Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, lost his life at the battle of St.
Albans, on the 23rd of May, 1455, commanding the army opposed to that
of which Warwick was the leader. The two sons of this Duke of Somerset,
Edmund and John, were slain in the battle of Tewkesbury.
[337] This battle was fought near Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, on the
4th of May, 1471.
[338] “Queen Margaret and her son,” says Hume, “were taken prisoners, and
brought to the king, who asked the prince, in an insulting manner, how
he dared to invade his dominions? The young prince, more mindful of his
high birth than of his present fortune, replied that he came thither to
claim his just inheritance. The ungenerous Edward, insensible to pity,
struck him on the face with his gauntlet: and the Dukes of Clarence and
Gloucester, Lord Hastings, and Sir Thomas Gray, taking the blow as a
signal for further violence, hurried the prince into the next apartment,
and there despatched him with their daggers.” Commines says erroneously
that he fell on the field.
[339] On the 10th of April, 1471.
[340] See the instructions given by the king to M. du Bouchage on this
subject, in Lenglet, iii. 160.
[341] By letters dated June 13. 1472.
[342] Philibert, Duke of Savoy, son of Amadeus IX., Duke of Savoy,
and Yolande of France, daughter of Charles VII., was born on the 7th
of August, 1465, and succeeded his father on the 28th of March, 1472.
In January, 1474, he married Bianca Maria, daughter of Galeazzo Marie
Sforza, Duke of Milan; and he died on the 22nd of April, 1482.
[343] Maximilian of Austria, son of Frederick III. and Eleanor of
Portugal, was born on the 22nd of March, 1459, elected King of the Romans
on the 16th of February, 1486, crowned on the 9th of April following, and
succeeded his father in 1493. He married 1. Mary of Burgundy, on the 20th
of August, 1477; and 2. in 1494, Bianca Maria, widow of Philibert, Duke
of Savoy. In 1489, he was contracted to Anne of Bretagne, but this match
was broken off. He died on the 12th of January, 1519.
[344] Vincent de Kerleau, Abbé de Begar, Chancellor of Bretagne, and
councillor of Duke Francis II., was appointed Bishop of Leon in 1473, and
made his solemn entry into his church on the 10th of June in that year.
He died in 1476.
[345] The Castle of Coulonges, between Toulouse and Lectoure.
[346] Jean, Lord of L’Esparre, Baron of Estissac, was the son of
Lancelot, Lord of L’Esparre, and Jeanne, Lady of Estissac. His son
Geoffroi d’Estissac, Bishop of Maillezais, was one of the patrons of the
celebrated Rabelais.
[347] This is an error; for Charles VIII. was born on the 30th of June,
1470.
[348] Charles VIII, son of Louis XI. and Charlotte of Savoy, was
consecrated at Rheims on the 30th of May, 1484. On the 13th of December,
1491, he married Anne of Bretagne; and he died on the 7th of April, 1498.
[349] The duke was at Arras on May 16. 1472; at Penonne, June 9.; at
Roye, June 14.; and on the 25th of the same month, he encamped outside
Maisnil, near Montdidier.
[350] The duke died on the 28th of May.
[351] In these letters, dated from the camp before Beauvais, July 16.
1472, the duke accuses the king of having poisoned his brother by means
of a friar named Jourdain Favre, and of Henri de la Roche, esquire of his
kitchen.
[352] On Thursday, June 11. 1472.
[353] “Named Le Petit Picard, who was captain of 500 frank-archers, from
the Isle of France, who were in that town.” Lenglet, ii. 94.
[354] Pierre d’Oriolle, Lord of Loiré in Aulnis, was the son of Jean
d’Oriolle, Burgess and Mayor of La Rochelle, and Collette du Guecharrox;
he was appointed Chancellor of France on the 26th of June, 1472, and
resigned his office in May, 1483. He died on the 14th of September, 1485.
[355] Gilbert de Chabannes, Lord of Curton, Baron of Rochefort, was the
son of Jacques de Chabannes and Anne de Lavieu. He was councillor and
chamberlain to the Duke of Guienne, and afterwards to the king, and was
made Governor of Limousin in 1473. He died in 1493.
[356] Patrice Foucart was captain of forty archers of the guard of the
Duke of Berry and Guienne, and chamberlain to that prince.
[357] Amiens and St. Quentin.
[358] The duke left Nesle for Roye on Sunday, June 14. 1472. Lenglet, ii.
95.
[359] The Burgundians arrived before Beauvais on Saturday, June 27. 1472,
and attacked the town in two places, at the Porte de Bresle, and at the
Porte de Limaçon, behind the bishop’s palace.
[360] Jacques, Lord of Montmartin and Loulans, knight, was captain of the
archers of the guard of Duke Philip the Good. On the 22nd of January,
1454, he married Guigonne, daughter of Jacques Bouton. In 1475, he was
one of the chamberlains of Duke Charles of Burgundy; and he subsequently
became a chamberlain and councillor of Louis XI.
[361] The Porte de Bresle.
[362] Louis Gommel, Lord of Balagny, was an esquire, councillor and
chamberlain of Louis XI., Captain of Beauvais, and captain-general of the
frank-archers.
[363] “Which fire was kept up more than a week afterwards, with wood from
the neighbouring houses, to prevent the enemy from entering the town.”
Lenglet, iii. 207.
[364] Louis, Lord of Crussol and Beaudiner, Grand Pantler of France, and
Seneschal of Poitou, was the son of Geraud Bastet, Lord of Crussol, and
Alix de Lastic. He died in August, 1473.
[365] Guillaume de Valée, Esquire, Lord of La Roche-Tesson, in Normandy,
was captain of 100 lances, and lieutenant of the Seneschal of Normandy.
His wife was Isabeau Tesson.
[366] Mery de Cohé, Esquire, Lord of Fontenailles, councillor and
chamberlain of the king, was Captain of the town and Castle of Amboise.
He was lieutenant of eighty lances in August, 1470, when he signed the
treaty of Ancenis.
[367] Estevenot de Talauresse, surnamed Vignoles, Lord of Aussemont, was
Bailiff of Montferrat in 1462, councillor and chamberlain of Louis XI.,
and Seneschal of Carcassonne. In 1473, the king gave him the barony of
St. Sulpice in the diocese of Toulouse.
[368] On the 9th of July, 1472. Lenglet, iii. 212.
[369] Amé Rabutin, Lord of Epery, and Bailiff of Charolois, had been a
councillor and chamberlain of Duke Philip the Good. His wife was Claude
de Travers, daughter of Pierre, Lord of La Parcheresse.
[370] Jacques d’Orson was a chamberlain of the Count of Charolois, whom
he attended at the siege of Audenarde in 1452.
[371] On Wednesday, July 22. 1472. Lenglet, iii. 214.
[372] The duke arrived before Eu on the 28th of July, and remained there
until the 9th of August.
[373] On the 30th of August, 1472.
[374] Eu and St. Valery surrendered to the king on composition. It was
stipulated by the first town, that the knights should have liberty to
depart, “each on a little nag; and all the other Burgundians, who were in
number more than 100, departed each with a stick in his hand, and left
all their clothes, property, and horses; and payed 10,000 crowns.” The
second town surrendered on the same terms, and paid 6000 crowns. Lenglet,
ii. 100.
[375] Philippe des Essars, Lord of Thieux, son of Antoine des Essars, was
steward to the king in 1464, and afterwards filled the same office in the
household of the Duke of Bretagne. He died in 1478.
[376] Guillaume de Soupplainville was steward to Francis, Duke of
Bretagne, Vice-admiral of Guienne, Bailiff of Montargis, and Lord of
Soupplainville and Villemandeur.
[377] Friar Jourdain Favre, surnamed De Vercors, and Henri de la Roche,
esquire of the kitchen.
[378] This truce was concluded on the 3rd of November, 1472; it was
to last for five months, from the 3rd of November to the 1st of April
following.
[379] The treaty of alliance between the Duke of Bretagne and the King of
England had been concluded at Chateauguion on the 11th of September, 1472.
[380] Baudoin de Lannoy, surnamed the Stutterer, Lord of Molembais,
Knight of the Golden Fleece, and Governor of Lille, was the son of
Gilbert de Lannoy, and Catherine, Lady of Molembais. He died in 1474.
[381] Jean Heberge was appointed Bishop of Evreux in 1473, and took the
oaths on the 4th of April, 1474. He died on the 28th of August, 1479.
[382] All the clauses of this agreement, however, recur in the truce for
nine years made between the king and the Duke of Burgundy on the 13th of
September, 1475.
[383] George, Lord of La Tremoille, Grand Chamberlain of France, and
prime minister of Charles VII., was the son of Guy de la Tremoille and
Marie de Sully. His favour and influence with the king gained him the
hatred of many of the nobles, who arrested him and imprisoned him at
Montresor, whence he was liberated only on payment of a heavy ransom. He
died on the 6th of May, 1446.
[384] On the 15th of June, the duke encamped near Montfoort, on the
Yssel, in the duchy of Guelders. Lenglet, ii. 206.
[385] Adolphus, son of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Cleves,
married his aunt, Catherine of Bourbon, on the 18th of December, 1463,
and was killed at the siege of Tournay on the 22nd of June, 1477.
[386] Catherine, daughter of Charles I., Duke of Bourbon
[387] Arnold of Egmont, Duke of Guelders, was the son of John of Egmont
and Mary of Arkel. He married Catherine, daughter of Adolphus, Duke of
Cleves; and died on the 24th of February, 1473.
[388] In the town of Thiel, on the Waal, in Guelders. Duke Arnold was set
at liberty in December, 1470.
[389] Pope Paul IV. and the Emperor Frederick III.
[390] Grave, a strong town on the Meuse, in Dutch Brabant.
[391] The Duke of Burgundy arrived at Doullens on the 17th of January,
1471, and remained there until the 3rd of February following. Lenglet,
ii. 197.
[392] Expresses had been sent to Maestricht and Bois-le-Duc, by Duke
Charles, on the 10th of February, to order his arrest if he made his
appearance in those towns.
[393] He was arrested at Namur, and sent thence, by the duke’s order, to
Vilvorde, where he attempted to escape, but was recaptured, and sent to
the Castle of Courtray.
[394] Mary of Burgundy.
[395] The Emperor Maximilian, husband of Mary of Burgundy, lost the duchy
of Guelders in 1492; and Charles of Egmont, the son of Duke Adolph, was
then restored to his inheritance.
[396] The truce was prolonged from the 15th of June, 1474, to the 1st of
May, 1475. See Lenglet, iii. 315.
[397] It appears almost certain that Commines here alludes to himself.
See Meyer, Annal. Fland., 361.
[398] Herman IV., son of Louis I., Landgrave of Hesse, and Anne, daughter
of Frederick I., Elector of Saxony. He was elected Archbishop of Cologne
on the 11th of August, 1480, and died in the autumn of 1508.
[399] Robert of Bavaria, Count Palatine, was the son of Louis le Barbu,
Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda of Savoy. He died in prison on
the 17th of July, 1480.
[400] Nuz, now called Neuss, a town in the regency of Dusseldorf, in the
Prussian States. The duke encamped before Neuss on the 30th of July,
1474. See Lenglet, ii. 214; and for details of the siege, Molinet, i. 27.
[401] Henry III., brother of Herman. He married Anne, daughter of the
Count of Dietz, and died on the 12th of January, 1483.
[402] He had had it in his possession since 1468. See p. 125.
[403] It had been prolonged for nearly a year. See p. 235.
[404] By the treaty of alliance and confederation made between the King
of England and the Duke of Burgundy on the 25th of July, 1474, among
other conventions, the duke pledged himself to listen to no proposition
of truce or peace without Edward’s consent. Rymer, v. 41.
[405] By letters dated June 12. 1475, King Edward entrusted to John
Audley and Galhard de Duras, Lord of Durfort, the command of the fleet
destined to succour the Duke of Bretagne. Rymer, v. 3. 64.
[406] Henry, Count of Schwartzburg, was first Bishop of Bremen, and
afterwards, in 1467, Bishop of Munster. He died on the 24th of December,
1497. The valorous conduct of this prelate at the siege of Neuss is
commemorated in the following passage from his epitaph:—
Cæsareas aquilas infestaque signa, viator,
Suspensa ad tumulum præsulis, oro, vide.
Principis hæc meruit virtus, cum Nussia dura
Burgundi quatitur obsidione ducis.
(Witt, 564, 597.)
[407] “He came so near as to lodge at Zons, and, on the following day,
established his artillery at about a league from the siege. He had in
front of him a high mountain, the river Rhine on one side, and large
and deep trenches on the other, from the mountain-slope to the river.”
Molinet, i. 117.
[408] George Hesler, Apostolical and Imperial Prothonotary, Canon and
Archdeacon of Cologne, was a native of Wurtzburg in Bavaria. At the
solicitation of the Emperor Frederick III., Sixtus IV. created him
a cardinal, on the 10th of December, 1477; and he was drowned while
attempting to cross the Danube in a boat, in the month of September, 1482.
[409] Jean Tiercelin, Lord of Brosse, chamberlain of Louis XI., and
governor of the Duke of Orleans, afterwards Louis XII., was the son
of Macé Tiercelin, Lord of Brosse; and married Louise de Longchamp.
His mission to the emperor was “to maintain and continue the ancient
alliances between the two powers.” Lenglet, iii. 371.
[410] Alexander Nanni, appointed Bishop of Forli in 1470, Vice-Legate and
Governor of Umbria in 1474, and Apostolic Nuncio in Germany under the
pontificate of Pius IV. He died at Rome in 1485.
[411] At Unterbilk, a little town on the other side of the Rhine, two
leagues from Neuss. Molinet, i. 74.
[412] René II., son of Ferri II., Count of Vaudemont, and Yolande of
Anjou, succeeded Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine, in 1473, at the age of
twenty-two, and died on the 10th of December, 1508.
[413] Pierfort, in the arrondissement of Toul, and department of Meurthe.
[414] The act in which Louis XI. declares himself favourable to the
pretensions of the Swiss, is dated Senlis, June 11. 1474. See Lenglet,
iii. 312.
[415] Pierre de Hagenbach, knight, councillor and steward to Duke
Charles, was High Bailiff of Ferrette, and Lord of Belmont. His name
occurs in the narrative of an act of adulation and despotism so singular
that we do not hesitate to mention it. Philip, Duke of Burgundy, fell
ill, and his head was shaved by order of his physicians. In order not to
be the only man in such a plight, he issued an edict that all his nobles
should in like manner shave their heads: more than 500 noblemen, for love
of the duke, did so; and Pierre de Hagenbach and others, to prove their
devotedness, no sooner caught sight of an unshaven nobleman than they
forcibly deprived him of his hair. Oliver de la Marche, ii. 227.
[416] The grievances of the inhabitants of the county of Ferrette are set
forth in a document quoted by Lenglet, iii. 351.
[417] Blamont, in the arrondissement of Montbelliard, department of Doubs.
[418] Hericourt, in the arrondissement of Vesoul, department of
Haute-Saône.
[419] On the 1st of May, 1475. See above, book iv. chap. i.
[420] Montdidier was taken on the 4th of May.
[421] Roye surrendered on the 6th of May.
[422] Louis, Lord of Contay and Forest, was the son of Guillaume de
Contay and Marguerite de Sully. During his father’s life-time, he was
Governor of Arras. He was also chamberlain to the Duke of Burgundy. He
married Jacqueline de Nesle, and was killed at the battle of Nancy on the
5th of January, 1476.
[423] On the 11th of May; the inhabitants fled to Amiens.
[424] On Wednesday, the 27th of June, the admiral came before Arras.
Lenglet, ii. 117.
[425] Pierre de Bourbon, Lord of Carency, son of Jean de Bourbon and
Jeanne de Vendôme, was born in February, 1424. Louis XI. had him tried
and condemned to death for high treason; but in consideration for his
family, granted him his life and restored him to liberty, but confiscated
his estates, as appears by letters patent of the 20th of April, 1469.
[426] On the 20th of June, 1475. See note, p. 150.
[427] Marie de Savoie, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, and Anne of
Cyprus, married Louis, Constable of St. Paul, on the 1st of August, 1466.
She died in 1475.
[428] Jacques de Luxembourg, Lord of Fiennes, was the son of Thibaud de
Luxembourg, and Philippa de Melun; and he died in 1487.
[429] The Duke of Burgundy lay before Nuz from the 30th of July, 1474, to
the 27th of June, 1475.
[430] Montdidier, Roye, and Corbie.
[431] This peace was confirmed on the 17th of November, 1475.
[432] “And about midsummer, in the year 1475, King Edward brought
his army to Calais in great pomp and triumph. It consisted of about
22,000 men; but the archers were badly mounted, and unused to riding on
horseback.” Molinet, i. 139. 141.
[433] Our English historian, Habington, falls foul of Philip de Commines
for this passage, and casts severe censures both on him and his _Memoirs_
for this unjust reflection on our nation.
[434] John Howard, created Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England
on the 28th of June, 1483, was the son of Robert Howard and Margaret,
daughter of Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. He was killed at the
battle of Bosworth Field on the 22nd of August, 1485.
[435] Thomas Stanley, afterwards Earl of Derby and Lord High Constable of
England. He died on the 9th of November, 1504.
[436] Jean de Hangest, Lord of Genlis, was the son of Jean de Hangest and
Marie de Sarrbruck. After having served the Duke of Burgundy until the
death of that prince, he became a councillor and chamberlain of Louis
XI., and was appointed Captain of Rouen. He died in 1490.
[437] The cross of Saint Lo or Saint Loup at Angers, was very celebrated
during the reign of Louis XI.; it was a piece of the true cross preserved
in the collegiate Church of Saint Lô, in the suburbs of Angers.
[438] That Louis XI. respected this oath, is evident from a letter which
he wrote to Tanneguy Duchastel on the 13th of November, 1472. “I have
sworn to M. de Lescun on the true cross of Saint Lô that he may come to
me in safety; wherefore I beseech you to set no ambushes, for I would not
wish to be in danger on account of breaking that oath.” Morice, iii. 250.
[439] He arrived at Calais on the 14th of July. Lenglet, ii. 217.
[440] By the treaty concluded between the two princes on the 27th of
July, 1475, it was stipulated that the succour to be given by the Duke of
Burgundy to King Edward should consist of not less than 10,000 men, or
more than 20,000 men. Rymer, v. 3. 43.
[441] Jacques de Grassay, Esquire, Lord of Yors and Estrée in
Bourbonnois, was the son of Regnault Grassay, Lord of Savigny-sur-Brais.
He was one of the gentlemen of the king’s body-guard at this period; and
he afterwards became esquire-carver to King Charles VIII.
[442] Mezières, in the department of Ardennes.
[443] Gilbert de Grassay, Knight. Lord of Champeiroux, was an equerry to
the Duke of Bretagne in 1465. He was taken prisoner at the surrender of
Vannes in 1488; and soon afterwards he entered the service of France, and
became one of the king’s councillors and chamberlains.
[444] According to Lenglet, this servant’s name was Merindot.
[445] Olivier Merichon, Knight, Lord des Halles de Poitiers, was
cup-bearer to King Louis XI. in 1472.
[446] Jean Merichon, councillor of King Louis XI., was Lord of Uré and La
Gort, near La Rochelle; he married Marie de Parthenay-Soubise.
[447] Alain Goyon de Villiers, councillor and chamberlain of Louis XI.,
Captain and Bailiff of Caen, and Master of the Horse of France, was the
son of Jean Goyon, Lord of Matignon, and Marguerite de Mauny. He died in
1490.
[448] Jean Blosset, Lord of Saint Pierre, was councillor and chamberlain
of the king, Seneschal of Normandy, and Captain of Avranches. He died
about 1507.
[449] The ambassadors of the King of England were four in number: the
three mentioned by Commines, and William Dudley, dean of the royal chapel.
[450] Thomas Saint Leger, one of the king’s body-guard; he was created
a Knight of the Bath on the 5th of July, 1483, by Richard III.; and
subsequently beheaded by order of that same prince, for having joined the
party of the Earl of Richmond.
[451] John Morton, born at Bere, near Blandford, in Dorsetshire, was
originally Rector of St. Dunstan’s Church in London. He was appointed
Bishop of Ely on the 8th of August, 1478, translated to the see of
Canterbury on the 9th of October, 1486, and created Lord Chancellor on
the 8th of August, 1487. Pope Alexander VI. made him a cardinal in 1493;
and he died at Knole on the 21st of September, 1500.
[452] The terms finally agreed upon by the Kings of France and England
are contained in four distinct acts, reported in Rymer (vol. v. part 3.
pp. 65-68), and all dated on the 29th of August, 1475. Their provisions
may be thus briefly stated: 1. King Edward engages to return to England
with his army as soon as Louis XI. has paid him the sum of 75,000 crowns.
2. A truce of _seven_ years, commencing at the date of the treaty, and
finishing at sunset on the 29th of August, 1482, is concluded between the
two sovereigns. 3. The Kings of France and England undertake to mutually
assist each other in case either prince should be attacked by his enemies
or by his rebellious subjects; and to make this alliance still closer,
Prince Charles, son of Louis XI., is to wed the Princess Elizabeth,
daughter of Edward IV., as soon as they are both of marriageable age. 4.
The King of France engages to pay annually to the King of England, in
two instalments, the sum of 50,000 crowns; such payment to continue only
during the life-time of either prince.
[453] Elizabeth, born in 1466, married Henry VII., King of England, on
the 18th of January, 1486, and died on the 11th of February, 1503.
[454] It will be seen by the previous note, that no reference was made to
this demand in the final treaty.
[455] This is a mistake: the truce was to last _seven_ years.
[456] Sir John Cheyne was, at the period of his visit to France, Master
of the Horse. He was created a Knight of the Bath by Richard III. on
the 5th of July, 1483. He afterwards joined the party of the Earl of
Richmond, and was wounded at the battle of Bosworth Field on the 22nd of
August, 1485.
[457] Lord Hastings was not always so scrupulous, for he gave receipts
for a pension granted him by the Duke of Burgundy in 1471. Lenglet, iii.
617.
[458] See note, p. 276.
[459] Sir Thomas Montgomery was a Knight of the Garter, and one of King
Edward’s council. He was created a Knight of the Bath by Richard III. on
the 5th of July, 1483.
[460] On the 18th of August, he slept at Peronne, and proceeded on the
following day to King Edward’s camp near Saint Christ, on the Somme.
Lenglet, ii. 217.
[461] He nevertheless made a proposal for a truce of nine years with the
king, on the 13th of September following. See Lenglet, iii. 409.
[462] Louis XI. arrived at Amiens on the 22nd of August. See Dupont, i.
362.
[463] Jean d’Estouteville, Knight, was Lord of Briquebec, Hambie, Gascé,
and Mesnil-Seran, and Castellan of Gavre.
[464] Jacques de Beaumont, Lord of Bressuire and La Motte-Sainte-Heraye,
and Seneschal of Poitou, was the son of André de Beaumont and Jeanne de
Torsay. He married Jeanne de Rochechouart. He was one of the chamberlains
of Louis XI.
[465] Jean d’Estouteville, Lord of Torcy, Blainville and Ondeauville, and
grand master of the cross-bow-men of France, was the son of Guillaume de
Torcy and Jeanne d’Ondeauville; he married Françoise de la Rochefoucauld,
and died on the 11th of September, 1494.
[466] Pierre de Rohan, Knight, Count of Marle and Porcien, and Lord of
Gié, was the son of Louis de Rohan and Marie de Montauban. He was created
Marshal of France in 1475, and died on the 22nd of April, 1513.
[467] The Vidame of Amiens, at this time, was Jean d’Ailly, Knight, Baron
of Picquigny, Raineval, La Broye, Merancourt, and Poissy, and councillor
and chamberlain of King Louis XI. He married Yolande de Bourgogne, a
natural daughter of Duke Philip the Good; and died in 1492.
[468] This was in the year 1418.
[469] The frequent attacks of insanity to which King Charles VI. was
subject, rendered it impossible for him to govern alone, and the
administration of the affairs of the kingdom was therefore entrusted to
his brother the Duke of Orleans, and to his cousin the Duke of Burgundy.
Neither of these princes was, however, satisfied with a mere share in the
royal power; and on the 23rd of November, 1407, the Duke of Orleans was
assassinated by order of the Duke of Burgundy. Hence arose a civil war,
which lasted until 1435.
[470] This should be _eleven_ years—(1407-1418).
[471] Charles VII. was at this time Dauphin only, as his father did not
die until 1422. It was not until after the capture of Rouen by Henry V.
that the dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy became reconciled, and signed a
peace at Arras on the 11th of July, 1419.
[472] On the 10th of September, 1419.
[473] Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was the son of Henry Percy and
Eleanor Poynings. He married Maud, daughter of William Herbert, first
Earl of Pembroke. He was killed in a popular riot, during the fourth year
of the reign of King Henry VII.
[474] The personage here alluded to by Commines, is Thomas of Rotherham,
who was born on the 24th of August, 1423, and became Keeper of the
Great Seal, Bishop of Rochester in 1468, Bishop of Lincoln in 1471, and
Archbishop of York in 1480. He was appointed Lord High Chancellor of
England in 1474, and with an interval of two years, occupied that post
until his death, on the 29th of May, 1500. Commines here mistakes _Lisle_
for _Lincoln_.
[475] See above, p. 188.
[476] Our historian Habington states this reply of King Edward somewhat
differently, and says he answered resolutely, “That he would never
forsake the care of a confederate who had maintained his faith so
constantly.”
[477] The other English lords who took presents, or rather pensions from
the French king, were, the Lord Hastings, lord chamberlain; the Lord
Howard; Sir John Cheyne, master of the horse; Sir Anthony St. Leger, and
Sir Thomas Montgomery.
[478] According to Oliver de la Marche, ii. 266, he was a Gascon squire
in the service of Lord Scales.
[479] Jean Daillon, Lord du Lude, knight, councillor and chamberlain to
Louis XI., and Governor of Dauphiny. He was a _compère_ of the king, who
nicknamed him _Maistre Jehan des habiletez_.
[480] This was that John, Lord Howard, who, in consideration of his
descent from the Lady Margaret, daughter of Thomas, first Duke of
Norfolk, was, by Richard III., created Duke of Norfolk, and lost his life
with him at Bosworth Field. From him are descended the Duke of Norfolk,
and all the noble families of the Howards now in being.
[481] In these letters he told him that “he was a cowardly, dishonoured
and poor king, for having made such a treaty with the King of France, on
account of the promises he had made him, none of which he intended to
keep.” Lenglet, ii. 120.
[482] The city of London, however, seemed well pleased with this
expedition, and the lord mayor and aldermen received the king on
Blackheath with great formalities, and conducted him in great pomp to
Westminster.
[483] King Edward upon his return from France, caused his eldest daughter
Elizabeth to be styled Dauphiness.
[484] Jean de Foix, Viscount of Narbonne, was the son of Gaston IV.,
Count of Foix, and Eleanor of Arragon, afterwards Queen of Navarre. He
married Marie de France, sister of King Louis XII; and died in November,
1500. He assumed the title of Count of Foix in 1483, on the death of his
nephew, François Phœbus, Count of Foix and King of Navarre.
[485] This treaty is dated on the 13th of September, 1475, and was to
continue from that date until the 12th of September, 1484. Commines does
not mention that, by one of the articles, four gentlemen, one of whom was
himself, were excluded from all share in the treaty. Lenglet, iii. 409.
[486] This was the main point King Edward endeavoured to prevent, since,
by articling apart, the duke showed his independence, and that the
English, by their arms, had in no way advanced his affairs.
[487] This arrangement was made by letters dated September 13. 1475.
“The king said that his cousin of Burgundy had treated the constable as
huntsmen treat a fox; for like a wise man, he had taken the skin, and
left him only the carcase, which was worth nothing.” Molinet, i. 181.
[488] It was currently believed in the Netherlands that the constable
went to Mons by order of the king. The registers of Ypres state: “The
king and the duke agreed on an expedient to obtain possession of the
constable’s person. The king proposed to him to go on an embassy to
the duke, who was then at Luxembourg about certain matters; which
he undertook. The duke sent orders at the same time that his person
should be secured as soon as he appeared in any town in his dominions.
Accordingly, when the constable arrived at Mons, the gates of the town
were shut upon him, and he was kept there a month, after which he was
conducted, under a strong escort, to Peronne, and delivered to the
officers of the King of France.” Gachard, i. 277.
[489] “The King of France, being informed that the constable was treating
for the surrender of St. Quentin to the Duke of Burgundy, marched with
20,000 men to prevent it, and entered the town at about six o’clock in
the evening of the 14th September.” Molinet, i. 179.
[490] Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s mother was Jacquetta of Luxembourg,
daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg, the constable’s father.
[491] He encamped before that town on the 24th of October, 1475. Lenglet,
ii. 218.
[492] The duke did not consent to deliver the constable into the hands
of the king until the latter had assured to him the complete and entire
confiscation of the property of the prisoner, only a portion of which had
been assigned to him by the treaty of the 13th of September, 1475. Louis
XI. therefore issued new letters, dated 12th November, 1475, by which he
not only ratified his former engagements, but left the duke his choice
between all the property of the constable, or those towns in Lorraine of
which Charles the Bold had taken possession. The duke chose the towns,
as is proved by the king’s letters, dated 18th December, 1475, in which
he promises not to quarrel with the Duke of Burgundy for his choice.
Lenglet, iii. 444-448.
[493] Molinet thus states the reasons which induced the Count of
Campobasso to betray his master. That nobleman, he says, “was captain
of 400 lances, which he had brought from Italy; but on New Year’s Day,
Duke Charles gave 100 of the lances to Signor Angelo, the count’s son,
to command, and as many to the count’s younger son, at which the said
Campobasso was greatly displeased.” Molinet, i. 77. Oliver de la Marche
(ii. 420) says it was because the duke owed him money.
[494] René, surnamed the Good, Duke of Anjou, and King of Sicily, was the
son of Louis II., Duke of Anjou, and Yolande of Arragon. He died on the
10th of July, 1480.
[495] Nancy surrendered to the duke on Thursday, November 30. 1475.
[496] The trial began on the 27th November, and the constable was
executed on the 19th December, 1475.
[497] Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, born on the 15th of January,
1341, was the son of John, King of France, and Bonne de Luxembourg. He
married Marguerite, Countess of Flanders, and died on the 27th of April,
1404.
[498] Charles V., born on the 21st of January, 1337, married Jeanne de
Bourbon, and died on the 16th September, 1380.
[499] René II., Duke of Lorraine, who was at that time twenty-five years
of age.
[500] The Count of Campobasso.
[501] Louis, Lord of St. Priest, knight, chamberlain of the king, was
sent by that prince as his ambassador to Berne on the 2nd of August,
1474. Lenglet, iii. 337.
[502] Louis XI. had nevertheless attempted to induce Campobasso to desert
the Duke of Burgundy, and enter his service. See Dupont, i. 405.
[503] “The duke encamped before Granson on the 19th of February, 1476,
with an army of 50,000 men or more, of all languages and countries, with
a quantity of cannon and other engines of novel construction, and tents
and accoutrements all glittering with gold, and a great host of servants,
merchants, and courtezans.” Chronique du Chapitre de Neuchastel, p. 386.
[504] “All the garrison were given over to the provost-marshal, who,
without pity or mercy, caused them to be hanged on the nearest trees by
three executioners, to the number of 400 or thereabout, and the rest were
drowned in the lake.” Molinet, i. 191.
[505] Three hundred men of Berne and a hundred of Neufchâtel assembled to
march to the relief of Granson, but finding it impossible to penetrate
the Burgundian lines, they “returned home groaning.” Chronique de
Neuchastel, p. 387.
[506] The Castle of Bomacourt, by which he received supplies of
provisions for his army. Molinet, i. 191.
[507] This rout took place on the evening of the 3rd of March, 1476.
[508] A treaty between the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Milan had
been concluded at Moncalier on the 30th of January, 1475.
[509] Yolande de France, sister of Louis XI., was born on the 23rd of
September, 1434, married Amadeus IX., Duke of Savoy, in 1452, became a
widow on the 28th of March, 1472, and died on the 29th of August, 1478.
[510] He was brother of Marie of Anjou, the mother of Louis XI.
[511] Louis XI. had made a treaty of alliance with the emperor and the
electors in December, 1475. He confirmed it on the 17th of April, 1476.
This confirmation is probably what the confederate towns now demanded.
[512] His subjects were, however, beginning to reject his demands.
He assembled the Estates of Franche-Comté at Salins, and stated his
intention to levy an army of 40,000 men, and to impose a tax of
one-fourth of their property on his subjects. In answer, the Estates
declared that all they could offer him was a force of 3000 men, “to
guard the country.” The Estates of Burgundy declared at Dijon that the
war was utterly useless, and that they would not involve themselves in
a groundless quarrel, in which they could have no hope of success. And
to crown all, the Flemings wrote to him that, if he were surrounded by
the Swiss and Germans, and had not men enough to extricate himself,
they would come to his relief. See Michelet’s _Louis XI., et Charles le
Temeraire_, pp. 129, 130.
[513] The Duchess of Milan, Bona of Savoy, was sister of Charlotte of
Savoy, the second wife of Louis XI. She married Galeas Sforza, on the 9th
of May, 1468, and died in 1485, after a widowhood of nine years.
[514] This treaty between Louis XI. and the Duke of Milan was concluded
on the 9th of August, 1476.
[515] Hugues de Chalon, Lord of Chasteau-Guyon and Nozeroy, was the son
of Louis de Chalon. Prince of Orange, and Leonore d’Armagnac. He was a
man of distinguished bravery. At the battle of Granson, he twice dashed
amidst the enemy’s ranks and nearly succeeded in taking their standard;
but his charge was unsupported, and therefore unavailing.
[516] Jean, Lord of Cossé in Anjou, was one of the councillors and
chamberlains of King René, and Seneschal of Provence.
[517] Louis XI. undertook to pay René a pension of 60,000 francs yearly
during the remainder of his life. Lenglet, iii. 392.
[518] Yolande of France, Duchess of Savoy, and sister to Louis XI.
[519] The following is a list of the spoil taken by the Swiss at Granson,
from Peignot’s Amusemens Philologiques:—
“1. Five hundred pieces of heavy artillery, with a quantity of
ammunition, and abundance of provisions.
“2. Four hundred tents of great richness, fitted with silk and velvet,
and with the duke’s arms embroidered thereon in gold and pearls. Most of
these were spoiled by the Swiss, who made them into clothes.
“3. Six hundred banners and standards; 300 helmets; 300 cwt. of
gunpowder; 3000 sacks of barley; 2000 baggage wagons; 2000 barrels of
herrings, and a quantity of other dried fish, and salted meat, geese and
fowls; and abundance of sugar, raisins, figs, almonds, and other things
innumerable; and 8000 spiked clubs.
“4. Four hundred lbs. weight of silver plate, which was taken to Lucerne,
and divided among the Swiss, to say nothing of that which was carried off
by the soldiers.
“5. Three hundred complete services of magnificent silver plate; and so
great a quantity of coined money that it was distributed by handfulls;
four wagon-loads of crossbows and strings; and three wagon-loads of
bed-linen.
“6. The coffer containing the duke’s archives, and his great diamond.
“7. The duke’s rosary, with the apostles in massive gold.
“8. The duke’s sword, adorned with seven large diamonds and as many
rubies, with fifteen pearls of the size of a bean, and of the finest
water; 160 pieces of cloth of gold and silk; with innumerable relics in
rich shrines; the duke’s gilded chair, and his gold ring, and the ring of
his brother Antony, and two large pearls set in gold, each as large as a
nut.”
[520] This famous diamond, called the _Sancy_ diamond, was sold by the
last-mentioned purchasers to M. de Diesbach, for 5400 Rhine florins; he
sold it to a Genevese jeweller for 7000 Rhine florins; it was next sold
to the Duke of Milan for 11,000 ducats; then to Pope Julius for 20,000
ducats; and in 1835, it was purchased by Prince Demidoff for 20,000_l._
It is said to weigh 53½ grains.
[521] Of this sum, 9000 francs were given to certain private individuals,
and the remainder was thus divided: 6000 francs to Berne, 3000 to
Lucerne, and 2000 to Zurich. Lenglet, iii. 379.
[522] The duke reached Lausanne on the 29th of April, 1476, and remained
there until the 27th of May.
[523] The principality of Tarentum was not actually conferred on Don
Frederic of Arragon until 1485, but he appears to have enjoyed the
titular dignity for some time previously. He became King of Naples in
1496, and died on the 9th of November, 1504.
[524] Ferdinand I., natural son of Alphonso, King of Naples, succeeded
his father in 1458, and died on the 25th of January, 1494.
[525] On the 21st of June, 1476.
[526] According to some commentators, the person here referred to is the
Duke of Ascoli, but as the name of that nobleman was Orso Orsino, it is
impossible that he can be identical with “Count Julio,” who, as Commines
tell us, possessed the dukedom in question. It is more probable that our
author alludes to Giulio Antonio Aquavivá, Duke of Atri, a distinguished
statesman and warrior, known in Neapolitan history as “Count Giulio.” The
Duke of Atri, moreover, had been chosen by King Ferdinand to accompany
Prince Frederic of Arragon on his visit to the Court of Burgundy.
[527] Angelo Catto was celebrated as a physician and astrologer.
[528] Four years after the battle a chapel was erected on the field with
this inscription: “_Deo Optimo Maximo. Inclyti et fortissimi Burgundiæ
Ducis Exercitus, Moratum obsidens, ab Helvetiis cæsus, hoc sui Monumentum
reliquit._” In 1822 a handsome stone obelisk was set up, in a commanding
position overlooking the lake, also in commemoration of this victory.
[529] La Rivière is a small town in the arrondissement of Pontarlier,
in the department of Doubs. The duke arrived there on the 22nd of July.
Lenglet, ii. 220.
[530] This is a mistake; the battle of Granson occurred three months and
nineteen days before that of Morat. The former was fought on the 3rd of
March, and the latter on the 22nd of June, 1476.
[531] Charles I., born on the 29th of March, 1408, succeeded his brother
Philibert in 1482. He married Blanche of Montferrat, and died on the 13th
of March, 1489.
[532] In the department of the Cote-d’Or. This expedition was entrusted
to Oliver de la Marche, who had to answer for its performance with his
head. See his Memoirs, ii. 417,418.
[533] “Geoffroi, Lord of Riverol, a Piedmontese gentleman, rescued the
duke from the hands of those who had seized him. Louis de Villette, a
gentleman of Savoy, saved his brother.” Guichenon, ii. 142.
[534] Jean de Montchenu, Commander of St. Antoine de Ranvers, became
Bishop of Agen in 1477, and was translated to the see of Vivier in 1478.
In previous editions, he has been erroneously termed a Commander of
_Rhodes_.
[535] Jacques Louis de Savoie, Count of Geneva and Marquis de Gex. He
died at Turin on the 27th of July, 1485, without issue.
[536] “The Bishop of Geneva forced the Governor of Montmeillan to
surrender the place, wherein were all the treasures and jewels of the
Regent.” Guichenon, ii. 143. This must, therefore, be the castle to which
Commines refers in the succeeding paragraph.
[537] Geoffroi de Riverol, mentioned in a preceding note. The duchess had
previously sent her secretary Cavorret to the king; but Louis XI. had put
him in arrest because he was dressed in the Burgundian fashion.
[538] Oliver de la Marche says that the Lord of Chaumont took with him
200 lances.
[539] These papers are dated on the 2nd of November, 1476. The king
thereby pledged his word to defend and support his sister and her son
against the attacks and pretensions of Charles of Burgundy.
[540] The garrison of Nancy consisted of about 1000 or 1200 Burgundian
troops. Duke René laid siege to the town on the 15th of September, 1476.
[541] Jean de Rubempré, Lord of Bièvre, was appointed Bailiff of Hainault
in 1473, and created a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1475. He was killed
in the battle of Nancy.
[542] Molinet (i. 208.) says: “The besieged ran so short of provisions
that they were glad to eat horse-flesh. The townspeople were so false and
disloyal to them, that if the captains had made a sortie, they would not
have been admitted again into the town. And furthermore, two bombards,
one culverin, and several serpentines, were continually firing on them,
as many as twenty-one shots a day, by which means a gate was broken
through, and the dilapidated wall was razed to the ground.”
[543] The Lord of Fay, Lieutenant of Luxembourg, collected a body of
forces, and marched with the Count of Campobasso to the relief of Nancy.
But instead of proceeding thither at once, they spent a considerable
time in deciding on the route they should take, and in waiting for
reinforcements. This delay arose chiefly from their expectation that they
would get but little booty in Lorraine; and their allegiance to Duke
Charles had been greatly shaken by his defeats at Granson and Morat, 60
that, says Molinet, “their succour, which should have been prompt and
zealous, was very tardy and unwillingly given.”
[544] According to Molinet (i. 207.) the duke had 10,000 Swiss, horse and
foot.
[545] On the 6th of October, 1476.
[546] On the 10th of October the Duke of Burgundy came up with Duke René
at Pont-à-Mousson. Lenglet, ii. 220.
[547] On the 22nd of October, 1476.
[548] The pretensions of the house of Anjou to the kingdom of Naples date
from the will of Joan I., Queen of Naples, made on the 23rd of June,
1380, in favour of Louis I., Duke of Anjou, and brother of King Charles
VI. of France.
[549] Suffron de Bachier, councillor and steward to King René.
[550] According to the Chronicle of Lorraine, Campobasso acted in just
the opposite way. He undertook the defence of Suffron so strenuously that
the duke, “who was armed, and had his gauntlets on, raised his hand, and
knocked the count down.” Calmet, vii. 118.
[551] Oliver de la Marche (ii. 420.) also states that “the Duke of
Lorraine intrigued with the Swiss to induce them to come to Nancy; and
the King of France secretly furnished him with money to obtain their
assistance, that they might do to the Duke of Burgundy that which he did
not dare to undertake himself.”
[552] “On Saturday, the 4th of January, the Duke of Lorraine arrived at
St. Nicholas with 10,500 Swiss.” Molinet, i. 231.
[553] Alphonso V., surnamed the African, was the son of Duarte I., King
of Portugal, and Eleanor of Arragon. He was born in 1432, and succeeded
his father in 1438. He married his cousin Isabella, the daughter of Don
Pedro; and he died on the 28th of August, 1481. He was the first King of
Portugal who possessed a private library.
[554] Ferdinand V., surnamed the Catholic, was the son of John, King of
Navarre and Arragon, and Juana Henriquez. He was born on the 10th of
March, 1452, and ascended the throne of Spain in 1474. His first wife was
the celebrated Isabella of Castile. He died on the 23rd of January, 1516.
[555] The mother of Duke Charles, Isabella of Portugal, was aunt to King
Alphonso V.
[556] He arrived at the camp before Nancy on the 29th of December.
Lenglet, ii. 221.
[557] Robinet le Beuf, a Norman knight, from the neighbourhood of Evreux,
was valet de chambre to Louis XI. in 1466. In 1471 he was appointed one
of the gentlemen of the king’s household, and held that office until
1488, when he was killed in the battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier.
[558] In the letters of naturalization granted to this person by Louis
XI. in 1477, he is designated as “George de Bicipat, surnamed the
Greek, Knight, native of Greece, Captain of our great ship and of our
town and Castle of Touque, and our well-beloved and trusty councillor
and chamberlain.” Pierre de Lailly mentions him as George Paleologo de
Bicipat. In previous editions of Commines he is erroneously called George
Leger.
[559] Juana, daughter of Henry IV., King of Castile, and Juana, Infanta
of Portugal, was born in 1462. She was twice betrothed, first to the
Duke of Guienne, and afterwards to her uncle, Alphonso V. On the 15th
of November, 1480, she took the vows in the convent of Santa Clara at
Santarem, and she died at Alcacova in 1530.
[560] He died in 1474.
[561] Isabella of Castile, daughter of Juan II., and Isabella of
Portugal, was born on the 23rd of April, 1451. In 1469, she married
Ferdinand the Catholic, King of Arragon, and she died on the 20th of
November, 1504.
[562] His name was Thierry, a draper in the town of Mirecourt. Calmet,
vii. 122.
[563] Oliver de La Marche (ii. 420.) says he had not 2000 fighting men.
[564] Before the battle, says Molinet (i. 229.) he inquired how many men
there were in his army. “The Count of Chimay, a very eloquent, wise, and
discreet man, told him in gentle and amiable language, that the captains
had made inquiries, and that there were not more than 3000 men in a
condition to fight. ‘I deny what you say,’ replied the duke, in great
anger; ‘but if I were to fight alone I would fight all the same. You are
what you are, and show clearly that you are sprung from the house of
Vaudemont.’ The count prudently and gently replied, that his deeds should
show that he was sprung from an honourable line, and that, although he
saw no chance of overcoming the enemy, he would remain faithful to the
duke.”
[565] Conde-Northen, or Contghen, in the arrondissement of Metz, and
department of Moselle.
[566] At the Pont de la Bussiere, half a league from Nancy. Molinet, i.
233.
[567] “In that battle were slain, among others, the Lord of Bièvre, the
Lord of Verun, and the Lord of Contay; and among the prisoners were the
Lord Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy, and his brother Baldwin; Philip de
Croy, Count of Chimay; the Count of Nassau, and the Count of Challane;
the Lord Josse de Lalain, Sir Oliver de la Marche, the Lord of Croy, the
eldest son of the Lord of Contay, the eldest son of the Lord of Montagu,
and other noblemen.” Molinet, i. 236.
[568] “The Duke of Burgundy was knocked off his black horse, and fell
into a ditch near St. Jean.” Lenglet, iii. 493. “A knight named Claude
de Bausemont, came up with the Duke of Burgundy, and gave him a lance
thrust; others then charged him suddenly, and he was put to death in a
meadow near St. Jean.” Calmet, vii. 133. “A page came to the Duke of
Lorraine, and being interrogated, declared plainly that he had seen the
Duke of Burgundy thrown from his horse, and killed in a certain place
which he was ready to point out. On the following morning the page, with
many notable personages, went to the field, and found the body of the
Duke of Burgundy quite naked, lying on the ground among other corpses;
and he had received three mortal wounds, one in the head from a halberd,
which clove his skull in two, another with a pike in the groin, and a
third in the buttock.” Molinet, i. 234. By order of the Duke of Lorraine,
the body was buried with great magnificence in St. George’s Church at
Nancy.
[569] A hundred and four years only, as Philip the Bold was created Duke
of Burgundy in 1363, and Philip the Good died in 1467.
[570] “Philip the Good left his son 400,000 crowns of gold in cash,
72,000 marks of silver in plate, not to mention rich tapestries, splendid
jewels, gold plate adorned with precious stones, and his large and
valuable library; besides which, he died worth 2,000,000 gold pieces in
furniture alone.” Oliver de la Marche, ii. 267.
[571] The ordinance instituting this postal service is dated at Luxies
(now Lucheux) near Doullens, on the 19th day of June, 1464. Duclos, v.
220.
[572] The king’s first design was to seize them, as is proved by the
subjoined letter, addressed to the Lord of Craon:—“My Lord Count, my
Friend—I have received your letters, and heard the good news which you
tell me, for which I thank you as much as I am able. Now it is time to
employ all your five senses so as to get the duchy and county of Burgundy
into my hands; and with that view, with your band and the Governor of
Champagne (if the Duke of Burgundy is really dead) throw yourself into
that country, and as you love me, take care that your men of war keep as
good order as if you were in Paris, and tell them that I wish to treat
them and keep them better than any of my own kingdom; and that with
regard to our god-daughter, I intend to complete the marriage which I
have already negotiated between the dauphin and her. My lord count, I
do not intend that you should enter the country or mention what I have
stated above, unless the Duke of Burgundy is dead; and in that case, I
beg you to serve me according to the confidence I have in you. Farewell.
Written at Plessis du Parc, on the 9th of January. Signed Louis, and
countersigned De Chaumont.” Molinet, ii. 2.
[573] Pierre d’Oriolle. See a previous note.
[574] In the list of the duke’s household, this physician is named Master
Lope de la Garde. With reference to the page, one of the manuscripts
of these Memoirs speaks of him as “a Spaniard, named Don Diego;” other
authorities state that he was an Italian, of the house of Colonna.
[575] An abbey of regular canons of the Augustinian order, at about five
miles to the north-west of Arras.
[576] Jean de la Vacquerie, a native of Picardy, was admitted a
councillor of the Parliament of Paris on the 12th of November, 1479; he
became fourth president of that body on the 30th of May, 1480, and first
president on the 27th of February, 1481. He died in July, 1497.
[577] Margaret of Flanders, daughter of Louis II., Count of Flanders,
and Margaret of Brabant, was born in April, 1350, and married Philip the
Bold, Duke of Burgundy, on the 12th of April, 1369. She died on the 16th
of March, 1405.
[578] John, surnamed the Good, was son of Philip VI. of France, and Joan
of Burgundy. He died on the 8th of April, 1364.
[579] Charles of Anjou, King of Naples, Count of Maine, Guise and
Provence, was the son of Charles of Anjou and Isabella of Luxembourg. In
1480, he succeeded to all the estates and dominions of René, Count of
Provence and King of Naples and Sicily. He appointed Louis XI. his heir
by a will dated on the 10th of December, 1481, and he died on the day
following. Anselme, i. 236.
[580] By a treaty concluded on the 29th of August, 1475. See book iv.
chap. viii. of these Memoirs.
[581] In the third chapter of his sixth book, Commines especially
mentions the Count of Angouleme.
[582] This personage will be familiar to all who have read Sir Walter
Scott’s novel of Quentin Durward. Oliver le Mauvais was valet de chambre
and chief barber to Louis XI.; in October, 1474, he received letters of
nobility from that prince, authorizing him to change his name of Mauvais
to that of Le Dain. On the 19th of November, 1477, the king conferred the
estates of the deceased Count of Meulant on Oliver le Dain and his heirs;
and to this gift he added the Forest of Senart in October, 1482. On the
21st of May, 1484, Oliver was hanged “for various great crimes, offences,
and malefactions.”
[583] The village of Thielt.
[584] The name of Robinet d’Edinfort or De Dampfort occurs in the list of
gentlemen of the king’s household for the years 1471 and 1474.
[585] Allouagne, in the arrondissement of Bethune and department of the
Pas de Calais. The Lys rises near Bethune, and falls into the Scheldt, at
Ghent.
[586] Bouchain was surrendered about the 20th of May.
[587] On his first visit to Cambray, Louis XI. had effaced the imperial
arms from the public buildings of the town, and substituted the arms of
France in their stead; but he afterwards directed the authorities to
restore the holy imperial eagle, saying, “We wish you to be neutral, and
to continue in your former condition. We are viscount of your city, and
intend to maintain our jurisdiction and rights over it. But in regard
to our arms, you may take them down some evening, and put up your bird
again, and you may say it had flown away for a time, but returned to its
place just like the swallows which return with the spring.” Molinet, ii.
154.
[588] First of all by the treaty of Gavre in 1453, and afterwards in
1467. See book ii. chap. iv.
[589] Jacques, Lord and Baron of Moüy, councillor and chamberlain of
the king, Master of the Waters and Forests of Normandy and Picardy, and
Captain of St. Quentin and Ribemont.
[590] This is a mistake. At the end of May, 1483, three months before
the death of Louis XI., the Governor of the Bastille, in obedience to
the king’s orders, sent the prisoners home, after having required them
to swear that they would do nothing to the prejudice of his majesty.
Gachard’s Analectes Belgiques, i. 472.
[591] With 700 or 800 horse.
[592] “François de la Sauvagière, a very valiant man-at-arms, charged the
Duke of Guelders so roughly with a lance, as he was drawing off his men,
that he bore him to the ground. Notwithstanding this, he defended himself
as best he could, like a bold and valiant knight, full of virtuous
courage; but it was of no avail. He received two wounds in his head,
and another in his throat, and finally his death blow. Then he shouted,
‘Guelders!’ and spoke never a word more.” Molinet, ii. 68. This was in
June or July, 1477.
[593] William Hugonet, Lord of Saillans, Epoisses, and Lys, and Viscount
of Ypres, was beheaded at Ghent on the 3rd of April, 1477. He had been
appointed Chancellor of Burgundy on the 22nd of May, 1471.
[594] Wolfert de Borselen, Lord of La Weer, in Holland, Count of
Grand-Pré, chamberlain of Louis XI., and Knight of the Golden Fleece. He
married 1. Mary of Scotland; and 2. Charlotte of Bourbon; and he died in
1437.
[595] To those mentioned by Commines, we may add the Bishop of Tournay,
the Bishop of Arras, the chief Echevin of Ghent, the High Bailiff of
Ypres, and the son of the Burgomaster of Bruges. The ambassadors set out
at the beginning of February, and returned towards the end of the month.
[596] He entered the city on Tuesday, the 4th of March, 1477; and the
town capitulated on the 4th of May. Lenglet, ii. 141.
[597] The young duchess had confirmed him in all his estates and offices,
and furthermore bestowed on him the captaincy of Hesdin. But at a chapter
of the order of the Golden Fleece, held at Bois-le-Duc on the 8th of May,
1481, he was expelled the order, “on account of his crimes, demerits,
falsity, treason, and disloyalty.”
[598] Margaret de la Tremouille.
[599] Guillaume de Vergy, Baron of Bourbon-Lancy. Louis XI. appointed
him his councillor and chamberlain, and gave him the Castle of Vergy and
the estate of St. Dizier. He held the commission of captain of fifty
lances in the standing army of Charles VIII. After the death of that
monarch, he entered the service of the Emperor Maximilian, who appointed
him Marshal of Burgundy in 1498. Philip of Spain made him lieutenant and
captain-general of Guelders and Zutphen in 1504, and he died in 1520.
[600] Jean du Fou, councillor and chamberlain of the King of France,
Captain of Cherbourg, and chief cup-bearer to Louis XI.
[601] Molinet (ii. 25.) says there were 400 or 500 prisoners, including
several men of rank.
[602] It surrendered on the 4th of May. The king entered Arras on
horseback, not by the gate, but by the breach in the wall. He rode to the
market-place, where he thus addressed the citizens: “You have been very
uncourteous to me, but I pardon you. If you are good subjects to me, I
will be a good lord to you.” Molinet, ii. 26.
[603] Three days after his arrival, the king inquired who had been most
hostile to him in Arras during the siege. Some envious person named
Pierchon du Chastel, who was thereupon beheaded, together with an archer
who had taken aim at the king, and would have shot him, had not a butcher
prevented him. Molinet, ii. 26. The king changed the name of the town
from Arras to Franchise, and colonised it with artificers from other
towns. See Vaissette, v. 53.
[604] Guillaume de Cerisay was, in 1475, prothonotary and secretary to
the king, and clerk of his court of Parliament. In 1479, he was appointed
Mayor of Angers.
[605] A short time after the death of Duke Charles, the citizens of Ghent
rose in arms, and seized several notable burghers, to wit, Roland Van
Wedergraet, who had been chief echevin of the city; John Serssanders,
who had been second echevin; Peter Hurribloc, one of the lords of the
council-chamber of Flanders, Peter Boudins, Oliver de Grave, and John
Vander Poucke; which six persons were condemned and beheaded. The reason
of this was, that they had been connected with the government of the
city during the year 1468, when peace was made with Duke Charles, on
occasion of the excesses committed by the Gantois against the duke on
the day on which he made his joyful entry into their city ... “and had
granted letters under the great seal of Ghent, that if in future any
persons should attempt to excite any sedition or tumult in the town, they
should be mulcted of life and fortune, and their children be deprived, in
perpetuity, of the freedom of the guild to which they had belonged.” See
the Bulletins de l’Académie Royale de Bruxelles, vol. vi. part ii. p. 227.
[606] The letters-patent by which the Princess Mary restored their
privileges to the Flemings are dated at Ghent on the 11th of February,
1477.
[607] These ambassadors were, for Brabant, the Lord de Berssele, the
Mayor of Louvain, and the Pensionary of Brussels; for Flanders, the
Abbot of St. Peter’s at Ghent, the Lord of Moldeghem, M. de Dudzeele,
and the Pensionary of Ghent; for Artois, the Abbot of St. Bertin, Jean
de Beaumont, and Louis Lemire; for Hainault, the Lord of Ligne, and the
Pensionary of Mons. They set out on their mission towards the end of
February, 1477.
[608] Margaret of York.
[609] William de la Marck, surnamed William with the Beard and the Wild
Boar of Ardennes, was Count of Aremberg, Lord of Aigremont and Seraing,
sovereign mayor of Liege, and prime minister of the Bishop of Liege,
Louis de Bourbon. He obtained his surnames from peculiarities in his
personal appearance; for he endeavoured, by the length and growth of
his beard, to conceal the circumstance that had originally procured him
the denomination of the Wild Boar. This was an unusual thickness and
projection of the mouth and upper jaw, which, with the huge projecting
side-teeth, gave that resemblance to the brute creation which, joined
to the delight that De la Marck had in haunting the forest so called,
originally earned him the title of the Boar of Ardennes. He affected to
delight in this surname, and endeavoured to deserve it by the unvarying
cruelty and ferocity of his life; and to complete the resemblance, he
usually wore over his shoulders a strong surcoat of dressed boar-skin. He
was beheaded on the 18th of June, 1485. Readers of “Quentin Durward” will
remember Sir Walter Scott’s admirable description of this monster and his
crimes.
[610] He had excited the Liegeois to revolt against Duke Charles of
Burgundy and the Bishop of Liege in 1468.
[611] John de la Marck, Lord of Luman. After the death of Louis de
Bourbon, three candidates were nominated to the vacant bishopric of
Liege by the electors. One of these candidates was John de la Marck.
Pope Sextus IV. decided against him, but directed that the successful
candidate should allow him a pension of 1800 golden crowns a year.
[612] The bishop’s murder took place in 1482. In the months of August
and September of that year, La Marck entered into a conspiracy with the
discontented citizens of Liege against him, and was aided therein with
considerable sums of money by the King of France. By this means, and by
the assistance of many murderers and banditti, who thronged to him as to
a leader befitting them, La Marck assembled a body of troops, whom he
dressed in scarlet uniform, with a boar’s head on the left sleeve. With
this little army he approached the city of Liege. Upon this the citizens,
who were engaged in the conspiracy, came to their bishop, and, offering
to stand by him to the death, exhorted him to march out against these
robbers. The bishop, therefore, put himself at the head of a few troops
of his own, trusting to the assistance of the people of Liege. But as
soon as they came in sight of the enemy, the citizens, as before agreed,
fled from the bishop’s banner, and he was left with his own handful of
adherents. At this moment, La Marck charged at the head of his banditti
with the expected success. The bishop was brought before the profligate
knight, who first cut him over the face, saying, “Louis de Bourbon, I
strove long to obtain your favour, but you would not receive me; now I
have found you;” then murdered him with his own hand, and caused his
body to be exposed naked in the great square of Liege, in front of St.
Lambert’s Cathedral.
[613] John II., surnamed the Clement, born on the 23rd April, 1458;
married Matilda, daughter of Henry III., Landgrave of Hesse; and died
on the 15th May, 1521. He is said to have had sixty-three illegitimate
children; an enormous number even in those licentious times!
[614] Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of St. Paul, Marie, and Soissons, was
created a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478, and died on the 25th of
October, 1482.
[615] On the 19th of March, 1477.
[616] William de Clugny was at this time suffragan to Henry of Lorraine,
Bishop of Terouenne.
[617] Everard de la Marck, Lord of Aremberg and Neufchâtel, a younger
brother of the Wild Boar of Ardennes.
[618] The convention in pursuance of which Louis XI. occupied Arras was
not the work of Hugonet and Humbercourt only, but of the embassy of which
they were members; and their conduct had been not only justified, but
highly praised by the States-General, who, on hearing their report, sent
other envoys to thank Louis XI. for the suspension of hostilities which
the said ambassadors had obtained by means of the said convention. It
is not surprising, therefore, that the Gantois should have laid little
stress on this charge. See some valuable remarks on this subject by M.
Gachard, in the sixth volume of the Bulletins de l’Académie Royale de
Bruxelles.
[619] The chancellor was a Burgundian, and Humbercourt a native of
Picardy. They were, therefore, quite beyond the jurisdiction of the
Gantois.
[620] They were beheaded on the 3rd of April, 1477.
[621] John II., Prince of Orange, son of William VII., Prince of Orange,
and Catherine, daughter of Richard de Bretagne, Count of Etampes. He
succeeded his father in 1475. Having abandoned the cause of Louis XI.,
and joined the Duchess of Burgundy, the King of France issued a decree
against him, on the 7th of September, 1477, by which he was declared
guilty of high treason, and banished the realm. He died on the 25th of
April, 1502.
[622] Louis de Chalon, Prince of Orange, son of Jean de Chalon, Baron of
Arlay, and Marie de Baux. He died on the 13th of December, 1463, aged
seventy-five.
[623] Louis and Hugh de Chalon, Lords of Chasteau-Guyon, were children of
the above-mentioned Louis de Chalon, by Eleanor of Armagnac.
[624] This cause had already been argued by his father, William VII. of
Orange, before Duke Philip the Good.
[625] In previous editions, the two preceding paragraphs have been
placed at the beginning of the sixth book. They are here restored to
the position they occupy in the manuscripts and in the original French
editions of these Memoirs.
[626] Granada was at this time a Moorish kingdom. At the beginning of
the eighth century, the Saracens invaded Spain, and maintained their
footing there until 1492, when they were finally expelled by Ferdinand
and Isabella.
[627] As Louis XI. did after the death of his father, Charles VII.
[628] The first session of the Estates, at their meeting at Tours in
1483, was held on the 14th of January; their last occurred on the 14th of
March following.
[629] The author in this reflection on the exorbitant power of women,
seems to point at the Princess Anne, Countess of Beaujeu, sister of
Charles VIII., and Regent of France during his minority.
[630] Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III., King of England. The
battle of Poictiers was fought on the 19th of September, 1356; it was one
of the most glorious achievements in English history, and one of the most
splendid exploits in the life of its illustrious hero. The Black Prince
was a man of whom his country was justly proud, and his early death has
only served to add additional lustre to the brilliancy of his life. His
character is thus eloquently summed up by an old writer: “And thus fell
this victorious prince, in whose fall the hopes of all England seemed to
be cast down; while he lived, they feared no invasion, they doubted no
warlike encounter. He never marched against any whom he overcame not,
never besieged any city which he took not. All nations, both heathen
and Christian, dreaded his fortune and conduct in war, as of another
Hector; nor did his wisdom any way come short of his courage, both which
were equalled by his exemplary justice, clemency, liberality, piety,
and moderation—virtues but seldom sincerely embraced by persons of high
condition. He was a prince of whom we never heard any ill, nor received
any other note than of goodness, and the noblest performances that
magnanimity, generosity, courage, and wisdom could ever show, insomuch
as what praise can be given unto virtue is due unto him. He was of so
obliging a character that he won the hearts of all mankind, especially
of those who delighted in martial performances; and in general he was a
prince of such excellent demeanour, so valiant, wise, and politic in his
doings, that the very perfect image of knighthood appeared most lively in
his person.” Barnes’s History of Edward III., pp. 883, 884.
[631] “The statement of Commines with regard to the leather money current
in France after the payment of the king’s ransom appears to me very
erroneous; as it is certain that the king, on his return from England,
coined so much gold and silver money that the silver mark was worth
only five livres, and the gold mark sixty livres; which would have been
impossible if there had been so great a dearth of those two metals in
France as Commines would have us believe.” Leblanc’s Traité des Monnaies,
p. 277.
[632] By the terms of the treaty of the 29th of August, 1475. See note,
book iv. chap. viii.
[633] On the 9th of April, 1483, “he died of apoplexy, say some; but
others say that he was poisoned by drinking some good wine of Challuau,
which Louis XI. had given him.” Lenglet, ii. 169.
[634] Charles VIII. of France.
[635] Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian and Mary
of Burgundy, was born at Brussels on the 10th of January, 1470. In
July, 1483, she was married to the Dauphin, afterwards Charles VIII. at
Amboise. After having been considered Queen of France for ten years, she
was sent back to her father on the 12th of June, 1493. She afterwards
married John, Infante of Castile, in 1497, and Philibert, Duke of Savoy,
in 1501. She died on the 1st of December, 1530, after a widowhood of
twenty-six years.
[636] The Princess Elizabeth.
[637] Westminster Abbey.
[638] Robert Stillington was appointed chancellor on the 20th of June,
1467. He appears to have been of humble origin, but he gained a great
name at Oxford, where with much applause he took the degree of Doctor
of Laws. He was a zealous legitimist, and on the succession of Edward
IV. he was a special favourite with that prince, who successively made
him Archdeacon of Taunton, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Keeper of the Privy
Seal, and finally Lord Chancellor. He held this last office for six
years, with the exception of the few months when Edward was obliged to
fly the kingdom, and the sceptre was again put into the feeble hands of
Henry VI. He resigned the chancellorship from ill health on the 8th of
June, 1473. After the coronation of Henry VII., Stillington showed his
never-dying enmity to the house of Lancaster, by taking up the cause of
Lambert Simnel; but being detected in this conspiracy, and expecting
no mercy from the king, he fled for refuge to Oxford. The university
consented to deliver him up on condition that his life should be spared;
and he was conducted to Windsor, where he remained a prisoner till his
death, in June, 1491. See Lord Campbell’s Lives of the Chancellors, vol.
i. pp. 385-391.
[639] Habington mentions two ladies whom public rumour indicated as
having been seduced by the king, Lady Elizabeth Lucy and Lady Eleanor
Butler. Lord Campbell indignantly denies the charge brought against
Stillington by Commines, but has adduced no evidence in support of his
denial.
[640] Richard III. was proclaimed king on the 22nd of June, 1483.
[641] The English parliament, at a meeting held at Westminster, on the
23rd of January, 1484, declared that the marriage of Edward IV. with
Elizabeth Woodville had been effected in contravention of the customs of
the Anglican Church, seeing that, by a previous contract, the King had
plighted his troth to Lady Eleanor Butler, and that consequently, Edward
and Elizabeth had lived in adultery, and their children were evidently
bastards, and as such unable to inherit the crown.
[642] Henry, Duke of Buckingham, was son of Humphry, Earl of Stafford,
and Margaret, daughter of Edmund, Duke of Somerset. He married Catharine,
daughter of Richard Woodville, Earl of Rivers. Being detected in a
conspiracy against Richard III., he was beheaded at Salisbury on All
Saints’ Day, 1483.
[643] Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, afterwards Duke of Bedford, was the
son of Owen Tudor, and Catharine of France, widow of Henry V., King of
England. He married Catharine, the widow of the Duke of Buckingham, and
died on the 21st of December, 1495.
[644] Pierre Landais, the treasurer and favourite of the Duke of
Bretagne, had made overtures to Richard III. for the surrender of the
Earl of Richmond.
[645] The Battle of Bosworth Field, fought on the 22nd of August, 1485.
[646] Anne Neville, daughter of the great Earl of Warwick.
[647] James III., son of James II., King of Scotland, and Mary of
Guelders, ascended the throne of Scotland in 1460, at the age of seven
years. He married Margaret, daughter of Christian I., King of Denmark.
He surrounded himself by ministers sprung from the lower ranks of the
people, and the Scottish barons, in indignation, hanged the unworthy
favourites upon the bridge of Lauder, in 1482. In 1488, they rebelled
again, gave the king battle at Sauchie, and slew him in his flight on the
11th of June, 1488.
[648] James IV. succeeded his father, at fifteen years of age. He made
terms with the Scottish nobles, and married Margaret, daughter of Henry
VII., King of England. He thereby secured peace and tranquillity for his
country for many years; but Henry VIII. forced him into an alliance with
France, war was renewed between England and Scotland, and James IV. fell
on the battle-field of Flodden on the 9th of September, 1515.