THE MEETING AT PERONNE
1468
"My brother, I beseech you in the name of our affection and of
our alliance, come to my aid, come as speedily as you can, come
without delay. Written by the own hand of your brother.
"FRANCIS."
Such were the concluding sentences of a fervent appeal from the
Duke of Brittany that followed Charles into Holland, whither he had
hastened after the completion of the nuptial festivities.
The titular Duke of Normandy found that his royal brother was in no
wise inclined to fulfil the solemn pledges made at Conflans. His ally,
Francis, Duke of Brittany, was plunged into terror lest the king
should invade his duchy and punish him for his share in the
proceedings that had led up to that compact.
It is in this year that Louis XI. begins to show his real astuteness.
Very clever are his methods of freeing himself from the distasteful
obligations assumed towards his brother. They had been easy to make
when a hostile army was encamped at the gates of Paris. Then Normandy
weighed lightly when balanced by the desire to separate the allies.
That separation accomplished, the point of view changed. Relinquish
Normandy, restored by the hand of heaven to its natural liege lord
after its long retention by the English kings? Louis's intention
gradually became plain and he proved that he was no longer in the
isolated position in which the War for Public Weal had found him. He
had won to himself many adherents, while the general tone towards
Charles of Burgundy had changed.[1]
In April, 1468, the States-General of France assembled at Tours in
response to royal writs issued in the preceding February.[2] The
chancellor, Jouvençal, opened the session with a tedious, long-winded
harangue calculated to weary rather than to illuminate the assembly.
Then the king took the floor and delivered a telling speech. With
trenchant and well chosen phrases he set forth the reasons why
Normandy ought to be an intrinsic part of the French realm. The
advantages of centralisation, the weakness of decentralisation, were
skilfully drawn. The matter was one affecting the kingdom as a whole,
in perpetuity; it was not for the temporal interests of the present
incumbent of regal authority, who had only part therein for the brief
space of his mortal journey. Louis's words are pathetic indeed, as
he calls himself a sojourner in France, _en voyage_ through life,
as though the fact itself of his likeness to the rest of ephemeral
mankind was novel to his audience. He reiterated the statement that
the interests involved were theirs, not his.
It was a goodly body which listened to Louis. The greatest feudal
lords, indeed, were not present, but many of the lesser nobility were,
while sixty-four towns sent, all told, about 128 deputies. These
hearers gave willing attention to the thesis that it was a burning
shame for the French people to pay heavy taxes simply to restrain the
insolent peers from rebelling against their sovereign--those noble
scions of the royal stock whose bounden duty it was to protect the
state and the head of the royal house.
What was the reason for their selfish insubordination? The root of the
evil lay in the past, when extensive territories had been carelessly
alienated, and their petty over-lords permitted to acquire too much
independence of the crown, so that the monarchy was threatened with
disruption. There was more to the same purpose and then the deputies
deliberated on the answer to make to this speech from the throne. It
was an answer to Louis's mind, an answer that showed the value of
suggestion. Charles the Wise had thought that an estate yielding an
income of twelve thousand livres was all-sufficient for a prince of
the blood. Louis XI. was more generous. He was ready to allow his
brother Charles a pension of sixty thousand livres. But as to the
government of Normandy--why! no king, either from fraternal affection
or from fear of war, was justified in committing that province to
other hands than his own.
The States-General dissolved in perfect accord with the monarch, and a
definite order was left in the king's hands, declaring that it was
the judgment of the towns represented that concentration of power was
necessary for the common welfare of France. Public opinion declared
that national weakness would be inevitable if the feudatories were
unbridled in their centrifugal tendencies. Above all, Normandy must be
retained by the king. On no consideration should Louis leave it to his
brother.[2]
Before the dissolution of the assembly there was some discussion as to
the probable attitude of the great nobles in regard to this platform
of centralisation. Very timid were the comments on Charles of
Burgundy. Would he not perhaps be an excellent mediator between the
lesser dukes and the king? Would it not be better to suspend action
until his opinion was known, etc? But at large there was less reserve.
The statements were emphatic. Naught but mischief had ever come to
France from Burgundy. The present duke's father and grandfather had
wrought all the ill that lay in their power. As for Charles, his
illimitable greed was notorious. Let him rest content with his
paternal heritage. Ghent and Bruges were his. Did he want Paris too?
Let the king recover the towns on the Somme. Rightfully they were
French. Louis made no scruple in pleading the invalidity of the treaty
of Conflans, because it had been wrested from him by undue influence.
And this royal sentiment was repeated here and there with growing
conviction of its justice.
While Charles was occupied with the preparation for his wedding, Louis
was engaged in levying troops and mobilising his forces, and these
preparations continued throughout the summer of 1468. Naturally, news
of this zeal directed against the dukes of Normandy and of Brittany
followed the traveller in Holland.
Charles was in high dudgeon and wrote at once to the king, reminding
him that these seigneurs were his allies, and demanding that nothing
should be wrought to their detriment. Conscious that his remonstrance
might be futile, and urged on by appeals from the dukes, Charles
hastened to cut short his stay in Holland so that he might move nearer
to the scene of Louis's activities. His purpose in going to the north
had been twofold--to receive homage as Count of Holland and Zealand,
and to use his new dignity to obtain large sums of money for which he
saw immediate need if he were to hold Louis to the terms wrested from
him.
In early July, Charles had crossed from Sluis in Flanders to
Middelburg, and thence made his progress through the cities of
Zealand, receiving homage as he went. Next he passed to The Hague,
where the nobles and civic deputies of Holland met him and gave
him their oaths of fealty on July 21st. Fifty-six towns[4] were
represented and there were also deputies from eight bailiwicks and the
islands of Texel and Wieringen. "It is noteworthy," comments a Dutch
historian, "that the people's oath was given first. The older custom
was that the count should give the first pledge while the people
followed suit."
As soon as he was thus legally invested with sovereign power, Charles
demanded a large _aide_ from Holland and Zealand--480,000 crowns of
fifteen stivers for himself; 32,000 crowns as pin money for his new
consort; 16,000 crowns as donations for various servants, and 4800
crowns towards his travelling expenses. The total sum was 532,800
crowns. The share of Holland and West Friesland was 372,800 crowns,
and of Zealand 16,000 crowns, to be paid within seven and a half
years. In Holland, Haarlem paid the heaviest quota, 3549 crowns, and
Schiedam the smallest, 350 crowns, while Dordrecht and the South
Holland villages were assessed at 39,200 crowns, and the remainder was
divided among the other cities and villages.
There was considerable opposition to the assessments. In many cases
the new imposts upon provisions pressed very heavily on the poor
villagers. Having obtained promise of the grant, however, Charles left
all further details in its regard to the local officials and returned
to Brussels at the beginning of August to make his own preparation.
For, by that time, Louis's intentions of evading the treaty of
Conflans were plain, though there still fluttered a thin veil of
friendship between the cousins. Gathering what forces he could
mobilise, ordering them to meet him later, Charles moved westward and
took up his quarters at Peronne on the river Somme.
Louis had been bold in his utterance to the States-General as to his
perfect right to ignore the treaty of Conflans, to dispossess his
brother, and to bring the great feudatories to terms. In the summer
of 1468 he made advances towards accomplishing the last-named
desideratum. Brittany was invaded by royal troops, but his victory was
diplomatic rather than military, as Duke Francis peaceably consented
to renounce his close alliances with Burgundy and England, nominally
at least. Further, he agreed to urge Charles of France to submit his
claims to Normandy to the arbitration of Nicholas of Calabria and the
Constable St. Pol.[5]
Charles of Burgundy remained to be settled with on some different
basis. And in regard to him Louis XI. took a resolve which terrified
his friends and caused the world to wonder as to his sanity. All
previous attempts at mediation having failed--St. Pol was among the
many who tried--the king determined to be his own messenger to parley
with his Burgundian cousin. It is curious how small was his measure
of personal pride. He had been negligent of his personal safety at
Conflans, but even then Charles had better reason to respect and
protect him than in 1468, after Louis had manoeuvred for three years
in every direction to harass and undermine the young duke's power,
and when, too, the latter was aware of half of the machinations and
suspicious of more.
Yet Louis's famous visit to Peronne was no sudden hare-brained
enterprise. There is much evidence that he nursed the project for many
weeks without giving any intimation of his intentions. Nor was the
situation as strange as it appears, looking backward.
Charles had doubtless made all preparations to combat Louis if need
were, and had chosen Peronne for his headquarters with the express
purpose of being able to watch France, and, at the same time, he had
published abroad that his military preparations were solely for
the purpose of keeping his obligations to his allies. Now these
obligations were momentarily removed by the action of those same
allies. Francis of Brittany had entered into amicable relations with
his sovereign, young Charles of France had accepted arbitration to
settle the fraternal relations of the royal brothers, while the
correspondence between Louis and Liege, was still unknown to the Duke
of Burgundy. For the moment, the latter, therefore, had no definite
quarrel with the French king. But he was not in the least anxious for
an interview with him. Charles was as far as ever from understanding
his cousin. Even without definite knowledge of Louis's efforts to
make friends in the Netherlands, Charles suspected enough to turn his
youthful distrust of the man's character into mature conviction that
friendship between them was impossible. But he could not refuse the
royal overtures. His letter of safe-conduct to his self-invited
visitor bears the date of October 8th, and runs as follows:[6]
"MONSEIGNEUR:
"I commend myself to your good graces. Sire, if it be your
desire to come to this city of Peronne in order that we may talk
together, I swear and I promise you by my faith and on my honour
that you may come, remain and return in safety to Chauny or Noyon,
according to your pleasure and as often as it shall please you,
freely and openly without any hindrance offered either to you or
to any of your people by me or by any other for any cause that now
exists or _that may hereafter arise_."
Guillaume de Biche acted as confidential messenger between duke and
king. He it was whom Charles had dismissed from his own service in
1456 at his father's instance. From that time on the man had been in
Louis's household, deep in his secrets it was said, and certainly
admitted to his privacy to an extraordinary degree. This letter was
written by Charles in the presence of Biche, through whose hand it
passed directly to the king.
By October, Louis was at Ham, prepared to move as soon as the
safe-conduct arrived. No time was lost after its receipt. On Sunday,
October 9th, the king started out, accompanied by the Bishop of
Avranches, his confessor, by the Duke of Bourbon, Cardinal Balue,
St. Pol, a few more nobles, and about eighty archers of the Scottish
guard. As he rode towards Peronne, Philip of Crèvecoeur, with two
hundred lances, met him on the way to act as his escort to the
presence of the duke, who awaited his guest on the banks of a stream a
short distance out of Peronne.
St. Pol was the first of the royal party to meet the duke as herald of
Louis's approach. Then Charles rode forward to greet the traveller. As
he came within sight of his cousin, he bowed low to his saddle and was
about to dismount when Louis, his head bared, prevented his action.
Fervent were the kisses pressed by the kingly lips upon the duke's
cheeks, while Louis's arm rested lovingly about the latter's neck.
Then he turned graciously to the by-standing nobles and greeted them
by name. But his cousinly affection was not yet satisfied. Again he
embraced Charles and held him half as long as before in his arms. How
pleasant he was and how full of confidence towards this trusted cousin
of his!
The cavalcade fell into line again, with the two princes in the
middle, and made a stately entry into Peronne at a little after
mid-day.[7] The chief building then and the natural place to lodge
a royal visitor was the castle. But it was in sorry repair, ill
furnished, and affording less comfort than a neighbouring house
belonging to a city official. Here rooms had been prepared for the
king and a few of his suite, the others being quartered through the
town. At the door Charles took his leave and Louis entered alone with
Cardinal Balue and the attendants he had chosen to keep near him.
These latter were nearly all of inferior birth, and were treated
by their master with a familiarity very astonishing to the stately
Burgundians.
Louis entered the room assigned for his use, walked to the window,
and looked out into the street. The sight that met his view was most
disquieting. A party of cavaliers were on the point of entering the
castle. They were gentlemen just arrived from Burgundy with their
lances, in response to a summons issued long before the present visit
was anticipated. As he looked down on the troops, Louis recognised
several men who had no cause to love him or to cherish his memory.
There was, for instance, the queen's brother Philip de Bresse[8] who
had led a party against Louis's own sister Yolande of Savoy. At a
time of parley this Philip had trusted the sincerity of his
brother-in-law's profession and had visited him to obtain his
mediation. The king had violated both the specified safe-conduct and
ambassadorial equity alike, and had thrown De Bresse into the citadel
of Loches, where he suffered a long confinement before he succeeded in
making his escape. He was a Burgundian in sympathy as well as in race.
But with him on that October day Louis noticed various Frenchmen who
had fallen under royal displeasure from one cause or another and had
saved their liberty by flight, renouncing their allegiance to him
for ever. Four there were in all who wore the cross of St. Andrew.
Approaching Peronne as they had from the south, these new-comers had
ridden in at the southern gates without intimation of this royal
visitation extraordinary until they were almost face to face with
guest and host. Their arrival was "a half of a quarter of an hour
later than that of the king."
When Philip de Bresse and his friends learned what was going on, they
hastened to the duke's chambers "to give him reverence." Monseigneur
de Bresse was the spokesman in begging the duke that the three above
named should be assured of their security notwithstanding the king's
presence at Peronne,--of security such as he had pledged them in
Burgundy and promised for the hour when they should arrive at his
court. On their part they were ready to serve him towards all and
against all. Which petition the duke granted orally. "The force
conducted by the Marshal of Burgundy was encamped without the gates,
and the said marshal spoke no ill of the king, nor did the others I
have mentioned."[9]
It was, however, a situation in which apprehension was not confined
to the men of lower station. To Louis, looking down from his window,
there seemed dire menace in the mere presence of these persons who had
heavy grievances against him, and the unfortified private house seemed
slight protection against their possible vengeance. Here, Charles
might disavow injury to him as something happening quite without his
knowledge. On ducal soil the safest place was assuredly under shelter
patently ducal. There, there would be no doubt of responsibility did
misfortune happen.
Straightway the king sent a messenger to Charles asking for quarters
within the castle. The request was granted and the uneasy guest passed
through the massive portals between a double line of Burgundian
men-at-arms. It was no cheerful, pleasant, palatial dwelling-place
this little old castle of Peronne. So thick were the walls that vain
had been all assaults against it.[10] Designed for a fortress rather
than a residence, it had been repeatedly used as a prison, and the air
of the whole was tainted by the dungeons under its walls, dungeons
which had seen many unwilling lodgers. Five centuries earlier than
this date, Charles the Simple had languished to death in one of the
towers.
This change of arrangement, or rather the disquieting reason for the
change, undoubtedly clouded the peacefulness of the occasion. Yet
outward calm was preserved. Commines asserts that the two princes
directed their people to behave amicably to each other and that the
commands were scrupulously obeyed. For two or three days the desired
conferences took place between Charles and Louis. The king's wishes
were perfectly plain. He wanted Charles to forsake all other alliances
and to pledge himself to support his feudal chief, first and foremost,
from all attacks of his enemies. The Duke of Brittany had submitted
to his liege. If the Duke of Burgundy would only accept terms equally
satisfactory in their way, the pernicious alliance between the two
would vanish, to the weal of French unity.
[Illustration: PHILIP DE COMMINES.]
Apparently the first discussion was heard by none except the Cardinal
Balue and Guillaume de Biche. Charles was willing to pledge allegiance
and to promise aid to his feudal chief, but under limitations that
weakened the value of his words. Nothing could induce him to renounce
alliance with other princes for mutual aid, did they need it. There
was a second interview on the following day. Charles held tenaciously
to his position. Then there came a sudden alteration in the situation,
a strange dramatic shifting of the duke's point of view.
The city of Liege had submitted perforce to the behests of her
imperious neighbour, but the citizens had never ceased to hope that
his unwelcome "protection" might be dispensed with; that, by the aid
of French troops, they might eventually wrest themselves free from
the Burgundian incubus. In spite of all promises to Charles, secret
negotiations between the anti-Burgundian party and Louis XI. had never
ceased. The latter never refused to admit the importunate embassies to
his presence. He was glad to keep in touch with the city even in
its ruined condition. He sent envoys as well as received them, and
Commines states definitely that, in making his plan to visit Peronne,
the fact of a confidential commission recently despatched to Liege had
wholly slipped the king's mind.
In that town the duke's lieutenant, Humbercourt, had been left to
supervise the humiliating changes ordered. And the work of demolition
was the only industry. Other ordinary business was at a standstill.
For a period there was a sullen silence in the streets and the church
bells were at rest. In April, a special legate from the pope arrived
to see whether ecclesiastical affairs could not be put on a better
footing.
It was about the same time that the States-General were meeting
at Tours that, under the direction of this legate, Onofrio de
Santa-Croce, the cathedral was purified with holy water, and Louis of
Bourbon celebrated his very first mass, though he had been seated on
the episcopal throne for twelve years. Then Onofrio tried to mediate
between the city and the Duke of Burgundy. To Bruges he went to
see Charles, and obtained permission to draft a project for the
re-establishment of the civic government, to be submitted to the duke
for approval.
If Onofrio thought he had reformed the bishop by forcing him into
performing his priestly rites he soon learned his mistake. That
ecclesiastic speedily disgusted his flock by his ill-timed
festivities, and then forsook the city and sailed away to Maestricht
in a gaily painted barge, with gay companions to pass the summer in
frivolous amusements suited to his dissolute tastes. Such was the
state of affairs when the report of Louis's extensive military
preparations encouraged the Liegeois to hope that he was to take the
field openly against the duke.
About the beginning of September, troops of forlorn and desperate
exiles began to return to the city. They came, to be sure, with shouts
of _Vive le Roi!_ but, as a matter of fact, they seemed willing to
make any accommodation for the sake of being permitted to remain.
"Better any fate at home than to live like wild beasts with the
recollection that we had once been men."
To make a long story short, Onofrio again endeavoured to rouse the
bishop to a sense of his duty. Again he tried to make terms for the
exiles and to re-establish a tenable condition. It was useless. Louis
of Bourbon refused to approach nearer to Liege than Tongres, and
declined to meet the advances of his despairing subjects. It was just
at this moment that fresh emissaries arrived from Louis, despatched,
as already stated, _before_ Charles had consented to prolong the
truce.
Excited by their presence the Liegeois once more roused themselves to
action. A force of two thousand was gathered at Liege, and advanced by
night upon Tongres--also without walls--surrounded the house where lay
their bishop, and forced him to return to Liege. Violence there was
and loss of life, but, as a matter of fact, the mob respected the
person of their bishop and of Humbercourt the chief Burgundian
official. This event happened on October 9th, the very day that Louis
rode recklessly into Peronne.
On Wednesday, October 11th, the news of the fray reached Peronne,
but news greatly exaggerated by rumour. Bishop, papal legate, and
Burgundian lieutenant all had been ruthlessly murdered in the very
presence of Louis's own envoys, who had aided and abetted the hideous
crime! To follow the story of an eyewitness:[11]
"Some said that everyone was dead, others asserted the contrary,
for such advertisments are never reported after one sort. At
length others came who had seen certain canons slain and supposed
the bishop[12] to be of the number, as well as the said seigneur
de Humbercourt and all the rest. Further, they said that they had
seen the king's ambassadors in the attacking company and mentioned
them by name. All this was repeated to the duke, who forthwith
believed it and fell into an extreme fury, saying that the king
had come thither to abuse him, and gave commands to shut the gates
of the castle and of the town, alleging a poor enough excuse,
namely, that he did this on account of the disappearance of a
little casket containing some good rings and money.
"The king finding himself confined in the castle, a small one at
that, and having seen a force of archers standing before the gate,
was terrified for his person--the more so that he was lodged in
the neighbourhood of a tower where a certain Count de Vermandois
had caused the death of one of his predecessors as king of
France.[13] At that time, I was still with the duke and served him
as chamberlain, and had free access to his chamber when I
would, for such was the usage in this household.
"The said duke, as soon as he saw the gates closed, ordered all to
leave his presence and said to a few of us that stayed with him
that the king had come on purpose to betray him, and that he
himself had tried to avoid his coming with all his strength, and
that the meeting had been against his taste. Then he proceeded to
recount the news from Liege, how the king had pulled all the wires
through his ambassadors, and how his people had been slain. He was
fearfully excited against the king. I veritably believe that if
at that hour he had found those to whom he could appeal ready to
sympathise with him and to advise him to work the king some
mischief, he would have done so, at the least he would have
imprisoned him in the great tower.
"None were present when the words fell from the duke but myself
and two grooms of the chamber, one of whom was named Charles de
Visen, a native of Dijon, an honest fellow, in good credit with
his master. We aggravated nothing, but sought to appease the duke
as much as in us lay. Soon he tried the same phrases on others,
and a report of them ran through the city and penetrated to the
very apartment of the king, who was greatly terrified, as was
everyone, because of the danger that they saw imminent, and
because of the great difficulty in soothing a quarrel when it
has commenced between such great princes. Assuredly they were
blameworthy in failing to notify their absent servants of this
projected meeting. Great inconveniences were bound to arise from
this negligence."
Such is Commines's narrative. Eyewitness though he was, it must be
remembered that when he wrote the account of this famous interview it
was long after the event, and when his point of view was necessarily
coloured by his service with Louis. Delightful, however, are the
historian's own reflections that he intersperses with his plain
narrative. To his mind the only period when it is safe for princes to
meet is
"in their youth when their minds are bent on pleasure. Then they
may amuse themselves together. But after they are come to man's
estate and are desirous each of over-reaching the other, such
interviews do but increase their mutual hatred, even if they incur
no personal peril (which is well-nigh impossible). Far wiser is
it for them to adjust their differences through sage and good
servants as I have said at length elsewhere in these memoirs."
Then our chronicler proceeds to give numerous instances of disastrous
royal interviews before returning to his subject and to Peronne:
"I was moved [he adds again at the beginning of his new chapter]
to tell the princes my opinion of such meetings.[14] Thus the
gates were closed and guarded and two or three days passed by.
However, the Duke of Burgundy would not see the king, nor had
Louis's servants entry to the castle except a few, and those only
through the wicket. Nor did the duke see any of his people who had
influence over him.
"The first day there was consternation throughout the city. By the
second day the duke was a little calmed down. He held a council
meeting all day and the greater part of the night. The king
appealed to every one who could possibly aid him. He was lavish in
his promises and ordered fifteen thousand crowns to be given where
it might count, but the officer in charge of the disbursement of
this sum acquitted himself ill and retained a part, as the king
learned later.
"The king was especially afraid of his former servants who had
come with the army from Burgundy, as I mentioned above, men who
were now in the service of the Duke of Normandy.
"Diverse were the opinions in the above-mentioned council-meeting.
Some held that the safe-conduct accorded to the king protected
him, seeing that he fairly observed the peace as it had been
stated in writing. Others rudely urged his capture without further
ceremony, while others again advised sending for his brother, the
Duke of Normandy, and concluding with him a peace to the advantage
of all the princes of France. They who gave this advice thought
that in case it was adopted, the king should be restrained of his
liberty. Further, it was against all precedent to free so great a
seigneur when he had committed so grave an offence.
"This last argument so nearly prevailed that I saw a man booted
and spurred ready to depart with a packet of letters addressed to
Monseigneur of Normandy, being in Brittany, and stayed only for
the Duke of Burgundy's letter. However, this came to naught. The
king made overtures to leave as hostages the Duke of Bourbon, the
cardinal, his brother, and the constable with a dozen others while
he should be permitted to return to Compiegne after peace was
concluded. He promised that the Liegeois should repair their
mischief or he would declare himself their foe. The appointed
hostages were profuse in their offers to immolate themselves, at
least they were in public. I do not know whether they would have
said the same things in private. I rather suspect not. And in
truth, I believe that those who were left would never have
returned.
"On the third night after the arrival of the news, the duke never
undressed, but lay down two or three times on his bed, and
then rose and walked up and down. Such was his way when he was
troubled. I lay that night in his chamber and talked with him from
time to time. In the morning his fury was greater than ever, his
tone very menacing, and he seemed ready to go to any extreme.
"However, he finally brought himself to say that if the king would
swear the peace and would accompany him to Liege to help avenge
Monsgn. of Liege, his own kinsman, he would be satisfied. Then
he suddenly betook himself to the king's chamber and expressed
himself to that effect. The king had a friend[15] who warned him,
assuring him that he should suffer no ill if he would concede
these two points. Did he do otherwise he ran grave risk, graver
than he would ever incur again."
When the duke entered the royal presence his voice trembled, so
agitated was he and on the verge of breaking into a passion. He
assumed a reverential attitude, but rough were mien and word as he
demanded whether the king would keep the treaty of peace as it had
been drafted, and whether he was ready to swear to it. "Yes" was
the king's response. In truth, nothing had been added to the
agreement made before Paris, or at least little as far as the Duke
of Burgundy was concerned. As regarded the Duke of Normandy, it
was stipulated that if he would renounce that province he should
have Champagne and Brie besides other neighbouring territories for
his share.
Then the duke asked if the king would accompany him to avenge the
outrage committed upon his cousin the bishop.
"To which demand the king gave assent as soon as the peace was
sworn. He was quite satisfied to go to Liege and with a small or
large escort, just as the duke preferred. This answer pleased
the duke immensely. In was brought the treaty, out of the king's
coffer was taken the piece of the true cross, the very one carried
by Saint Charlemagne, called the Cross of Victory, and thereupon
the two swore the peace.
"This was now October 14th. In a minute the bells pealed out their
joy throughout Peronne and all men were glad. It hath pleased the
king since to attribute the credit of this pacification to me."
There was undoubtedly an immense sense of relief in Peronne when this
degree of accommodation was reached. The duke was unwilling, however,
to have too much rejoicing in his domains until he had ascertained for
himself the state of Liege. Among the letters despatched from Peronne
this October 14th, was the following to the magistrates of Ypres:[16]
"Dear and well beloved friends, considering that we have to-day
made peace and convention with Monseigneur the king, and that for
this reason you might be inclined to let off fire-works and make
other manifestations of joy, we hasten to advise you that ... our
pleasure is you shall not permit fireworks or assemblies in our
town of Ypres on account of the said peace until we have subdued
the people of Liege, and avenged the said outrage [described
above]. This with God's aid we intend to do. We are on the point
of departure with all our forces for Liege. Beloved, may our Lord
protect you.
"Written in our castle of Peronne, October 14, 1468."
A certain G. Ruple conveyed his own impressions to the magistrates of
Ypres, possibly managing to slip them under the same cover.[17]
"To-day, at about 10 o'clock, peace was concluded between the king
and Monseigneur, and also between the king and the Duke of Berry.
Here, bells are ringing and the _Te Deum_ is sung. It is generally
believed that Monseigneur will depart to-morrow. God deserves
thanks for the result, for I assure you that last night the
outlook was not clear."[18]
The king wrote as follows to his confidential lieutenant:
"PERONNE, October 14th.
"Monseigneur the grand master, you are already informed how there
has been discussion in my council and that of my brother-in-law of
Burgundy, as to the best manner of adjusting certain differences
between him and me. It went so far that in order to arrive at a
conclusion I came to this town of Peronne. Here we have busied
ourselves with the requisitions passing between us, so that to-day
we have, thanks to our Lord, in the presence of all the nobles
of the blood, prelates and other great and notable personages in
great numbers, both from my suite and from his, sworn peace
solemnly on the true cross, and promised to aid, defend and
succour each other for ever. Also on the same cross we have
ratified the treaty of Arras with its corrections and other points
which seemed productive of peace and amity.
"Immediately after this the Duke of Burgundy ordered thanksgivings
in the churches of his lands, and in this town he has already had
great solemnity. And because my brother of Burgundy has heard that
the Liegeois have taken prisoner my cousin the bishop of Liege,
whom he is determined to deliver as quickly as possible, he has
besought me as a favour to him, and also because the bishop is my
kinsman whom I ought to aid, to accompany him to Liege, not far
from here. This I have agreed to, and have chosen as my escort
a portion of the troops under monseigneur the constable, in the
hopes of a speedy return by the aid of God.
"And because it is for my weal and that of my subjects I write to
you at once, because _I am sure_ you will be pleased, and that
you will order like solemnities. Moreover, monseigneur the grand
master, as I lately wrote to you, pray as quickly as possible
disband my _arriere ban_ together with the free lances, and
do every possible thing for the mass of poor folks; appoint
well-to-do men as leaders in every bailiwick and district. Above
all, see to it that they do not indulge in any new and startling
conduct. That done, if you wish to come to Bohan, to be nearer
me, I would be glad, so as to be able to provide for any further
action that may arise. Written at Peronne October 14th.
"Loys MEURIN.
"To our dear and beloved cousin the Count of Dammartin, grand
master of France."[19]
Dammartin thought that this letter was phrased for the purpose of
passing Charles's censorship. He took the liberty of disregarding his
master's orders; the troops were not disbanded, and he held himself
in readiness to go to fetch the errant monarch if he did not return
speedily from the enemy's country. His letter to the king and the
unwritten additions delivered by his confidential messengers terrified
his liege lest too much zeal on his behalf in France might work him
ill in Liege. A week later Louis writes again:
NAMUR, Oct. 22nd.
"MONSEIGNEUR THE GRAND MASTER:
"I have received your letter by Sire du Bouchage. _Be assured that
I make this journey to Liege under no constraint, and that I never
took any journey with such good heart as I do this._ Since God and
Our Lady have given me grace to be friends with Monseigneur of
Burgundy, be sure that never shall our rabble over there take arms
against me. Monseigneur the grand master, my friend, you have
proved that you love me, and you have done me the greatest service
that you can, and there is another service that you can do. The
people of Monseigneur of Burgundy think that I mean to deceive
them, and people there [in France] think that I am a prisoner.
Distrust between the two would be my ruin.
"Monseigneur, as to the quarters of your men, you know what we
planned, you and I, touching the action of Armagnac. It seems
to me that you ought to send your people straight ahead in that
direction and I will furnish you four or five captains as soon as
I am out of this, and you can make what choice you will. M. the
grand master, my friend, come, I beg you, to Laon and await me
there. Send me a messenger the minute you arrive and I will let
you have frequent news. Be assured that as soon as the Liegeois
are subdued, on the morrow I will depart, for Monsg. of Burgundy
is resolved to urge me to go as soon as he has finished his work
at Liege, and he desires my return more than I do. Francois Dunois
will tell you what good cheer we are making. Adieu, monseigneur,
etc.
"Writ at Namur, Oct. 22nd.
"LOUIS "TOUSSAINT.
"To our dear and beloved cousin the Count of Dammartin, grand
master of France."[20]
Letters of the same date to Rochefoucauld and others also declare that
Louis goes most gladly with his dear brother of Burgundy and that the
affair will not require much time. To Cardinal Balue he writes only a
few words, telling him that the messenger will be more communicative.
Between Peronne and Namur did the party turn aside to visit the
young Duchess of Burgundy, either at Hesdin or at Aire? Such is the
conjecture of a learned Belgian editor, and he carries his surmise
further in suggesting that in this brief sojourn was performed
Chastellain's mystery of "The Peace of Peronne."[21] Perhaps these
verses, if put in the mouths of Louis and Charles, may have pleased
the princely spectators of the dramatic poem. Mutual admiration was
the key-note of these flowery speeches while the other _dramatis
personæ_ expressed unstinted admiration for the wonderful deed
accomplished by these two pure souls who have sworn peace when they
might have brought dire war on their innocent subjects.
"Never did David, nor Ogier, nor Roland, that proud knight,
nor the great Charlemagne, nor the proud Duke of Mayence, nor
Mongleive, the heir, from whom issued noble fruit, nor King
Arthur, nor Oliver, nor Rossillon, nor Charbonnier in their dozens
of victories approach or touch with hand or foot the work I treat
of."
* * * * *
[The king speaks.]
"Charles, be assured that Louis will be the re-establisher and
provider of all that touches your honour and peace between you
and him. That he will ever be appreciator of you and avenger, a
nourisher of joy and love in repairing all that my predecessor
did.
[The duke speaks.]
"And Charles, who loves his honour as much as his soul, wishes
nothing better than to serve you and this realm and to extol
your house. For I know that is the reason why I have glory and
reputation. Then if it please God and Our Lady, my body will keep
from blame."
One stanza, indeed, uttered by Louis strikes a note of doubt:
"Charles, so many debates may occur, so many incidents and accidents
in our various actions, that a rupture may be dreaded."
Vehemently did the duke repudiate the bare possibility of a new breach
between him and his liege. The whole is a pæan at a love feast. If the
two together heard their counterfeits express such perfect fidelity,
how Louis XI. must have laughed to himself behind his mask of forced
courtesy! Charles, on the other hand, was quite capable of taking it
all seriously, wholly unconscious that he had not cut the lion's claws
for once and all.
[Footnote 1: _See_ Lavisse iv^{ii}.,356.]
[Footnote 2: The letters of convocation bear the date February 26,
1467, o.s. Tournay elected four deputies. By April 30th, they had
returned home, and on May 2d they made a report. The items of
expenditure are very exact. So hard had they ridden that a fine horse
costing eleven crowns was used up and was sold for four crowns. M. Van
der Broeck, archivist of Tournay, extracted various items from the
register of the Council. _See_ Kervyn's note. Chastellain, v., 387.]
[Footnote 3: _See_ Lavisse iv^[ii]., 356.]
[Footnote 4: Dordrecht was not among them. Her deputies held that
it was illegal for them to go to The Hague. Some time later Charles
received the oaths at Dordrecht. (Wagenaar, _Vaderlandsche Hist._,
iv., 101.]
[Footnote 5: Treaty of Ancenis, September 10, 1468. _See_ Lavisse,
iv^[ii].] One of the results of the War of Public Weal was that St.
Pol was appointed constable of France.]
[Footnote 6: The original is in the Mss. de Baluze, Paris, Bibl. Nat.;
Lenglet, iii., 19.]
[Footnote 7: Commines and a letter to the magistrates of Ypres are the
basis of this narrative. (Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 196.) There
is, however, a mass of additional material both contemporaneous and
commentating. _See also_ Michelet, Lavisse, Kirk, etc. Chastellain's
MS. is lost.]
[Footnote 8: _See_ Lavisse, iv^[ii]., 397.]
[Footnote 9: Ludwig v. Diesbach, (_See_ Kirk, i., 559.) The author
was a page in Louis's train, who afterwards played a part in Swiss
affairs.]
[Footnote 10: It was never captured until Wellington took it in 1814.]
[Footnote 11: Commines, ii., ch. vii.]
[Footnote 12: The bishop did indeed meet his death at the hands of the
mob, but it was many years later.]
[Footnote 13: _Le roi ... se voyait logé, rasibus d'une grosse tour ou
un Comte de Vermandois fit mourir un sien prédécesseur Roy de France_.
(Commines, ii., ch. vii.)]
[Footnote 14: _Memoires_, ii., ch. ix.]
[Footnote 15: Undoubtedly Commines wishes it to be inferred that this
was he. The main narrative followed here is Commines, whose memoirs
remain, as Ste.-Beuve says, the definitive history of the times. There
are the errors inevitable to any contemporary statement. Meyer, to be
sure, says, apropos of an incident incorrectly reported, _Falsus in
hoc ut in pluribus historicus_. Kervyn de Lettenhove three centuries
later is also severe. _See_, too, "L'autorité historique de Ph. de
Commynes," Mandrot, _Rev. Hist_., 73.]
[Footnote 16: Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 199.]
[Footnote 17: _Ibid._, 200.]
[Footnote 18: _Waer ic certiffiere dat het dezen nacht niet wel claer
ghestaen heeft._]
[Footnote 19: _Lettres de Louis XI_, iii., 289. The king apparently
never resented the part played by Dammartin when he was dauphin. His
letters to him are very intimate.]
[Footnote 20: _Lettres_, iii., 295. (Toussaint is probably Toustain.)]
[Footnote 21: Kervyn ed., _Oeuvres de Chastellain_, vii., xviii. _See_
poem, _ibid._, 423. The MS. in the Laurentian Library at Florence
bears this line: "Here follows a mystery made because of the said
peace of good intention in the thought that it would be observed by
the parties." Hesdin is, however, a long way out of the route between
Peronne and Namur, where the party was on October 14th. It would
hardly seem possible for journey and visit in so brief a time.]