the Dauphinois surrendered, on condition that their lives should be
spared, and that they should remain prisoners until they should ransom
themselves, each according to his rank in life. When this treaty had
been concluded, the fortifications of the monastery were destroyed, and
the Burgundians returned to the duke their lord in Troyes.
CHAP. XXXIX.
HENRY KING OF ENGLAND ARRIVES, WITH HIS WHOLE ARMY, AT TROYES IN
CHAMPAGNE, TO CELEBRATE HIS MARRIAGE, AND TO CONCLUDE A PERPETUAL
PEACE WITH THE KING OF FRANCE.
At this period, Henry king of England, accompanied by his two brothers
the dukes of Clarence and of Glocester, the earls of Huntingdon,
Warwick and Kyme, and many of the great lords of England, with about
sixteen hundred combatants, the greater part of whom were archers,
set out from Rouen and came to Pontoise, and thence to St Denis. He
crossed the bridge at Charenton, and left part of his army to guard it,
and thence advanced by Provins to Troyes in Champagne.
The duke of Burgundy, and several of the nobility, to shew him honour
and respect, came out to meet him, and conducted him to the hôtel where
he was lodged, with his princes, and his army was quartered in the
adjacent villages.
Shortly after his arrival, he waited on the king and queen of France,
and the lady Catherine, their daughter, when great honours and
attentions were, by them, mutually paid to each other. Councils were
then holden for the ratification of the peace; and whatever articles
had been disagreeable to the king of England in the treaty were then
corrected according to his pleasure. When all relating to the peace
had been concluded, king Henry, according to the custom of France,
affianced the lady Catherine.
On the morrow of Trinity-day, the king of England espoused her in the
parish church near to which he was lodged; great pomp and magnificence
were displayed by him and his princes, as if he were at that moment
king of all the world. On the part of the king of France was present
at this ceremony Philip duke of Burgundy, by whose means this treaty
and alliance had been brought about. He was attended by Pierre de
Luxembourg count de Conversan, sir John de Luxembourg his brother,
the prince of Orange, the lord de Joinville, the lord de Chastellus,
the lord de Chateau Vilain, the lord de Montagu, sir Regnier Pot, le
veau de Bar bailiff of Auxois, sir James de Courtejambe, sir John
de Coquebrune marshal of Burgundy and of Picardy, the lord de Croy,
the lord de Longueval, sir Actis de Brimeu, sir David his brother,
the lords de Roubaix, de Humbercourt bailiff of Amiens, sir Hugh
de Launois, sir Gilbert his brother, with numbers of other notable
knights, and some prelates and churchmen from the states of the duke.
The principal of these last were master John de Torsay bishop of
Tournay and chancellor of Burgundy, master Eustace de Lactre, master
John de Mailly; all, or at least the greater part, joined with the
duke in promising for ever to preserve inviolate the peace, the terms
of which were as follow:
'Charles, by the grace of God, king of France, to all our bailiffs,
provosts, seneschals, and to all the principal of our officers of
justice, or to their lieutenants, greeting. Be it known, that we have
this day concluded a perpetual peace, in our town of Troyes, with our
very dear and well beloved son Henry king of England, heir and regent
of France, in our name and in his own, in consequence of his marriage
with our well beloved daughter Catherine, and by other articles in the
treaty concluded between us for the welfare and good of our subjects,
and for the security of the realm; so that henceforward our subjects
and those of our said son may traffic and have a mutual intercourse
with each other, as well on this as on the other side of the sea.
'Item, it has been agreed, that our said son, king Henry, shall
henceforth honour us as his father, and our consort the queen as his
mother, but shall not by any means prevent us from the peaceable
enjoyment of our crown during our life.
'Item, our said son, king Henry, engages that he will not interfere
with the rights and royalties of our crown so long as we may live,
nor with the revenues, but that they may be applied as before to the
support of our government and the charges of the state; and that our
consort the queen shall enjoy her state and dignity of queen, according
to the custom of the realm, with the unmolested enjoyment of the
revenues and domains attached to it.
'Item, it is agreed, that our said daughter Catherine shall have such
dower paid her from the revenues of England, as English queens have
formerly enjoyed,--namely, sixty thousand crowns, two of which are of
the value of an English noble.[5]
'Item, it is agreed, that our said son, king Henry, shall, by every
means in his power, without transgressing the laws he has sworn to
maintain, and the customs of England, assure to our said daughter
Catherine the punctual payment of the aforesaid dower of sixty thousand
crowns from the moment of his decease.
'Item, it is agreed, that should it happen that our said daughter
survive our said son king Henry, she shall receive, as her dower
from the kingdom of France, the sum of forty thousand francs yearly;
and this sum shall be settled on the lands and lordships which were
formerly held in dower by our very dear and well beloved the lady
Blanche, consort to king Philip of France, of happy memory, our very
redoubted lord and great grandfather.
'Item, it is agreed, that immediately on our decease, and from
thenceforward, our crown and kingdom of France, with all its rights and
appurtenances, shall devolve for ever to our said son, king Henry, and
to his heirs.
'Item, because we are for the greater part of our time personally
prevented from attending to the affairs and government of our realm,
with the attention they deserve, the government of our kingdom shall in
future be conducted by our said son king Henry during our life, calling
to his assistance and council such of our nobles as have remained
obedient to us, and who have the welfare of the realm and the public
good at heart, so that affairs may be conducted to the honour of God,
of ourself and consort, and to the general welfare and security of the
kingdom; and that tranquillity may be restored to it, and justice and
equity take place every where by the aid of the great lords, barons and
nobles of the realm.
'Item, our said son shall, to the utmost of his power, support the
courts of parliament of France, in all parts that are subject to us,
and their authority shall be upheld and maintained with rigour from
this time forward.
'Item, our said son shall exert himself to defend and maintain each of
our nobility, cities, towns and municipalities in all their accustomed
rights, franchises and privileges, so that they be not individually nor
collectively molested in them.
'Item, our said son shall labour diligently that justice be
administered throughout the realm, according to the accustomed usages,
without exception of any one, and will bodily defend and guard all our
subjects from all violence and oppression whatever.
'Item, it is agreed, that our said son, king Henry, shall appoint
to all vacant places, as well in the court of parliament as in the
bailiwicks, seneschalships, provostships, and to all other offices
within our realm, observing that he do nominate fit and proper persons
for such offices, fully acquainted with the laws and customs of the
country, so that tranquillity may be preserved and the kingdom flourish.
'Item, our said son will most diligently exert himself to reduce to
our obedience all cities, towns, castles and forts, now in rebellion
against us, and of the party commonly called Dauphinois or Armagnac.
'Item, for the more secure observance of these articles, and the more
effectually to enable our said son, king Henry, to carry them into
execution, it is agreed, that all the great lords, as well spiritual as
temporal,--all the cities, towns and municipalities within our realm,
and under our obedience, shall each of them take the following oaths:
'They will swear obedience and loyalty to our said son king Henry, in
so much as we have invested him with the full power of governing our
kingdom of France in conjunction with such council of able men as he
may appoint. They will likewise swear to observe punctually whatever
we, in conjunction with our consort the queen, our said son king Henry,
and the council may ordain.
'The cities, towns and municipalities, will also swear to obey, and
diligently follow, whatever orders may particularly affect them.
'Instantly on our decease, the whole of the subjects of our kingdom
shall swear to become liege men and vassals to our said son king Henry,
and obey him as the true king of France, and, without any opposition
or dispute, shall receive him as such, and never pay obedience to any
other as king or regent of France but to our said son king Henry,
unless our said son should lose life or limb, or be attacked by a
mortal disease, or suffer diminution in person, state, honour or goods.
But should they know of any evil designs plotted against him, they will
counteract them to the utmost of their power, and give him information
thereof by letters or messages.
'Item, it is agreed, that whatever conquests our said son may make from
our disobedient subjects shall belong to us, and their profits shall be
applied to our use; but should any of these conquests appertain to any
noble who at this moment is obedient to us, and who shall swear that he
will faithfully defend them, they shall be punctually restored to him,
as to the lawful owner.
'Item, it is agreed, that all ecclesiastics within the duchy of
Normandy and the realm of France, obedient to us, to our said son,
and attached to the party of the duke of Burgundy, who shall swear
faithfully to keep and observe all the articles of this treaty, shall
peaceably enjoy their said benefices in the duchy of Normandy and in
all other parts of our realm.
'Item, all universities, colleges, churches and monasteries within the
duchy of Normandy or elsewhere, subject to us, and in time to come to
our said son king Henry, shall freely enjoy all rights and privileges
claimed by them, saving the rights of the crown and of individuals.
'Item, whenever the crown of France shall devolve by our decease on
our said son king Henry, the duchy of Normandy, and all the other
conquests which he may have made within the kingdom of France, shall
thenceforward remain under the obedience and jurisdiction of the
monarchy of France.
'Item, it is agreed, that our said son king Henry, on coming to the
throne of France, will make ample compensation to all of the burgundian
party who may have been deprived of their inheritances by his conquest
of the duchy of Normandy, from lands to be conquered from our
rebellious subjects, without any diminution from the crown of France.
Should the estates of such not have been disposed of by our said son,
he will instantly have the same restored to their proper owners.
'Item, during our life, all ordinances, edicts, pardons and privileges,
must be written in our name, and signed with our seal; but as cases may
arise, which no human wisdom can foresee, it may be proper that our
said son king Henry should write letters in his own name,--and in such
cases it shall be lawful for him so to do, for the better security
of our person, and the maintaining good government; and he will then
command and order in our name, and in his own, as regent of the realm,
according as the exigency of the occasion may require.
'Item, during our life our said son king Henry will neither sign
nor style himself king of France, but will most punctually abstain
therefrom so long as we shall live.
'Item, it is agreed, that during our life we shall write, call and
style our said son king Henry as follows,--'Our very dear son Henry,
king of England, heir to France;' and in the latin tongue, 'Noster
præcharissimus filius Henricus rex Angliæ hæres Franciæ.'
'Item, our said son king Henry will not impose any taxes on our
subjects except for a sufficient cause, or for the general good of the
kingdom, and according to the approved laws and usages observed in such
cases.
'Item, that perfect concord and peace may be preserved between the
two kingdoms of France and England henceforward,--and that obstacles
tending to a breach thereof, which God forbid, may be obviated,--it
is agreed, that our said son, king Henry, with the aid of the three
estates of each kingdom, shall labour most earnestly to devise the
surest means to prevent this treaty from being infringed: that on our
said son succeeding to the throne of France, the two crowns shall ever
after remain united in the same person,--that is to say in the person
of our said son, and at his decease in the persons of those of his
heirs who shall successively follow him: that from the time our said
son shall become king of France the two kingdoms shall no longer be
divided, but the sovereign of the one shall be the sovereign of the
other,--and to each kingdom its own separate laws and customs shall be
most religiously preserved.
'Item, thenceforward, therefore, all hatreds and rancour that may have
existed between the two nations of England and France shall be put an
end to, and mutual love and friendship subsist in their stead: they
shall enjoy perpetual peace, and assist each other against all who may
any way attempt to injure either of them. They will carry on a friendly
intercourse and commerce, paying the accustomed duties that each
kingdom has established.
'Item, when the confederates and allies of the kingdoms of France and
of England shall have had due notice of this treaty of peace, and
within eight months after shall have signified their intentions of
adhering to it, they shall be comprehended and accounted as the allies
of both kingdoms, saving always the rights of our crown and of that of
our said son king Henry, and without any hindrance to our subjects from
seeking that redress they may think just from any individuals of these
our allies.
'Item, it is agreed, that our said son king Henry with the advice of
our well beloved Philip duke of Burgundy, and others of the nobles of
our realm, assembled for this purpose, shall provide for the security
of our person conformably to our royal estate and dignity, in such
wise that it may redound to the glory of God, to our honour, and to
that of the kingdom of France and our subjects; and that all persons
employed in our personal service, noble or otherwise, and in any charge
concerning the crown, shall be Frenchmen born in France, and in such
places where the french language is spoken, and of good and decent
character, loyal subjects, and well suited to the offices they shall be
appointed to.
'Item, we will that our residence be in some of the principal places
within our dominions, and not elsewhere.
'Item, considering the horrible and enormous crimes that have been
perpetrated in our kingdom of France, by Charles, calling himself
dauphin of Vienne, it is agreed that neither our said son king Henry,
nor our well beloved Philip duke of Burgundy, shall enter into any
treaty of peace or concord with the said Charles, without the consent
of us three and of our council, and the three estates of the realm for
that purpose assembled.
'Item, it is agreed, that in addition to the above articles being
sealed with our great seal, we shall deliver to our said son, king
Henry, confirmatory letters from our said consort the queen, from our
said well beloved Philip duke of Burgundy, and from others of our
blood royal, the great lords, barons, and cities and towns under our
obedience, and from all from whom our said son king Henry may wish to
have them.
'Item, in like manner, our said son king Henry, on his part, shall
deliver to us, besides the treaty itself sealed with his great seal,
ratifications of the same from his well beloved brothers, the great
lords of his realm, and from all the principal cities and towns of his
kingdom, and from any others from whom we may choose to demand them.
'In regard to the above articles, we Charles king of France do most
solemnly, on the word of a king, promise and engage punctually to
observe them; and we swear on the holy evangelists, personally touched
by us, to keep every article of this peace inviolate, and to make all
our subjects do the same, without any fraud or deceit whatever,--so
that none of our heirs may in time to come infringe them, but that they
may be for ever stable and firm. In confirmation whereof, we have
affixed our seal to these presents,
'Given at Troyes, 21st day of May, in the year 1420, and of our reign
the 40th. Sealed at Paris with our signet, in the absence of the great
seal.' Signed by the king in his grand council. Countersigned, 'J.
Millet.'
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: The queen's dower was 40,000 crowns, which was confirmed
in the first parliament of Henry VI on petition from her.--_Parl.
Hist._]
CHAP. XL.
THE KINGS OF FRANCE AND OF ENGLAND DEPART FROM TROYES WITH THEIR
QUEENS, IN COMPANY WITH THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.--THE SIEGES OF SENS AND
OF MONTEREAU.
After the conclusion of the treaty of peace, and the feasts and
ceremonies of the marriage, the two kings, of France and of England,
accompanied by their queens, the duke of Burgundy and the whole army,
departed from the city of Troyes and the adjacent parts. They marched
toward the town of Sens in Burgundy, which was occupied by a party
of the dauphin's men, and, when near, blockaded it completely; so
that at the end of twelve days the garrison seeing no hope of succour,
surrendered it to the king of France on having their lives and
fortunes spared, and liberty for such as pleased to depart in safety,
with the exception of those who had been concerned in the murder of
duke John of Burgundy, should any such be found within the town. The
inhabitants, and those men at arms who should remain, were to take
oaths of obedience to the king of France. The greater part of them,
however, made oath to the English, and pretended to wear the red cross,
notwithstanding which they again turned to the dauphin.
'When the town of Sens had been regarrisoned, the besiegers departed
for Montereau-faut-Yonne. During their stay at Sens, master Eustace de
Lactre, chancellor of France, died there: he had been for a long time
the principal adviser of the duke of Burgundy. Master John le Clerc,
president of the parliament, was appointed chancellor in his stead.
'At the beginning of the month of June, the king of England and the
duke of Burgundy formed the siege of the town and castle of Montereau,
and were for some time employed before it with their engines to batter
down the walls and gates. The governor of the place for the dauphin
was sir Pierre de Guitry, having under his command five hundred
combatants who made a gallant defence, killing and wounding many of
the assailants: among the first was sir Butor bastard of Croy, a
valiant knight, and expert man at arms. This, however did not avail
them much, for on St John Baptist's day some English and Burgundians
assembled without orders from their prince, and made an attack on the
town at several places at once, and continued it so long, that they
forced an entrance into it, without meeting with any great resistance
from the besieged. They then advanced toward the castle, whither the
greater part of the Dauphinois had retreated, and drove the remainder
before them, not however without loss, for they had hastened with such
impatience that many fell into the ditches and were drowned, and from
sixteen to twenty were made prisoners, the most part gentlemen. By this
conquest, the besieged were more alarmed than before.
The king of England quartered a large detachment from his army in the
town, fronting the castle; and, when this had been done, some of the
duke of Burgundy's people, by the direction of the women of the town,
went to the spot where duke John had been buried, and instantly placed
over the grave a mourning cloth, and lighted tapers at each end of it.
On the morrow, by orders of the duke of Burgundy, several noble knights
and esquires of his household were sent thither to raise the corpse
and to examine it. On their arrival, they had the body dug up, but in
truth it was a melancholy sight, for he had still on his pourpoint
and drawers; and there was not a man present that could refrain from
weeping. The body was again put into a leaden coffin, filled with salt
and spices, and carried to Burgundy, to be interred in the convent of
the Carthusians without Dijon, which was founded by his father duke
Philip, by whose side it was placed, according to the orders of the
duke his son.
While the siege of Montereau was carrying on, Charles king of France
and his ministers sent copies of the treaty of peace to Paris, and
to all the bailiwicks, provostships and seneschalships of the realm,
that it might be proclaimed in the places where proclamations had been
usually made.
After the capture of the town of Montereau, the king of England and the
duke of Burgundy decamped with the army, and, crossing the Seine by a
newly-erected bridge, encamped between the two rivers Seine and Yonne,
and more effectually surrounded the castle with their warlike engines
to batter it down. The king of England sent all the prisoners from the
town under a good escort, to hold a parley with those in the castle,
from the ditches, to prevail on the governor to surrender the place.
When within hearing they fell on their knees, and pitifully implored
him to surrender, for by so doing he would save their lives, and
that he could not much longer hold out, considering the large force
that was before it. The governor replied, that they must do the best
they could, for that he would not surrender. The prisoners having no
longer hopes of life, asked to speak with their wives, or friends and
relatives, that were in the castle; and they took leave of each other
with many tears and lamentations. When they were brought back to the
army, the king of England ordered a gallows to be erected, and had them
all hung in sight of those within the castle. The king likewise hanged
a running footman, who always followed him when he rode, holding the
bridle of his horse. He was a great favorite of the king's, but, having
killed a knight in a quarrel, was thus punished.
The castle did not hold out more than eight days after this, when
the governor offered to surrender it on condition that the lives and
fortunes of the garrison should be spared, and that they should march
freely away, with the exception of any who had been concerned in the
murder of duke John of Burgundy, who were to remain until the king's
pleasure should be known.
The lord de Guitry was much blamed by both parties for having suffered
the prisoners to be put to death, and holding out so few days after.
He was also accused of being concerned in the murder of the duke of
Burgundy, but offered to prove his innocence by combating a gentleman
of duke Philip's household called William de Biere. In the end, Guitry
exculpated himself, and nothing further was done. He carried away his
garrison to the dauphin.
So soon as the king of England had regarrisoned and supplied the town
and castle of Montereau with stores and provision, he made preparations
to lay siege to the town of Melun, and while these things were passing,
the king and queen of France and the queen of England resided at Bray
sur Seine, with their households.
CHAP. XLI.
THE TOWN OF VILLENEUVE-LE-ROI IS TAKEN BY SCALADO.--THE SIEGE OF THE
PONT ST ESPRIT.--THE CROISADE UNDERTAKEN BY THE POPE,--AND MANY OTHER
MATTERS.
In these days, the town of Villeneuve-le-Roi, seated on the river
Yonne, was surprised by scalado, by a party of Burgundians; in which
place were killed and taken many who supported the dauphin's party.
At this time also, the duke of Bedford joined his brother the king
of England with eight hundred men at arms and two thousand archers.
They were joyfully received by the king, his brothers, and the duke of
Burgundy, whose army was greatly strengthened by this reinforcement.