GLOUCESTER AND HAINAULT
No sooner were the discussions and heartburnings of the settlement of
the Protectorate over, than the volatile nature of Humphrey drew him off
on another venture which, though dictated by his main characteristic--
ambition, was entirely inconsistent with his desire to be supreme in
England. It may be that disgust and disappointment at his partial
failure in his first struggle with Beaufort impelled him to abandon his
English ambitions for a time, but it is quite obvious that if he wished
to direct and control English policy, it was not to his interest to
leave the country to the tender mercies of his enemies, while he
prosecuted an impossible attempt to dominate and govern Jacqueline's
Netherland dominions. It is also possible that with high hopes of
success in Hainault he hoped to establish himself there quite
definitely, and to abandon for ever his attempts to assert his position
in England. Whatever may have been his motive, it is plain that so far
as his English ambitions were concerned it was folly to embark on any
undertaking which would take him away from England. However,
considerations of policy never deterred Duke Humphrey; ever confident
that what he wished to do was wise, he had already taken the first step
towards his new undertaking before the question of the Protectorate was
finally settled, and we must therefore pick up the thread of this
policy, and his relations with the fugitive Countess of Hainault, who
was the pivot on which this part of his career turned.
The Duke of Burgundy had deeply resented the asylum given to Jacqueline
by Henry V., and his indignation had been still further increased by the
rumour that a new marriage with the King's brother, Humphrey, was under
consideration. To the Duke's protest, however, Henry had practically
turned a deaf ear, for he seems to have put no check upon his brother's
actions; else he would not have sent him back to England in 1422, and
thus placed him in near proximity to such dangerous attractions. More
than this, he had gone out of his way to honour the lady, and it must
have been with his consent that she was chosen to hold his infant son at
the font, and to stand sponsor for him at his baptism in 1421.[468] This
policy of favour to Jacqueline was not abandoned after his death, for
her allowance of £100 a month--a really princely sum--was
continued.[469]
1422-3] MARRIAGE TO JACQUELINE
Meanwhile Humphrey had not delayed his wooing. We have no definite
evidence as to the personal appearance of the object of his attentions,
for though the chroniclers allude to her beauty and attractive
qualities, her portraits, such as they are, give us a rather heavy-faced
woman with but moderate features. That she was lively and full of
spirits none can doubt, and there may have been in her some strong
attraction for the rather susceptible Duke, yet as Polydore Vergil
shrewdly suggests, the territories which she claimed were probably a
more potent attraction to Humphrey than the charms of her person.[470]
Whatever his motives Gloucester had soon come to an understanding with
Jacqueline, and their marriage was probably arranged before Henry V.'s
death. The Countess had ordered declarations that her former marriage
was null and void to be posted on the church doors throughout Hainault
and Holland, and there exists a legend that the two lovers applied to
the Antipope Benedict XIII., who had been deposed by the Council of
Constance, for a dissolution of her marriage with John of Brabant, a
request with which the prisoner of Peniscola immediately complied.[471]
In proof of this statement there is not sufficient documentary evidence,
yet in the absence of any action by Martin V., some form of divorce
seems to have been gone through, and a contemporary writer, by no means
favourable to the Duke, declares that Jacqueline was properly divorced
by law after a complete examination of the question by learned doctors,
and this before her third marriage.[472]
When exactly this marriage took place is uncertain. Certainly no public
ceremony was performed, since such an event must have attracted
universal attention,[473] and there is considerable disagreement among
the various writers as to even the approximate date of the occurrence.
That the marriage did not take place before Henry V.'s death on 31st
August 1422 we know from a definite statement to this effect by
Jacqueline herself in 1427;[474] but it must have been shortly after
this that the two became man and wife. Even by October 25 a rumour had
reached Mons, that the Duke of Brabant had received news that his wife
had ignored his rights, and had married Gloucester, that she was already
with child, and wished to come to Quesnoy for her confinement.[475] That
this is no more than a story, inspired by the known intentions of
Jacqueline, is shown by the obvious untruth of the last statement; but
on February 9 following a writ was received at Mons from the Countess
convening a meeting of the Estates, at which her marriage was to be
announced.[476] All this goes to prove that Cocqueau spoke the truth
when he wrote, 'Gloucester married Jacqueline in the month of January of
this 22nd year (O.S.), as I have seen in a letter belonging to John
Abbot of St. Vast, notifying that the said Gloucester had written to the
Duke of Burgundy telling him that he had married the said lady, whereby
her territories belonged to him.'[477]
In spite of the declaration of a sixteenth-century writer that this
marriage was 'not only wondered at of the comon people, but also
detested of the nobilite, and abhorred of the clergie,'[478] it seems to
have aroused no adverse comment at the time. Gloucester's new title was
recognised as early as the March following,[479] and later in the year
his new wife was recognised as Duchess of Gloucester, when she was made
a denizen of England by Act of Parliament with the full rights of an
English-born subject, at the same time as Bedford's newly married wife,
Anne of Burgundy, had the same privileges conferred upon her.[480] It is
apparent from this that no distinction was made between the wives of the
two dukes, and that at a time when Humphrey was being opposed in his
ambitions at home no opposition was raised to his daring and uncanonical
marriage with a foreign princess. It is strange to notice that on the
same day were completed the last formalities of confirmation in the
matter of two royal marriages--that of Bedford, of which the whole and
avowed object was the maintenance of the Burgundian alliance, and that
of Gloucester, which was to bring that alliance so near to a definite
rupture. We must gather from this that as yet the significance of
Humphrey's action had not been realised, and that Jacqueline was still
regarded--even as Henry V. had regarded her--as a valuable political
asset, rather than as a possible stumbling-block in the way of English
aggrandisement in France.
1423] CHRISTMAS AT ST. ALBANS
No sooner were the formalities of Jacqueline's naturalisation
accomplished, than she was taken by her husband to visit that monastery
where above all Gloucester was popular owing to his friendship with the
famous Abbot of St. Albans, John Bostock, better known as Wheathampsted,
a name borrowed from his birthplace. They were accompanied by three
hundred attendants, some English, and some 'Teutonici,' a term which
alludes probably to the Dutch, Flemish, and possibly German retainers,
whom Gloucester had collected in preparation for his coming campaign in
Holland. At St. Albans Jacqueline was acknowledged as Humphrey's true
and legitimate wife, and they were met at the entrance by the Prior,
who, representing the Abbot, at that time absent at the Council of
Pavia, led a procession to welcome the visitors as they approached the
monastery on Christmas Eve. The festivities of the season were there
celebrated, though they were somewhat marred by the disorderliness of
some of Gloucester's servants, who took to poaching in the neighbouring
woods, and were found in possession of a goodly collection of roebucks
and hinds which they had already flayed. One of the offenders was
secured and put into the stocks by the authorities, but this did not
satisfy the impetuous Duke, who seized a mattress-beater and broke his
unruly servant's head, ordering at the same time the slaughter of his
greyhound. 'Thus,' says the admiring chronicler, 'he set at rest this
evil appetite on the part of his servants by one striking example.'[481]
Jacqueline and Gloucester stayed at St. Albans for a fortnight, and
having kept the Feast of the Epiphany there, they were the following day
received into the fraternity. This admission into the brotherhood
imposed no monastic severities, nor did it confer any new civil rights,
but it was regarded as a mark of honour, and those admitted were allowed
to vote in the Chapter. On the monastery itself it had a more important
bearing, for Wheathampsted had restored the custom, long in disuse, in
order to procure funds for the house over which he ruled. This was the
last event of Gloucester's visit, and having presented the monastery
with two pipes of 'good red wine' as an acknowledgment of their splendid
entertainment during the Christmas festivities, husband and wife left
St. Albans.[482]
1424] BURGUNDY AND GLOUCESTER
However gratifying the acknowledgment in England of Jacqueline's right
to be called his wife might be to Gloucester, he was determined to
assert his right to control her territories abroad, and nothing would
induce him to lay aside this project. At the same time it was beginning
to dawn on the minds of Englishmen that the objection of Burgundy to
Humphrey's pretended rights was insurmountable, and that the assertion
of those rights would jeopardise the Anglo-Burgundian alliance concluded
in the preceding April at Amiens, and cemented by the marriage of
Bedford to Duke Philip's sister Anne.[483] Indeed the Council had
already received a letter from the University of Paris warning them of
the impending danger, and emphasising the fact that the position held
by England in France had its 'root and origin' in Burgundian
support.[484] It was at this time, too, that Burgundy gave a clear
indication of the course of action he intended to pursue. As far back as
March 14, 1422, during the siege of Meaux, Henry V. had secured his
election to the Order of the Garter at a chapter held for that purpose
in France. Philip, however, had not formally accepted the nomination
when Henry V. died, and he then put off the acceptance on the ground
that the Order demanded a strict union of its members and forbade them
to bear arms against one another. For two years his doubts continued,
until, in answer to a peremptory requisition from the Chapter at
Windsor, he excused himself from accepting the honour conferred upon
him, lest he should be reduced thereby to the dishonourable alternative
of either violating the revered statutes of the Order, or infringing the
sacred rights of kinship.[485] In such a way did the Duke assert his
intention of resisting Gloucester's claims on Hainault.
Bedford was now fully alive to the danger attending his brother's
ambitions, and he initiated a series of attempts to settle the matters
in dispute between the Dukes of Brabant and Gloucester, with himself and
the Duke of Burgundy as arbitrators.[486] To this end it was necessary
to secure the consent of the two parties concerned, and in October 1423
John of Brabant published a formal acceptance of such arbitrament,[487]
but at the same time gave to the world an agreement which he had signed
with Burgundy in the previous June.[488] In this document, while
accepting Burgundy and Bedford as arbitrators, and agreeing not to ally
with any of the former's enemies before the decision had been given, he
at the same time stipulated that if his rival refused to follow the same
course in the matter of arbitration, he himself should be absolved from
this agreement. On the other hand, Burgundy agreed to certain
stipulations which seem to bind him in a way that makes him appear as a
very partisan arbitrator. He promised on oath that in the discussion of
the case 'he would ordain, appoint, and determine nothing which should
not be with the knowledge, consent, and wish of the Lord of Brabant,'
and that if Gloucester refused to place his case in the hands of the
arbitrators, he would help his cousin of Brabant to resist the attacks
of his opponent, so long as the said cousin would agree not to make
peace with Gloucester without his ally's consent.[489]
It is hardly surprising that Humphrey hesitated to put his case in the
hands of judges, when one of them was already bound to his opponent, and
moreover he regarded his case as quite beyond dispute, and resented any
suggestion that his brother should consider that there could be any
question of right or wrong in the matter of his marriage. However, after
an unsuccessful meeting between Bedford and Burgundy in the latter days
of 1423,[490] the former induced his brother to acknowledge the court of
arbitration, and to issue a formal declaration to that effect on 15th
February 1424, with the proviso that the matter must be settled before
the end of March.[491] Another attempt was made to bring about a
reconciliation at Amiens, but the matter was again postponed until
Trinity Sunday.[492] Bedford to satisfy Burgundy ceded certain French
territories to him, and at the same time induced both Gloucester and
Jacqueline to agree to the arbitrament, if matters were settled before
the end of June;[493] but in the meantime Burgundian disinterestedness
was put still more in doubt by the recognition of Duke Philip as the
heir of the weakling John of Brabant.[494] However much we may condemn
the way in which Humphrey was sowing discord between England and her
ally, and helping to rob his country of the fruits of the victory of
Verneuil, we cannot but understand his hesitation in submitting his case
for decision to two men, one of whom was bound to gain by his loss,
whilst the other was led by the single desire of conciliating his
fellow-arbitrator.
Of the justice of his cause Humphrey was quite convinced, he was equally
determined to assert his supposed rights, and he did not see that any
advantage would accrue from these discussions. Nevertheless he sent
representatives to the Council to be held in France, stating his case
plainly in the instructions that he sent with them, and emphasising the
fact that this was the second time that he had been put to the trouble
of sending ambassadors about these affairs, for when he was represented
at Bruges, Brabant was not. The basis of his case lay on the unalterable
contention that he and Jacqueline were true man and wife by the laws of
the Church, and that this marriage entailed for him the government not
only of his wife's person, but also of her dominions. Brabant, having
contracted an illegal marriage with the heiress of Hainault, was now in
wrongful possession of her lands. There were three reasons why this
marriage was illegal. In the first place, consanguinity in the second
degree was a bar to the union, since the parties concerned were first
cousins; further there was the obstacle of affinity in the third degree
through the relationship of the Dauphin John, Jacqueline's first
husband, to the Duke of Brabant--a relationship, be it noted, that also
existed between her and this same first husband; besides all this, the
fact that Jacqueline's mother was also godmother to John of Brabant
created a spiritual relationship between the two, which, according to
the laws of the Church constituted a third obstacle. To the argument
that these objections were removed by papal dispensation it was
answered, that the dispensation was procured by fraud, and by the
suppression of the truth, and that within four days it was revoked,
Brabant being notified of this fact. If it were argued still further
that reconfirmatory letters were received at a still later date, it was
obvious that they were useless, for the revocation of the dispensation
was absolute, and could not be rescinded save by a new dispensation;
moreover the marriage was consummated before these last letters arrived,
so that the actual marriage must have been illegal, and was so still, as
no new ceremony had been performed.[495] It cannot be denied that, as a
point of strict law, there is much to be said for this presentment of
the case. The dispensation had originally been signed and sealed on
December 22, 1417,[496] and the revocation had followed, under pressure
from the Bishop of Liége, better known as John of Bavaria, and the
Emperor Sigismund, on the following 5th of January, whilst it was not
till September 5, when the Pope had left Constance and Imperial
influence behind him, that he signed the letters which re-enacted the
dispensation. Thus the statement of Humphrey was true and formed an
arguable case, and he put aside all counter-arguments based on the
ground of consent by the assertion that Jacqueline had retired to her
mother's protection so soon as she had realised the enormity of her
offence.
By these means was the legality of Jacqueline's last marriage to be
proved, and the case was strengthened by the assertion, that at the time
when negotiations for breaking off the Brabant marriage were on foot
Duke John had agreed that the contracting parties were to be free, if no
papal Bull to the contrary was issued before a certain date, and, since
no such Bull had arrived, Jacqueline had acted honestly, as well as
lawfully in the matter. As to the territories which were the main cause
of dispute, Brabant had promised not to alienate them, and since he had
broken his promise, Gloucester demanded their surrender to him with the
income derived therefrom during this unlawful possession.[497]
These instructions contain an uncompromising demand for all the rights
that Humphrey claimed, a demand which is strengthened by Brabant's
rejoinder. He does not dispute the foregoing arguments, but merely
stipulates that, if the estates are adjudged to Gloucester, he must
recognise all existing appointments, both ecclesiastical and secular,
besides all judgments, laws, contracts, and pardons, and that he himself
shall not be responsible for a dower for the Countess, for debts
incurred in Hainault, nor for any further expenses at the Court of
Rome.[498] In the light of these stipulations, which are in themselves a
confession of defeat, it is the more surprising that the commissioners
could not come to a decision. They declared that the evidence on both
sides was insufficient to justify a definite judgment, and they
recommended an appeal to the Court of Rome both on the question of the
marriage, and on the question of the territories. The most they could do
was to promise to forward an earnest request to the Pope to settle the
matter out of hand should both parties agree to this course, and to
notify his decision to them before August 1.[499]
The reasons for this equivocal reply are not far to seek. On the
evidence produced Humphrey had an overwhelming case, but the interests
of Burgundy, who meant to inherit the disputed dominions from his
submissive cousin of Brabant, forebade a decision in the Englishman's
favour. Bedford, on the other hand, probably refused to consent to a
verdict against his brother when the case against him was practically
unsupported. The Duke of Brabant cared not what happened, so long as his
safety and his pocket were secured, and henceforth he passed out of the
struggle, which now became a contest between the two Dukes of Burgundy
and of Gloucester, the former for a reversion, the latter for immediate
possession of Jacqueline's inheritance. Politically the policy of
Humphrey was now more reprehensible than before. It was evident that
Duke Philip intended to make it a matter personal to himself, and yet
personal ambition was allowed to swallow up the advantage of a nation,
and the man who later called for a continuance of the French war was now
about to do his utmost to hamper its prosecution. We have no evidence
whether the suggestion made by the arbitrators was followed, but we have
a letter which was written by Bedford to the Pope at this time urging
him to carry through the divorce of Jacqueline and Brabant very quickly,
and pointing out the deplorable loss of life and the horrors of war
likely to result if he did not do so.[500] Bedford at least had gauged
the situation. He saw that his brother had a strong case, on paper at
any rate, and that he meant to profit by it to the utmost of his power,
but at the same time he realised that the only means of coercing
Burgundy was to approach him under the shadow of a papal Bull.
1424] DEPARTURE FOR HAINAULT
Meanwhile Gloucester had been preparing to assert his claims by force of
arms. For some time past he had been in communication with the towns of
Hainault,[501] and he had not been behindhand in collecting men in
England. Unable to get any support from the Privy Council,[502] he had
to fall back on his own resources, and he managed to raise a
considerable body of troops, though in some cases his efforts to borrow
money met with a curt refusal.[503] On the other hand, he used his
position as Warden of the Cinque Ports to secure ships to transport his
soldiers,[504] and when the arbitrators had acknowledged their inability
to arbitrate, both he and his Duchess considered themselves absolved
from their promise to await its decision, a promise, too, which had
expired at the end of June.
All things were now ready, but before setting out on their expedition
Gloucester and his wife went to take farewell of one, who in her sad
confinement could sympathise with the luckless fate of the exiled
Jacqueline. On September 14, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy
Cross, the Duchess of Gloucester passed through St. Albans after vespers
with an escort of twenty-four horse on her way to Langley to visit Queen
Joan, and two days later her husband, accompanied by 'John Robessart,'
followed in the same direction.[505] By September 29 both Duke and
Duchess were at Dover, where an embassy from Mons found them,[506] and
Gloucester proceeded to turn his back on England, where in his absence
the Bishop of Winchester, as Chancellor, was left to carry on the work
of the Protector.[507] It is characteristic of Gloucester that this new
attraction had made him forget his political ambitions at home, and that
for the time he was content to leave the kingdom in the hands of his
rival. For some days hostile winds kept him in port, but before long
they veered round, and at ten o'clock on the morning of October 16 he
set sail from Dover with forty-two ships, reaching Calais between three
and four o'clock of the same day, in spite of a severe storm encountered
on the way.[508]
At Calais Duke and Duchess rested for some time, as they had only
brought over the vanguard of their army. But they were not idle.
Immediately on arrival they each despatched letters to Mons, the capital
of Hainault, in which they announced their safe arrival at Calais and
their intention to come and take possession of their dominions;
meanwhile the town was to make every preparation for their honourable
reception.[509] At the same time speculation was rife in the
neighbourhood of Calais as to the route which Gloucester would take in
his advance on Hainault. On the day after disembarkation, ambassadors
appeared from Flanders, and at an audience granted them on the 18th,
urged the Duke not to pass through their territory, as it would be
inconvenient to them, and since the roads were narrow, the bridges
dangerous, and the waterways frequent, to him also. They were told that
no decision had yet been taken, but that in any case their country would
be unhurt. Following these came other ambassadors from Artois, who in
quite another strain begged Humphrey to make use of their country as a
means of access to Hainault. Both embassies were courteously
received.[510]
1424] GLOUCESTER AT CALAIS
To Calais also came messengers from Bedford with the news that Brabant
had sent envoys to Paris to appeal once more to the arbitrators, and
with an invitation from the English Regent in France to his brother to
meet him at some convenient place to discuss the matter.[511]
Gloucester, however, had made up his mind to proceed with his
undertaking, and he returned an evasive reply. Nevertheless a Council
was called in Paris, mainly it would seem to pacify Burgundy, who was
furious at this interference in what he considered his own happy
hunting-ground, and after mature consideration terms of agreement were
drawn up and sent to the contending parties, Ralph de Boutillier and the
Abbot of Fécamp being commissioned to bear them to Humphrey.[512] Though
Brabant accepted the terms, neither the Duke nor the Duchess of
Gloucester would have anything to do with them, and this last attempt at
a settlement failed.[513] We have no record of what these terms were,
but it seems likely that they were highly favourable to Burgundy's
protégé, for on hearing of their rejection Duke Philip flew into a
mighty passion, and declared roundly to Bedford that he would resist the
English claimant with all his forces, a course he could easily take as
he had just signed a truce with the Dauphin. With a sad heart Bedford
bore with the angry Duke, and attempted to appease his wrath by a round
of dancing and jousting. Paris was very gay in her attempt to bolster up
the Anglo-Burgundian alliance.[514] For a time these measures were
successful, and though he coquetted with the party of the Dauphin,
Burgundy did not abandon his friendship with England.[515]
Meanwhile Gloucester had had some correspondence with the Pope, partly
with reference to the slanders which he thought a certain Simon de
Taramo had uttered against him, and partly on the subject of the delay
in admitting Martin V.'s nephew, Prospero Colonna, to the Archdeaconry
of Canterbury, a delay probably fostered by Gloucester, as a hold over
the man who could make his marriage undeniably legal.[516] The
correspondence on both sides was of a most friendly nature, and in one
letter the Duke urged a speedy granting of the divorce, which he desired
not only because of his great love for Jacqueline, but also because of
the underhand behaviour of his opponents.[517] This complaint of
underhand dealings would be hardly justified were we to accept as
genuine another correspondence attributed to this time, and preserved in
the Archives at Lille. According to these letters, a plot, to which
Bedford was privy, was on foot between Gloucester, Suffolk, and
Salisbury to murder the Duke of Burgundy, much in the same way as his
father had met his end at the Bridge of Montereau. Much circumstantial
evidence is to be found therein, showing that Gloucester's motive was to
prevent Burgundian interference with his Hainault plans.[518] It is,
however, beyond dispute that these letters were the work of one William
Benoist, who forged them at the instigation of the Constable de
Richemont for the latter's political purposes.[519] Neither Bedford nor
Gloucester would have stooped to such an expedient, for though the
younger of the two brothers might be unscrupulous and ambitious, yet
murder was a crime of which no one could imagine him guilty. With all
his faults he would never have thus tarnished his fair name.
1424] MARCH FROM CALAIS TO HAINAULT
The month of October was now passed, and the Earl Marshal had arrived in
the early morning of November 2 with forty-two sail and the second
detachment of Gloucester's army, and on the evening of the same day four
more ships arrived. A week later the troops marched out as far as the
castle of Guisnes, there to await the last contingent which was now due.
They had not long to wait, for on November 13 twenty-two more ships
arrived at Calais, and immediately preparations were made for the
start.[520] Early in the morning of November 18 Gloucester led out his
men on the first stage of the march to Hainault.[521] The vanguard
consisted of 1100 horse, or thereabouts, with 800 horse and 300
men-at-arms in the main battle, while the rearguard comprised 2000 men,
in all, therefore, the force consisted of some 4200 troops.[522] Over
this army the Earl Marshal had supreme command.[523] It is strange that
with his military experience Gloucester did not undertake to lead his
troops in person, but the explanation may be found in the report of his
physician as to his state of health, which seems to have been anything
but good at this time.[524] The route chosen for the march was through
Artois, by way of Thérouaune and Béthune, and passing to the north of
Lens, the army reached Hainault territory, making its first halt therein
at Bouchain.[525] All through the county of Artois, which was Burgundian
territory, the utmost care was taken to keep the soldiers in strict
order; neither were the people annoyed nor was the country injured by
the passage of the English forces.[526] All this was done to the end
that no personal injury should induce Duke Philip to resist the
invasion of those territories which were claimed by the Duke of Brabant.
In Hainault there was no rejoicing when the return of their long absent
princess was announced. The traders and merchants of the towns had
increased their prosperity during the Regency of John of Bavaria, the
able and unscrupulous ex-Bishop of Liége, to whom Brabant had yielded
the government of Jacqueline's dominions for a term of years. Whatever
might be the private convictions of the citizen class, they cared for
nothing so much as for peace, and this new invasion, though undertaken
in the name of hereditary right and good government, only promised a
long civil war and the consequent disturbance of trade and
commerce.[527] The nobles might champion Jacqueline, or range themselves
under the banner of Brabant, but they were not the most important factor
in the country. It was on the support of the towns that any governmental
authority must be based, for these strong trading communities had been
enabled to strengthen themselves against the rural nobility by superior
organisation and co-operation, and by superior wealth. All that they
needed was a strong hand to govern the country with impartiality and
justice, to keep the turbulent nobility in check, and to give
untrammelled opportunities for expanding commerce and acquiring wealth.
This ideal had been practically realised under the government of John of
Bavaria--though his energies had been devoted more to Holland and
Zealand than to Hainault--a realisation which was not expected from the
rule of Jacqueline and her unknown English husband. It was in this
spirit, therefore, that the town of Valenciennes refused to admit her
Countess within her walls,[528] and that the citizens of Mons sent an
urgent embassy to the Dowager-Countess, asking her to use her influence
to induce her daughter not to enter their city, nor to bring 'Monsieur
de Gloucester' with her;[529] indeed, if we are to believe an English
chronicler, the various states of Jacqueline's heritage had united in
offering Humphrey an annual tribute of £30,000 to be left in peace.[530]
1424] RECEPTION AT MONS
Both the Dowager Margaret and the Count of St. Pol, Brabant's younger
brother, had done their utmost to avert the invasion of Hainault by
Gloucester,[531] and the former had sent an urgent embassy to England
for this purpose, to the expenses of which the various towns had
contributed;[532] but when all chances of keeping the peace had passed
away, she threw in her lot with her daughter, and seems to have entered
into cordial relations with her new-found son-in-law.[533] The Mons
embassy was therefore sent in vain, and in reply to their request the
citizens learnt that the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and their mother
intended to enter their capital in triumph on the following Sunday.[534]
Resistance was out of the question when on Monday the 27th Humphrey,
with a force of about 5000 men, and accompanied by Jacqueline and her
mother, left Crespin and appeared before the gates of the city. Making
the beat of a bad business, the citizens determined to welcome their
princess and her new husband, but they steadfastly refused to admit the
whole army within the walls. After some discussion it was arranged that
the soldiers should find accommodation in the suburbs outside the
fortifications, and that an escort of not more than 300 horse should be
admitted within the city, among which there were hardly any English,
their number being mainly made up of the Dowager's Hainault troopers,
whom she had brought with her to swell the invading army.[535]
Thus early was Gloucester brought face to face with the fact that his
wife's subjects did not regard him as the saviour of their country, but
rather as a foreign intruder, and one whose intentions were suspected.
Yet, however suspicious they might be of Humphrey's intentions, the men
of Mons had quickly made up their minds to accept the inevitable and to
make the best of it. On the Tuesday they waited on their lady and her
husband at the Naasterhof, where they were lodged, and paid their
respects to them, presenting the former with two butts of wine, the one
idea of an acceptable present in the Netherlands of the fifteenth
century, it would seem. At the same time the Estates of Hainault were
summoned to meet on December 1, and the interval was spent by Gloucester
in exploring the city. On the Wednesday he accompanied his wife on a
visit to the garden of the archery guild, where he gave six nobles
towards the completion of the chapel; thence they went to see the view
from the hill in the park, and finished their tour of inspection at the
castle.[536]
1424] RECOGNITION OF MARRIAGE
On the day appointed the Estates assembled at the Naasterhof at ten
o'clock in the morning, and the business of the meeting was begun by a
speech from Jan Lorfevre,[537] 'subprior of the church of the scholars,'
who was appointed to set forth the grounds upon which Jacqueline and
Gloucester based their united claims to the estates of the late Count
William of Holland. The arguments he used against the marriage of the
princess and the Duke of Brabant were the same as had been laid before
the court of arbitration, and he added that Jacqueline had always
disliked the alliance, and bitterly repented her of the sin she had
committed in ever consenting to it. For this sin she had done penance,
both in monetary payments and in bodily sufferings, and had received
absolutions; then after having consulted several famous Italian
ecclesiastics and other wise men as to the legality of the proceeding,
she had married the Duke of Gloucester. In the light of these facts, as
here set forth, she now demanded that her husband should be recognised
as Regent and Protector of Hainault by reason of this marriage.[538] The
Hainaulters were now compelled to make a definite decision between the
two parties, and it seemed obvious to many that their only means of
safety, for the present at any rate, was to acknowledge Humphrey to be
the true and only husband of Jacqueline, and to throw in their lot with
the party which could command the five thousand or more soldiers
encamped hard by. Nevertheless, there was a strong minority which
objected strongly to the English prince, and showed its objection by
abstention from the meeting of the Estates. It was therefore three days
before a quorum could be secured to transact any business, but finally
on December 4 the Estates determined to recognise their lady's last
marriage, and to send letters to the Duke of Brabant renouncing all
allegiance to him.[539] Thus Hainault officially decided to support the
claims of Gloucester, though Holland and Zealand, at a safe distance
from the reach of his forces, refused to have any part in these
proceedings, and threw in their lot with the Duke of Brabant.[540]
The Hainaulters, however, were by no means unanimous as to the step that
had been taken. The hesitation of so many members of the Estates was a
reflection of the attitude of the whole county, and there was still
ample evidence that there was no abatement of the feud of Hook and Cod,
which distinguished the supporters of Jacqueline from their hereditary
enemies. Though the towns might follow the lead of the Estates, and
yield a grudging acknowledgment of their lady's claims, there was still
a very powerful nobility to be counted with, of which body prominent
members openly defied the new ruler. Whilst the nobles as a whole
dissembled their opposition, there were certain notable exceptions to
this rule, for the Count of Conversan, his kinsman Messire Engilbert
d'Edingen, and the Lord of Jeumont refused to accept the new state of
affairs, and declared themselves firm adherents of the Brabant
cause.[541]
To all appearance, however, Humphrey's power was supreme, and he decided
to make a tour of inspection round the towns which had accepted his
rule, even as Jacqueline herself had done when she first succeeded to
her inheritance. He first took the oaths in the name of his wife as
Countess, and for himself as governor of the county at Mons on December
5, receiving the usual present of wine after the ceremony,[542] and
then, having appointed the Lord of Hainau to be bailiff of
Hainault,[543] he left for Soignies, where he renewed his oaths next
day. In turn he visited Manbeuge, Le Quesnoy, and Valenciennes,
promising to guard the citizens and to respect the laws, and receiving
in exchange the acknowledgment of his position as regent.[544] All the
other towns seem to have followed the lead of these principal cities,
and yielded obedience to Humphrey,[545] but it must be noticed that the
authority acknowledged was merely that of regent for his wife. Nowhere
do we find a suggestion that Gloucester had any power of his own right,
or that his description as Count of Hainault was anything but a titular
honour, and it may be that it was hoped by this means to avert the
intervention of the Duke of Burgundy. Under the present arrangement
there would be no obstacle to prevent the Duke from acquiring the
Hainault inheritance on Jacqueline's death, except in the now improbable
event of the birth of a child, and it is likewise possible that in
taking this precaution both Count and Countess thought that they had
averted all chance of Burgundian interference, in spite of the threats
of Duke Philip at Paris, which we must suppose had reached their ears.
The bare acknowledgment of his position as regent to his wife did not
satisfy Gloucester, who had not undertaken the assertion of her rights
with any single-minded or chivalrous intention of giving justice to the
wronged, and on his return to Mons he summoned the Estates of Hainault,
and demanded a grant of forty thousand French gold crowns to recoup him
for his expense in bringing an army to Hainault. To this demand the
representatives of the towns demurred, for they had never asked for this
army, with which they would much rather have dispensed, and a stormy
debate on the subject on December 28 failed to result in any decision.
On the following day, however, the delegates were brought to realise
that, left to themselves, they would be helpless now that they had
defied Brabant, and they agreed to the grant on condition that it was
reduced by only counting forty 'sols' to the crown.[546]
This half-hearted consent to Gloucester's demands was wrung from very
unwilling subjects. The English troops were not popular in Hainault.
They had shown themselves but little under control, and had fully
justified the fears felt with regard to them when they first appeared
outside Mons.[547] At Soignies Gloucester had received urgent messages
from the capital, begging him not to allow any of his English troops,
except those of his household, to re-enter the town,[548] and again at
Valenciennes he had been requested to put some restraint on the ravages
of his men.[549] Discontent at the outrages perpetrated by their
so-called protectors was increased by the unsettled state of affairs,
and the lack of energy displayed by the regent; at St. Ghislain his
officers had been refused admission, though only accompanied by four
men.[550] Moreover, Gloucester's authority was defied, at least in one
instance, on the plea that a grant by Jacqueline overruled his
commands.[551] Thus the oaths which Gloucester had sworn to keep law and
order in the county were proved to be useless, and it was in vain that
Mons insisted on their renewal in the most solemn manner,[552] when a
divided authority and a reckless unrestrained soldiery combined to bring
the horrors of war to the doors of the unfortunate Hainaulters.
It is not surprising, therefore, that projects for mediation between the
two Dukes came to the front, and that the citizens of Mons appealed to
their fellows of Valenciennes to join with them in invoking the towns of
Ghent and Namur to intervene for the purpose of bringing about a
reconciliation.[553] Such a reconciliation was the only hope for the
wretched Hainaulters, who on the one hand would court disaster should
they rise against the dominant power of Gloucester, whilst on the other
they reaped a bitter harvest from their association with his cause. To
strengthen this movement, further efforts at mediation came in the shape
of another embassy from Burgundy and Bedford, which arrived at Mons in
February under the leadership of the Archbishop of Arras.[554]
Mediation, however, whether by towns or Dukes, proved equally abortive,
as it was not likely that either side would consent to conditions so
long as each hoped to secure a papal decision in its favour.
1425] INDECISION OF THE POPE
Martin V. was still hesitating as to whether or no he should grant the
divorce. It mattered little to him that a distracted people eagerly
looked for a judgment that might give them relief; and he thought that
by delay he might secure some great concession from one side or the
other, or at least he might wait till he could see which party was
likely to gain the upper hand. Besides, it must be remembered that
immense possibilities--far greater than the question of the rights of a
petty Princess of Hainault--lay behind this decision. The course of the
war between France and England might lie in the balance which hung
between the contending Dukes, and a verdict on the divorce appeal, given
at a critical moment, might help to end that long-protracted struggle.
Be this as it may, rumours, born of this long waiting for a judgment,
arose in the Low Countries, and it was reported that a Bull of divorce
between the Duke of Brabant and Jacqueline had been granted by the Holy
See, a report which reached as far as Zealand, where the citizens of
Zierkzee wrote to the authorities at Mons, asking for a confirmation of
the report if it were indeed true.[555] Before long these rumours
reached Rome, and on February 13 Martin wrote to Brabant, declaring the
Bulls of divorce now circulating in the dioceses of Utrecht, Liége, and
Cambray to be absolute forgeries.[556] At the same time he sent letters
to Gloucester in which he asserted that the opinion that Jacqueline's
English marriage was undoubtedly legal, currently attributed to him, had
never been expressed, and that all he had said was, that he hoped that
it might be proved so.[557] Rome was still shuffling, though the purport
of the two letters was calculated to improve the position of Brabant
rather than that of Gloucester, but for the present this did not affect
the course of affairs, for the first letter at least did not reach its
destination till Humphrey had turned his back for ever on Hainault.[558]
While Gloucester had been steadily alienating the sympathies of the men
of Hainault, and attempting to justify his invasion of the country, his
troops had not been idle. In December the Earl Marshal had invaded the
territory of Brabant, and had ravaged the country with fire and sword,
penetrating as far as Brussels and carrying off much booty and many
prisoners.[559] No organised resistance was made to the inroad. The Duke
of Brabant, weak and unenterprising as usual, took no interest in the
defence even of his hereditary duchy[560]; so little did he bestir
himself that a rumour was spread abroad that he was dead.[561] Though
this was untrue, a further report that John of Bavaria had died was
substantiated,[562] for the energetic ex-bishop had fallen down dead
suddenly at the very beginning of 1425,[563] and thus, from the death of
one John and the inertia of the other, there seemed to be every
likelihood that Hainault at least would pass definitely under
Gloucester's rule.
1425] BURGUNDIAN INTERVENTION
There was one man, however, who had to be counted with, one who would
brook no interference within his sphere of influence, and this was the
Duke of Burgundy. The titular principals in this drama have retired to
the back of the stage; Jacqueline and the Duke of Brabant give place to
Humphrey of Gloucester and Philip of Burgundy. The plot, too, has
widened, and has ceased to be confined to the mere states under
dispute; it has become a personal question with an European
significance. When Philip had left Paris vowing that he would resist the
ambitions of Gloucester, he meant what he said. A truce concluded with
the party of the Dauphin had enabled him to devote his whole attentions
to this end, and on December 20 he had issued letters from Dijon to his
vassals in Picardy, Artois, and the neighbouring territories summoning
them to arm for the defence of Hainault under the leadership of John of
Luxembourg.[564] By this means a considerable force was despatched to
join the troops which the Count of St. Pol was collecting under the
auspices of Burgundy in Brabant, and by the beginning of the new year a
body of some forty thousand men, so the chroniclers tell us,[565] was
ready to invade Hainault under the brother of Duke John, who himself was
too much of a lay figure to command the troops in person.[566] As a
preliminary to the attack on Hainault, the frontier towns in Brabant
territory were garrisoned, and from these bases frequent predatory
expeditions were made across the borders, thus inflicting on the
unfortunate Hainaulters the twofold burden of an enemy's devastation and
a so-called friend's foraging parties.[567] Gloucester had already
garrisoned many of the towns under his command, and the two forces were
constantly meeting in skirmish and counter-attack, till early in March
St. Pol crossed the frontier, and invested the town of Braine-le-Comte.
St. Pol's army was a heterogeneous collection of men from various
sources. Round him were gathered nobles of Brabant, and the discontented
from Hainault, Burgundian troops, Brabantine levies, and even Frenchmen
from amongst those who espoused the cause of the Dauphin, all
comprising a powerful but somewhat unwieldy and undisciplined
force.[568] In Braine there was an English garrison of two hundred men,
but the numbers of the defenders were swollen by the citizens, who took
up arms to resist the invader. For eight days[569] a spirited defence
was maintained, but superstitious fear quelled the ardour of the
Englishmen when they seemed to see their patron saint St. George riding
his white horse among the besiegers. On March 11 terms were offered and
accepted; the English were to be allowed to march out with the honours
of war, taking with them their private property, whilst the townsmen
were to be immune from molestation in return for a certain monetary
payment. This agreement, however, was not kept, for the wild,
undisciplined levies of Brabant, enraged at the loss of so goodly a
chance of spoil, broke into the town under cover of the truce, and
pillaged, burnt, and slew, while their captains tried in vain to assert
their authority. Thus the town was utterly destroyed, and citizen and
soldier alike were butchered in the streets.[570]
1425] INACTIVITY OF GLOUCESTER
While these events were happening at Braine, Gloucester had hurried
forward with the main army, which had joined him again after its
expedition into Brabant. He left Mons on March 5, and advanced as far as
Soignies within four miles of the beleaguered town, but further than
this he did not go, for he was advised not to attack the besiegers.[571]
Such abstention is inexplicable in the impetuous Humphrey. True, St. Pol
had the numerically stronger army, but the English troops were
experienced soldiers, whilst their opponents were for the most part raw
levies or unmanageable volunteers, and laboured under the disadvantage
of having to protect their rear if they were compelled to turn and fight
a relieving force. Whether it was that ill-health had sapped Humphrey's
initiative, or that the tactics of the Earl Marshal were over-cautious,
the fact remains that nothing was done, and the Duke spent the time that
he lay idle at Soignies in writing another letter to the Pope, in which
he clamoured for a speedy decision of the divorce proceedings, urging
the mischief caused by the delay and the blood which was being shed. He
declared that he had entered Hainault, and had been well received, but
that the troops of the Duke of Brabant had invaded his territory. The
blood of the killed in this struggle was not on his head. He had sent
three separate embassies to procure a pacification, but in each case
without effect, and now as a devoted son of the Holy See he must urge
that the time for delay was passed, and that the Pope must settle the
matter by a prompt decision.[572]
While this none too courageous appeal for the help of the spiritual arm
against the invaders was being despatched, Braine had fallen, and to
cover his supine conduct, which might well suggest cowardice, Gloucester
sent a herald to the victorious general challenging him to fight then
and there,[573] a challenge which, had it been sent a few days earlier,
might have saved both the town and the murdered garrison. St. Pol gladly
accepted the defiance, and he waited several days in the neighbourhood
expecting to be attacked. At length, as there were no signs of the
enemy, and fearing to venture another siege in the inclement state of
the weather, he began to draw off, and it was only then that a party of
some eight or ten hundred English was sent to harass his retreat. St.
Pol in anticipation of a general attack drew up his forces on a hill,
as did also the English commander on some rising ground opposite, and a
series of skirmishes took place in the intervening valley. This,
however, did not develop into a general engagement, and in the evening
the English drew off, quite unaware that the Brabant levies had thrown
the opposing army into confusion by a precipitate flight. Relieved of
his foes, St. Pol was enabled to march off the rest of his troops under
cover of the darkness, and Humphrey had lost an excellent chance of
securing a decisive victory.[574]
On the evening of the same day as this averted engagement, it was
announced to both the English and Brabant commanders that a truce had
been declared between Burgundy and Gloucester,[575] and to such an
extent was it realised that the struggle lay between these two, and that
the Duke of Brabant was merely a lay figure in the dispute, that a
general cessation of hostilities ensued. For some little time past the
two Dukes had been in communication. As soon as he had learnt of
Burgundy's summons to arms of December 20 Humphrey had written an
expostulatory letter to him, in which he complained that his actions had
been misrepresented, and that he could not accept the propositions of
peace suggested at Paris, as they were prejudicial to his interests,
adding further that it was untrue to say that Brabant had on his side
accepted the terms. He declared Philip's support of Brabant to be
iniquitous, seeing that Jacqueline was a nearer relation of his than was
the Duke, and that he was already bound to support the English cause on
the Continent by treaty. Moreover, every step had been taken to respect
Burgundian rights, and in passing through Artois the territory and its
occupants had been respected. The letter concluded with an appeal to
Philip to abstain from further hostilities.[576]
1425] BURGUNDY AND GLOUCESTER
To this Burgundy after some delay had replied, that what he had said
with regard to the acceptance of the conditions by Brabant was true, and
that Gloucester had refused to abide by the decision of the Paris
tribunal, or to await that of the Pope. With sudden heat he declared
that Gloucester had called him a liar, and he therefore challenged him
to single combat, offering to accept either the Emperor or Bedford as
judge of the fight. This he affirmed would be a more Christian way of
settling the dispute, in that it would avoid the killing of their
respective adherents.[577] From Soignies Gloucester had written to
accept the challenge for St. George's Day with Bedford as judge, adding
that his first letter was justified by Burgundy's recent lie in saying
that Brabant accepted the terms of the agreement.[578] To this Philip
had retorted with another letter reaffirming his former statements.
Gloucester had called him a liar, and he had therefore challenged him to
personal combat, which had been accepted, and thereby their differences
would be definitely settled.[579]
It was on account of the arrangements made in this correspondence that
the truce between the two parties had been made, and it is rather
strange that a chronicler asserts that Humphrey picked the quarrel to
secure his retreat from Hainault.[580] The challenge came from
Burgundy, and there is no evidence in Gloucester's first letter that he
wished to provoke the quarrel. On the contrary, he was evidently
surprised and hurt by the attitude adopted by Philip, though it shows a
surprising ignorance of the character and ambitions of the man whom he
had first met at St. Omer in 1417. Till he heard of the summons of
December 20 he had never doubted but that the struggle lay between
himself and Brabant alone, and he had been at great pains to prevent any
provocation of Burgundian susceptibilities when passing through Artois.
This care was no subtle intention to put his future adversary in the
wrong, but was born of an entire inability to grasp the state of the
case. He was by nature a scholar, circumstances had transformed him into
a politician, but no circumstances could make him a statesman. He could
not see the significance of his own actions, and till brought face to
face with the facts, could not understand whither his actions would lead
him. He ought to have been aware that Burgundy would look on his
Hainault policy with no friendly eye, and he had had clear warning that
Philip would not stand by to see an alien power within his sphere of
influence. Yet blind to these signs, and unconscious that any one could
follow out a policy in a more determined way than he could, only now did
he realise his true position, and perhaps it was only now that he began
to grasp something of the complications which his hot-headed expedition
was bringing upon English policy in France. Armagnac and Burgundian had
fought side by side in the army before Brain-le-Comte, Burgundian and
Englishman had fought against each other when they should have stood
shoulder to shoulder in the plains of France. He could not hope for
reinforcements, and the troops of Burgundy were arrayed against him when
he had thought that the alliance with England would preclude such a
possibility. He stood for his own projects, and his expedition was
personal, not national, yet this, while leaving him helpless, did not
fail to alienate the sympathies of Philip from the nation whose royal
family had a member in arms against his treasured projects.
1425] HOSTILITY TO GLOUCESTER
The heyday of Gloucester's ascendency in Hainault was rapidly passing
into murky twilight, and the men of Hainault were not slow to apprise
the situation. With Burgundy in the field against them, they were
surrounded by enemies, and their provisions were cut off both by road
and river. They regretted Jacqueline's visit to England, and still more
did they regret that she had brought back with her an English husband.
They were disgusted at the part they had played in rejecting the Duke of
Brabant, and with the exception of the faithful few who clung to their
Countess, they all sought how they might propitiate the party that now
seemed likely to get the upper hand.[581] The very men who had
petitioned the Pope to divorce Jacqueline from the Duke of Brabant,[582]
now sought to win favour from him whom they had opposed. Such was the
state of public opinion when Gloucester rejoined his wife at Mons after
his fiasco at Soignies.[583]
In the capital the citizens had never whole-heartedly welcomed the rule
of the foreigner, and had always disliked the regent's English
followers. They now decreed that Gloucester was to be received only with
a reasonable following, and on condition that he gave a pledge, whereby
the labourers might return to work in the fields without being molested
by his men.[584] Requests had been supplanted by demands, and the
citizens now made terms with the man they had acknowledged as governor,
while their hostility to him was still further increased by a peremptory
letter from the Duke of Burgundy threatening to send troops to besiege
the city unless it returned to the allegiance of the Duke of
Brabant.[585] Not only was the loyalty of Mons shaken, but also many of
the towns, headed by Valenciennes, had already renounced their
allegiance to Jacqueline's governor,[586] and a fresh inroad from
Brabant territory[587] convinced Gloucester that his career in Hainault
was at an end. Moreover, it is more than probable that the volatile Duke
had tired of Jacqueline, so soon as he despaired of ever possessing her
territory, and there is strong presumptive evidence that his affections
had already strayed to a certain Mme. de Warigny, the wife of one of the
Duchess's equerries.[588] As early as February 15, it had been rumoured
that the Duke was about to return to England,[589] and now he definitely
decided on this course. His hold on Hainault was weakened, if not gone;
he had never succeeded in securing even the nominal adherence of Holland
and Zealand; quick to undertake a new project, he was as quick to
despair of its success, and, perhaps most potent reason of all, he
wished to return to England, lest in his absence his uncle should
undermine his position there.
1425] RETURN OF GLOUCESTER TO ENGLAND
A safe-conduct through Burgundian territory made this retreat easy, and
within four days of his arrival at Mons Humphrey was ready to
start.[590] Jacqueline seems to have wished to accompany her husband,
but the authorities of Mons, seconded by the Dowager-Countess,
interfered, and insisted that their lady should not again leave the
country, and Gloucester consented on condition that the citizens of her
capital guaranteed her safety.[591] A few soldiers and some cannon were
left behind,[592] but almost all the English troops accompanied their
master, who early in April rode out to St. Ghislain. Here amidst many
tears and protestations Jacqueline bid adieu to her husband, and
sorrowfully watched him ride away down the road to Valenciennes and pass
out of her life for ever, though at the time she knew it not.[593] By
way of Bouchin and Lens he reached Calais, whence he sailed for England
on April 12.[594]
Hainault breathed more freely when she saw the English depart, for they
had brought nothing but trouble and sorrow in their train. Not content
with provoking the wrath of the Duke of Burgundy to fall on the country
they had pretended to defend, they had pillaged, slain, and wasted
wherever they went. More than once we have had occasion to notice strong
protests at their behaviour, and it was a very unsavoury reputation they
left behind them. Neither church nor town was safe from their
depredations, and the native chronicler cries bitterly 'no soldiers ever
did so much harm to the Low Countries as did the English.'[595]
Gloucester's inability to keep his men in order is not easily explained.
In the French wars he had maintained the strictest discipline; while
marching through Artois these very same soldiers had been compelled to
restrain their plundering tendencies, and later, too, the Duke was able
to lead a short skirmish into the territory of Flanders without ever
once letting his men get out of hand. It may be that his health was not
sufficiently good to allow him to undertake that personal supervision so
necessary for maintaining order, but more probably his soldiers were
left unrestrained because their leader did not try to restrain them.
Humphrey must have been disgusted at the cold reception he had met with
in Hainault, and annoyed at the fact that he was only recognised as his
wife's regent, not as joint ruler with her. He had set out with the idea
of becoming a continental prince, and he found that he was only
grudgingly acknowledged as Jacqueline's representative. What more
natural, therefore, than that his imperious and emotional temperament
should choose a poor, mean way of revenging himself on those Hainaulters
who had disappointed his hopes, and at the same time the cheapest and
most effective method of rewarding his troops for their services?
Natural it was to Humphrey. He had none of the greatness of spirit which
alone could have brought his undertaking to a successful end, and he had
but little to be proud of, as he turned from the scene of his least
glorious achievements.
1425] GLOUCESTER'S FAILURE
Nothing in Gloucester's whole career has left such a blot on his
character as his expedition to Hainault. Not only did he embark on an
impolitic course, which came near to wreck the national policy and the
schemes of his brother--a policy which he espoused himself in later
life, when it had become but an empty dream--but he could not even bring
himself to stand by her whom he had undertaken to champion, in the day
of her distress. He had alienated the men whom he had attempted to
govern, he had shown himself unable or unwilling to control his
soldiers, and when thrown on his own resources, he had betrayed his
weakness as a general. A soldier of ability and experience, his
instability of character had rendered him helpless when he had no
controlling power to look up to; an ardent lover, he had soon proved
unfaithful, and had betrayed more worldly ambition than unselfishness in
his love; a man who claimed to guide the destinies of England, he had
shown himself blind to that which must have been clear to any one
possessing the merest germs of statesmanship. All his weaknesses came to
the front, and none of the virtues to which he could lay claim were
apparent; it is by this episode in his life that he is best remembered,
as the foolish knight-errant who adopted a mediæval pose, whilst
possessing none of the mediæval chivalry which alone could make that
pose bearable.
FOOTNOTES:
[468] _Lond. Chron._, 110; Walsingham, _Hist. Angl._, ii. 342;
Harleian MS., 2256, f. 196vo.
[469] _Ordinances_, iii, 10.
[470] Polydore Vergil, 5.
[471] This story is told by Wagenaar, see Beiträge, 48, 49.
[472] _Chron. Henry VI._, 6. Allusion to advice given by Italian
clerics justifying the marriage is made in Jacqueline's claim
that Gloucester should be recognised as Regent of Hainault.
_Particularités Curieuses_, 77. Martin v. also in a letter to
his representatives in England alluded to the existence of an
opinion, signed by many persons under seal, to the effect
that in the question of divorce justice was on the side of
Gloucester. _Papal Letters_, vii. 27.
[473] A Latin chronicler in the Low Countries certainly says 'Quibus
nupciis regaliter in Anglia celebratis' (Beiträge, 16). But
this cannot stand against the unanimous silence of all other
contemporary writers.
[474] _Cartulaire_, iv. 599.
[475] _Ibid._, iv. 318. Also _Particularités Curieuses_, 58.
[476] _Cartulaire_, iv. 328.
[477] Beiträge, 51.
[478] Hall, 116. Stow also, wise after the event, alludes to the
marriage as 'a thing thought unreasonable'; _Annales_ 366.
[479] Rymer, IV. iv. 90.
[480] Dec. 20, 1423. _Rot. Parl._, iv. 242; _Lords' Reports_, v.
197, 198; Rymer, IV. iv. 103. Löher says that before the
marriage of Bedford and Anne of Burgundy Humphrey had been a
candidate for this lady's hand (Löher, _Jakobäa von Bayern_,
ii. 141). He is followed in this statement by Miss Putnam (_A
Mediæval Princess_, 87), but I can find no authority for it.
Probably it is a mistake arising from the fact of Bedford's
early candidature for the hand of Jacqueline.
[481] _St. Albans Chron._, i. 4, 5.
[482] _Ibid._, i. 66. The date given is 1423, but this is old style;
cf. Cotton MS., Nero, D. vii. f. 154.
[483] Waurin, iii. 24-27. The Duke of Brittany was included in this
alliance.
[484] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 387. This letter is here
attributed to Beaufort, but merely on presumptive evidence.
It is given in fuller form in the _Journal des Savants_,
1899, pp. 192-194. It was sent to the Council through some
English prelate, probably Beaufort.
[485] Beltz, p. lxii.
[486] The University of Paris saw the danger too, and besides the
warning letter to the English Council, referred to above, had
written both to Burgundy and Gloucester, urging them to keep
the peace. _Journal des Savants_, 1899, pp. 189 and 191, 192.
[487] _Cartulaire_, iv. 354, 355, October 8, 1423.
[488] _Ibid._, iv. 341, June 16, 1423.
[489] _Cartulaire_, iv. 340, 341, 355, 356.
[490] Monstrelet, 551; Waurin, iii. 84.
[491] _Cartulaire_, iv. 368.
[492] Monstrelet, 581; Waurin, iii. 89.
[493] _Cartulaire_, iv. 380, 381. Jacqueline agreed to this on May
8, and Gloucester on May 28.
[494] _Ibid._, iv. 373, 374.
[495] _Cartulaire_, iv. 386-388.
[496] _Ibid._, iv. 109.
[497] _Cartulaire_, iv. 388, 389.
[498] _Ibid._, iv. 384-386.
[499] _Ibid._, iv. 391. This judgment was given on June 19, 1424.
[500] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 388, 389,
[501] _Cartulaire_, iv. 350.
[502] There is no evidence that he asked for it, but he certainly
was not given it, else some record of it would survive.
[503] The Prior of Ely refused to lend £200; MSS. of Dean and
Chapter of Ely. _Hist. MSS. Rep._, xii. App. IX. 395.
[504] _Hist. MSS. Rep._, v. 546; MSS. of Corporation of New Romney.
[505] _St. Albans Chron._, i. 8. This comes under 1426, but
Jacqueline was not in England then. The editor changes it to
1425, and suggests that Jacqueline was over in England at
that time. There is no ground for this suggestion.
[506] _Cartulaire_, iv. 408 find 410; _Particularités Curieuses_,
71.
[507] _Ordinances_, iii. 165; Devon, _Issue Roll_, 395.
[508] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 397; _Beckington
Correspondence_, i. 281.
[509] _Cartulaire_, iv. 413; _Particularités Curieuses_, 73.
[510] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 398. Letter of one of
Gloucester's followers to Beaufort. There were other copies
of this letter addressed to other English lords.
[511] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 398.
[512] Monstrelet, 563; Waurin, iii. 126-128. The terms were
despatched from Paris on October 28; Stevenson, _Letters and
Papers_, ii. 273, 274. Stevenson attributed this document to
1434 for no good reason. Owing to delays it did not reach
Gloucester till November 18; _Ibid._, ii. 400.
[513] Dynter, iii. 854, 855; _Preuves de l'histoire de Bourgogne_,
iv. No. XLVI. p. 53; St. Rémy, 471.
[514] Monstrelet, 563; Waurin, iii. 129-131.
[515] Waurin, iii. 133.
[516] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, i. 279-285.
[517] _Ibid._, ii. 392, 393.
[518] Desplanque, _Projet d'Assassinat, Preuves_, pp. 57, 59.
[519] For a discussion upon these documents, see the above treatise
in _Mémoires couronnés par l'Académie royale de Belgique_,
vol. xxxii.; and also Cosneau, _Richemont_, 501, 502; De
Beaucourt, ii. 658-660.
[520] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 399.
[521] _Ibid._, ii. 399; _Cartulaire_, iv. 418.
[522] _Cartulaire_, iv. 418. A letter written to Mons telling of
Gloucester's coming. This corresponds with Eberhard Windeck's
report of 4000 men (Windeck, cap. 215, p. 162). Waurin, iii.
125, says 5000. Holkham MS., p. 8, follows Stow in saying
1200. Pierre de Fénin, p. 601, also says 1200. An entry in
the _Registre de Mons_ of November 27, 1424, says Gloucester
arrived near Mons with between 4000 and 5000 men
(_Cartulaire_, iv. 420), but he had then been joined by some
of the troops belonging to the Dowager-Duchess.
[523] Waurin, iii. 126; Monstrelet, 562.
[524] Kymer's 'Dietary,' in _Liber Niger Scaccarii_, App. vol. ii.
pp. 551-559.
[525] _Cartulaire_, iv. 418; Waurin, iii. 135; Monstrelet, 564.
[526] Waurin, iii. 135; Monstrelet, 564; Pierre de Fénin, 601.
[527] In October 1424 the Duke of Brabant had written to Mons to
announce his intention of resisting Gloucester; _Cartulaire_,
iv. 414. Resistance to Jacqueline and her husband was
therefore a certainty.
[528] St. Rémy, 472.
[529] _Cartulaire_, iv. 419.
[530] _Chron. Henry VI._, 7.
[531] _Cartulaire_, iv. 382, 383.
[532] _Ibid._, iv. 407.
[533] See _Ibid._, iv. 81, 82.
[534] _Ibid._, iv. 419.
[535] _Ibid._, iv. 420.
[536] _Registre de Mons, Cartulaire_, iv. 420.
[537] It is possible that this 'Jan Lorfevre' is none other than the
chronicler Jean Le Fevre Seigneur de St. Rémy, who was with
the English army on the day of Agincourt, but of whom we know
nothing more till he reappears in 1430 as an ambassador from
Burgundy.
[538] _Particularités Curieuses_, 76, 77; _Cartulaire_, iv. 423; St.
Rémy, 472.
[539] _Cartulaire_, iv. 424; _Particularités Curieuses_, 78.
[540] Dynter, iii. 858.
[541] Monstrelet, 564; Waurin, iii. 135.
[542] _Cartulaire_, iv. 425, 426.
[543] _Ibid._, iv. 427.
[544] _Ibid._, iv. 428, 430, 433.
[545] Hal is mentioned by Monstrelet and Waurin, and in an entry in
the archives of Valenciennes as an exception to the rule that
all the Hainault towns accepted Gloucester's rule; but Hal
was in Brabant and therefore was not called on to acknowledge
the new governor of Hainault. See Waurin, iii. 135;
Monstrelet, 564; _Cartulaire_, iv. 421.
[546] _Cartulaire_, iv. 437, 438. On Jan. 9 Gloucester alludes to
this grant as 80,000 pounds tournois; _Cartulaire_, iv. 441.
[547] _Chronique des Pays Bas_, 387.
[548] _Cartulaire_, iv. 428.
[549] _Ibid._, iv. 434. For another protest on the same subject from
the citizens of Mons, see _Particularités Curieuses_, 86.
[550] _Particularités Curieuses_, 92.
[551] _Cartulaire_, iv. 431.
[552] _Ibid._, iv. 438-440.
[553] _Ibid._, iv. 436, December 25, 1424.
[554] February 4, 1425, _Particularités Curieuses_, 86.
[555] _Cartulaire_, iv. 448. The letter reached Mons on February 24,
1425.
[556] _Ibid._, iv. 446, 447.
[557] _Ibid._, vi. 295; _Papal Letters_, vii. 29. Martin V. also
wrote to the papal nuncios in England to the same effect;
_Papal Letters_, vii. 27.
[558] Brabant received the letter on April 29, 1425; Dynter, iii.
866, 867.
[559] Letter to the Bishop of Winchester, dated January 8, 1425, in
Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 416; Dynter, iii. 859.
[560] Pierre de Fénin, 601; Dynter, iii. 859.
[561] Letter as above, Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 410.
[562] _Ibid._, ii. 411.
[563] Monstrelet, 563, 564; St. Rémy, 471.
[564] Stowe MS., 668, f. 32vo; Waurin, iii. 136; Monstrelet, 564.
[565] So Waurin, iii. 164; Monstrelet, 569. Pierre de Fénin, 602,
gives 50,000 men, and Dynter, iii. 861, estimates the army at
60,000.
[566] Pierre de Fénin, 601.
[567] Waurin, iii. 137, 138; Monstrelet, 564; _Chronique des Pays
Bas_, 388; Dynter, iii. 859-861.
[568] Pierre de Fénin, 602; Waurin, iii. 167.
[569] So Monstrelet, 569; Waurin, iii. 165. Pierre de Fénin, 602,
says the siege lasted twelve days.
[570] Dynter, iii. 861-863; Monstrelet, 569; Waurin, iii. 165-167;
Pierre de Fénin, 602.
[571] _Cartulaire_, iv. 451; St. Rémy, 472.
[572] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 401-404. The letter is
undated, but owing to its allusions to the recent invasion of
Hainault, it seems to have been written at this time.
[573] Dynter, iii. 864.
[574] Monstrelet, 570; Waurin, iii. 170-174; Dynter, iii. 864. The
English forces despatched to follow St. Pol are estimated at
6000 by St. Rémy, 472, 473, while the _Chronicon Zanfleet_ in
'Amplissima Collectio,' v. 416, suggests that the only reason
why St. Pol did not attack those who followed him was because
some of the Brabant nobles in his army were in Gloucester's
pay.
[575] Monstrelet, 570; Waurin, iii. 169, 170.
[576] Stowe MS., 668, ff. 33, 34; Monstrelet, 565; Waurin, iii.
139-145; St. Rémy, 474.
[577] Stowe MS., 668, ff. 34, 35vo; Monstrelet, 566, 567; Waurin,
iii. 145-152; St. Rémy, 474.
[578] Stowe MS., 668, ff. 35, 36vo; Monstrelet, 567, 568; Waurin,
iii. 153-157; St. Rémy, 475, 476. The various authorities
differ as to the dates of the letters. For the first letter
the Stowe MS., Waurin, and Monstrelet have January 12, whilst
St. Rémy has it as January 22. For the second letter the
dates are Waurin and Stowe MS., March 13; Monstrelet, March
3; St. Rémy, March 12. For the third letter, Monstrelet and
St. Rémy give March 16; Stowe MS. and Waurin, March 26. I am
inclined to follow the Stowe MS. all through.
[579] Waurin, iii. 159-163; Monstrelet, 568, 569.
[580] Pierre de Fénin, 603.
[581] Waurin, iii. 161-169.
[582] Stevenson, _Letters and Papers_, ii. 390, 391.
[583] Waurin, iii. 175; Pierre de Fénin, 603.
[584] _Particularités Curieuses_, 97, 98. This demand was made on
March 21.
[585] _Particularités Curieuses_, 99. The letter reached Mons on
March 29.
[586] Dynter, iii. 864.
[587] _Ibid._, iii. 865.
[588] On a MS. copy of Froissart's _Chronicles_--MS. français, 831,
of the National Library at Paris--these words are written at
the end of the text: 'Plus leid n'y a Jaque de Baviere; la
meins amée est Jaque; plus belle n'y a que my Warigny, nulle
si belle que Warigny.' The interpretation is not plain, but
the inference is that Jeanne de Warigny was the object of
Gloucester's affections while he was in Hainault. This lady
had married Henri de Warigny, one of Jacqueline's esquires,
in 1418, and though she was of no lineage herself, her
husband came of one of the oldest families in Hainault. The
MS. in which this is found once belonged to Richard, Earl of
Warwick, but the writing is not in his hand. For a discussion
of this matter see Kervyn de Lettenhove, Froissart, ii.
260-263, also Beiträge, 274, 275, and Putnam, _A Mediæval
Princess_, pp. 305-309.
[589] _Particularités Curieuses_, 90.
[590] Pierre de Fénin, 603; St. Rémy, 476.
[591] Waurin, iii. 175; Monstrelet, 571; Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C.
iv. f. 33.
[592] St. Rémy, 476; _Cartulaire_, iv. 549.
[593] Waurin, iii. 176; Monstrelet, 571.
[594] This date is established by a letter written by Gloucester to
Jacqueline on his way home; _Particularités Curieuses_, 112.
[595] _Chronique des Pays Bas_, 388.