THE SURRENDER OF CHALONS AND OF REIMS--THE CORONATION
Leaving Troyes, the royal army entered into the poorer part of
Champagne, crossed the Aube near Arcis, and took up its quarters at
Lettree, twelve and a half miles from Chalons. From Lettree the King
sent his herald Montjoie to the people of Chalons to ask them to
receive him and render him obedience.[1471]
[Footnote 1471: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 298. Morosini, vol.
iii, p. 179. Edition Barthelemy of _L'histoire de la ville de
Chalons-sur-Marne_, proofs and illustrations no. 25, pp. 334, 335.]
The towns of Champagne were as closely related as the fingers of one
hand. When the Dauphin was at Brinion-l'Archeveque, the people of
Chalons had heard of it from their friends of Troyes. The latter had
even told them that Friar Richard, the preacher, had brought them a
letter from Jeanne the Maid. Whereupon the folk of Chalons wrote to
those of Reims:
"We are amazed at Friar Richard. We esteemed him a man right worthy.
But he has turned sorcerer. We announce unto you that the citizens of
Troyes are making war against the Dauphin's men. We are resolved to
resist the enemy with all our strength."[1472]
[Footnote 1472: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 290, 291. Varin,
_Archives legislatives de la ville de Reims, Statuts_, vol. 1, pp. 596
_et seq._ (_Coll. des documents inedits sur l'histoire de France_,
1845).]
They thought not one word of what they wrote, and they knew that the
citizens of Reims would believe none of it. But it was important to
display great loyalty to the Duke of Burgundy before receiving another
master.
The Count Bishop of Chalons came out to Lettree to meet the King and
gave up to him the keys of the town. He was Jean de Montbeliard-Saarbrueck,
one of the Sires of Commercy.[1473]
[Footnote 1473: _Gallia Christiana_, vol. v, col. 891-895. _Chronique
de la Pucelle_, pp. 319-320. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, p.
96. L. Barbat, _Histoire de la ville de Chalons_, 1855 (2 vols. in
4to), vol. i, p. 350. S. Luce, _Jeanne d'Arc a Domremy_, proofs and
illustrations no. 33. Morosini, vol. iii, p. 182, note 2.]
On the 14th of July the King and his army entered the town of
Chalons.[1474] There the Maid found four or five peasants from her
village come to see her, and with them Jean Morel, who was her
kinsman. By calling a husbandman, and about forty-three years of age,
he had fled with the d'Arc family to Neufchateau on the passing of the
men-at-arms. Jeanne gave him a red gown which she had worn.[1475] At
Chalons also she met another husbandman, younger than Morel by about
ten years, Gerardin from Epinal, whom she called her _compeer_,[1476]
just as she called Gerardin's wife Isabellette her _commere_[1477]
because she had held their son Nicolas over the baptismal font and
because a godmother is a mother in the spirit. At home in the village
Jeanne mistrusted Gerardin because he was a Burgundian. At Chalons she
showed more confidence in him and talked to him of the progress of the
army, saying that she feared nothing except treason.[1478] Already she
had dark forebodings; doubtless she felt that henceforth the frankness
of her soul and the simplicity of her mind would be hardly assailed by
the wickedness of men and the confusing forces of circumstance.
Already the words of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret
had lost some of their primitive clearness, for they had come to treat
of those French and Burgundian state secrets which were not heavenly
matters.
[Footnote 1474: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 298. Letter from
three noblemen of Anjou in _Trial_, vol. v, p. 130. Perceval de Cagny,
p. 158. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, pp. 96, 97. _Chronique des
Cordeliers_, fol. 85, v. E. de Barthelemy, _Chalons pendant l'invasion
anglaise_, Chalons, 1851, p. 16.]
[Footnote 1475: _Trial_, vol. ii, pp. 391, 392 (Jean Morel's
evidence).]
[Footnote 1476: French _compere_, gossip or fellow godfather,
sometimes a close friend. Cf. Chaucer, Prologue to Canterbury Tales:
"With hym ther was a gentil Pardoner
Of Rouncivale, his freend and his compeer" (W.S.).]
[Footnote 1477: _Commere_, fellow godmother (W.S.).]
[Footnote 1478: _Trial_, vol. ii, p. 423 (evidence of Gerardin of
Epinal).]
The people of Chalons, following the example of their friends of
Troyes, wrote to the inhabitants of Reims that they had received the
King of France and that they counselled them to do likewise. In this
letter they said they had found King Charles kind, gracious, pitiful,
and merciful; and of a truth the King was dealing leniently with the
towns of Champagne. The people of Chalons added that he had a great
mind and a fine bearing.[1479] That was saying much.
[Footnote 1479: "In as much as he is the prince of the greatest
discretion, understanding, and valour that has long been seen in the
noble house of France." J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 296. Varin,
_Archives de Reims, Statuts_, vol. i, p. 601. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc
a Reims_, pp. 13 _et seq._]
The citizens of Reims acted with extreme caution. On the arrival of
the King of France in the neighbourhood of the town, while they sent
informing him that their gates should be opened to him, to their Lord
Philip and likewise to the Burgundians and English captains, they sent
word of the progress of the royal army as far as they knew it, and
called upon them to oppose the enemy's march.[1480] But they were in
no hurry to obtain succour, reckoning that, should they receive none,
they could surrender to King Charles without incurring any censure
from the Burgundians, and that thus they would have nothing to fear
from either party. For the moment they preserved their loyalty to the
two sides, which was wise in circumstances so difficult and so
dangerous. While observing the craft with which these towns of
Champagne practised the art of changing masters, it is well to
remember that their lives and possessions depended on their knowledge
of that art.
[Footnote 1480: J. Rogier, _loc. cit._ Varin, p. 599.]
As early as the 1st of July Captain Philibert de Moslant wrote to them
from Nogent-sur-Seine, where he was with his Burgundian company, that
if they needed him he would come to their help like a good
Christian.[1481] They feigned not to understand. After all, the Lord
Philibert was not their captain. What he proposed to do was, as he
said, only out of Christian charity. The notables of Reims, who did
not wish for deliverance, had to beware, above all, of their natural
deliverer, the Sire de Chastillon, Grand Steward of France, the
commander of the town.[1482] And they must needs request help in such
a manner as not to obtain their request, for fear of being like the
Israelites, of whom it is written: _Et tribuit eis petitionem eorum_.
[Footnote 1481: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 286 _et seq._
Varin, pp. 600 _et seq._]
[Footnote 1482: H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 18. Dom Marlot,
_Hist. metrop. Remensis_, vol. ii, pp. 709 _et seq._]
When the royal army was yet before the walls of Troyes, a herald
appeared at the gates of Reims, bearing a letter given by the King, at
Brinion-l'Archeveque, on Monday, the 4th of July. This letter was
delivered to the Council. "You may have heard tidings," said the King
to his good people of Reims, "of the success and victory it hath
pleased God to vouchsafe unto us over our ancient enemies, the
English, before the town of Orleans and since then at Jargeau,
Beaugency, and Meung-sur-Loire, in each of which places our enemies
have received grievous hurt; all their leaders and others to the
number of four thousand have been slain or taken prisoners. Such
things having happened, more by divine grace than human skill, we,
according to the advice of our Princes of the Blood and the members of
our Great Council, are coming to the town of Reims to receive our
anointing and coronation. Wherefore we summon you, on the loyalty and
obedience you owe us, to dispose yourselves to receive us in the
accustomed manner as you have done for our predecessors."[1483]
[Footnote 1483: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 291-292.]
And King Charles, adopting towards the citizens of Reims that same
wise benignity he had shown to the citizens of Troyes, promised them
full pardon and oblivion.
"Be not deterred," he said, "by matters that are past and the fear
that we may remember them. Be assured that if now ye act towards us as
ye ought, ye shall be dealt with as becometh good and loyal subjects."
He even asked them to send notables to treat with him. "If, in order
to be better informed concerning our intentions, certain citizens of
Reims would come to us with the herald, whom we send, we should be
well pleased. They may come in safety and in such numbers as shall
seem good to them."[1484]
[Footnote 1484: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 291.]
On the delivery of this letter the Council was convoked, but it so
befell that there were not enough aldermen to deliberate; hence the
Council was relieved from a serious embarrassment. Whereupon the
common folk were assembled in the various quarters of the city, and
from the citizens thus consulted was obtained the following crafty
declaration: "It is our intention to live and die with the Council and
the Notables. According to their advice we shall act in concord and in
peace, without murmuring or making answer, unless it be by the counsel
and decree of the Commander of Reims and his Lieutenant."[1485]
[Footnote 1485: _Ibid._, p. 292. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_,
pp. 17 _et seq._]
The Sire de Chastillon, Commander of the town, was then at
Chateau-Thierry with his lieutenants, Jean Cauchon and Thomas de
Bazoches, both of them knights. The citizens of Reims deemed it wise
that he should see King Charles's letter. Their Bailie, Guillaume
Hodierne, went to the Lord Captain and showed it to him. Most
faithfully did the Bailie express the sentiments of the people of
Reims: he asked the Sire de Chastillon to come to their deliverance,
but he asked in such a manner that he did not come. That was the
all-important point; for by not appealing to him they laid themselves
open to a charge of treason, while if he did come they risked having
to endure a siege grievous and dangerous.
With this object the Bailie declared that the citizens of Reims,
desirous to communicate with their captains, were willing to receive
him if he were accompanied by no more than fifty horse. Herein they
displayed their good will, being entitled to refuse to receive a
garrison within their walls; this privilege notwithstanding, they
consented to admit fifty horse, which meant about two hundred fighting
men. As the citizens had foreseen, the Sire de Chastillon judged such
a number insufficient for his safety. He demanded as the conditions of
his coming, that the town should be victualled and put in a state of
defence, that he should enter it with three or four hundred
combatants, that the defence of the city as well as of the castle
should be entrusted to him, and that there should be delivered up to
him five or six notables as hostages. On these conditions he declared
himself ready to live and die for them.[1486]
[Footnote 1486: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 292, 293. Varin,
_Archives de Reims_, pp. 910, 912. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_,
p. 18.]
He marched with his company to within a short distance of the town,
and then made known to the townsfolk that he had come to succour
them.[1487]
[Footnote 1487: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 295. H. Jadart,
_Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, pp. 18, 19.]
The English were indeed recruiting troops wherever they could and
pressing all manner of folk into their service. They were said to be
arming even priests; and the Regent was certainly pressing into his
service the crusaders disembarked in France, whom the Cardinal of
Winchester was intending to lead against the Hussites.[1488] As we may
imagine, King Henry's Council did not fail to inform the inhabitants
of Reims of the armaments which were being assembled. On the 3rd of
July they were told that the troops were crossing the sea, and on the
10th Colard de Mailly, Bailie of Vermandois, announced that they had
landed. But these tidings failed to inspire the folk of Champagne with
any great confidence in the power of the English. While the Sire de
Chastillon was promising that in forty days they should have a fine
large army from beyond the seas, King Charles with thirty thousand
combatants was but a few miles from their gates. The Sire de
Chastillon perceived, what he had previously suspected, that he was
tricked. The citizens of Reims refused to admit him. Nothing remained
for him but to turn round and join the English.[1489]
[Footnote 1488: Falconbridge, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 451. Jean
Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, pp. 101, 102. _Journal du siege_, p.
118. Rymer, _Foedera_, vol. x, p. 424. S. Bougenot, _Notices et
extraits des manuscrits interessants l'histoire de France conserves a
la Bibliotheque imperiale de Vienne_, p. 62. Raynaldi, _Annales
ecclesiastici_, vol. ix, pp. 77, 78. Morosini, vol. iv, supplement,
xvii.]
[Footnote 1489: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 295, 298.]
On the 12th of July, from my Lord Regnault de Chartres, Archbishop and
Duke of Reims, the townsfolk received a letter requesting them to make
ready for the King's coming.[1490]
[Footnote 1490: _Ibid._, p. 297. L. Paris, _Cabinet historique_, 1865,
p. 77.]
The Council of the city having assembled on that day, the clerk
proceeded to draw up an official report of its deliberations:
"... After having represented to my Lord of Chastillon that he is the
Commander and that the lords and the mass of the people who...."[1491]
[Footnote 1491: H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 19.]
He wrote no more. Finding it difficult to protest their loyalty to the
English while making ready King Charles's coronation, and considering
it imprudent to recognize a new prince without being forced to it, the
citizens abruptly renounced the silver of speech and took refuge in
the gold of silence.
On Saturday, the 16th, King Charles took up his quarters in the
Castle of Sept-Saulx, ten miles from the city where he was to be
crowned. This fortress had been erected two hundred years before by
the warlike predecessors of my Lord Regnault. Its proud keep commanded
the crossing of the Vesle.[1492] There the King received the citizens
of Reims, who came in great numbers to do him homage.[1493] Then, with
the Maid and his whole army, he resumed his march. Having traversed
the last stage of the highroad which wound along the bank of the
Vesle, he entered the great city of Champagne at nightfall. The
southern gate, called Dieulimire, lowered its drawbridge and raised
its two portcullises to let him pass.[1494]
[Footnote 1492: Perceval de Cagny, p. 159. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_,
p. 97; _Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 320. _Chronique des Cordeliers_,
fol. 85, v'o. _Journal du siege_, p. 112. Bergier, _Poeme sur la
tapisserie de Jeanne d'Arc_, p. 112. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a
Reims_, pp. 20, 21. F. Pinon, _Notice sur Sept-Saulx_, in _Travaux de
l'academie de Reims_, vol. vi, p. 328.]
[Footnote 1493: J. Rogier, in _Trial_, pp. 298 _et seq._ Dom Marlot,
_Histoire de la ville de Reims_, vol. iv, Reims, 1846 (4 vol. in 4to),
vol. iii, p. 174.]
[Footnote 1494: H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 23.]
According to tradition the coronation should take place on a Sunday.
This rule was found mentioned in a ceremonial which was believed to
have served for the coronation of Louis VIII and was considered
authoritative.[1495] The citizens of Reims worked all night in order
that everything might be ready on the morrow.[1496] They were urged
on by their sudden affection for the King of France and likewise by
their fear lest he and his army[1497] should spend many days in their
city. Their horror of receiving and maintaining men-at-arms within
their gates they shared with the citizens of all towns, who in their
panic were incapable of distinguishing Armagnac soldiers from English
and Burgundians. Wherefore in all things were they diligent, but with
the firm intention of paying as little as possible. Seeing that to
them the coronation brought neither profit nor honour, the aldermen
were accustomed to throw the burden of it on the Archbishop, who, they
said, as peer of France,[1498] would receive the emoluments.
[Footnote 1495: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, pp. 322, 323, note. "This
ritual dates back certainly as far as the 13th century. It is
preserved in the library at Reims in a MS. which appears to have been
written about 1274." Communicated by M. H. Jadart. Varin, _Archives de
Reims_, vol. i, p. 522. Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville de Reims_,
vol. iii, p. 566, and vol. iv, proofs and illustrations no. 142. H.
Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 7.]
[Footnote 1496: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 321. Perceval de Cagny,
p. 159. Letter from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol. v, p.
128.]
[Footnote 1497: _Pro evitando onus armatorum_, _Trial_, vol. i, p.
91.]
[Footnote 1498: Thirion, _Les frais du sacre_ in _Travaux de
l'academie de Reims_, 1894. See Varin, _Archives de Reims_, table of
contents under the word, _Sacre_. Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville de
Reims_, vol. iii, pp. 461, 566, 640, 651, 819; vol. iv, pp. 25, 31,
45.]
[Illustration: CHARLES VII, KING OF FRANCE
_From an old engraving_]
The royal ornaments, which, after the coronation of the late King, had
been deposited in the sacristy of Saint-Denys, were in the hands of
the English. The crown of Charlemagne, brilliant with rubies,
sapphires and emeralds, adorned with four flowers-de-luce, which the
Kings of France received on their coronation, the English wished to
place on the head of their King Henry. This child King they were
preparing to gird with the sword of Charlemagne, the illustrious
Joyeuse, which in its sheath of violet velvet slept in the keeping of
the Burgundian Abbot of Saint-Denys. In English hands likewise were
the sceptre surmounted by a golden Charlemagne in imperial robes, the
rod of justice terminated by a hand in horn of unicorn, the golden
clasp of Saint Louis' mantle, and the golden spurs and the Pontifical,
containing within its enamelled binding of silver-gilt the ceremonial
of the coronation.[1499] The French must needs make shift with a crown
kept in the sacristy of the cathedral.[1500] The other signs of
royalty handed down from Clovis, from Saint Charlemagne and Saint
Louis must be represented as well as could be. After all, it was not
unfitting that this coronation, won by a single expedition, should be
expressive of the labour and suffering it had cost. It was well that
the ceremony should suggest something of the heroic poverty of the
men-at-arms and the common folk who had brought the Dauphin thither.
[Footnote 1499: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 322, note 1. C. Leber,
_Des ceremonies du sacre ou Recherches historiques et antiques sur les
moeurs, les coutumes, les institutions et le droit public des
Francais dans l'ancienne monarchie_, Paris-Reims, 1825, in 8vo. A.
Lenoble, _Histoire du sacre et du couronnement des rois et des reines
de France_, Paris, 1825, in 8vo.]
[Footnote 1500: "Et si ipse expectasset habuisset unam coronam
millesies ditiorem," _Trial_, vol. i, p. 91. Varin, _Archives de
Reims_, vol. iii, pp. 559 _et seq._]
Kings were anointed with oil, because oil signifies renown, glory, and
wisdom. In the morning the Sires de Rais, de Boussac, de Graville and
de Culant were deputed by the King to go and fetch the Holy
Ampulla.[1501]
[Footnote 1501: _Journal du siege_, p. 113. _Chronique de la Pucelle_,
p. 321. Varin, _Archives de Reims_, vol. ii, p. 569; vol. iii, p.
555.]
It was a crystal flask which the Grand Prior of Saint-Remi kept in the
tomb of the Apostle, behind the high altar of the Abbey Church. This
flask contained the sacred chrism with which the Blessed Remi had
anointed King Clovis. It was enclosed in a reliquary in the form of a
dove, because the Holy Ghost in the semblance of a dove had been seen
descending with the oil for the anointing of the first Christian
King.[1502] Of a truth in ancient books it was written that an angel
had come down from heaven with the miraculous ampulla,[1503] but men
were not disturbed by such inconsistencies, and among Christian folk
no one doubted that the sacred chrism was possessed of miraculous
power. For example, it was known that with use the oil became no less,
that the flask remained always full, as a premonition and a pledge
that the kingdom of France would endure for ever. According to the
observation of witnesses, at the time of the coronation of the late
King Charles, the oil had not diminished after the anointing.[1504]
[Footnote 1502: _Trial_, vol. v, p. 129. In 1483, when Louis XI was
dying, he had it brought from Reims to Plessis, "and it was upon his
sideboard at the very time of his death, and his intent was to receive
the same anointing he had received at his coronation, wherefore many
believed that he wished to anoint his whole body, which would have
been impossible, for the said Ampulla is very small and contains
little. I see it at this moment." Commynes, bk. vi, ch. 9.]
[Footnote 1503: Flodoard, _Hist. ecclesiae Remensis_, in _Coll.
Guizot_, vol. v, pp. 41 _et seq._ Eustache Deschamps, Ballade 172,
vol. i, p. 305; vol. ii, p. 104. Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville de
Reims_, vol. ii, p. 48, note 1. Vertot, in _Academie des
Inscriptions_, vol. ii.]
[Footnote 1504: Froissart, book ii, ch. lxxiv.]
At nine o'clock in the morning Charles of Valois entered the church
with a numerous retinue. The king-at-arms of France called by name the
twelve peers of the realm to come before the high altar. Of the six
lay peers not one replied. In their places came the Duke of Alencon,
the Counts of Clermont and of Vendome, the Sires de Laval, de La
Tremouille, and de Maille.
Of the six ecclesiastical peers, three replied to the summons of the
king-at-arms,--the Archbishop Duke of Reims, the Bishop Count of
Chalons, the Bishop Duke of Laon. For the missing bishops of Langres
and Noyon were substituted those of Seez and Orleans. In the absence
of Arthur of Brittany, Constable of France, the sword was held by
Charles, Sire d'Albret.[1505]
[Footnote 1505: Letters from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol.
v, pp. 127, 129. Monstrelet, vol. iv, ch. lxiv. Perceval de Cagny, p.
159. _Relation du greffier de La Rochelle_, p. 343. _Chronique de
Tournai_ (vol. iii of the _Recueil des chroniques de Flandre_), p.
414. _Gallia Christiana_, vol. ix, col. 551; vol. xi, col. 698.]
In front of the altar was Charles of Valois, wearing robes open on the
chest and shoulders. He swore, first, to maintain the peace and
privileges of the Church; second, to preserve his people from
exactions and not to burden them too heavily; third, to govern with
justice and mercy.[1506]
[Footnote 1506: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 322, note 1.]
From his cousin d'Alencon he received the arms of a knight.[1507] Then
the Archbishop anointed him with the holy oil, with which the Holy
Ghost makes strong priests, kings, prophets and martyrs. So this new
Samuel consecrated the new Saul, making manifest that all power is of
God, and that, according to the example set by David, kings are
pontiffs, the ministers and the witnesses of the Lord. This pouring
out of the oil, with which the Kings of Israel were anointed, had
rendered the kings of most Christian France burning and shining lights
since the time of Charlemagne, yea, even since the days of Clovis; for
though it was baptism and confirmation rather than anointing that
Clovis received at the hands of the Blessed Saint Remi, yet he was
anointed Christian and King by the blessed bishop, and at the same
time and with that same holy oil which God himself had sent to this
prince and to his successors.[1508]
[Footnote 1507: Perceval de Cagny, p. 159. _Journal du siege_, p. 114.
_Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 322. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i,
p. 97.]
[Footnote 1508: Chifletius, _De ampula Remensi nova et acurata
disquisitio_, Antwerp, 1651, in 4to.]
And Charles received the anointing, the sign of power and victory, for
it is written in the Book of Samuel:[1509] "And Samuel took a vial of
oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him, and said, 'Is it not
because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance
and to deliver his people from their enemies round about. _Ecce unxit
te Dominus super hereditatem suam in principem, et liberabis populum
suum de manibus inimicorum ejus, qui in circuitu ejus sunt._'" (Reg.
1. x. 1. 6.)
[Footnote 1509: The first book of Kings according to the Vulgate
(W.S.).]
During the mystery, as it was called in the old parlance,[1510] the
Maid stayed by the King's side. Her white banner, before which the
ancient standard of Chandos had retreated, she held for a moment
unfurled. Then others in their turn held her standard, her page Louis
de Coutes, who never left her, and Friar Richard the preacher, who had
followed her to Chalons and to Reims.[1511] In one of her dreams she
had lately given a crown to the King; she was looking for this crown
to be brought into the church by heavenly messengers.[1512] Did not
saints commonly receive crowns from angels' hands? To Saint Cecilia an
angel offered a crown with garlands of roses and lilies. To
Catherine, the Virgin, an angel gave an imperishable crown, which she
placed upon the head of the Empress of Rome. But the crown curiously
rich and magnificent that Jeanne looked for came not.[1513]
[Footnote 1510: Letter from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol.
v, p. 129. F. Boyer, _Variante inedite d'un document sur le sacre de
Charles VII_, Clermont and Orleans, 1881.]
[Footnote 1511: _Trial_, vol. i, pp. 104, 300. _Chronique de la
Pucelle_, p. 322. Letter from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_,
vol. v, p. 129. Varin, D. Marlot, H. Jadart, _loc. cit._]
[Footnote 1512: _Trial_, vol. i, p. 91.]
[Footnote 1513: See _post_, vol. i, p. 476.]
From the altar the Archbishop took the crown of no great value
provided by the chapter, and with both hands raised it over the King's
head. The twelve peers, in a circle round the prince, stretched forth
their arms to hold it. The trumpets blew and the folk cried:
"Noel."[1514]
[Footnote 1514: Letter from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol.
v, p. 129.]
Thus was anointed and crowned Charles of France issue of the royal
line of Priam, great Troy's noble King.
Two hours after noon the mystery came to an end.[1515] We are told
that then the Maid knelt low before the King, and, weeping said:
[Footnote 1515: Morosini, vol. iii, p. 181. Letter from three
noblemen, _loc. cit._]
"Fair King, now is God's pleasure accomplished. It was His will that I
should raise the siege of Orleans and bring you to this city of Reims
to receive your holy anointing, making manifest that you are the true
King and he to whom the realm of France should belong."[1516]
[Footnote 1516: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, pp. 322, 323. _Journal du
siege_, p. 114.]
The King made the customary gifts. To the Chapter he presented
hangings of green satin as well as ornaments of red velvet and white
damask. Moreover, he placed upon the altar a silver vase with thirteen
golden crowns. Regardless of the claims asserted by the canons, the
Lord Archbishop took possession of it, but it profited him little,
for he had to give it up.[1517] After the ceremony King Charles put
the crown on his head and over his shoulders the royal mantle, blue as
the sky, flowered with lilies of gold; and on his charger he passed
down the streets of Reims city. The people in great joy cried, "Noel!"
as they had cried when my Lord the Duke of Burgundy entered. On that
day the Sire de Rais was made marshal of France and the Sire de la
Tremouille count. The eldest of Madame de Laval's two sons, he to whom
the Maid had offered wine at Selles-en-Berry, was likewise made count.
Captain La Hire received the county of Longueville with such parts of
Normandy as he could conquer.[1518]
[Footnote 1517: Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville de Reims_, vol. iv,
p. 175. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 107.]
[Footnote 1518: _Chronique de la Pucelle_, p. 322. _Journal du siege_,
p. 114. Perceval de Cagny, p. 159. Letter of three noblemen of Anjou,
in _Trial_, vol. v, p. 129. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, p. 97.
Vallet de Viriville, _Histoire de Charles VII_, vol. ii, p. 99, note
2.]
King Charles dined in the archiepiscopal palace in the ancient hall of
Tau, and was served by the Duke of Alencon and the Count of
Clermont.[1519] As was customary, the royal table extended into the
street, and there was feasting throughout the town. It was a day of
free drinking and fraternity. In the houses, at the doors, by the
wayside, folk made good cheer, and the kitchens were busy; there were
that day consumed oxen in dozens, sheep in hundreds, chicken and
rabbits in thousands. Folk stuffed themselves with spices, and (for it
was a thirsty day) they quaffed full many a beaker of wine of
Burgundy, and especially of that wine of delicate flavour that comes
from Beaune. At every coronation the ancient stag, made of bronze and
hollow, which stood in the courtyard of the archiepiscopal palace was
carried into the Rue du Parvis; it was filled with wine and the people
drank from it as from a fountain. Finally the burgesses and all the
inhabitants of Blessed Saint Remi's city, rich and poor alike, stuffed
and satiated with good wine, having howled "Noel!" till they were
hoarse, fell asleep over the wine-casks and the victuals, the remains
of which were to be a cause of bitter dispute between the grim
aldermen and the King's men on the morrow.[1520]
[Footnote 1519: Monstrelet, vol. iv, p. 339. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc
a Reims_, p. 32.]
[Footnote 1520: Thirion, _Les frais du sacre_, in _Travaux de
l'Academie de Reims_, 1894. Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville de
Reims_, vol. iv, p. 45, n. 1. Varin, _Arch. adm. de la ville de
Reims_, vol. iii, p. 39.]
Jacques d'Arc had come to see the coronation for which his daughter
had so zealously laboured. He lodged at the Sign of _L'Ane Raye_ in
the Rue du Parvis in a hostelry kept by Alix, widow of Raulin Morieau.
As well as his daughter, he saw once more his son Pierre.[1521] The
cousin, whom Jeanne called uncle and who had accompanied her to
Vaucouleurs to Sire Robert, had likewise come hither to the
coronation. He spoke to the King and told him all he knew of his
cousin.[1522] At Reims also Jeanne found her young fellow-countryman,
Husson Le Maistre, coppersmith of the village of Varville, about seven
miles from Domremy. She did not know him; but he had heard tell of
her, and he was very familiar with Jacques and Pierre d'Arc.[1523]
[Footnote 1521: _Trial_, vol. iii, p. 198; vol. v, pp. 141, 266. H.
Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, pp. 47, 48. L'abbe Cerf, _Le vieux
Reims_, 1875, pp. 35 and 110.]
[Footnote 1522: _Trial_, vol. ii, p. 445.]
[Footnote 1523: _Ibid._, vol. iii, p. 198.]
Jacques d'Arc was one of the notables and perhaps the best business
man of his village.[1524] It was not merely to see his daughter riding
through the streets in man's attire that he had come to Reims. He had
come doubtless for himself and on behalf of his village to ask the
King for an exemption from taxation. This request, presented to the
King by the Maid, was granted. On the 31st of the month the King
decreed that the inhabitants of Greux and of Domremy should be free
from all _tailles_, aids, subsidies, and subventions.[1525] Out of the
public funds the magistrates of the town paid Jacques d'Arc's
expenses, and when he was about to depart they gave him a horse to
take him home.[1526]
[Footnote 1524: S. Luce, _Jeanne d'Arc a Domremy_, pp. 1 _et seq._;
proofs and illustrations no. li, pp. 97, 100; supplement, pp. 359,
362. Boucher de Molandon, _Jacques d'Arc, pere de la Pucelle, sa
notabilite personnelle_, Orleans, 1885, in 8vo.]
[Footnote 1525: _Trial_, vol. v, pp. 137, 139. In the royal records
this privilege is described as having been granted at Jeanne's
request; in such a request we cannot fail to discern the influence of
her father.]
[Footnote 1526: _Ibid._, pp. 141, 266, 267.]
During the five or six days she spent at Reims the Maid appeared
frequently before the townsfolk. The poor and humble came to her; good
wives took her by the hand and touched their rings with hers.[1527] On
her finger she wore a little ring made of a kind of brass, sometimes
called electrum.[1528] Electrum was said to be the gold of the poor.
In place of a stone the ring had a collet inscribed with the words
"Jhesus Maria" with three crosses. Oftentimes she reverently fixed her
gaze upon it, for once she had had it touched by Saint Catherine.[1529]
And that the Saint should have actually touched it was not incredible,
seeing that some years before, in 1413, Sister Colette, who was vowed
to virginal chastity, had received from the Virgin apostle a rich
golden ring, as a sign of her spiritual marriage with the King of
Kings. Sister Colette permitted the nuns and monks of her order to
touch this ring, and she confided it to the messengers she sent to
distant lands to preserve them from perils by the way.[1530] The Maid
ascribed great powers to her ring, albeit she never used it to heal
the sick.[1531]
[Footnote 1527: _Ibid._, p. 103.]
[Footnote 1528: Du Cange, _Glossarium_, under the words _Auriacum_,
_electrum_, and _leto_. Vallet de Viriville, _Les anneaux de Jeanne
d'Arc_, in _Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de France_, vol.
xxx, January, 1867.]
[Footnote 1529: _Trial_, vol. i, pp. 185, 238. Walter Bower, _ibid._,
vol. iv, p. 480.]
[Footnote 1530: _Sanctissimae virginis Coletae vita_, Paris, in 8vo,
black letter, undated, leaf 8 on the reverse side. Bollandistes, _Acta
sanctorum_, March, vol. i, p. 611.]
[Footnote 1531: _Trial_, vol. i, pp. 86, 87.]
She was expected to render those trifling services which it was usual
to ask from holy folk and sometimes from magicians. Before the
coronation ceremony the nobles and knights had been given gloves,
according to the custom. One of them lost his; he asked the Maid to
find them, or others asked her for him. She did not promise to do it;
notwithstanding the matter became known, and various interpretations
were placed upon it.[1532]
[Footnote 1532: _Ibid._, p. 104. H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p.
37.]
After the King's coronation, jostled by the crowd in the Rue du
Parvis, one can imagine some thoughtful clerk raising his eyes to the
glorious facade of the Cathedral, that Bible in stone, already
appearing ancient to men, who, knowing naught of the chronicles,
measured time by the span of human existence. Such a clerk would have
certainly beheld on the left of the pointed arch above the rose
window the colossal image of Goliath rising proudly in his coat of
mail, and that same figure repeated on the right of the arch in the
attitude of a man tottering and ready to fall.[1533] Then this clerk
must have remembered what is written in the first book of Kings:[1534]
[Footnote 1533: "These figures (Goliath and David) must have been
sculptured at the end of the 13th century." (L. Demaison, _Notice
historique sur la cathedrale de Reims_, s.d. in 4to, p. 44.) The date
of the rose window is 1280 (H. Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p.
44).]
[Footnote 1534: According to the Vulgate. First book of Samuel
according to the Authorized Version (W.S.).]
"And there went out a man base-born from the camp of the Philistines,
named Goliath, of Geth, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he
had a helmet of brass upon his head and he was clothed with a coat of
mail with scales; and the weight of his coat of mail was five thousand
sicles of brass. And standing he cried out to the bands of Israel and
said to them: I bring reproach unto the armies of Israel. Choose out a
man of you, and let him come down and fight hand to hand.
"Now David had gone to feed his Father's sheep at Bethlehem. But he
arose in the morning and gave the charge of the flock to the keeper.
And he came to the place of Magala and to the army which was going out
to fight. And, seeing Goliath, he asked: 'Who is this uncircumcised
Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?'
"And the words which David spoke, were rehearsed before Saul; and he
sent for him. David said to Saul, 'Let not any man's heart be dismayed
in him; I, thy servant, will go and fight against this Philistine.'
And Saul said to David 'Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine
nor to fight against him; for thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior
from his youth.' And David made answer, 'I will go against him and I
will take away the reproach from Israel.' Then Saul said to David, 'Go
and the Lord be with thee.'
"And David took his staff which he had always in his hands, and chose
him five smooth stones out of the brook, and he took a sling in his
hand; and went forth against the Philistine.
"And when the Philistine looked and beheld David, he despised him. For
he was a young man, and ruddy, and of a comely countenance. And the
Philistine said to David: 'Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a
staff?' Then said David to the Philistine: 'Thou comest to me with a
sword, and with a spear and with a shield: but I come to thee in the
name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou
hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand that
all the earth may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear:
for it is his battle, and he will deliver you into our hands.'
"And when the Philistine arose and was coming and drew nigh to meet
David, David made haste and ran to the fight to meet the Philistine.
And he put his hand into his scrip and took a stone, and cast it with
the sling and fetching it about struck the Philistine in the forehead,
and the stone was fixed in his forehead and he fell on his face upon
the earth."[1535]
[Footnote 1535: 1 Samuel xvii. Where the author quotes direct from the
Vulgate the translator has followed the Douai version (W.S.).]
Then the clerk, meditating on these words of the Book, would reflect
how God, the Unchanging, who saved Israel and struck down Goliath by
the sling of a shepherd lad, had raised up the daughter of a
husbandman for the deliverance of the most Christian realm and the
reproach of the Leopard.[1536]
[Footnote 1536: See the coronation of David and that of Louis XII by
an unknown painter, about 1498, in the Cluny Museum. H. Bouchot,
_L'exposition des primitifs francais. La peinture en France sous les
Valois_, book ii, figure C.]
From Gien, about June the 27th, the Maid had had a letter written to
the Duke of Burgundy, calling upon him to come to the King's
anointing. Having received no reply, on the day of the coronation she
dictated a second letter to the Duke. Here it is:
[cross symbol] JHESUS MARIA
"High and greatly to be feared Prince, Duke of Burgundy,
Jehanne the Maid, in the name of the King of Heaven, her
rightful and liege lord, requires you and the King of France
to make a good peace which shall long endure. Forgive one
another heartily and entirely as becometh good Christians;
an if it please you to make war, go ye against the Saracens.
Prince of Burgundy, I pray you, I entreat you, I beseech you
as humbly as lieth in my power, that ye make war no more
against the holy realm of France, and that forthwith and
speedily ye withdraw those your men who are in any
strongholds and fortresses of the said holy kingdom; and in
the name of the fair King of France, he is ready to make
peace with you, saving his honour if that be necessary. And
in the name of the King of Heaven, my Sovereign liege Lord,
for your good, your honour and your life, I make known unto
you, that ye will never win in battle against the loyal
French and that all they who wage war against the holy realm
of France, will be warring against King Jhesus, King of
Heaven and of the world, my lawful liege lord. And with
clasped hands I beseech and entreat you that ye make no
battle nor wage war against us, neither you, nor your
people, nor your subjects; and be assured that whatever
number of folk ye bring against us, they will gain nothing,
and it will be sore pity for the great battle and the blood
that shall be shed of those that come against us. And three
weeks past, I did write and send you letters by a herald,
that ye should come to the anointing of the King, which
to-day, Sunday, the 17th day of this present month, is made
in the city of Reims: to which letter I have had no answer,
neither news of the said herald. To God I commend you; may
he keep you, if it be his will; and I pray God to establish
good peace. Written from the said place of Reims, on the
said seventeenth of July."
Addressed: "to the Duke of Burgundy."[1537]
[Footnote 1537: _Trial_, vol. v, pp. 126-127. Hennebert, _Une lettre
de Jeanne d'Arc aux Tournaisiens_ in _Arch. hist. et litt. du nord de
la France et du midi de la Belgique_, nouv. serie, vol. i, 1837, p.
525. Facsimile in _l'Album des archives departementales_, no. 123.]
Had Saint Catherine of Sienna been at Reims she would not have written
otherwise. Albeit the Maid liked not the Burgundians, in her own way
she realized forcibly how desirable was peace with the Duke of
Burgundy. With clasped hands she entreats him to cease making war
against France. "An it please you to make war then go ye against the
Saracens." Already she had counselled the English to join the French
and go on a crusade. The destruction of the infidel was then the dream
of gentle peace-loving souls; and many pious folk believed that the
son of the knight, who had been vanquished at Nicopolis, would make
the Turks pay dearly for their former victory.[1538]
[Footnote 1538: Morosini, vol. iii, pp. 82, 83. Eberhard Windecke, p.
61, note 9, p. 108. Christine de Pisan, in _Trial_, vol. v, p. 416.
Jorga, _Notes et extraits pour servir a l'histoire des croisades au
XV'e siecle_, Paris, 1889-1902. 3 vols. in 8vo.]
In this letter, the Maid, in the name of the King of Heaven, tells
Duke Philip that if he fight against the King, he will be conquered.
Her voices had foretold to her the victory of France over Burgundy;
they had not revealed to her that at the very moment when she was
dictating her letter the ambassadors of Duke Philip were at Reims;
that was so, notwithstanding.[1539]
[Footnote 1539: _Memoires du Pape Pie II_, in _Trial_, vol. iv, pp.
514, 515. Morosini, vol. iii, p. 190.]
Esteeming King Charles, master of Champagne, to be a prince worthy of
consideration, Duke Philip sent to Reims, David de Brimeu, Bailie of
Artois, at the head of an embassy, to greet him and open negotiations
for peace.[1540] The Burgundians received a hearty welcome from the
Chancellor and the Council. It was hoped that peace would be concluded
before their departure. The Angevin lords announced it to their
queens, Yolande and Marie.[1541] By so doing they showed how little
they knew the consummate old fox of Dijon. The French were not strong
enough yet, neither were the English weak enough. It was agreed that
in August an embassy should be sent to the Duke of Burgundy in the
town of Arras. After four days negotiation, a truce for fifteen days
was signed and the embassy left Reims.[1542] At the same time, the
Duke at Paris solemnly renewed his complaint against Charles of
Valois, his father's assassin, and undertook to bring an army to the
help of the English.[1543]
[Footnote 1540: _Trial_, vol. iv, pp. 514, 515. Monstrelet, vol. iv,
p. 340. _Relation du greffier de La Rochelle_, p. 37. Letter from
three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol. v, p. 130. Third account of
Jean Abonnel in De Beaucourt, _Histoire de Charles VII_, vol. ii, p.
404, no. 3.]
[Footnote 1541: Letter from three noblemen of Anjou, in _Trial_, vol.
v, p. 130.]
[Footnote 1542: The 20th or 21st. Monstrelet, vol. iv, pp. 348 _et
seq._ De Beaucourt, _Histoire de Charles VII_, vol. II, pp. 404 _et
seq._]
[Footnote 1543: Falconbridge, in _Trial_, vol. iv, p. 455. _Journal
d'un bourgeois de Paris_, pp. 240, 241. Stevenson, _Letters and
papers_, vol. ii, pp. 101 _et seq._ Rymer, _Foedera_, vol. iv, part
iv, p. 150.]
Leaving Antoine de Hellande, nephew of the Duke-Archbishop[1544] to
command Reims, the King of France departed from the city on the 20th
of July and went to Saint-Marcoul-de-Corbeny, where on the day after
their coronation, the Kings were accustomed to touch for the
evil.[1545]
[Footnote 1544: Archives de Reims, Municipal Accounts, vol. i, years
1428-29. _Trial_, vol. v, p. 141. Monstrelet, vol. iv, p. 339. H.
Jadart, _Jeanne d'Arc a Reims_, p. 51.]
[Footnote 1545: _Trial_, vol. iii, p. 199. _Chronique de la Pucelle_,
p. 323. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, p. 97. _Journal du siege_,
p. 114. Martial d'Auvergne, _Vigiles_, vol. i, p. 111.]
Saint Marcoul cured the evil.[1546] He was of royal race, but his
power, manifested long after his death, came to him especially from
his name, and it was believed that Saint Marcoul was able to cure
those afflicted with marks on the neck, as Saint Clare was to give
sight to the blind, and Saint Fort to give strength to children. The
King of France shared with him the power of healing scrofula; and as
the power came to him from the holy oil brought down from heaven by a
dove, it was thought that this virtue would be more effectual at the
time of the anointing, all the more because by lewdness, disobedience
to the Christian Church, and other irregularities, he stood in danger
of losing it. That is what had happened to King Philippe I.[1547] The
Kings of England touched for the evil; notably King Edward III worked
wondrous cures on scrofulous folk who were covered with scars. For
these reasons scrofula was called Saint Marcoul's evil or King's evil.
Virgins as well as kings could cure this royal malady.
[Footnote 1546: _Gallia Christ_: ix, pp, 239, 51 [Transcriber's Note:
so in original; does not match other citations to this work]. Le
Poulle, _Notice sur Corbeny, son prieure, et le pelerinage de
Saint-Marcoul_, Soissons, 1883, 8vo. E. de Barthelemy, _Notice
historique sur le pelerinage de Saint-Marcoul et Corbeny_, in _Ann.
Soc. Acad. de Saint-Quentin_, 1878.]
[Footnote 1547: A. Du Laurent, _De mirabili strumas sanandi vi solis
regibus Galliarum christianissimis divinitus concessa liber_, Paris,
1607, 8vo. Cerf, _Du toucher des ecrouelles par le roi de France_, in
_Trav. Acad. de Reims_, 1865-1867. Dom Marlot, _Histoire de la ville
de Reims_, vol. iii, pp. 196 _et seq._]
King Charles worshipped and presented offerings at the shrine of Saint
Marcoul, and there touched for the evil. At Corbeny he received the
submission of the town of Laon. Then, on the morrow, the 22nd, he went
off to a little stronghold in the valley of the Aisne, called Vailly,
which belonged to the Archbishop Duke of Reims. At Vailly he received
the submission of the town of Soissons.[1548] In the words of an
Armagnac prophet of the time: "the keys of the war gates knew the
hands that had forged them."[1549]
[Footnote 1548: Perceval de Cagny, p. 160. _Chronique de la Pucelle_,
pp. 323, 324. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, p. 98. _Journal du
siege_, p. 115. _Chronique des Cordeliers_, fol. 486 r'o. Morosini,
iii, p. 182, note 3.]
[Footnote 1549: Brehal, in _Trial_, vol. iii, p. 345.]