THE FIRST REVERSES
1474-1475
"Who is this that cometh, this that is glorious in his apparel,
travelling in the greatness of his strength?" These words in Latin,
on scrolls fluttering from the hands of living angels, met the eyes
of Charles of Burgundy at his retarded arrival in Dijon. And the
confident duke had no wish to disclaim the subtle flattery of the
implied comparison between him and the subject of the words of the
prophet.[1]
The traveller had slept at Périgny, about a league from the capital
of Burgundy, so as to make the last stage of his journey thither in
leisurely state. Unpropitious weather on Saturday, January 22d, the
appointed day, made postponement of the ducal parade necessary, out
of consideration for the precious hangings and costly ecclesiastical
robes that were to grace the ceremonies of reception and investiture.
Fortunately, Sunday, January 23d, dawned fair, and heralds rode
through the city streets at an early hour, proclaiming the duke's
gracious intention to make his entry on that day. Immediately,
tapestries were spread and every one was alert with the last
preparations.
[Illustration: A FORTIFIED CHURCH IN BURGUNDY - XVth Century]
Lavish was the display of biblical phrases, like that cited, which
were planted along the ducal way and on a succession of stagings
erected for various exhibits. On the great city square, the platform
was capacious and many actors played out divers roles. Here stood the
scroll-bearing angels on either side of a living representation of
Christ. In the background clustered three separate groups of people
representing, respectively, the three Estates. Above their heads more
inscriptions were to be read.[2] "All the nations desire to see the
face of Solomon," "Behold him desired by all races," "Master, look on
us, thy people," were among the legends.
The stately pageant, in which dignitaries, lay and ecclesiastical,
from other parts of the duke's domains participated, proceeded past
all these soothing insinuations that Charles of Burgundy resembled
Solomon in more ways than one, to the church of St. Benigne. Here
pledges of mutual fidelity were exchanged between the Burgundians and
their ruler. The Abbé of Citeaux placed the ducal ring solemnly
upon Charles's finger as a symbol, and he was invested with all the
prerogatives of his predecessors.
From the church, the train wound its way to the Ste. Chapelle, past
more stages decorated with more flowers of scriptural phrase such as
"A lion which is strongest among beasts and turneth not away for any,"
"The lion hath roared, who will not fear?" "The righteous are as bold
as a lion," etc.
Two days later, the concluding ceremonies of investiture were
performed, and followed by a banquet. Charles was arrayed in royal
robes, and his hat was in truth a crown, gorgeous with gold, pearls,
and precious stones. After a repast, prelates, nobles, and civic
deputies were convened in a room adjoining the dining-hall, where
first they listened to a speech from the chancellor. When he had
finished, the duke himself delivered an harangue wherein he expatiated
on the splendours of the ancient kingdom of Burgundy. Wrongfully
usurped by the French kings, it had been belittled into a duchy, a
measure much to be regretted by the Burgundians. Then the speaker
broke off abruptly with an ambiguous intimation "that he had in
reserve certain things that none might know but himself."[3]
What was the significance of these veiled allusions? It could not have
been the simple scheme to erect a kingdom, because that was certainly
known to many. Charles had, doubtless, an ostrich-like quality of
mind which made him oblivious to the world's vision but even he could
hardly have ignored the prevalence of the rumours regarding the
interview of Trèves, rumours flying north, east, south, and west.
Might not this suggestion of secrets yet untold have had reference to
the ripening intentions of Edward IV. and himself to divide France
between them?
When his own induction into his heritage was accomplished, Charles was
ready to pay the last earthly tribute to his parents. A cortège had
been coming slowly from Bruges bearing the bodies of Philip and
Isabella to their final resting-place in the tomb at Dijon, to which
they were at last consigned.[4]
A few weeks more Charles tarried in the city of his birth, and then
went to Dôle where he was invested with the sovereignty of the
Franche-Comté and confirmed the privileges. Thus after seven years of
possession _de facto_, he first actually completed the formalities
needful for the legal acquisition of his paternal heritage. The
expansion of that heritage had been steady for over half a century.
Every inch of territory that had come under the shadow of the family's
administration had remained there, quickly losing its ephemeral
character, so that temporary holdings were regarded in the same light
as the estates actually inherited. At least, Charles, sovereign duke,
count, overlord, mortgagee, made no distinction in the natures of his
tenures. But just as the last link was legally riveted in his own
chain of lands, he was to learn that there were other points of view.
The statement is made and repeated, that the report of the duke's
after-dinner speech at Dijon was a fresh factor in alarming the people
in Alsace and Switzerland about his intentions, and making them hasten
to shake off every tie that connected them with Charles and his
ambitious projects of territorial expansion.[5] As a matter of fact,
there had been for months constant agitation in the councils of the
Swiss Confederation and the Lower Union as to the next action.
Opposition to Sigismund had been long existent, antipathy to Austria
was so deeply rooted that the idea of restoring that suzerainty in the
Rhine valley was slow to gain adherents. Probably the arguments that
came from France were what carried conviction. It was a time when
Louis spared no expense to attain the end he desired, while he posed
as a benevolent neutral.[6] His servants worked underground. Their
open work was very cautious. It was French envoys, however, who
announced to the Swiss Diet, convened at Lucerne, that Sigismund was
quite ready to come to an understanding in regard to an alliance and
the redemption of his mortgaged lands.
That was on January 21, 1474, the very day when the mortgagee was
preparing to ride into Dijon and read the agreeable assurances of his
wisdom, strength, and puissance. Yet a month and Sigismund's envoys
were seated on the official benches at the Basel diet, ranking with
the delegates from the cantons and the emissaries from France. On
March 27th, the diet met at Constance, and for three days a debate
went on which resulted in the drafting of the _Ewige Richtung_,
the _Réglement définitif_, a document which contained a definite
resolution that the mortgaged lands were to be completely withdrawn
from Burgundy, and all financial claims settled. This resolution was
subscribed to by Sigismund and the Swiss cantons. Further, it was
decided to ignore one or two of the stipulations made at St. Omer and
to offer payment to Charles at Basel instead of Besançon.
Meantime that creditor, perfectly convinced in his own mind that
the legends of his birthplace were correct in their rating of his
character and his qualities, again crossed Lorraine and entered
Luxemburg, where he celebrated Easter. It was shortly after that
festival, on April 17th, that a letter from Sigismund was delivered to
him announcing in rather casual and off-hand terms that he was now in
a position to repay the loan of 1469, made on the security of those
Rhinelands. Therefore the Austrian would hand over at Basel 80,000
florins, 40,000 the sum received by him, 10,000 paid in his behalf to
the Swiss, and 30,000 which he understood that Charles had expended
during his temporary incumbency,[7] and he, Sigismund, would resume
the sovereignty in Alsace.
It was all very simple, at least Sigismund's wish was. The expressions
employed in the paper were, however, so ambiguous, the language so
involved, that Charles expended severe criticism on his cousin's style
before he proceeded to answer his subject-matter. To that he replied
that the bargain between him and Sigismund was none of his seeking.
The latter had implored his protection from the Swiss, had begged
relief in his financial straits. Touched by his petitions, Charles
had acceded to his prayers and the lands had enjoyed security under
Burgundian protection as they never had under Austrian. Charles had
duly acquitted himself of his obligations, he had done nothing to
forfeit his title. The conditions of redemption offered by Sigismund
were not those expressly stipulated. If a commission were sent to
Besançon, the duke would see to it that the merits of the case were
properly examined.
"If, on the contrary, you shall adhere to the purpose you have
declared, in violation of the terms of the contract and of your
princely word, we shall make resistance, trusting with God's help that
our ability in defence shall not prove inferior to what we have used
to repulse the attacks of the Swiss--those attacks from which you
sought and received our protection."
Before this letter reached its destination, the duke's deputy in the
mortgaged lands had already found his resources wholly inadequate to
maintain his master's authority. After Charles departed from Alsace,
Hagenbach's increased insolence and abandonment of all the restraint
that he had shown while awaiting the duke's visit soon became
unbearable. The deliberations in Switzerland concerning their return
to Austrian domination also naturally affected the Alsatians and made
them bolder in resenting Hagenbach's aggressions.
Thann and Ensisheim were both firm in refusing admission to his
garrisons. Brisac was in his hands already, and her fortifications
held by mercenaries, but an order to the citizens to work, one and
all, upon the defences, produced a sudden disturbance with very
serious results. It was at Eastertide, and the command to desecrate a
hallowed festival, one especially cherished in the Rhinelands, proved
the final provocation to rebellion.
There is a black story in the Strasburg chronicle, moreover, that this
misuse of Easter Day was not Hagenbach's real crime. He simply
wished to get all combatants out of the city before butchering the
inhabitants and his purpose was discovered in time. That charge does
not, however, seem substantiated by other evidence. But there is no
doubt that the citizens lashed themselves into a state of fury, fell
upon the mercenaries, and killed many of them in spite of their own
unarmed condition. Hagenbach, driven back into his lodgings, appeared
at the window and offered various concessions, being actually humbled
and intimidated by the unexpected turning of the submissive folk
against him.
But the revolutionary spirit raged beyond the reach of conciliatory
words. Some of the more intelligent burghers endeavoured to give a
show of propriety to events, by promptly re-establishing their own
ancient council, arbitrarily abolished by Hagenbach, while taking a
new oath to the Duke of Burgundy, according to the formula of 1469.
They also despatched envoys to the duke with explanations of their
proceedings, stating further that it was Hagenbach's misrule alone to
which protest was made; that they were not in revolt against Charles.
The latter answered, "Send Hagenbach to me," but the provisional
government, by the time they received this order, felt strong enough
to disregard it and to continue to act on their own initiative.
Hagenbach was cast not only into prison but into irons. All fear of
and respect for his authority was thrown to the winds, his offer of
fourteen thousand florins as ransom being sternly refused.
Deputations came from the confederation to congratulate the officials
_de facto_ and to promise aid. The next step gave the lie direct to
the message sent to Charles upholding his authority while protesting
against his lieutenant. Sigismund was urged to return to his own
without further delay for legal formalities with his creditor. He
assented. On April 30th, accordingly, the Austrian duke arrived in
Brisac and picked up the reins of authority which he had joyfully
dropped four years previously.
The rabble welcomed his coming with effusion, singing a ready parody
of an Easter hymn:[8]
"Christ is arisen, the _landvogt_ is in prison,
Let us all rejoice, Sigismund is our choice.
Kyrie Eleison!
Had he not been snared, evil had it fared,
But now that he is ta'en, his craft is all in vain.
Kyrie Eleison!"
Thus it was under Sigismund's auspices that the late governor was
brought to trial. Instruments of torture sent from Basel were employed
to make Hagenbach confess his crimes. But there was nothing to
confess. As a matter of fact the charges against him were for
well-known deeds the character of which depended on the point of view.
What the Alsatians declared were infringements of their rights, the
duke's deputy stoutly asserted were acts justified by the terms of the
treaty. In regard to his private career the prisoner persisted in
his statement that he was no worse than other men and that all his
so-called victims had been willing and well rewarded for their
submission to him.
On May 9th, the preliminaries were declared over and the trial began
before a tribunal whose composition is not perfectly well known,
but which certainly included delegates from the chief cities of the
landgraviate, and from Strasburg, Basel, and Berne.[9]
The trial was practically lynch law in spite of the cloak of legality
thrown over it. Charles alone was Hagenbach's principal and he alone
was responsible for his lieutenant's acts. The intrinsic incompetence
of the court was hotly urged by Jean Irma of Basel, Hagenbach's
self-appointed advocate, but his defence was rejected. Public opinion
insisted upon extreme measures, and the sentence of capital punishment
was promptly followed by execution.
Petitions from the prisoner that he might die by the sword and be
permitted to bequeath a portion of his property to the church of
St. Étienne at Brisac were granted. The remainder of his wealth was
confiscated by Sigismund, who had withdrawn to Fribourg during the
progress of the trial. Even Hagenbach's bitterest foes acknowledged
that the late governor made a dignified and Christian exit from the
life he had not graced.
Charles is said to have beaten well the messenger who brought him the
news of this trial and execution, in the very presence of Sigismund
who had not yet bought back his rights in the landgraviate, where he
had appointed Oswald von Thierstein as governor, and where he was thus
presuming to use sovereign power. This was not sufficient, however,
to make the duke change his own plans. Stephen von Hagenbach was
entrusted with the commission of punishing the Alsatians for his
brother's ignominious deposition, and he did his task grimly.
According to the Strasburg chronicler, this Hagenbach, at the north,
and his colleague, the Count of Blamont, at the south, did not have
more than six or eight thousand men apiece, but they left Hun-like
reputations behind them. Devastation, slaughter, pillage in houses and
churches, all in the name of the duke, contributed to the zeal with
which the Austrian's return was ratified by popular acclamation, and
with which the contingents sent to Alsace by the confederates were
received.
Sigismund's letter to Charles is casual in tone and obscure in
phraseology. A statement presented somewhat later to the emperor by
the _Basse Union_ is more precise in the justification offered for the
events and in the grievances rehearsed.[10] That is, Sigismund treats
the transaction as a purely financial one, naturally completed between
him and his creditor by the offer to liquidate his debt. The plea made
by the Alsatians and their friends is, that Charles had failed to keep
his solemn engagements and that his appointed lieutenant had been
peculiarly odious and had broken the laws of God and man, and that the
mercenaries employed by him, the Burgundians, Lombardians, and their
fellows, had pitilessly ravaged the county of Ferrette, the Sundgau,
and the diocese of Basel. The charges are itemised.[11]
"All this, well-known to the Duke of Burgundy, has neither been
checked nor punished by him. In consequence, our gracious Seigneur
of Austria has been obliged to restore the land and people to his
sovereignty and that of the House of Austria, which he has done
with God's aid to prevent the complete annihilation and total
destruction of land and people."
Charles did not hasten to Alsace to settle matters in person, but
pursued his intention of reducing Cologne to the archbishop's control,
undoubtedly thinking that the base which would then be open to the
archbishop's protector on the lower Rhine would facilitate his
operations in the upper valleys. Meanwhile the Emperor Frederic had
emphatically declared that he alone was the Defender of the Diocese,
and that the unholy alliance between Robert and Charles was a menace
to the empire. His letters to Charles exhorted him to abandon the
enterprise and to accept mediation; those to the electors, princes,
and cities of the empire urged them to defend Cologne against Burgundy
until he himself arrived on the scene. There was a hot correspondence
between all parties concerned, from which nothing resulted. Charles
had various reasons for delay. There was trouble in other quarters of
his domain. Flanders was in a state of ferment at his requisitions
for money, and the Franche-Comté was on the point of making active
resistance to the imposition of the _gabelle_.
In view of all these complications, Charles decided to prolong his
truce with Louis XI., to May 1, 1475. That monarch was well pleased
to continue to pursue his own plans under cover of neutrality. The
determination of the anti-Burgundian coalition in Germany to keep
Charles within the limits of his own estates was a pleasant sight to
the French king, and he felt that he could afford to wait.
In June an edict was sent forth from Luxemburg, forbidding all owing
allegiance to the Duke of Burgundy to have any commercial relations
with the rebels of Cologne, or of Alsace, or with the cities of the
_Basse Union_, and declaring the duke's intention to take the field
at once, to reinstate the archbishop in his rightful see. This was a
declaration of war and was speedily followed by the duke's advance
to Maestricht, where he spent a few days in July, collecting a force
which finally amounted to about twenty thousand men.
On the 29th he sat down before Neuss, which had again emphatically
refused entry to him and his troops. Three days the duke gave himself
for the reduction of the town, but there he remained encamped for
nearly a whole year! Neuss was resolved to resist to the last
extremity, while Bonn, Andernach, and Cologne contributed their
assistance by worrying and harassing the besiegers to the best of
their ability. It was a period when Charles seemed to have only one
sure ally, and that was Edward of England, whose own plans were
forming for a mighty enterprise--no less than a new invasion of
France.
On July 25th, the very day that Charles was on his march up to Neuss,
his envoys signed at London a treaty wherein the duke promised Edward
six thousand men to aid him to "reconquer his realm of France."
Nothing loth to dispose of his future chickens, Edward, in his turn,
pledged himself to cede to Charles and his heirs, without any lien
of vassalage, the duchy of Bar, the countships of Champagne, Nevers,
Rethel, Eu, and Guise, all the towns on the Somme, and all the estates
of the Count of St. Pol. Other territories of Charles were to be
exempt from homage. Yes, and by June 1, 1475, Edward would land in
France and set about his conquests. Nor were commercial interests
forgotten; "to the duchess his sister (to the Flemings) is accorded
permission, to take from England wool, woollen goods, brass, lead, and
to carry thither foreign merchandise."
The year when Charles was waiting before the gates of Neuss was full
of many abortive diplomatic efforts on the part of both the duke and
Louis XI, and it was the latter who managed to save something even
from broken bargains. The Swiss not only counted on his friendship,
but were constantly encouraged by his money, which emboldened them to
send a letter of open defiance to Charles: "We declare to your most
serene highness and to all of your people, in behalf of ourselves
and our friends, an honourable and an open war." To the herald who
delivered this document Charles answered: "O Berne, Berne!"[12] He
felt that he had been betrayed.
This was on October 26th. The defiance was followed by a descent of
the mountaineers upon Alsace, which Charles had not yet released
from his grasp. Stephen von Hagenbach prepared to defend Burgundian
interests at Héricourt, a good strategic position on the tiny Luzine.
Here, the Swiss were about to besiege him, when the Count of Blamont
arrived with two bodies of Italian mercenaries, aggregating more than
twelve thousand men, and attempted to draw off the besieging force.
His plan failed--the tables were turned. It was the Burgundians who
were fiercely attacked and who lost the day. Hagenbach was forced to
surrender, obtaining honourable terms, however, and Sigismund put a
garrison into Héricourt on November 16th.
This was a tremendous surprise to Charles. That cowherds could repulse
his well-trained troops was a thought as bitter as it was unexpected.
But he put aside all idea of punishing them for the moment, and
continued to "reduce Neuss to the obedience of the good archbishop,"
and Hermann of Hesse continued to aid the town in its determined
resistance.
The opprobrious names applied to the would-be and baffled conqueror at
this time are curiously similar to the epithets hurled at Napoleon
a few centuries later. He was compared to Anti-Christ himself, with
demoniac attributes added, when Alexander was felt to be too mild a
comparison. There was still a terrible fear of the duke's ambition,
even though, in the face of all Europe, the Swiss had repulsed his
men, and Neuss obstinately refused to open her gates, while the world
wondered at the duke's obstinacy displayed in the wrong place. The
belief expressed several times by Commines that God troubled Charles's
understanding out of very pity for France, was a current rumour.
At the end of April an English embassy arrived at the camp, which was
kept in a marvellous state of luxury, even though disease was not
successfully curbed in the ranks. The urgent entreaty of the embassy
was that Charles should raise this useless siege, fruitless as it
promised to be, owing to the difficulty of cutting off the town's
supplies. Edward IV was almost ready to despatch his invading army.
He implored his dear brother to send him transports and to prepare to
receive him when he landed. A letter from John Paston gives a glimpse
into the situation[13]:
"For ffor tydyngs here ther be but ffewe saffe that the assege
lastyth stylle by the Duke off Burgoyn affoor Nuse, and the
Emperor hath besyged also not fferr from there a castill and
another town in lykewyse wherin the Duke's men ben. And also, the
Frenshe Kynge, men seye, is comen right to the water off Somme
with 4000 spers; and sum men have that he woll, at the daye off
brekyng off trewse, or else beffoor, sette uppon the Duks contreys
heer. When I heer moor, I shall sende yowe moor tydyngs.
"The Kyngs imbassators, Sir Thomas Mongomere and the Master off
the Rolls be comyng homwards ffrom Nuse; and as ffor me, I thynke
I sholde be sek but iff I see it....
"For it is so that to morrow I purpose to ryde in to Flaundyrs
to purveye me off horse and herneys and percase I shall see the
essege at Nwse er I come ageyn."
There was more reason for Charles to be heartsick at the sight than
for John Paston, and he did grow weary of the further waiting and
anxious, for his truce with Louis was drawing to a close. On May 22d,
there was a skirmish between his troops and the imperial forces,
wherein Charles claimed the victory. In reality, there was none on
either side, but the semblance was sufficient to soothe his _amour
propre_, and to convince him that an accommodation with Frederic would
not detract from his dignity.
A large fleet of Dutch flatboats had been despatched to help convey
the English army, thirsting for conquest, across the sea. Six thousand
men in the duke's pay, too, were to be ready to meet Edward IV., and
swell his escort as he marched to Rheims for his coronation. Other
matters also demanded Charles's personal attention. Months had elapsed
and Héricourt was unpunished--Berne had not been reproved.
René of Lorraine was formally admitted to the League of Constance on
April 18, 1475, and was now ready openly to abjure the "protection" he
had once accepted from Burgundy. There was a touch of old King René's
theatrical taste in his grandson's method of despatching the herald
who rode up to the duke's gorgeous tent of red velvet on May 10th. The
man was, however, so overcome at the first view of _le Téméraire_ that
he hastily delivered up his letter, and threw down the blood-stained
gauntlet, which he carried as a gage of war, without uttering a word.
Then he fell on his knees, imploring the duke's pardon.[14] Charles
was so little displeased at the signs of the impression his presence
made that, instead of being angry with the man, he gave him twelve
florins for his good news. The terms of the declaration of war carried
by the herald were as follows:
"To thee, Charles of Burgundy, in behalf of the very high, etc.,
Duke of Lorraine, my seigneur, I announce defiance with fire and
blood against thee, thy countries, thy subjects, thy allies, and
other charge further have I not."[15]
The reply was straightforward:
"Herald, I have heard the exposition of thy charge, whereby thou
hast given me subject for joy, and, to show you how matters are,
thou shalt wear my robe with this gift, and shalt tell thy master
that I will find myself briefly in his land, and my greatest fear
is that I may not find him. In order that thou mayst not be afraid
to return, I desire my marshal and the king-at-arms of the Toison
d'Or to convoy thee in perfect safety, for I should be sorry if
thou didst not make thy report to thy master as befits a good and
loyal officer."
Thus was Charles pressed from the south and lured to the north.
Excellent reason for obeying the order of the pope's legate that duke
and emperor must lay down arms under pain of excommunication did
either belligerent refuse! The armistice accepted on May 28th was
followed by a nine months' truce signed on June 12th. It was a truce
strictly to the advantage of Frederic and Charles. The Rhine cities,
Louis XI., René of Lorraine, were alike ignored and disappointed in
the expectations they had based on Frederic.
[Footnote 1: Plancher, _Histoire générale et particulière de
Bourgogne, avec des notes et des preuves justificatives_, iv.,
cccxxviii.]
[Footnote 2: Preparations for the duke's visit to Dijon had been set
on foot almost immediately after Philip's death in 1467. One Frère
Gilles had devoted many hours to searching the Scriptures for
appropriate texts to figure in the reception. Every phrase indicating
leonine strength was noted down. The good brother died before the
anticipated event came to pass but the result of his patient labour
was preserved.]
[Footnote 3: _Dit qu'il avoit en soi des choses qui n'appartenoient de
scavoir à nuls que à lui_ (Plancher, _Preuves_, iv., cccxxxiii.).]
[Footnote 4: Plancher, _Preuves_, iv., cccxxxiii. The document
describing this ceremony gives February 28th as the date, but that is
evidently an error and not accepted.]
[Footnote 5: Toutey, p. 117.]
[Footnote 6: There are many records in the_Bibl. nat._. of the sums
paid out to the Swiss at this time.]
[Footnote 7: Chmel, i., 92 et seq.]
[Footnote 8: Kirk, ii., 488.]
[Footnote 9: Toutey, p. 141.]
[Footnote 10: Text given by Toutey, _Pièces justificatives_, p. 442.]
[Footnote 11: The details are very brutal and untranslatable.]
[Footnote 12: Toutey, p. 182.]
[Footnote 13: _Paston Letters_, iii., 122.]
[Footnote 14: Toutey, p. 244.]
[Footnote 15: _Bulletin de l'acad. royale de Belgique_, 1887.]