_Chivalry in Baronial Castles ... Chivalry injured by Religious Wars
... Beneficial Influence of Poetry and Romance ... Chivalric
Brilliancy of the Fourteenth Century ... Brittany ... Du Guesclin ...
Romantic Character of his early Years ... His knightly conduct at
Rennes ... Gallantry at Cochetel ... Political Consequences of his
Chivalry ... He leads an Army into Spain ... And Changes the Fortunes
of that Kingdom ... Battle of Navaret ... Du Guesclin Prisoner ...
Treatment of him by the Black Prince ... Ransomed ... Is made
Constable of France ... Recovers the Power of the French Monarchy ...
Companionship in Arms between Du Guesclin and Olivier De Clisson ...
Du Guesclin's Death before Randon ... His Character ... Decline of
Chivalry ... Proof of it ... Little Chivalry in the Second Series of
French and English Wars ... Combats of Pages ... Further Decay of
Chivalry ... Abuses in conferring Knighthood ... Burgundy ... Its
Chivalry ... The Romantic Nature of the Burgundian Tournaments ...
Last Gleams of Chivalry in France ... Life of Bayard ... Francis I.
... Extinction of Chivalry._
[Sidenote: Chivalry in baronial castles.]
The high rank of France among the civilised states of Europe in the middle
ages decides the country to which our attention should be next directed
in tracing the history of chivalry. Every French baron graced his nobility
by the honour of knighthood, and was surrounded by a band of cavaliers.
Kings, and even queens, had a certain number of knights who composed their
court and accepted their pay; and the conferring of royal honours upon
other men than possessors of mere wealth or rank had a powerful effect in
promoting the virtues, whatever they might be, of the times. Merit was not
considered, as a landed estate, to be altogether hereditary, and the
personal nature of chivalry became a check upon the exclusiveness of
aristocratical pride.[139]
The moral influence of the chivalric code in supporting justice and
diffusing gentleness of manners is not very perceptible in the early ages
of France; for the chroniclers of those times chiefly mark the general
political circumstances of the decline of the house of Charlemagne, the
establishing of a feudal aristocracy, and the rise of a new monarchy by
the spirit and ambition of Hugh Capet.
[Sidenote: Chivalry injured by religious wars.]
In the eleventh century chivalry became a distinguishing feature in the
national character of France, for the crusades began at that time; and
France, above all other countries of the west, was influenced by their
spirit. As every knight vowed to support the church, he readily enough
became a soldier in those wars which the clergy declared were essential to
the well-being of religion. The Holy Land presented a noble field for the
display of his virtue: his love of adventures might be gratified by his
long and toilsome journey thither; and if the shores of Palestine drank
his blood, he gained a crown of martyrdom instead of a victor's laurel.
[Sidenote: Beneficial influence of poetry and romance.]
The sword of the cavalier was too often drawn by the church; and in the
persecution of the Albigenses the knighthood of France forgot all the
generous liberality and mercy of their order. But although the crusades
against ferocious Turks and erring Christians took from chivalry much of
its gracefulness and beauty, yet a restoring power was found in that love
for poetry and romance which for some ages had been spreading itself over
the world. Human nature, in Europe, appears to have been sunk to the
lowest possible degree of depression at the time when the Roman empire was
in its last days of decay. We corrupt our admiration of classical ages
into a superstitious idolatry, when we affirm that the revival of the
energies of the human intellect took place in consequence of the
discovery of a few Greek and Latin manuscripts. The storm from the north
in earlier times was the greatest moral blessing which mankind had ever
known. It swept away those institutions which were no longer sustained by
virtue and genius; and the settlement of the Gothic kingdoms was the
commencement of the new glories of the world. The successors of the Romans
were not entirely occupied in the fierce struggles of ambition. A new
intellect was impressed upon Europe, wild as nature before it is tamed
into artificial society, but rich, vigorous, and beautiful. As the new
states of the West took a firm and enduring shape, as the tendency of
human nature to improvement gradually became visible, intellectual talent
was more and more esteemed. If in the twelfth century the plains of Europe
were covered with armed knights, the castles were filled with poets who
sang the joys both of war and love; and although the brave gestes of
Charlemagne and his paladins against the Saracens were the theme of many a
minstrel's lay, and tended to promote religious wars, yet the same
romantic rhymers described the other duties of the chivalric character,
and set knightly gentleness and gallantry at the highest pitch of
chivalric virtue. That from their own viciousness, or in base compliance
with their lords' passions, they were often gross in their descriptions
and depraved in their morality, are circumstances sufficiently true; but
still the general tendency of the poetry and romance of the chivalric ages
was to improve the manners of the time. To right the oppressed, to succour
woman in distress, formed the burden of many an ancient song; and when
chaunted to the minstrel's harp in a baronial hall, it won the mind of the
feudal noble from those deeds of blood which the superstitious declared
were the only duties of a knight.
[Sidenote: Chivalric brilliancy of the fourteenth century.]
The amusements of chivalry aided romance in sleeking o'er the rugged looks
of war; for tournaments became more and more the national amusement as the
world escaped from the darkness of barbarism. The crusades closed with the
thirteenth century; and in the succeeding age that fine spirit of
chivalry, which the expeditions to Palestine had checked, shone with
unclouded brilliancy. When the plains of France were one vast tilting
ground for the French and English knights, stern fanaticism did not draw
the sword. In the crusades, romantic aspirations after woman's smiles
seldom inspired the hero's chivalry, but in the wars of Edward III. in
France, every cavalier fought for the honour of his lady-mistress as well
as for the ambition of his King. In those days that great principle of
chivalry, the companionship of knights, was fully felt as an influential
motive to action. Therefore the cavalier was courteous to his foe: he
waited the leisure, and saluted the other, before he placed his spear in
its rest: he did not demand of his captive a ransom more heavy than his
estate could well furnish; and in no case did he inflict cruelties beyond
the necessary pains of war. The display of chivalry was as brilliant as
its spirit was noble; and it was a great beauty to behold banners and
standards waving in the wind, horses barded, and knights and squires
richly armed. But as I collected in a former chapter the most striking
circumstances regarding the chivalry of those times, I shall pass on to
the next interesting page in knightly story.
[Sidenote: Brittany.]
It contains the life of a hero, whose chivalric courage materially
influenced the fortunes of the French monarchy. He sprung, too, from a
country that was full of romantic associations. When the Saxons had
achieved the conquest of England, many of the subjugated people crossed
the sea to France, and settled in Britanny: so numerous, indeed, was the
colony, that the historians of that province people it entirely from
England.[140] The ancient language of this island was certainly spoken in
Armorica; and all our history and romance were known and cherished there
as well and as fondly as in Wales and Cornwall, the other receptacles of
oppressed Britons. In after ages both the French and English chevaliers
turned their eyes to Brittany with respect and veneration, as the
preserver of the fame of Arthur, and of the knights of the Round Table,
whose history was a chief source of romantic fiction.
[Sidenote: Du Guesclin.]
And now, in the fourteenth century, a cavalier appeared who was worthy to
have broken a lance with
"Uther's son,
Begirt with British and Armorick knights!"
[Sidenote: Romantic character of his early years.]
Bertrand du Guesclin, a Breton, of gentle rather than noble family, was a
knight in whom the love of military glory burnt with a pure and bright
flame. He was born at the chateau of De la Motte de Broen, near Rennes, in
Brittany, in the year 1320. Nature had so little graced his personal
exterior, that even to the partial eye of a mother he seemed rather a
clown than a gentleman. Some tinge of melancholy in his nature was
mistaken for ill-tempered gloom, and his disposition to taciturnity was
fostered by neglect and contempt. He grew rude, violent, and morose; and
his parents would not entertain the notion of educating him for
knighthood, the wonted distinction of the eldest son of a gentleman. But
the disposition of Bertrand's mind was invincible; and he encouraged it by
practising with energy and perseverance all the boyish exercises which
were the faithful mirrors of war; he practised them, too, in opposition to
the will of his father, who never failed to chastise him when he witnessed
any display of his nature's bent. He appeared as an unknown knight at a
tournament at Rennes, and won the palm of victory from a regularly
educated cavalier. The path of military glory now lay before him. Soon
afterwards he entered the service of Charles of Blois, who knighted him;
and he speedily distinguished himself by several chivalric circumstances.
[Sidenote: His knightly conduct at Rennes.]
The town of Rennes was blockaded by the Duke of Lancaster with such
ability, that a surrender at discretion was looked for by the English. In
full confidence of success, Lancaster vowed that he would not quit the
place until he was its master. In this embarrassing conjuncture, one of
the citizens offered to pass through the camp of the enemy, to deceive
the Duke by false intelligence, and, finally, to apprize Charles of Blois
of the danger which hung over the place. With great skill and firmness he
performed his promise. He repaired to the camp of the Duke, and painted
with affected _naïveté_ the distress of the besieged, who founded, he
said, their only hope of safety on the succour of a French troop that was
expected in two days. The tale was credited; and while the duke, hastily
collecting his choicest knights, rode at speed to meet the rescue, the
townsman of Rennes, from his simple unwarlike appearance, was allowed at
his free will to pass through the camp. At some distance from the English
station he encountered Bertrand du Guesclin, and described the position of
affairs. In a moment, the valiant Breton knight formed and executed his
resolve: he waved his pennon, and many hardy soldiers pressed around him.
They dashed into the English camp; and, after displaying the power of
their chivalry, they seized large stores of provisions, and proudly
marched with them into the famished town of Rennes.
Soon afterwards, the wearied and mortified English returned to their camp.
Surprised at the destruction which had been committed in his absence, the
Duke enquired the cause; and was told that the name of the knight who had
executed so bold a measure was Du Guesclin. Lancaster, like a gallant
cavalier, could admire boldness even in a foeman, and he sent a herald
into the town requesting that he might behold the man who had so
singularly distinguished himself.
Accordingly, on the next morning, Du Guesclin went to the enemy's camp,
his personal safety being secure under the word of English chivalry. He
was conducted into the tent of the Duke, who received him with perfect
courtesy, which the knight answered, by assuring him, that he was at his
command in all things that did not militate against the service of his own
chief.
The Duke then demanded the name of his lord, and Du Guesclin replied,
Charles of Blois, to whom by right appertained the duchy of Brittany.
An English knight observed, "_Messire Bertrand, avant que ce vous dites se
termine arrive, il en couterâ cent mille têtes_."
"_Eh bien_," answered Du Guesclin, "_qu'on en tue tant qu'on voudra, ceux
qui demeureront auront la robe des autres_."
This repartee amused the Duke, who, pleased at the martial frankness of Du
Guesclin, wished to engage him in his service. But he declined all his
offers; and after jousting with a knight who thought little of his
valiancy, he returned to Rennes.
The winter approached; a season more terrible to those without than to
those within the walls. Du Guesclin repulsed every assault; and Lancaster
would have retired, if his honour had not been pledged to take the town.
Du Guesclin's ingenuity assisted him in this exigency. It was agreed that
Lancaster should enter Rennes armed, his standards should be planted on
the walls, and after this satisfaction of his conscience he should raise
the siege. The treaty was faithfully executed. The Duke entered Rennes,
remained there some hours, and then quitted it; hardly, however, had he
left the gate when the citizens contemptuously cast his standards into the
ditch. This indignity wounded him deeply; but being an honourable observer
of his word, he would not betray his resentment, or permit his army to
avenge this insult to their leader and their nation.[141]
[Sidenote: Gallantry at Cochetel.]
Du Guesclin soon afterwards entered the service of John, King of France,
with a considerable band of Breton knights and squires, whom the fame of
his chivalry had drawn to his standard. He remained a royal knight till
the death of the King in 1364, and then became a soldier of his
successor, Charles V. Before the coronation of that monarch, Du Guesclin
proved himself worthy of being his cavalier, by a circumstance which
entitled him also to national gratitude. The authority of the French, in
Normandy, was disputed by some lords of that duchy, who were aided by the
English and the Navarrese. The troops of Navarre encountered the French
near Cochetel; but instead of maintaining their position on a hill, they
descended into the plain, deceived by a feigned retreat of Du Guesclin.
Then it was that the Breton ranged his men-at-arms; and their inequality
in number to the foe was more than supplied by the reflection with which
Du Guesclin animated them, that it behoved the chivalry of France to
ornament with laurel the crown of their new sovereign.
Only one circumstance of the battle merits description; and, indeed, it is
the only intelligible one in the mêlée of the knights. Thirty Gascon
gentlemen had united themselves in strict fraternity of enterprise and
peril to take prisoner John de Grailly, the commander of the Navarrese.
Accordingly, when the fight began they advanced with serried shields into
the thickest of the press. They were beaten back; but they soon renewed
the charge, and their prowess at length prevailed: for the Navarrese
knights had not formed themselves into a band for the defence of their
commander, and his person was therefore imperfectly protected. His capture
decided the fate of the day. The battle of Cochetel is remarkable, not
only as gracing a new King but as animating the courage of the French,
which had been dispirited by repeated defeats during the two preceding
reigns.[142]
In the same year Du Guesclin, by permission of his sovereign, aided his
former friend, Charles de Blois, in establishing his rights over Brittany.
The opponent of Charles was John de Mountfort, and a destructive war had
been seemingly closed by the peace of Landes. But the Countess of
Penthievre, the wife of Charles, disdained any compromise of her rights,
and her tears and reproaches induced him to cancel the treaty. The war was
renewed; the English siding with De Mountfort, and the French with
Charles. The battle of Auray decided the cause. Charles of Blois was
slain; and in his last moments he lamented that his ambition had been
fatal to so many brave men. Du Guesclin was made prisoner by a squire of
Sir John Chandos, the commander of De Mountfort's troops[143]: but he
scarcely felt the pain of imprisonment, so courteously did the English
knight deport himself.
[Sidenote: Political consequences of his chivalry.]
Such was the state of Du Guesclin when Europe once again became a scene of
chivalry; and its fortunes were as much influenced by his gallant spirit,
as, a few years before, they had been swayed by those knights who had
assailed and defended the French crown. The peace of Bretigny had
terminated the contest between France and England, and the interesting
point of political consideration was Spain. A long course of oppression
and tyranny had alienated from Peter, King of Castile, the affections of
his people, and stigmatised his name with the epithet, Cruel. His
murdering his nobility and his brothers would have passed unnoticed out of
Spain; but he imbrued his hands in the blood of his wife, Blanche of
Bourbon, and she was sister of the French Queen. The indignation of
Charles V. of France was roused at this last crime; and the chivalric
gallantry of his court loudly echoed his feelings. An army and a leader
both were wanting; for most of the knighthood of France had been slain in
the late wars. At that moment Du Guesclin was regarded by the court of
France as the great stay of knighthood; and his love of military
adventures, and his aspirations for high emprises, seconded the wish of
the King, that he would revenge the death of his sister. These military
qualities of chivalry formed the character of Du Guesclin; for he who had
been rudely stamped by nature, who little regarded lovers' lays and
ladies' bowers, could scarcely sympathise with the gallantry of the court
of France. But for the heroism of Du Guesclin the enterprise would have
perished in its bud. France was covered with soldiers, the disbanded
mercenaries of the late wars. Charles V. regarded them with suspicious
eyes; his power was not adequate to annihilate them, or even to punish
them for their violation of his subjects' peace; and, skilful prince as he
was, he made no attempt to remove them peaceably from his states. It was
only to a real genius in war that they would submit; and Du Guesclin,
above all other men of his age, was capable of guiding their martial
energies. The King ransomed him from Chandos for one hundred thousand
franks[144], and invested him with the command of the enterprise. Du
Guesclin met the mercenaries at the table of carousal, and the occasion of
festivity was a favourable one for communicating his scheme. I cannot
believe, with some writers, that the unchivalric conduct of Peter
stimulated the heroism of these adventures. Among them, indeed, were many
soldiers of fortune, generous and noble minded; and such men would
sympathise with virtue: but most of them were mere military ruffians, who
defied, and were the disgrace of, the law. The promise of two hundred
thousand livres from the King of France was the lure for their
enterprising themselves, and I need not dwell upon their hope of common
military plunder. It is amusing to observe how fondly superstition clings
about the heart of man; for these daring marauders declared that they
could not cross the Alps till they had received absolution from the Pope
for their former sins. Du Guesclin promised to procure it; and then the
joyousness of the soldier resumed its ascendancy, and they cried, that
they had more confidence in him than in all the bishops of France or at
Avignon.
[Sidenote: He leads an army into Spain,]
[Sidenote: and changes the fortunes of that kingdom.]
Towards that city of Italian prelates they repaired, after having been
admitted into the presence of the French King. They astonished the legate
of the terrified Pope by declaring that they wanted absolution, and two
hundred thousand livres. With these opposite demands His Holiness
prudently complied; and Du Guesclin crossed the Pyrenees, his soldiers
being now called the White Companions, from their wearing on their
shoulders a white cross, to testify that they had taken up arms only to
abolish Judaism, and put down Peter, who was the supposed supporter of
it.[145] Du Guesclin was accompanied into Spain by many noble Spaniards,
whom the cruelties of Peter had, some while before, banished from their
own country. Among them was Henry of Trastamarra, the son of Leonora de
Guzman, the mistress of Peter's father. The hopes of Castile were now
directed to Henry; for any defect in the legitimacy of his title was amply
supplied by his talents and virtues. Du Guesclin supported the general
feeling of the time: he drove the King from the throne, and seated Henry
upon it.
The deposed monarch fled to Corunna, embarked, with his three daughters,
on board the first ship which the shadow of his former power enabled him
to command, and sailed to Bayonne. He knew that the Black Prince was in
Bourdeaux, and he hastened to lay before him his wrongs. Edward, hearing
of his purpose, and resolving to do him honour, issued out of the city,
accompanied by divers knights and squires, and went and met the King, and
did him great reverence, both in word and deed. After the Prince had well
feasted him, they rode together to Bourdeaux, Edward, like a courteous
knight, giving his friend the right, or side of honour. When they reached
the city, the King was conducted to a fair chamber, ready apparelled for
him; and, after changing his soiled dress for a robe of splendour, he went
to the Princess and the ladies, who received him right courteously.[146]
But few entreaties were necessary, before Edward promised the best
exertions of his chivalry to restore him to his throne. The rights of
legitimacy were his pretext; for he said that "it was not fit a bastard
should hold a realm in heritage, and put his brother, the rightful
inheritor of the land, out of his own realm; the which things all kings
and kings' sons should in nowise suffer, nor consent to, for it was a
great prejudice against the state royal." The Prince, as Froissart says,
was then in the lusty flower of his youth; and he was never weary nor well
satisfied with war, since the first beginning that he bore arms, but ever
intended to achieve high deeds of chivalry.[147] "The people of Spain,"
observes Froissart in another place, "had great marvel of the Prince's
intention, and there was much communing thereof. Some said the Prince took
on him the enterprise for pride and presumption, and was, in a manner,
angry of the honour that Sir Bertrand of Du Guesclin had gotten, in
conquering of the realm of Castile, in the name of King Henry, who was by
him made king."[148] And if the principles of human nature and chivalry
should still leave any doubt on our minds regarding Edward's motives, his
treatment of Du Guesclin, when the noble Breton became his prisoner, would
remove any obscurity.
His council in vain endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, though
these good and sage imaginative lords pleaded well the cause of justice.
"Sir," they said, "ye have heard it observed, divers times, he that
embraceth too much holdeth the weaklier. It is for a truth that ye are one
of the Princes of the world most praised, honoured, and redoubted, and
hold on this side of the sea great lands and seigniories, thanked be God,
in good rest and peace. There is no king, near nor far, who at this time
dares to displease you; so renowned are you of good chivalry, grace, and
good fortune. You ought, therefore, by reason, to be content with what you
have, and seek not to get any enemies. Sir, we say not this for evil. We
know well that the King, Don Peter of Castile, who is now driven out of
his realm, is a man of high mind, right cruel, and full of evil
conditions; for by him have been done many evil deeds in the realm of
Castile; and he hath caused many a valiant man to lose his head, and
brought cruelly to an end, without any manner of reason; and so by his
villain deeds he is now put out of his realm: and also, besides all this,
he is enemy to the church, and cursed by our holy father, the Pope. He is
reputed, and hath been a great season, a tyrant; and, without tittle of
reason, hath always grieved and made war with his neighbours, the King of
Arragon and the King of Navarre, and would have disinherited them by
puissance; and also, as the bruit runneth throughout his realm, how he
causeth to die his wife, your cousin, daughter to the Duke of Bourbon.
Wherefore, Sir, you ought to think and consider that all this that he now
suffers are rods and strokes of God sent to chastise him, and to give
example to all other Christian kings and princes, to beware that they do
not as he hath done."
Such were the counsels of the Gascon and English knights who attended
Edward; but his resolution was formed, and he prepared for war. He drew
from the White Companies those of his valiant liegemen, who, for want of
other chevisance, had joined Du Guesclin; and, in England, when his
purpose was bruited, all the youthful chivalry was on fire to join the
hero of Cressy and Poictiers.
[Sidenote: Battle of Navaret, April 3. 1367.]
[Sidenote: Du Guesclin prisoner.]
He commenced his march with thirty thousand soldiers. It was winter when
they passed through the valley of Roncesvalles; and, while the snow drove
in their faces, they cheered their spirits by singing the songs in which
the minstrel-muse had celebrated the deeds of Charlemagne's paladins. At
Pampeluna their distressful march was relieved by the King of Navarre,
whose aid they had purchased; and the Prince of Wales proceeded to
Castile. The battle of Navaret decided the contest. The common people of
Spain, who composed the first ranks of Henry, fought so bravely with their
slings, that the Englishmen were sorely troubled; but Edward's archers
drew their bows right yeomanly, and soon checked their fury. Henry had on
his side more than a hundred thousand men in harness, from Castile,
Portugal, and other states; and well and chivalrously did they sustain his
cause. The better-appointed force of Edward gradually prevailed, though
King Henry's troops fought to the bravest point; for, as they had placed
him on the throne, they felt their honour engaged to fight for him to the
utterance. The battle, in all its press and din, was fought between the
troops of Du Guesclin and those of Sir John Chandos. The noble Breton was
taken prisoner, and the English remained masters of the field. Don Pedro
was restored to his throne, and Edward somewhat redeemed his previous
conduct, by inducing the King to grant a general pardon and amnesty. The
ingratitude of Pedro was the consequence of the Black Prince's exertions
in his favour; and I need not dwell upon such a natural circumstance.[149]
To furnish his troops with those arrears of pay which Peter should have
satisfied, Edward was obliged to tax the possessions of the English in
France. Between the people of England and the French there had been
long-enduring jealousies: there was no community of ideas and manners
between them; and the principle of obedience more naturally rested on a
French than on an English sovereign. The demeanour of the Black Prince was
not that of a courteous and gentle knight: his haughtiness lost him many
friends; and his impolicy of giving all the offices of state in Gascony
and Acquitain to Englishmen was bitterly complained of, and resented by
the lords of those countries, who had perilled themselves, to the loss of
their estates, in his cause.
On the other hand, the English were not backward in reproaching the
Gascons. Certain knights of England once told the Black Prince, that he
little knew the mind of these people, nor how proud they were. "They do
not love us, and never did," continued these counsellors. "Sir, remember
ye not how highly and greatly they bore themselves against you in the city
of Bourdeaux, when King John of France was first carried thither? They
said then, and maintained plainly, that by them only ye attained to
achieve the taking of the King; and that right well appeared, for you were
in great treaty with them for the space of four months, ere they would
consent that the French king; should be carried into England. First, it
behoved you to satisfy their minds, to keep them in love."[150] Edward's
attempt at taxation exasperated the angry feelings of his subjects, and
was the great and immediate cause of their revolt to the French King.
[Sidenote: Treatment of him by the Black Prince.]
Edward detained Du Guesclin in prison longer than was consistent with the
feelings of generosity, which were wont to warm the breast of a gentle
knight. Yet Edward could state the reciprocal duties of conqueror and
captive with accuracy; that the former ought not to exact too high a sum,
and that the latter should not attempt to escape without paying his
ransom. A cavalier, using the freedom of a festive hour, commented on this
observation, by saying, that the world was blaming him for his severity
towards one of his prisoners. Edward's sense of honour was touched by this
remark, and he summoned Du Guesclin to his presence. The hero appeared
before him, dressed in his coarse prison garment; and in reply to some
unknightly merriment of the Prince on the rudeness of his appearance, he
said, that it remained with the pleasure of the conqueror when he should
be better clothed; that for some time he had had only rats and mice for
his companions, and, as he added with affecting simplicity, "even to the
songs of the birds I have been a stranger."
[Sidenote: Ransomed.]
Edward offered him freedom on condition of his swearing not to war in
favour of France or of Henry of Trastamarra, the candidate for the Spanish
throne. Du Guesclin could not consistently with honour comply with these
conditions; and Edward, stung by the recollection that the world had
impeached his bravery and generousness, declared that, to show he dreaded
no man, Du Guesclin should be restored to his liberty on paying a proper
ransom. The noble Breton then required to be released on his parole, in
order that he might fetch the necessary sum. Edward, touched by his
spirited demeanour, resumed all his generous and chivalric feelings, and
declared that Du Guesclin should name his own ransom; and instead of
fixing it at ten thousand or twenty thousand livres, the captive hero
proudly mentioned sixty thousand florins. The Prince was astonished at his
apparent presumption, and asked him by what means he could pay so large a
sum. "The Kings of France and Castile," he replied, "are my friends, and
will never fail me in a case of necessity. I know a hundred knights of
Brittany who would sell their possessions for my liberation; and there is
not a woman sitting at her distaff in France who would not labour with her
own hands to redeem me from yours." Du Guesclin was then liberated on his
parole of honour, and people gazed with curiosity and respect upon a man
who had so noble a sense of his own dignity.[151]
[Sidenote: Is made constable of France.]
This liberation took place in the year 1368, and the Breton immediately
entered into the service of Henry of Trastamarra. Peter had renewed his
cruelties when the Black Prince seated him on the throne, and his tyranny
again provoked the Castilians to rebellion. The power of Henry slowly
rose, and as soon as Du Guesclin and his Gascons took the field, he once
more became king. Soon afterwards our knight was recalled by Charles V. to
France, and placed at the head of his chivalry by the title of Constable.
He entered Paris amidst general acclamations, the people saluting him with
cries which hitherto had been appropriated to kings. He went to court,
where the King, in the presence of his nobles, declared, that he chose him
to command his armies, and therefore gave him the sword of Constable. Du
Guesclin then, with the modesty of a true knight, implored his sovereign
to honour with this dignity some one who was more worthy of it than
himself. But Charles declared that there was not a knight in France who
did not acknowledge the superior worship of Du Guesclin, and therefore he
commanded him to accept the office. Du Guesclin yielded; but fearing the
courtiers of Paris more than his country's enemies, he entreated the King
not to credit any tales which might be circulated to his prejudice,
without first hearing his defence.[152]
[Sidenote: Recovers the power of the French monarchy.]
[Sidenote: Companionship in arms between Du Guesclin and Olivier de
Clisson.]
Du Guesclin now began to achieve the high emprise of re-annexing to the
crown of France those provinces which the gallantry of the Black Prince
had wrested from it. Charles could not give him many troops; but the noble
knight sold his estates in order to raise men-at-arms, and his wife
parted with the ornaments becoming her station, in order to purchase
lances and harness. He was soon surrounded by four thousand soldiers. They
were chiefly levied in Normandy, and their rendezvous was Caen. Du
Guesclin threw an air of chivalry over his emprise, for he introduced the
usage of fraternity of arms. He chose for his own brother, Olivier de
Clisson, or Du Guesclin, a knight whose name is mentioned with honour in
all the great battles of the time. These two Breton cavaliers signed at
Pontoison the act of their fraternity, whereby they engaged to defend the
estate, life, and honour of each other.[153]
Du Guesclin then fell upon the English at Pontvelain with the force of
thunder: most of them were taken prisoners; and Sir Robert Knowles, their
leader, fled to Brittany, and concealed his head for shame, during the
rest of his life in the castle of Derval.[154] The Black Prince was then
at Bourdeaux, enfeebled by sickness: he had wasted his constitution in the
peninsular war; for the climate of Spain was not so favourable to the
health of Englishmen in those days as it has been found in later times.
Instead of being able to gird on his armour and display his chivalry,
Edward had scarcely strength to follow the counsel of his leeches to
return to England. He left the Duke of Lancaster to preserve the English
dominion in France from total ruin.
The year 1371 was a blank in the chivalric history of Du Guesclin, but the
following spring he continued his attempt to subjugate Poictou. Many
cities were sacked; and the abhorrence with which the cruelties of Olivier
de Clisson were regarded by his own army may warrant the conjecture that
inhumanity was not general. At the close of 1372, Poictou was entirely
subdued. In the next year, Du Guesclin continued his conquests, and
Guienne became the subject of his victories. The Duke of Lancaster was the
successor of the power, but not of the chivalry, of the Black Prince; and
De Mountfort, whom Edward sent to France as the opponent of Du Guesclin,
not only recovered nothing, but lost much of Brittany; and thus, by the
genius and fortune of one chivalric hero, all the bright visions of glory
created in the fervid imaginations of our Edwards were blighted, and
France recovered her station among the high powers of Europe.
[Sidenote: Du Gueslin's death before Randan.]
[Sidenote: His character.]
Du Guesclin continued in the service of Charles. The last years of his
life it is impossible to describe, so contradictory are his biographers.
Some declare that the calumnies of Parisian courtiers deprived him of the
favour of Charles, and that he lost his office of Constable. However this
may have been, it is certain that in the year 1380 he commanded the
French troops in Auvergne, and went to lay siege to Randan, a little
fortress some leagues from Mendes, in the Govandau, between the sources of
the Lot and the Alleir. The place, until then so little known, immediately
became famous, in French history, for the loss which France sustained
before its walls of one of her prowest knights. Du Guesclin, who,
according to the wont of chivalry, had vowed not to sheath his sword while
an enemy's lance was raised, pressed the siege with vigour, when he was
attacked by a malady which was soon found to be mortal. He beheld the
approach of death with Christian intrepidity, and he died while exhorting
the knights around his bed to the duties of devotion to God, loyalty to
the King, and mercy to those who were the objects of war. It was his wish
to be buried at Dinan, in Brittany, but the King commanded the abbey of
St. Denys to be the place[155]; and in kindness and gratitude, he was
anxious that a lamp should always hang over the tomb, in order that
posterity might never lose remembrance of his great deeds.[156] The
epitaph, on account of its simplicity, deserves mention. "Ici gist noble
homme Messire Bertrand du Guesclin, Comte de Longueville, et Connétable de
France, qui trepassa au chastel neuf de Randan en Gisaudan, en la
Sénéchaussée de Beauncaire, le 13 jour de Juillet, 1380. Priez Dieu pour
lui."[157]
Such was the life of a simple Breton gentleman, who with no advantage of
birth, no powerful patronage, but with only his good sword to speed him,
raised himself to the highest rank in the French nation, and his was one
of the numerous instances in the middle ages where the personal merit of
chivalry was of more avail than the hereditary right of aristocracy. In
many of the essentials of knighthood, in lofty daring, sageness, and
generosity, he was as preux a cavalier as the English Chandos' and Mannys;
but there was none of that gallant grace over this darling of French
chivalry, which distinguished the heroes of Edward III. He was so sensible
of his own personal plainness, that he never cultivated the pleasing
amenities of chivalry; but his modesty did not pass unrewarded[158]: for
the ladies of Brittany were so deeply read in the romances of their
country, that they loved only men who were famous for martial deeds. Du
Guesclin was twice married: of the first of his wives nothing is on
record; the other is said to have been a woman of beauty, fortune and wit.
She was an heiress in Brittany, and Charles of Blois promoted the union,
hoping to attach him to his court. Her reputation as a prophetess was
extensive, and her prediction of his success in a particular battle being
verified, her vanity became interested in his fate. She had her days of
good and of evil fortune, and if historians have written his annals
faithfully, Bertrand often repented, both as a soldier and a husband, when
he did not regard her councils.[159]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Decline of chivalry.]
[Sidenote: Proof of it.]
The history of France after these circumstances was the struggle between
the ruling powers and the people regarding the right of taxation. The
civil wars that devastated France and Flanders, in consequence of this
dispute, bore none of the character of chivalry; for monarchical and
aristocratical haughtiness disdained to consider as their companions in
arms those whom they called the raskal-rout, the base-born rabble. It was
only wars of ambition that were graced and softened by chivalric
generosity; and therefore all was blood, and horror, and confusion, when
the houses of Orleans and Burgundy distracted France with their feuds. The
pages of Monstrelet, the chronicler of the events to which I have alluded,
form a gloomy contrast to the splendid scenes of Froissart. The field,
indeed, continues to gleam with lances, and banners and pennons wave in
the wind, but the spirit of honour and courtesy no longer hung over
them,--and the prostrate soldier sued for mercy in vain. Knights were
created before and after battles: tournaments, jousts, and other splendid
shows were held; and as the essence of chivalry decayed its splendour
seemed to brighten. An affair in Liege, in the year 1408, will show the
manner of warfare when chivalry was on the wane. John Duke of Burgundy,
John of Bavaria, the lords of Hainault and Orange, and other princes,
appeared in arms to succour the Bishop of Liege, brother-in-law of the
Duke of Bavaria, whom the Liegeois had expelled from the city. Instead of
following the counsel of the new bishop and his father the Lord de
Pier-vves, of remaining within the walls, and wearing out the enemy by a
defensive war, the Liegeois, when the bells of the city announced break of
day, left their fortifications, resolved to give battle to the
well-appointed lines of Burgundy. Their numbers were fifty thousand; but
except some pieces of artillery, five or six hundred men armed like
cavalry, and a few score of stipendiary English archers, they were the
disorderly population of the city. Their confidence of success was exalted
to madness; and when the hour of battle arrived, they would not suffer
their nominal leader, the Lord Pier-vves, to take any means of prudence.
It is curious to mark the difference of character in the two parties.
There was a wild frantic kind of courage in the Liegeois, inspired by the
consideration, that they were fighting for their lives and liberties.
Their foemen had no such deep-seated enthusiasm: they moved to battle as
sportively as to a joust; while their commanders were gaily exhorting
their men-at-arms to behave themselves gallantly against the enemy, a rude
and ignorant people who had rebelled against their lord, and who
confidently trusted in their superior numbers for success. "If the
warriors of Burgundy," (concluded the martial orators) "will dash into
career with knight-like courage victory will be theirs, and they will gain
everlasting honour."
The cannon of the Liegeois did not check the advance of the chivalry; and
though the burghers endured well and courageously the close encounter, yet
the prudence of their General was verified, that they could oppose no
effectual resistance to the nobles and gentlemen trained to war, and armed
in proof. After an hour's struggle, the line of the Liegeois being charged
in rear by a detachment of horse, six thousand of them quitted the ranks,
and fled towards a village distant half a league from the field of battle.
The cavalry charged them several times, beating down and slaying them
without mercy. The main body of the Liegeois was yet unsubdued; and for
half an hour the noise of the war-cries was dreadful; the Burgundians and
Hainaulters shouting, under their banners, "Our Lady for Burgundy!" "Our
Lady for Hainault!" and the Liegeois ringing the air with the cry, "St.
Lambert for Pier-vves!" The detachment of horse returned, and fell upon
the rear of the Liegeois, and pierced it through: a great slaughter was
made, for none were admitted to ransom. Near the banner of the Duke of
Burgundy, where the conflict raged with most fierceness, the Lord of
Pierre-vves and his two sons (one was the new bishop) fell, and no
consideration for their chivalry or religious profession saved them from
death. The coolness of the Duke of Burgundy excites the praise of the
historian; and no apology is thought necessary for his conduct, when on
being asked, after the defeat, if they should cease from slaying the
Liegeois he replied, "Let them all die together; let no prisoners be made;
let none be admitted to ransom."[160]
Such was the spirit in which war was conducted where the humanising
influence of chivalry was unfelt; and I shall not attempt to detail the
more horrid crimes of the sacking of towns.
[Sidenote: Little chivalry in the second great series of French and
English wars.]
In the short war between France and England in the reign of our Henry V.,
nothing peculiarly chivalric can be marked in the conduct of the French.
The great second series of our wars with France, though not characterised
by knightly splendour, is not without knightly interest. France could
seldom boast of braver cavaliers than Dunois, Lahire, and the chevalier
Poton de Saintrailles. During the memorable siege of Orleans at the
request of the English the festivities of Christmas suspended the horrors
of war, and the nativity of the Saviour was commemorated by the sound of
martial music. Talbot, Suffolk, and other ornaments of English chivalry,
made presents of fruits to the accomplished Dunois, who vied with their
courtesy by presenting to Suffolk some black plush he wished for as a
lining for his dress in the then winter season. The high-spirited knights
of one side challenged the prowest knights of the other, as their
predecessors in chivalry had done. It is observable, however, that these
jousts were not held in honour of the ladies, but the challenge always
declared, that if there were in the other host a knight so generous and
loving of his country as to be willing to combat in her defence, he was
invited to present himself.
[Sidenote: Combats of Pages.]
History has preserved to us one circumstance, which is interesting,
because it marks the change of manners in the attendants on the cavaliers.
We have seen that in early times each knight had his squire, who gave arms
to his lord, and frequently mingled in the battle himself. The knight,
now, had only his page, who buckled on his armour, and rendered similar
acts of personal service; and, instead of generous emulation of the
enterprises of cavaliers, a mock combat was held between the striplings of
the two armies. Each party had its leader, and its standard. Their shields
were made of osier twigs, and their javelins were blunted. On the first
day the advantage was with the French, but on the second, the English
youths bore away the standard of their antagonists, and the reputation of
victory was theirs.[161]
[Sidenote: Further decay of chivalry.]
After this national contest chivalry continued to decline in France. The
civil wars had left that country one universal scene of vice and misrule,
and the people looked to the King for some measure of protection. So
exhausted were the nobility by their wars with England, that they
declared their want of power to lead into the field the customary number
of knights; and they therefore prayed a remission of military duty.
Charles willingly granted this petition; and no opposition was made to his
establishing a force which he might either use against the barons
themselves or the nation's enemies. The importance of mercenaries had been
extending itself ever since the reign of Philip Augustus, when they were
first introduced; for the old levies of feudatories and vassals had in
France as in England been found insufficient for the great purposes of
war. But the new bands of stipendiary adventurers were never a very
important branch of the French military force, for the kings could not pay
for many; and these hired soldiers were commonly infantry or lightly armed
horse, who could not contend in the battle-field with mail-clad knights
and squires. National feelings favoured the constitutional levy; and the
kings endeavoured to render the country's chivalry of sufficient service
by enlarging the time of their attendance. St. Louis increased the period
of military duty from forty days to two months, and Philip the Fair
doubled the time determined by St. Louis.
[Sidenote: Abuses in conferring knighthood.]
Such was the state of affairs in France, when, in the year 1444, Charles
established fifteen companies of cavalry. Each company consisted of one
hundred lances, and each of these men-at-arms had his archers, a coutiller
or soldier, whose weapon of offence resembled a knife rather than a sword,
and his personal attendant the page. Every one of these followers served
on horseback, and the whole force amounted to nine thousand cavalry. This
was intended to be a permanent establishment; and it was understood that
the soldiers should be paid out of the state finances, and should not like
the mercenaries of former times subsist by plunder. These companies of
ordonnance have ever been regarded as the foundation of the French
standing army. Here, then, closes the public military history of chivalry
in France. The new soldiers were stipendiaries, not cavaliers: they were
not educated for chivalry: they had not passed through the ranks of page
and squire; and not being necessarily gentlemen by name or arms, their
deeds could not be similar to those which sprang from the oath of the
cavalier. This new military force caused the feudatories of the crown no
longer to bring their vassals with them to war, except in certain extreme
cases, where the arriere ban was summoned, and then the appearance was but
a faint picture of the ancient chivalry. Thus the usage of banners and
pennons ceased, and with them the great distinctions of bannerets and
knights, because those titles no longer conferred honour and
command.[162] The title of knight lost its military character; and,
instead of being bestowed with religious solemnities, after a long and
painful education, it was often given to very young men without any
martial training whatever, when they first stepped from their father's
castles into the busy scenes of life. There was another circumstance which
sullied the glory of knighthood;--I mean the bestowing of its title upon
persons who were not of the military class. The exact time when this
innovation upon chivalry took place it is impossible to ascertain, and I
wish not to weary my readers with profitless antiquarian researches.
Knights of the law, as distinguished from those of arms, were known in the
thirteenth century; and when once the clergy, who exercised the judicial
functions, began to assume military titles, (which they did from their
spirit of engrossing every thing that was honourable,) the matter soon
grew into a custom: the lawyers claimed the privilege of wearing gold, and
in every point asserted the equality of the law, with the chivalry of a
country.[163] By degrees the title of knighthood began to be applied to
men distinguished for their learning or talents, or who for less
honourable causes were favoured by the King. This application of chivalric
honours to persons who were not within the order of chivalry was viewed
with a jealous and malignant eye by the military knights, who were not
satisfied with the consideration in which they were held when other
classes of society copied their titles, and shone by the reflection of
martial glory. Their fierce minds felt no respectful sympathy for the
literary and intellectual awarders of justice, and they wished that the
lance of the knight-errant should continue to be the only refuge of the
injured. In effect the title of knight became of little estimation, and in
the history of France, through the fifteenth century, we seldom read of
the conferring of the order of chivalry upon soldiers in the field of
battle.
Chivalry thus decayed in France, before gunpowder became the chief
instrument of death. Though artillery had been known so early as the
battle of Cressy, it did not immediately come into general use. During the
last half of the fourteenth century, the French used it in sieges, and
sometimes in the field. But still, when Charles VII. established the
companies of ordonnance already mentioned, the strength of the army was
cavalry. Soon afterwards the French armies began to consist of infantry;
for the soldiers of France were mercenaries, and they were drawn from
Switzerland, a country which from its poverty and mountain-form could not
boast of many knights and plumed steeds.
While chivalry was losing its martial vigour in the French monarchy, some
of the nobility of France preserved it in their castles in all its
stateliness and grace. But the records of those times are so faint and
imperfect, that any thing beyond the mere circumstance of their general
chivalry cannot be learned.
[Sidenote: Burgundy.]
[Sidenote: Its chivalry.]
The annals of Burgundy are somewhat more satisfactory. The Dukes of
Burgundy became sovereigns of Flanders, and impressed on that country a
character of chivalry and romance. Tournaments, jousts, and other knightly
shows, graced the wealth of the Flemish cities, at the time when the
commercial cities of Italy were distinguished for classic elegance and
taste. The court of the Dukes of Burgundy was so high in fame for the
lofty daring and gallant grace of chivalric emprise, that when
Constantinople fell under the Moslem yoke, the hearts of the noble
Burgundian knights glowed with the bold and pious desire of recovering the
metropolis of eastern Christendom. The desire perished, for it was not
supported by the other powers of Europe; and Burgundy, deprived of its
hope of leading the lances of the West, in a cause so well worthy of
them, is only interesting in the history of chivalry for its gracefulness
and splendour. To present the reader with detailed statements of all its
martial games would be tedious and unprofitable; but one of them possesses
considerable interest, as displaying a very singular state of manners, and
proving that the romances, and tales of chivalry, were often realised.
[Sidenote: The romance of Burgundian tournaments.]
In the year 1468, the sister of Edward IV. of England married Charles Duke
of Burgundy. The banquets and balls which testified the general joy were
varied by a martial exercise, called the Passage of the Tree of Gold. It
was held in the market-place at Bruges, which, on that occasion, exchanged
its wonted appearance for one of chivalric gaiety. The ground was unpaved,
and sanded like a royal tilt-yard; and galleries were erected around for
the reception of the nobles and dames of Burgundy and the wealthy
merchants of Flanders. A door, at one end of the lists, painted with a
tree of gold, was defended by the Bastard of Burgundy, who jousted with
such cavaliers as, by the permission of the ladies, were allowed to
deliver the knight of the Tree of Gold of his emprise. According to the
humour of the times, many knights appeared in fantastic disguises. One
knight, though, lusty and young, approached the lists in a litter, and
presented every mark of feebleness and age. He requested leave to joust
for that once only, and declared that he would then retire to some
peaceful cell, and forget, in devotion and penitence, the vain delights of
war.
At another time, the dames and damsels were informed that a noble knight,
who wished to joust, was without the lists; but that he would not present
himself to the ladies of Burgundy until they perfectly knew his tale. All
his life he had loved a lady of Sclavonia; and although she had not
altogether accepted him as her servant, yet she had encouraged him to
hope. His mental sufferings for her love deserved compassion; but she,
forgetting that feminine virtue, and continuing her pride, had not treated
his devotion as it merited; and he, therefore, for the nine months which
preceded his appearance at Bruges, had lived among rocks and mountains, a
prey to melancholy. When, however, the lady heard of this unquestionable
proof of his passion, she repented of her ingratitude, and had sent to him
a damsel-errant, who was now his guide. She had beguiled the tedious way
to Bruges by telling him that the pleasures of love could only be reached
by labours, desires, and sufferings; that pain gave a zest to enjoyment,
and that the greatest offence against love was despair. The lady had bade
him hope; the damsel-errant had counselled him to go upon some chivalric
quest, in order to dissipate his melancholy; and she had promised to
accompany him, in order to deliver the tale of his adventures to his
lady-mistress.
The dames and maidens of Burgundy accorded permission to this zealous
servant of love to attempt the emprise of the Passage of the Tree of Gold.
He was preceded into the lists by three men, dressed like Moors, and a
lady followed, mounted on a white palfrey, and dressed, as the people
thought, like a damsel-errant. She led the knight, who bestrode a cheval
de lance, and afterwards came four nobles, clad in the habits of
Sclavonia, with the words "Le Chevalier Esclave" worked on their robes. He
jousted with a knight who supplied the place of the Bastard of Burgundy,
but with what degree of gallantry history is silent.[164]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Last gleams of chivalry in France.]
[Sidenote: Life of Bayard.]
I now return to France, whose chivalry, even in the last days of its
existence, is interesting; for if ever the bright glory of one man could
have changed the manners of his age, the knight without fear and without
reproach would have revived the chivalric fame of his country. Pierre
Terrail, or Du Terrail, known under the name of Bayard, was born in the
year 1476, at the chateau of Bayard, in Dauphiny. His family was of
ancient and noble race, and boasted that their ancestors had fought at the
battles of Cressy and Poictiers. His own father had been so severely
wounded in the service of his country, that he quitted the army before the
usual time for retiring. He passed the evening of his life in Dauphiny,
occupied in the education of his children, of whom Peter was the only one
that aspired to military glory. His wishes were grateful to his father;
and his uncle, the Bishop of Grenoble, promised to introduce him to the
Duke of Savoy. In his paternal home Peter Bayard had learned some of the
duties of the page of early chivalric times: like him he ministered to his
father and his guests at table; and he had acquired admirable skill in
horsemanship. The Bishop took the youth to Chambery, the then residence of
the Duke, and by the grace of manner with which he attended his uncle at
the dinner-table, and by a fine display of horsemanship, the Duke regarded
him with kindness, and placed him in his service. Bayard was then about
thirteen years old. Not many months afterwards he became an attendant of
the King of France; for the Duke of Savoy, preferring Bayard's interests
to his own, wished to advance his fortunes. Charles VIII. put him into
the household of the Signeur de Ligny, where he remained till he was
seventeen years old, when he was called into the class of the gentlemen of
the royal court. Besides acquiring the military exercises of his time, he
graced his imagination with fairy and romantic tales: he was a knight in
spirit and purpose, and he now aspired to gain the favour of the ladies by
the prowess of his chivalry. A very few days after he had quitted his
office of page, he broke a lance in a joust with one of the most
distinguished cavaliers of the day, and his fame was bruited over all
France. He remained all his life, in the service of the French kings. The
theatre of his exertions was Italy; but, as a very able pen has lately
traced the revolutions of that interesting country[165], I need not follow
him through all his chevisance.
Such matters as display the points of his personal character, and show the
remaining chivalric features of the time, come, however, within my
province. In 1501, he alone sustained on a narrow bridge the efforts of
two hundred cavaliers, who attacked him. It was then that he obtained from
the King a device having for its emblem a porcupine, with the words
"_Vires agminis unus habet_." At the taking of Brescia, he received a
dangerous wound, and he remained awhile in a private house. When he was
about to depart, his hostess wished to present him with two thousand
pistoles for the gratitude she felt at his having preserved her honour and
her fortune; and he accepted the money only for the purpose of giving it
to her daughters, as their marriage-portions. So highly was he esteemed,
that Chabannes, a marshal of France, and Humbercourt, and D'Aubigny,
general officers, all of higher rank and older service than Bayard, fought
under his orders. Yet he never rose to high commands. His greatest dignity
was that of lieutenant-general of Dauphiny.
But the most amusingly characteristic story of Bayard regards his
gallantry. When he was page to the Duke of Savoy, he loved one of the
attendants of the Duchess; but the passion either was not mutual, or was
not graced with any character of romance, for a few years afterwards the
damsel married the Seigneur de Fleuxas. Bayard met her at the house of the
widow of his first master, the Duke of Savoy. During supper, the lady of
Fleuxas praised the chivalry in tournaments of her early admirer in such
high terms, that he blushed for very modesty; and she added, that as he
was now residing with a family who had been the first to cherish him, it
would be great blame in him, if he did not prove himself as gallant a
knight as he had done before. The answer of Bayard was that of a polite
cavalier; for he requested her to tell him what he could do that would
please the good and honourable assembly, his Lady of Savoy, and, above all
the rest, her fair self. She advised him to hold a tournament. "Truly,"
replied Bayard, "it shall be done as you wish. You are the first lady
whose beauty and grace attracted my heart. I know that my salutations of
you can only be those of courtesy, for I should lose my labour were I to
solicit your love, and I would rather die than accomplish your dishonour."
He then prayed her to give him one of her sleeves, for he said that he
should have need of it in the approaching tournament. The lady accordingly
took it from her dress, and he attached it to his.[166]
The martial pastime was held, and after the supper which succeeded, it was
enquired to whom should the prizes (the sleeve and a ruby) be given. The
knights, the ladies, and even those who had tourneyed with him, accorded
it to Bayard. But he declared that the honour was not his; but that if he
had done any thing well, Madame de Fleuxas was the cause, for she had
given him her sleeve. He, therefore, prayed that she might be permitted to
act according to her judgment and prudence. The Seigneur de Fleuxas knew
too well the noble character of Bayard to feel any jealousy at this
compliment to his wife, but with the other judges of the tournament he
immediately went to her and related the matter. She was delighted at
Bayard's gallantry, and declared that as he had done her the honour to
avow that her sleeve had made him gain the prize, she would preserve it
all her life for the sake of his love. The ruby she gave to the cavalier,
who had next distinguished himself to Bayard.
And thus lived the knight without fear and without reproach, till the
retreat of the French out of Italy in 1524, when he was fatally wounded by
a stone discharged from an harquebouze. He fell from his horse, crying,
"Jesus, my Saviour, I am dead." He kissed the cross-handle of his sword;
and there being no chaplain present, he confessed himself to his esquire,
who then, by the knight's command, placed him against a tree, with his
face turned towards the enemy; "because," said Bayard, "as I have never
yet turned my back to the foe, I will not begin to do so in my last
moments." He charged his esquire to tell the King that the only regret he
felt at quitting life was the being deprived of the power of serving him
any further. The Constable of Bourbon, as he was pursuing the French,
found him in this state, and assured him that he pitied his lot. But
Bayard replied, "It is not I who stand in need of pity, but you who are
carrying arms against your King, your country, and your oath." The news
that he was mortally wounded quickly spread, and excited the deepest grief
in the minds of both armies, for he was a valiant soldier and a generous
foe. After a while he was removed to a tent and placed on a bed. He was
shriven by a priest, and soon afterwards died, as, with true Christian
piety, he was imploring his God and his Saviour to pardon his sins, and to
show him mercy rather than justice.[167] He was buried at a convent of
Minims, half a league from Grenoble, the principal town of his native
country.
[Sidenote: Francis I.]
During some of the last years of his life, his fine and chivalric spirit
found a kindred soul in Francis I., who, it is remarkable, was the only
French sovereign graced with any share of the character of chivalry. For,
while the Plantagenets of England had shone as brilliantly by chivalric as
by regal splendour, the Capetian princes of France could not present a
king that displayed any powers beyond the ordinary qualities of royalty.
The valiancy, the liberality, the fine, open, and manly countenance, and
the lofty form of the King, were altogether those of one of Charlemagne's
paladins. His imagination was coloured with the gay and lively tints of
romance, and so fondly did he dwell upon the fabulous glories of old, that
in many a sportive moment he arrayed himself in the guise of the antique
cavalier. But here our panegyric must cease; for no preux knight would,
like Francis, have pledged his solemn word to observe a treaty, and
immediately afterwards have violated it. However unkingly and unknightly
Charles V. might have deported himself in treating Francis in prison with
severity, and although the terms of the treaty of Madrid were such as no
noble victor would have imposed, still the obligation of the pledge of
Francis's word should have been felt as sacred. A noble cavalier, a
Chandos or Du Guesclin, would have disdained to obtain his liberty by
signing a treaty which he intended to break as soon as he should leave his
prison. "All is lost, Madam, except our honour," as the French King wrote
to his mother after the battle of Pavia: a generous, chivalric expression;
and scarcely could it have been expected that he was the man who would
have thrown away that honour.
The last faint gleam, however, of the sun of military chivalry in France
fell upon Bayard and his sovereign, Francis; for after the battle of
Marignan, in 1515, when they fought together against the Swiss, the King
was, at his own request, knighted by the cavalier without fear and without
reproach. After giving the accolade, Bayard addressed his sword,
"Certainly, my good sword, you shall hereafter be honoured as a most
precious relic, and never shall be drawn except against Turks, Moors, and
Saracens." He then twice leaped up for joy, and plunged his trusty weapon
into its sheath.[168]
Soon after the days of Francis I. the title of knighthood became an empty
name: it was preserved as the decoration of nobility and lawyers; and,
from respect to the ancient glories of their nation, kings received it at
their baptism.[169] Montluc, that man of blood, was the last French
soldier who received it in the field of battle. The accolade was given to
him by the Duke d'Anguien, after the engagement of Cérisolles, in 1544.
[Sidenote: Abolition of tournaments.]
[Sidenote: Extinction of chivalry.]
The amusements of chivalry were soon abolished. The accidental death of
Henry II. in a tournament[170], in the year 1559, did much to indispose
the minds of the people from chivalric sports; and when in the following
year Prince Henry de Bourbon Montpensier was killed, in consequence of his
horse falling under him, while careering round the lists, tournaments
ceased for ever; and with their abolition, as Voltaire says, the ancient
spirit of chivalry expired in France; for that country, after the death of
Henry II., was plunged in fanaticism, and desolated by the wars of
religion. The spirit did not survive the forms of chivalry; for the
intercourse with Italy introduced into France new opinions and feelings.
Machiavelian politics banished the open, manly demeanour of chivalry; and
the most disgusting profligacy equally distinguished the ladies. It is
amusing to observe that, long after the extinction of chivalry in France,
the apparent homage and devotion of chivalric love still continued,
although it was no longer sustained by virtue. Love, sublimed into
idolatry, breathes in every page of the heroic romances which succeeded
the romances of chivalry, and reflect the feelings of the nation; and so
late as the reign of Louis XIV. a ruffled and well-powdered French
General, whose soul was not illumined by a single gleam of the character
of a preux chevalier, would fancy himself the very pink of sentiment, and
sigh at the feet of his mistress,
"Pour meriter ton coeur, pour plaire a vos beaux yeux,
J'ai fait la guerre aux rois, je l'aurois fait aux dieux."