Estates of Burgundy met at Abbeville on the 22nd of July,
1471; and on the 12th of August following, a report of their proceedings
was made to the town-council, at Mons. Gachard, i. 225.
[292] This subsidy of 120,000 crowns was not raised until towards the
close of 1471. Gachard, i. 225.
[293] See book i. chap. 5.
[294] Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of
Lancaster, and Blanche his wife. She married John, King of Portugal; and
died on the 19th of June, or 18th of July, 1415.
[295] There had been twelve, viz., at St. Albans, in 1455; at Bloreheath,
in 1459; at Northampton and Wakefield, in 1460; at Mortimer’s Cross,
Barnerheath and Towton, in 1461; at Hexham, in 1463; at Banbury and
Stamford, in 1470; at Barnet, in 1471; and at Tewkesbury, in 1471.
[296] Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, was the son of John, Duke of Exeter,
and Anne, daughter of Edmund, Earl of Stamford. He married Anne, sister
of Edward IV., whom he divorced on the 12th of November, 1472. He was
found dead at sea between Dover and Calais, in 1475.
[297] The Duke of Somerset was with the Count of Charolois at the battle
of Montlhery; and again, at Ghent, in 1469.
[298] He received this appointment immediately after the first battle of
St. Albans, which was fought on the 23rd of May, 1455.
[299] The Earl of Warwick, finding that his influence with Edward was on
the decline, excited insurrections in the north of England, in the hope
thereby to regain his power. As one of his daughters was married to the
king’s brother, the Duke of Clarence, he made common cause with that
prince, and they both betrayed Edward’s confidence by marching against
him with the troops which they had received orders to levy in his name.
This was in March, 1470.
[300] On the 6th of March, 1471.
[301] About the beginning of 1470, the king and the earl were nearly
coming to blows, when an attempt was made to reconcile them; while the
king, trusting to these negotiations of peace, had relaxed his vigilance,
the Earl of Warwick fell suddenly on his camp, and took him prisoner.
Edward was conveyed to Middleham Castle, but speedily made his escape
from captivity.
[302] Elizabeth Woodville was married 1. to Sir John Grey of Groby, who
fell in the second battle of St. Albans, on the 17th of February, 1461;
and 2. to Edward IV. She had two children by her first marriage, Thomas,
Marquis of Dorset, and Richard. She married King Edward in 1465; and
in 1486, was confined in Bermondsey Abbey, where she died some years
afterwards.
[303] Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers, married Jacquetta of Luxembourg,
widow of the Duke of Bedford, brother of King Henry V. He was taken
prisoner in 1469, with his son, John Woodville, and conducted to
Northampton, where they were both beheaded.
[304] Isabella, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and Anne Beauchamp, his
wife, was born at Warwick Castle on the 5th of September, 1451. She was
married at Calais on the 11th of July, 1469.
[305] John, Lord Wenlock, Chief Butler of England, was appointed
lieutenant of Calais in 1470, and was killed at the battle of Tewkesbury
on the 4th of May, 1471.
[306] This child probably died very young, for Dugdale makes no mention
of him.
[307] On the 28th of June, 1470.
[308] He had been there ever since the 26th of July.
[309] Galhard de Durfort, Lord of Duras, retired to England in 1453, was
made a Knight of the Garter, and appointed Governor of Calais. He was
recalled to France in 1476, by Louis XI., and was killed in that king’s
service in Burgundy, in 1487. He married Anne, daughter of the Duke of
Suffolk.
[310] Between Honfleur and Harfleur, in May, 1470.
[311] Louis, Bastard of Bourbon, a natural son of Charles I., Duke of
Bourbon, by Jeanne de Bournan, was legitimated in September, 1463; he
married Jeanne, a natural daughter of Louis XI., and died on the 19th of
January, 1486.
[312] According to Chastellain, it consisted of “sixty fine and powerful
ships.”
[313] Edward, son of Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou. He married Anne,
youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and was killed in the battle
of Tewkesbury, on the 4th of May, 1471. His widow afterwards married the
Duke of Gloucester, who subsequently ascended the throne as Richard III.
[314] George Neville, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, was created
Bishop of Exeter on the 25th of November, 1455, before he had attained
his twentieth year. He became Lord Chancellor of England in 1460, and
Archbishop of York in 1465; and he died on the 8th of June, 1476.
[315] John Neville, Marquis of Montague, married Isabella, daughter of
Sir Edmond Ingoldsthrop of Borough Green, and was killed in the battle of
Barnet on the 30th of April, 1471.
[316] About four months after their departure from England, in August,
the Earl of Warwick, the Duke of Clarence and their retainers landed,
some at Plymouth, others at Dartmouth and Exmouth, and thence marched
towards London.
[317] Rapin states that Edward was at Lynn at this time.
[318] William, Lord Hastings, son of Richard Hastings, and Alice,
daughter of Lord Camoys. He married Catherine, daughter of Richard
Neville, last Earl of Salisbury; and was beheaded by order of Richard
III. on the 13th of June, 1483.
[319] Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales and Earl Rivers, was the son of
Richard Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. He married 1. Elizabeth,
daughter of Lord Scales, and 2. Mary, daughter of Henry Fitz Lewes. He
was beheaded in 1483.
[320] Easterlings, in French _Ostrelins_, was the name given to the
merchants of the Hanseatic League.
[321] Alkmaar, the capital of North Holland, distant about twenty miles
from Amsterdam.
[322] Louis de Bruges, Lord de la Gruthuyse, Prince of Steenhuyse, Knight
of the Golden Fleece, was the son of Jean de Bruges and Marguerite de
Steenhuyse. He was created Earl of Winchester for his eminent services to
King Edward IV.; and he died on the 24th of November, 1492.
[323] King Edward arrived at the Hague on the 11th of October, 1470;
and the Duke of Burgundy gave him 500 golden crowns per month for his
support. Lenglet, ii. 196.
[324] The number of Warwick’s partisans was very great, especially in
London. He had obtained them, according to Oliver de la Marche, by three
ways, which do honour to his ability, if not to his honesty. “The first,
by flatteries, and feigned humility to the people of London, by whom he
was much loved. Secondly, he was master of the five ports of England,
where he allowed great injury to be done; and never, in his time, was
justice done in England to any foreigner who had suffered loss; wherefore
he was beloved by the English freebooters, whom he thus contributed to
support. And thirdly, he kept the city of London on his side by always
owing 300,000 or 400,000 crowns to different citizens; and those whose
debtor he was desired his life and prosperity, that they might be paid
their dues.” La Marche, ii. 276.
[325] She went to “St Catherine’s Abbey, say some, but others say to the
sanctuary at Westminster.” Chastellain, 486.
[326] Edward V., born on the 4th of November, 1470.
[327] The staple of wool at Calais was established by King Edward III.
Rapin, iii. 231.
[328] On Wednesday, the 2nd of January, 1471, the Duke of Burgundy left
Hesdin and went to Aire, where he met the King of England. He remained
there on the 3rd, and returned to Hesdin, after dinner, on the 4th.
Lenglet, ii. 197.
[329] Equal to more than 200,000 pounds sterling.
[330] Now Weer, or Ter Veere, a town in the province of Zealand, on the
eastern coast of the island of Walcheren.
[331] He embarked at Ter Veere on the 2nd of March, 1471, and landed at
Ravenspur on the 14th of the same month.
[332] April 11. 1471.
[333] The battle was fought upon a plain near Barnet, between London and
St. Albans, known by the name of Gladsmore Heath.
[334] Edward nevertheless wrote, on the 28th of May, 1471, a letter in
which he thanked the duke for the valuable and brotherly assistance he
had given him in his distress. See Salazard, iv. 306.
[335] King Henry VI., says Hume, “expired in the Tower a few days after
the battle of Tewkesbury, but whether he died a natural or violent death
is uncertain. It is pretended, and was generally believed, that the Duke
of Gloucester killed him with his own hands; but the universal odium
which that prince has incurred, inclined perhaps the nation to aggravate
his crimes, without any sufficient authority. It is certain, however,
that Henry’s death was sudden; and, though he laboured under an ill
state of health, this circumstance, joined to the general manners of the
age, gave a natural ground of suspicion, which was rather increased than
diminished by the exposing of his body to public view.”