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AT AGINCOURT
By G. A. Henty
[Illustration: GUY AYLMER SAVES THE KING'S LIFE AT THE BATTLE OF
AGINCOURT.]
PREFACE
The long and bloody feud between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy--which
for many years devastated France, caused a prodigious destruction of life
and property, and was not even relaxed in the presence of a common enemy--is very fully recorded in the pages of Monstrellet and other contemporary
historians. I have here only attempted to relate the events of the early
portion of the struggle--from its commencement up to the astonishing
victory of Agincourt, won by a handful of Englishmen over the chivalry of
France. Here the two factions, with the exception of the Duke of Burgundy
himself, laid aside their differences for the moment, only to renew them
while France still lay prostrate at the feet of the English conqueror.
At this distance of time, even with all the records at one's disposal, it
is difficult to say which party was most to blame in this disastrous civil
war, a war which did more to cripple the power of France than was ever
accomplished by English arms. Unquestionably Burgundy was the first to
enter upon the struggle, but the terrible vengeance taken by the
Armagnacs,--as the Orleanists came to be called,--for the murders
committed by the mob of Paris in alliance with him, was of almost
unexampled atrocity in civil war, and was mainly responsible for the
terrible acts of cruelty afterwards perpetrated upon each other by both
parties. I hope some day to devote another volume to the story of this
desperate and unnatural struggle.
G. A. HENTY.
CONTENTS
I. A FEUDAL CASTLE
II. TROUBLES IN FRANCE
III. A SIEGE
IV. A FATAL ACCIDENT
V. HOSTAGES
VI. IN PARIS
VII. IN THE STREETS OF PARIS
VIII. A RIOT
IX. A STOUT DEFENCE
X. AFTER THE FRAY
XI. DANGER THREATENED
XII. IN HIDING
XIII. THE MASTERS OF PARIS
XIV. PLANNING MASSACRE
XV. A RESCUE
XVI. THE ESCAPE
XVII. A LONG PAUSE
XVIII. KATARINA
XIX. AGINCOURT
XX. PENSHURST
ILLUSTRATIONS
GUY AYLMER SAVES THE KING'S LIFE AT THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT.
GUY HAS HIS HEAD BOUND UP AFTER A BOUT AT QUARTER-STAFF.
"THE TWO MEN WHO LIT THE ALARM FIRES RODE INTO THE CASTLE."
"SIR EUSTACE GAVE A LOUD CRY, FOR LYING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIR WAS THE
FORM OF HIS SON."
THE LADY MARGARET MAKES HER OBEISANCE TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
GUY AND LONG TOM COME TO THE RESCUE OF COUNT CHARLES.
"TOM'S BOW TWANGED, AND THE ARROW STRUCK THE HORSEMAN UNDER THE ARM-PIT."
"THE KING EXTENDED HIS HAND TO GUY, WHO WENT ON ONE KNEE TO KISS IT."
"WELL, COMRADE," SAID SIMON, "I SUPPOSE YOU ARE THE MAN I WAS TOLD WOULD
COME TO-NIGHT?"
"GUY DELIVERED A SLASHING BLOW ON THE BUTCHER'S CHEEK, AND DASHED PAST
HIM."
GUY WELCOMES THE COUNT OF MONTEPONE AND HIS DAUGHTER TO VILLEROY.
"KATARINA SWEPT A DEEP CURTSEY, AND WENT OFF WITH A MERRY LAUGH."
AT AGINCOURT
CHAPTER I -- A FEUDAL CASTLE
"And is it true that our lord and lady sail next week for their estate in
France?"
"Ay, it is true enough, and more is the pity; it was a sad day for us all
when the king gave the hand of his ward, our lady, to this baron of
Artois."
"They say she was willing enough, Peter."
"Ay, ay, all say she loved him, and, being a favourite with the queen, she
got her to ask the king to accede to the knight's suit; and no wonder, he
is as proper a man as eyes can want to look on--tall and stately, and they
say brave. His father and grandfather both were Edward's men, and held
their castle for us; his father was a great friend of the Black Prince,
and he, too, took a wife from England. Since then things have not gone
well with us in France, and they say that our lord has had difficulty in
keeping clear of the quarrels that are always going on out there between
the great French lords; and, seeing that we have but little power in
Artois, he has to hold himself discreetly, and to keep aloof as far as he
can from the strife there, and bide his time until the king sends an army
to win back his own again. But I doubt not that, although our lady's
wishes and the queen's favour may have gone some way with him, the king
thought more of the advantage of keeping this French noble,--whose fathers
have always been faithful vassals of the crown, and who was himself
English on his mother's side,--faithful to us, ready for the time when the
royal banner will flutter in the wind again, and blood will flow as it did
at Cressy and Poitiers.
"The example of a good knight like Sir Eustace taking the field for us
with his retainers might lead others to follow his example; besides, there
were several suitors for our lady's hand, and, by giving her to this
French baron, there would be less offence and heart-burning than if he had
chosen one among her English suitors. And, indeed, I know not that we have
suffered much from its being so; it is true that our lord and lady live
much on their estates abroad, but at least they are here part of their
time, and their castellan does not press us more heavily during their
absence than does our lord when at home."
"He is a goodly knight, is Sir Aylmer, a just man and kindly, and, being a
cousin of our lady's, they do wisely and well in placing all things in his
hands during their absence."
"Ay, we have nought to grumble at, for we might have done worse if we had
had an English lord for our master, who might have called us into the
field when he chose, and have pressed us to the utmost of his rights
whenever he needed money."
The speakers were a man and woman, who were standing looking on at a party
of men practising at the butts on the village green at Summerley, one of
the hamlets on the estates of Sir Eustace de Villeroy, in Hampshire.
"Well shot!" the man exclaimed, as an archer pierced a white wand at a
distance of eighty yards. "They are good shots all, and if our lord and
lady have fears of troubles in France, they do right well in taking a band
of rare archers with them. There are but five-and-twenty of them, but they
are all of the best. When they offered prizes here a month since for the
bowmen of Hants and Sussex and Dorset, methought they had some good reason
why they should give such high prizes as to bring hither the best men from
all three counties, and we were all proud that four of our own men should
have held their own so well in such company, and especially that Tom, the
miller's son, should have beaten the best of them. He is captain of the
band, you know, but almost all the others shoot nigh as well; there is not
one of them who cannot send an arrow straight into the face of a foe at a
hundred and twenty yards. There were some others as good who would fain
have been of the party, but our lady said she would take no married men,
and she was right. They go for five years certain, and methinks a man
fights all the better when he knows there is no one in England praying for
his return, and that if he falls, there is no widow or children to bewail
his loss. There are as many stout men-at-arms going too; so the Castle of
Villeroy will be a hard nut for anyone to crack, for I hear they can put a
hundred and fifty of their vassals there in the field."
"We shall miss Sir Aylmer's son Guy," the woman said; "he is ever down at
the village green when there are sports going on. There is not one of his
age who can send an arrow so straight to the mark, and not many of the
men; and he can hold his own with a quarter-staff too."
"Ay, dame; he is a stout lad, and a hearty one. They say that at the
castle he is ever practising with arms, and that though scarce sixteen he
can wield a sword and heavy battle-axe as well as any man-at-arms there."
"He is gentle too," the woman said. "Since his mother's death he often
comes down with wine and other goodies if anyone is ill, and he speaks as
softly as a girl. There is not one on the estate but has a good word for
him, nor doubts that he will grow up as worthy a knight as his father,
though gentler perhaps in his manner, and less grave in face, for he was
ever a merry lad. Since the death of his lady mother two years ago he has
gone about sadly, still of late he has gotten over his loss somewhat, and
he can laugh heartily again. I wonder his father can bear to part with
him."
"Sir Eustace knows well enough that he cannot always keep the boy by his
side, dame; and that if a falcon is to soar well, he must try his wings
early. He goes as page, does he not?"
"Ay, but more, methinks, as companion to young Henry, who has, they say,
been sickly from a child, and, though better now, has scarce the making of
a stalwart knight in him. His young brother Charles is a sturdy little
chap, and bids fair to take after his father; and little Lady Agnes, who
comes between them, is full of fire and spirit.
"Yes; methinks Guy will have a pleasant time of it out there; that is, if
there are no fresh troubles. I doubt not that in two or three years he
will be one of our lord's esquires, and if he has a chance of displaying
his courage and skill, may be back among us a dubbed knight before many
years have passed over our heads. France is a rare place for gaining
honours, and so it may well be, for I see not that we gain much else by
our king's possessions there."
"There was plenty of spoil brought over, dame, after Cressy and Poitiers."
"Ay, but it soon goes; easy come, easy go, you know; and though they say
that each man that fought there brought home a goodly share of spoil, I
will warrant me the best part went down their throats ere many months had
passed."
"'Tis ever so, dame; but I agree with you, and deem that it would be
better for England if we did not hold a foot of ground in France, and if
English kings and nobles were content to live quietly among their people.
We have spent more money than ever we made in these wars, and even were
our kings to become indeed, as they claim, kings of France as well as
England, the ill would be much greater, as far as I can see, for us all.
Still there may be things, dame, that we country folks don't understand,
and I suppose that it must be so, else Parliament would not be so willing
to vote money always when the kings want it for wars with France. The wars
in France don't affect us as much as those with Scotland and Wales. When
our kings go to France to fight they take with them only such as are
willing to go, men-at-arms and archers; but when we have troubles such as
took place but five or six years ago, when Douglas and Percy and the Welsh
all joined against us, then the lords call out their vassals and the
sheriffs the militia of the county, and we have to go to fight willy-nilly. Our lord had a hundred of us with him to fight for the king at
Shrewsbury. Nigh thirty never came back again. That is worse than the
French wars, dame."
"Don't I know it, for wasn't my second boy one of those who never came
back. Ay, ay, they had better be fighting in France, perhaps, for that
lets out the hot blood that might otherwise bring on fighting at home."
"That is so, dame, things are all for the best, though one does not always
see it."
A week later all the tenantry gathered in front of the castle to wish God-speed to their lord and lady, and to watch the following by which they
were accompanied. First there passed half a dozen mounted men-at-arms, who
were to accompany the party but half a day's march and then to return with
Sir Aylmer. Next to these rode Sir Eustace and Lady Margaret, still a
beautiful woman, a worthy mate of her noble-looking husband. On her other
side rode Sir Aylmer; then came John Harpen, Sir Eustace's esquire; beside
whom trotted Agnes, a bright, merry-faced girl of twelve. Guy rode with
the two boys; then came twenty-four men-at-arms, many of whom had fought
well and stoutly at Shrewsbury; while Tom, the miller's son, or, as he was
generally called, Long Tom, strode along at the head of twenty-four
bowmen, each of whom carried the long English bow and quiver full of
cloth-yard arrows, and, in addition, a heavy axe at his leathern girdle.
Behind these were some servitors leading horses carrying provisions for
the journey, and valises with the clothes of Sir Eustace, his wife, and
children, and a heavy cart drawn by four strong horses with the bundles of
extra garments for the men-at-arms and archers, and several large sheaves
of spare arrows. The men-at-arms wore iron caps, as also breast and back
pieces. On the shoulders and arms of their leathern jerkins iron rings
were sewn thickly, forming a sort of chain armour, while permitting
perfect freedom of the limbs. The archers also wore steel caps, which,
like those of the men-at-arms, came low down on the neck and temples. They
had on tough leathern frocks, girded in at the waist, and falling to the
knee; some of them had also iron rings sewn on the shoulders. English
archers were often clad in green cloth, but Sir Eustace had furnished the
garments, and had chosen leather, both as being far more durable, and as
offering a certain amount of defence.
The frocks were sleeveless, and each man wore cloth sleeves of a colour
according to his fancy. The band was in all respects a well-appointed one.
As Sir Eustace wished to avoid exciting comment among his neighbours, he
had abstained from taking a larger body of men; and it was partly for this
reason that he had decided not to dress the archers in green. But every
man had been carefully picked; the men-at-arms were all powerful fellows
who had seen service; the archers were little inferior in physique, for
strength as well as skill was required in archery, and in choosing the men
Sir Eustace had, when there was no great difference in point of skill,
selected the most powerful among those who were willing to take service
with him.
Guy enjoyed the two days' ride to Southampton greatly. It was the first
time that he had been away from home, and his spirits were high at thus
starting on a career that would, he hoped, bring him fame and honour.
Henry and his brother and sister were also in good glee, although the
journey was no novelty to them, for they had made it twice previously.
Beyond liking change, as was natural at their age, they cared not whether
they were at their English or at their French home, as they spoke both
languages with equal fluency, and their life at one castle differed but
little from that at the other.
Embarking at Portsmouth in a ship that was carrying military stores to
Calais, they coasted along the shores of Sussex and of Kent as far as
Dungeness, and then made across to Calais. It was early in April, the
weather was exceptionally favourable, and they encountered no rough seas
whatever. On the way Sir Eustace related to Guy and his sons the events
that had taken place in France, and had led up to the civil war that was
raging so furiously there.
"In 1392, the King of France being seized with madness, the Dukes of
Burgundy and Orleans in a very short time wrested the power of the state
from the hands of his faithful councillors, the Constable de Clisson, La
Riviere, and others. De Clisson retired to his estate and castle at
Montelhery, the two others were seized and thrown into prison. De Clisson
was prosecuted before Parliament as a false and wicked traitor; but the
king, acting on the advice of Orleans, who had not then broken with the
Dukes of Burgundy and Berri, had, after La Riviere and another had been in
prison for a year, stopped the prosecution, and restored their estates to
them. Until 1402 the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri were all-powerful, and in
1396 a great number of knights and nobles, led by John, Count of Nevers,
the eldest son of the Duke of Burgundy, went to the assistance of the King
of Hungary, which country was being invaded by the Turks. They were,
however, on the 28th of September, utterly defeated. The greater portion
of them were killed; Nevers and the rest were ransomed and brought home.
"In 1402 the king, influenced by his wife, Isobel, and his brother, the
Duke of Orleans, who were on terms of the closest alliance, placed the
entire government in the hands of the latter, who at once began to abuse
it to such an extent, by imposing enormous taxes upon the clergy and the
people, that he paved the way for the return of his uncle of Burgundy to
power. On the 27th of April, 1404, Philip the Bold of Burgundy died. He
was undoubtedly ambitious, but he was also valiant and able, and he had
the good of France at heart. He was succeeded by his son John, called the
Fearless, from the bravery that he had displayed in the unfortunate
Hungarian campaign. The change was disastrous for France. John was violent
and utterly unscrupulous, and capable of any deed to gratify either his
passions, jealousies, or hatreds. At first he cloaked his designs against
Orleans by an appearance of friendship, paid him a visit at his castle
near Vincennes, where he was at the time lying ill. When he recovered, the
two princes went to mass together, dined at their uncle's, the Duke of
Berri, and together entered Paris; and the Parisians fondly hoped that
there was an end of the rivalry that had done so much harm. It was,
however, but a very short time afterwards that, on the 23d of November,
1407, as the Duke of Orleans was returning from having dined with the
queen, and was riding with only two esquires and four or five men on foot
carrying torches, twenty armed men sprang out from behind a house and
rushed upon him.
"'I am the Duke of Orleans,' the prince cried; but they hurled him from
his mule, and as he tried to rise to his feet one blow struck off the hand
he raised to protect his head, other blows rained down upon him from axe
and sword, and in less than a minute the duke lay dead. The Duke of
Burgundy at first affected grief and indignation, but at the council the
next day he boldly avowed that Orleans had been killed by his orders. He
at once took horse and rode to the frontier of Flanders, which he reached
safely, though hotly chased by a party of the Duke of Orleans' knights.
The duke's widow, who was in the country at the time, hastened up to Paris
with her children, and appealed for justice to the king, who declared that
he regarded the deed done to his brother as done to himself. The Dukes of
Berri and Bourbon, the Constable and Chancellor, all assured her that she
should have justice; but there was no force that could hope to cope with
that which Burgundy could bring into the field, and when, two months
later, Burgundy entered Paris at the head of a thousand men-at-arms, no
attempt was made at resistance, and the murderer was received with
acclamations by the fickle populace.
"The king at the time was suffering from one of his terrible fits of
insanity, but a great assembly was held, at which princes, councillors,
lords, doctors of law, and prominent citizens were present. A monk of the
Cordeliers, named John Petit, then spoke for five hours in justification
of the duke, and the result was that the poor insane king was induced to
sign letters cancelling the penalty of the crime. For four months the duke
remained absolute master of Paris, disposing of all posts and honours, and
sparing no efforts to render himself popular with the burghers. A serious
rebellion breaking out at Liege, and the troops sent against the town
being repulsed, he was obliged to leave Paris to put down the revolt. As
soon as he had left, the queen and the partisans of Orleans prepared to
take advantage of his absence, and two months later Queen Isobel marched
with the dauphin, now some thirteen years old, from Melun with three
thousand men.
"The Parisians received her with applause, and as soon as she had taken up
her quarters at the Louvre, the Dukes of Berri, Bourbon, and Brittany, the
Constable, and all the great officers of the court rallied round her. Two
days later the Duchess of Orleans arrived with a long train of mourning
coaches. A great assembly was held, and the king's advocate announced to
them the intention of the king to confer the government upon the queen
during his illness, and produced a document signed by the king to that
effect. The Duchess of Orleans then came forward, and kneeling before the
dauphin, begged for justice for the death of her husband, and that she
might be granted an opportunity of refuting the calumnies that John Petit
had heaped on the memory of her husband. A week later another great
assembly was held, and the justification of the duke was read, refuting
all these imputations, and the duchess's advocate demanded that the duke
should be forced to make public reparation, and then to be exiled for
twenty years. The dauphin replied that he and all the princes of blood
royal present held that the charges against the Duke of Orleans had been
amply refuted, and that the demands with reference to the Duke of Burgundy
should be provided for in course of justice.
"Scarcely had the assembly broken up when it became known that Burgundy
and his army was on the way back to Paris. Resistance was out of the
question; therefore, taking the young dauphin with her, and accompanied by
all the members of the royal family, the queen retired to Tours. Burgundy,
unscrupulous as he was, finding that although he might remain master of
Paris, he could not hope to rule France, except when acting under the
pretence of the king's authority, soon sent an embassy to Tours to
endeavour to arrange matters. He was able to effect this with the less
difficulty, that the Duchess of Orleans had just died from grief at her
husband's death, and at the hopelessness of obtaining vengeance on his
murderer. The queen was won to the cause of Burgundy by secret proposals
submitted to her for a close league between them, and in March a treaty
was concluded, and a meeting took place at Chartres, at which the duke,
the king, the queen, the royal princes, and the young Duke of Orleans and
his adherents were present.
"The king declared that he pardoned the duke, and the princes of Orleans
consented to obey his orders and to lay aside all hatred and thoughts of
vengeance, and shortly afterwards Paris welcomed with shouts of joy the
return of the king and queen and the apparent reconciliation of all
parties. But the truce was a brief one; for the princes and adherents of
Orleans might bend before circumstances at the moment, but their feelings
were unchanged.
"A head of the party was needed, and the young duke married the daughter
of Count Bernard d'Armagnac, one of the most powerful and ambitious nobles
of the south of France, who at once,--in concert with the Dukes of Berri
and Brittany and other lords,--put himself at the head of the Orleans
party. On the 10th of July, 1411, the three princes of Orleans sent a long
letter to the king, complaining that no reparation whatever had been made
for the murder of their father, and begging him that, as what was done at
Chartres was contrary to every principle of law, equity, reason, and
justice, the case should be reopened again. They also made complaints
against the Duke of Burgundy for his conduct and abuse of power.
"As the king was surrounded by Burgundy's creatures no favourable reply
was returned, and a formal challenge or declaration of war was, on the
18th of July, sent by the princes to the Duke of Burgundy, and both
parties began at once to make preparation for war.
"Now for my own view of this quarrel. King Henry sent for me a year since,
and asked for whom I should hold my castle if Orleans and Burgundy came to
blows, adding that Burgundy would be viewed by him with most favour.
"'My father and grandfather ever fought faithfully in the service of
England,' I said; 'but for years past now, the line betwixt your majesty's
possessions and those of France has been drawn in, and my estates and
Castle of Villeroy now lie beyond the line, and I am therefore a vassal of
France as well as of your majesty. It being known to all men that even
before I became Lord of Summerley, on my marriage with your majesty's
ward, Mistress Margaret, I, like my father, held myself to be the liege
man of the King of England. I am therefore viewed with much hostility by
my neighbours, and right gladly would they seize upon any excuse to lay
complaint against me before the king, in order that I might be deprived of
my fief and castle.
"'This I would fain hold always for your majesty; and, seeing how it is
situated but a few miles across the frontier, it is, I would humbly submit
to you, of importance to your majesty that it should be held by one
faithful to you--since its possession in the hands of an enemy would
greatly hinder any English army marching out from Calais to the invasion
of France. It is a place of some strength now; but were it in French hands
it might be made very much stronger, and would cost much time and loss of
men to besiege. At present your majesty is in alliance with Burgundy, but
none can say how the war will go, or what changes will take place; and
should the Orleanists gain the upper hand, they will be quick to take
advantage of my having fought for Burgundy, and would confiscate my
estates and hand them over to one who might be hostile to England, and
pledged to make the castle a stronghold that would greatly hinder and bar
the advance of an English army upon Paris. Therefore, Sire, I would, not
for my own sake but for the sake of your majesty's self and your
successors, pray you to let me for a while remain quietly at Summerley
until the course of events in France is determined.'
"The king was pleased to see the force of what I urged. As far as I had
inclinations in the case, they were towards the cause, not of Burgundy
himself, whose murder of Orleans was alike treacherous and indefensible,
but of his cause, seeing that Flanders is wholly under his authority, and
that in Artois he is well-nigh paramount at present. On the other hand,
Amiens and Ponthieu, which lie but a short distance to the south of me,
are strongly Orleanist, and I have therefore every motive for standing
aloof. So far the fortune of war has been so changeable that one cannot
say that the chances incline towards one faction more than the other. Even
the Church has failed to bring about the end of the troubles. The
Orleanists have been formally placed under interdicts, and cursed by book,
bell, and candle. The king's commands have been laid upon all to put aside
their quarrels, but both the ban of the Church and the king's commands
have been ineffectual. I am as anxious as ever to abstain from taking any
part in the trouble, the more so as the alliance between our king and
Burgundy has cooled somewhat. But I have received such urgent prayers from
my vassals at Villeroy to come among them, since they are now being
plundered by both parties, that I feel it is time for me to take up my
abode there. When the king stayed at Winchester, a month since, I laid the
matter before him. He was pleased to say that what I had urged a year ago
had turned out to be as I foretold, and that he would give me leave to go
over and establish myself at Villeroy, and to hold myself aloof from both
parties until the matter should further ripen. What will come of it I
cannot say. The English king seemed to me to be ailing, and I fear that it
may not be long before young Henry comes to the throne. He is a wild young
prince, but has already shown himself in the Northern war to be full of
spirit and courage, and methinks that when he comes to the throne he will
not long observe the peaceful policy of his father, but that we shall see
the royal standard once again spread to the winds of France."
"But, Sir Eustace," Guy said, when he had concluded, "how do these matters
affect you? I thought that by the treaty the west part of Artois was
English."
"Ay, lad, it was so settled; but at that time the strength of France had
been broken at Poitiers, and the Black Prince and his army were so feared
that his terms were willingly accepted in order to secure peace. Much has
happened since then: war has been constantly going on, sometimes hotly,
sometimes sluggishly; France has had her own troubles, and as the English
kings have been more pacific, and England has become weary of bearing the
heavy expenses of the war, the treaty has become a dead letter. Gascony,
in which province Armagnac is the greatest lord, is altogether lost to
England, as is the greater part of Guienne. A great proportion of the
people there were always bitterly opposed to the change, and, as you know,
even in the time of the Black Prince himself there were great rebellions
and troubles; since then town after town and castle after castle has
declared for France, and no real efforts have ever been made by the
English to win them back again. I, who in England am an English baron,
and--so long as things go on as at present--a French noble while in
France, am in a perilous position between my two Suzerains. Were an
English army to land, I should join them, for I still hold myself to be a
vassal of the king of England, as we have been for three generations. As
to the French disputes, I fear that sooner or later I shall have to
declare in favour of one party or the other, for it will be difficult to
stand altogether aloof from these conflicts, because all men, at least all
men of condition, are well-nigh forced to take one side or the other. The
plea that I am a baron of England will be of no avail, for both sides
would turn against me and be glad of an excuse for pillaging and
confiscating my estate. At present, then, I must regard myself solely as a
French noble, for Villeroy has passed into the hands of France, just as
for a while it passed into the hands of England, and if this war goes on
we shall have to take a side."
"And to which side do your thoughts incline, Sir Eustace, if I may ask
you?"
"I love not either side, Guy, and would fain, if it could be so, that my
sword should remain in its sheath. I fear that I shall have to go with
Burgundy, for he is all-powerful in Artois; but had I been altogether free
to choose, I should have sided with Orleans. In the first place, it is
certain that the last duke was foully murdered by Burgundy, who thereby
laid the foundation for the present troubles. There were jealousies
before, as there have always been between the great nobles, but that act
forced almost all to take sides. The Dukes of Berri and Brittany, who had
been of the party of the late Duke of Burgundy, were driven by this foul
act of his son to range themselves with Orleans. Armagnac is very powerful
in the south, Berri's dukedom is in the north, that of Orleans to the
north-east. Burgundy's strength lies in his own dukedom,--which has ever
been all but independent of France,--in Flanders, in Artois, and in Paris;
thus, generally, it is the north and east of France against the south and
west. This is broadly the case, but in a civil war provinces and
countships, neighbours, ay, and families, become split up into factions,
as interest, or family ties, or the desire to increase an estate by
annexing another next to it, may influence the minds of men.
"So long as it is but a war between the great dukes and princes of France
we smaller men may hope to hold aloof, but, as it goes on, and evil deeds
are done on both sides, men's passions become heated, the spirit spreads
until every man's hand is against his neighbour, and he who joins not
against one or the other finds both ready to oppress and rob him. I should
not have cared to bring out an English following with me had we been
forced to march any distance through France; but as Villeroy is but a few
miles from the frontier, and of that distance well-nigh half is through my
own estates, we can reach the castle almost unnoticed. Once there, the
fact that I have strengthened my garrison will keep me from attack, for
either party would be chary in attacking one who can defend himself
stoutly. I was minded to leave your lady and the two younger children in
England, but in truth she begged so hard to accompany me that I could not
say her nay."
The Castle of Villeroy was somewhat larger than the one in which Guy had
been born and brought up. The plan, however, was very similar: there was
the central keep, but, whereas at home this was the dwelling-house of the
family, it was here used as a storehouse, and the apartments of the count
and countess were in the range of buildings that formed an inner court
round the keep. In point of luxury the French were in advance of the
English, and they had already begun to combine comfort with strength in
their buildings. The apartments struck Guy as being wonderfully spacious
in comparison to those with which he was accustomed. On the ground floor
of one side of the square was the banqueting-hall. Its walls were
decorated with arms and armour, the joists that supported the floor above
were carved, the windows large and spacious, for, looking as they did into
the inner court, there was no occasion for their being mere loopholes.
Above the banqueting-hall was a room where Lady Margaret sat with her
maids engaged in working at tapestry; here the priest gave such slight
instruction as was then considered necessary to Agnes and Charles; Henry
had already passed out of his hands.
Next to this room was the knight's sleeping apartment, or closet as it was
then called, a room which would now be considered of ridiculously
straitened dimensions; and close to it were the still smaller closets of
the children. Beyond were a series of guest-chambers. Another side of the
court-yard contained the apartments of the castellan, Jean Bouvard, a
sturdy soldier of long experience, and those of the other officers of the
household; the other two sides were occupied by the chapel, the kitchens,
and the offices of the servants and retainers. All these rooms were
loopholed on the side looking into the outer court. This was considerably
wider and more extensive than the one surrounding the keep. Here were the
stables, storehouses for grain and forage, and a building, just erected,
for the lodging of the English garrison. All these buildings stood against
the outer wall, so that they would afford no shelter to an enemy who had
obtained possession of the first defences and was making an attack against
the second line. The outer wall was twelve feet in thickness, and thirty
feet above the court; outside the height was considerably greater, as
there was a moat faced with stone fifteen feet deep entirely surrounding
it, and containing seven or eight feet of water.
Walls ran half across the outer court, and, from the end of these, light
wooden bridges formed a communication with the wall of the inner court, so
that in the event of the outer wall being stormed or the gates being
carried by assault, the defenders could retire to the inner defences. The
ends of these bridges rested upon irons projecting from the wall, and so
arranged that they could be instantly withdrawn when the last of the
defenders had crossed over, when the bridges would at once fall into the
court-yard below. The inner wall was twelve feet higher than the outer
one, and, like it, was provided with a crenellated battlement four feet
high; there were projecting turrets at each corner, and one in the middle
of each side.
The keep rose twenty feet higher than the wall of the inner court. The
lower portions of the cross walls of the outer court were carried on as
far as the inner wall, thereby dividing the space into four; strong gates
gave communication from one to the other. Into these could be driven the
cattle of the tenantry, and one of them contained a number of huts in
which the tenants themselves would be lodged. The court-yard facing the
entrance was the largest of the areas into which the space between the
outer and inner walls was divided, extending the whole width between the
outer walls. Here the military exercises were carried on. Along the wall,
at each side of the gate, were a range of stables for the use of the
horses of guests, with rooms over them for the use of their retainers.
There was a strong exterior work defending the approach to the drawbridge
on the other side of the moat, and in all respects the castle was well
appointed, and to Guy it seemed almost impossible that it could be carried
by assault, however numerous the foe.