I must say that it is the strongest in all Normandy, fortified with
high and great bulwarks of a very hard stone, situated on a rock,
and containing in extent as much as the whole town of Corbeil. It
has a very strong keep, consisting of a large and high square tower,
surrounded by four massy ones from the foot of the ditch to the level
of the ground, the whole strengthened by a high wall all round, with
towers at proper distances, and a very deep ditch cut out of the solid
rock. In this castle were lodged the duke of Somerset, his lady and
children,--and in the town were quartered sir Robert Vere, brother to
the earl of Oxford, sir Henry Radford, and others, who commanded, under
the duke of Somerset, four thousand English as the garrison of Caen.
In regard to the capitulation, several conferences were held between
the English and French. On the part of the king, the count de Dunois,
the seneschal of Poitou, the lord John Bureau, treasurer of France,
acted as commissioners;--for the English, sir Richard Herisson,
bailiff of Caen, Robert Parges, and some others;--for the inhabitants,
Eustace Gaingnet, lieutenant to the said bailiff, and the abbot of St
Stephen's,--each alleging various articles, and supporting them by
their arguments. After much discussion, a treaty was concluded on the
morrow of the feast of St John Baptist, when the English promised to
deliver up to the king of France the said town, castle and keep, on the
first day of July next ensuing, unless they should combat and conquer
the said king on or before that day,--and on condition that the duke of
Somerset, his lady and children, and the other English who should wish
to depart with them, should be allowed so to do, and to carry away with
them all their effects and furniture without molestation or hinderance.
They were also to take with them their horses and armour; and for the
transport of these articles, they were to be provided with vessels
to convey them to England, and to no other part, on their paying the
expences: provided, however, that the English gave up all their
prisoners, and acquitted themselves of debt to the inhabitants of Caen,
churchmen and others, without carrying away any thing belonging to
them. They were also to leave behind their large and small artillery,
with the exception of bows, cross-bows, and hand culverines.
For the due observance of this treaty, the English delivered twelve of
their countrymen, two knights of Normandy and four of the principal
inhabitants, as hostages.
As no succours arrived on the first day of July, the town, castle,
and keep were surrendered. The aforesaid bailiff carried the keys of
the keep to the french camp, and delivered them into the hands of the
constable, in the presence of the count de Dunois, lieutenant-general,
who immediately gave them to the count, as governor of the town and
castle for the king of France. The new governor remained in the field,
to see that the English took the strait road to Estreham[98]; but
soon after their departure, accompanied by the marshal de Jalognes,
preceded by two hundred archers on foot, the king's trumpets and
heralds, and having in his rear three equerries of the stables, bearing
the royal banners, and the whole closed by one hundred men at arms
on foot, he entered the town by the keep of the castle, and had the
banners displayed from the keep and gates.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 93: Guisarmes,--a kind of (offensive) long-handled and
long-headed weapon; or, (as the Spanish visarma) a staff that had
within it two long pikes, which, with a shoot or thrust forward, come
forth.----_Cotgrave._]
[Footnote 94: Argentan. I should suppose it must be Alençon.]
[Footnote 95: St Pierre sur Dive,--a market-town near Trouard in
Normandy.]
[Footnote 96: Vaucelles,--a village in Normandy near Bayeux.]
[Footnote 97: The Dive separates the bishopricks of Lisieux and Bayeux,
and loses itself in the Channel.]
[Footnote 98: Estreham,--at the mouth of the Orne, four leagues from
Caen.]
CHAP. XXI.
THE KING OF FRANCE MAKES HIS ENTRY INTO CAEN, AND IS NOBLY RECEIVED
THERE.--THE ENGLISH SURRENDER FALAISE[99].--POTON DE SAINTRAILLES IS
APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF IT.--DOMFRONT[100] IS REDUCED TO THE KING'S
OBEDIENCE.
On the 6th day of July, the king of France left the abbey of Dardenne,
to make his entry into Caen, attended by all his nobles who had been
at the siege, magnificently dressed, excepting his lieutenant-general
and the marshal de Jalognes, who were already in the town. He was
preceded by his two hundred archers, heralds and trumpets,--and when he
was near the gates, the count de Dunois came out to meet him, followed
by crowds of the townsmen: after making their obeisances, they most
humbly presented the keys of the place to the king, who, graciously
received them. Then came the clergy in procession, as is usual in such
cases. After which, the king entered the gates, four of the principal
inhabitants holding a canopy over his head,--and thus the king rode
through streets hung with tapestry, and in some places covered over,
canopy-like, amidst the shouts of the people, unto the great church
of St Peter, where he dismounted at the porch, to offer up his
thanksgivings. He thence went to his lodgings, at the house of one of
the burghers of the town, and remained there some days to settle with
his lieutenant-general and ministers the future government and police
of the place.
The lord de Croy, sir John de Croy his brother, and the lord d'Arsy,
came to the king while at Caen, on an embassy from the duke of
Burgundy, to treat of a marriage with one of the king's daughters and
the lord Charles, son to the duke, and on other weighty matters with
which they were charged.
On this same 6th of July, the town of Falaise was besieged by Poton de
Saintrailles, bailiff of Berry. He was joined on the Monday by Master
John Bureau, treasurer of France, with the franc archers, to serve the
artillery, of which he was grand master. When the English heard of his
approach, they sallied out and sharply attacked him; but he defended
himself and his artillery well until the lord de Saintrailles came to
his assistance,--and the English were repulsed to the gates.
The king left Caen to attend this siege, and halted at an abbey
called St Andrew's, within a league of Falaise. The king of Sicily,
the duke of Calabria, the counts of Maine, of St Pol, of Tancarville,
the viscount of Loumaigne, and others, were with him. The town was
now surrounded on all sides; but as the king had a greater body of
chivalry than necessary for the gaining such a place, the counts of
Richemont and of Clermont were ordered to besiege Cherbourg.
The garrison in Falaise consisted of fifteen hundred English, the
very best of that nation that now remained in Normandy, under the
command of two english gentlemen, named Andrew Troslet[101] and Thomas
Cathon[102], lieutenants to the governor the lord Talbot. When they
saw the multitude of men at arms, archers, and cross-bowmen, that were
drawn up before them, they demanded a parley with the count de Dunois,
who, by the king's orders, sent them passports, that they might explain
what they required. They met on the 10th, and asked to capitulate,
which the king granted; when they appointed the 22nd day of July to
surrender the place, unless they should, before that day, receive
reinforcements to enable them to offer battle,--and on condition that
the lord Talbot, who was their governor for the king of England, and
who at that moment was the king of France's prisoner in the castle of
Dreux, should be set at liberty, on making certain promises to the king
of France.
A truce was now proclaimed, to last from the 10th to the 22nd, and
twelve hostages were delivered for its observance. The English were to
march away with arms and baggage, in safety, for England, in case they
should not be relieved on the day appointed. As no succours came to
them they departed, according to the tenour of the capitulation, and
delivered up the town and castle to the king, who made governor thereof
Poton de Saintrailles, his master of the horse and bailiff of Berry.
On the 24th of July, after the reduction of Falaise, the lord Charles
de Culant, grand master of the household, the lord de Blainville, the
lord John Bureau, treasurer of France, who always had the command of
the artillery, with fifteen hundred franc archers, marched to lay siege
to the town and castle of Domfront. The english garrison amounted to
seven or eight hundred; but when they heard of the great body of
chivalry and archers that were then in Normandy, they surrendered the
place on the 2d day of August, on condition that they might depart
in safety, with arms and baggage, for England, as, I have already
recounted, many of their countrymen had before done from different
towns and castles.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 99: Falaise,--nine leagues from Caen.]
[Footnote 100: Domfront,--twelve leagues from Mayenne, eight from
Alençon.]
[Footnote 101: Andrew Troslet. Q. Truslow.]
[Footnote 102: Thomas Cathon. Q. Cawthorn.]
CHAP. XXII.
THE DECEASE OF THE DUKE OF BRITTANY,--AND OF THE LORD GILES
HIS BROTHER, WHOM HE HAD CRUELLY PUT TO DEATH BEFORE HIS
DECEASE.--CHERBOURG IS BESIEGED BY SEA AND LAND, AND IS TAKEN BY THE
FRENCH.
About the end of July, Francis duke of Brittany, nephew and vassal to
the king of France, died of a natural death. He was a great loss to
the kingdom; for he was an active prince, prudent and valiant, and had
greatly exerted himself, personally and with money, in the service
of the king in the conquest of Normandy, as has been related. This
prince was naturally attached to the king of France, as was apparent
by his making war on those whom he knew to be enemies to his crown. He
carried his affection so far that he quarrelled with one of his own
brothers, the lord Giles, because, in prejudice to the king of France,
and without asking his permission, he had accepted of the order of the
Garter, and also the appointment of constable, from the king of England.
When the duke first heard of this, he had his brother arrested and
confined in one of his castles, where he was a long time closely
guarded. He had been often admonished by the duke and his other
relations and friends, wellwishers to France, to abandon the quarrel
of the English, whom he supported against all reason, justice and
right. When gentle means had been thus used in vain, other measures
were resorted to; but he would not, on any account, agree to their
proposals. The duke, therefore conceived a mortal hatred against him,
and ordered him to be put to death. The duke was frequently summoned,
by heralds from the king of England, to deliver up his constable,
whom he detained prisoner under the guard of Arthur of Montauban: on
his refusal, the english monarch sent him his challenge, which made
sir Giles's case worse than before,--and the duke's hatred so much
increased that, it was commonly said, he was strangled by two twisted
towels. Thus ended the days of sir Giles miserably and pitifully, which
will be a great example to all others.
Of this sad transaction, however, there are different accounts in
Brittany. Some say, that from a quarrel between de Montauban and his
accomplices, it has been discovered that they got him put to death by
giving false information to the duke, expecting to gain by his decease;
for sir Giles was very willing to renounce his connections with the
English, and to act as his brother pleased; but that they sent the duke
information quite the reverse, as has been confessed by some of his
murderers, and declared to be the truth, for which they have been tried
and suffered death: some indeed escaped, and, for very good reasons,
dare not again show themselves in that country.
The siege of Cherbourg, having been commenced by the count de Richemont
and the other lords before mentioned, was carried on with great vigour;
and the garrison was hard pressed by their mines and batteries, when a
knight and esquire of Brittany were there killed. The knight was sir
Pregent de Coitivy, lord of Rais[103], slain by a cannon ball, to the
great loss of the king,--for he was one of the most valorous knights of
the realm, renowned for prudence and abilities. The esquire was Tuddual
le Bourgeois, bailiff of Troyes, killed by a shot from a culverine,--a
man of good reputation, and well acquainted with the art of war. The
walls of the town were battered in such wise, from sea and land, as was
never before seen; for there were batteries of bombards erected on the
shore that threw immense stones, although they were overflowed by the
sea at high water,--but as they were covered with greased skins, in
which they were wrapped, the water did no damage to the powder they
were charged with, and, as soon as the tide turned, the cannoneers took
away their coverings and fired into the town, to the great astonishment
of the English, who had never seen such an invention.
Four bombards and one cannon were burst when firing against the
walls,--and many gallant deeds were done on sea and land, but more to
the loss than profit of the English. This caused the governor, Thomas
Gouvel[104], esquire, who had under him one thousand combatants, to
demand a capitulation from the constable, which he obtained. The terms
were, that Gouvel should surrender the town and castle to the king of
France, on condition that his son should be set at liberty, who was
an hostage, on his part, for the payment of the sums of money due to
the king of France and to the inhabitants of Rouen. On his son being
restored, he delivered up the place to the king's commissioners on the
12th of August, and marched away with his son and soldiers, with their
arms and baggage, in safety to England. The king appointed the lord de
Bueil governor of Cherbourg, with four score lances and archers for its
defence.
Thus was conquered the whole duchy of Normandy; and its towns and
castles were reduced to the obedience of the king of France in the
space of one year and six days, which was a marvellous event,--for
never was so large an extent of country conquered in so little time,
and with less shedding of blood, or damage done to the inhabitants.
This was very honourable to the king of France, and to the nobles and
others who had accompanied him on this expedition,--and they ought to
render thanks to God, to whom alone the praise and glory are due.
The time of this expedition was also very favourable, and part of the
success might be owing to it,--for it was the year of a general pardon
of sins at Rome, called the Jubilee year.
The duchy of Normandy[105], is in length six days journey, and four
wide, containing six bishopricks and one archbishopric, and one hundred
towns and castles, not including those which have been destroyed by the
fortune of war.
The king ordered six hundred lances, with a proper proportion of
archers, to remain in the duchy for its defence, and sent the remainder
into Guienne. He then set out for Tours, where he arrived in the
month of September, and there resolved in council that a general
thanksgiving, with processions, should take place in all the churches
throughout the realm on the 14th day of the ensuing October, and every
year afterwards on the 12th day of August, for the happy success of his
arms, and the expulsion of his ancient enemies the English from his
duchy of Normandy.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 103: Rais. Q. Retz?]
[Footnote 104: Thomas Gouvel. Q.]
[Footnote 105: Normandy,--is bounded on the east by Picardy and the
Isle of France,--on the south, by Maine and Perche,--on the west, by
the ocean,--on the north, by the Channel, which separates it from
England.
It contains seven dioceses, or bishopricks,--Rouen, Bayeux, Avranches,
Evreux, Sées, Lisieux, and Coutances,--in which are computed 4189
parishes, and 80 abbies, &c.--_Gazetteer._]
CHAP. XXIII.
THE AUTHOR PARTICULARISES THE VALOUR OF SEVERAL OF THE NOBLES IN
THE CONQUEST OF NORMANDY.--THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS THE COUNT DE
PENTHIEVRE, AS HIS LIEUTENANT, INTO GUIENNE.
Were I to attempt particularising every valiant man, and his gallant
deeds, on the reconquering of the duchy of Normandy, it would tire my
reader's patience; but still I must mention some of the most renowned,
for the benefit of those who, in future times, may peruse this account
of the reduction of that duchy.
In the first place, the king of France had placed his army on a most
excellent establishment,--and, as it was a novelty, it is worth
describing. He had supplied all the men at arms and archers with good
and secure habiliments,--namely, the men at arms with cuirasses,
greaves, salades[106], and swords mounted with silver, as well as
the lances which their pages bore; each man at arms had three horses,
for himself, his page, and his varlet,--which last was armed with a
light helmet, a brigandine[107], jacket or haubergeon[108], battle-axe
or guisarme. Every man at arms had attached to him two archers on
horseback, dressed in brigandines, greaves and salades; the greater
part of which were ornamented with silver; or wanting these, they had
strong leathern jackets and haubergeons. The soldiers, when on service,
were always paid monthly, and under such strict discipline that none
dared to seize any thing unpaid for,--nor to make prisoners, or ransom
man or beast unless they belonged to the English or to their friends.
It was lawful to make plunder of whatever was their property, but not
otherwise.
The chief captains on this expedition were the count de Dunois,
lieutenant-general for the king, the counts de Nevers, de Castres,
d'Eu, de St Pol, the lord de Culant, grand master of the household, the
lords d'Orval, de Touteville, de Blainville, de Beauveau, de Bueil,
de Beaunoir, de Moy in the Beauvoisis, the marshal de Jalognes, the
seneschal de Poitou, John of Lorraine, Poton de Saintrailles, the
bailiff of Evreux, Robert Conigan[109], and very many other great
lords, knights and esquires, who most valiantly conducted themselves,
regardless of all the pains and discomforts they were bodily put to on
several occasions.
In like manner, the king had made ample provision of all sorts of
artillery for his defence, and for the attack of towns and castles. He
had the greatest number and variety of battering cannon and bombards,
veuglaires, serpentines, crapaudines, culverines and ribaudequins[110],
that had ever been collected in the memory of man; and never king
had such a train so well supplied with ammunition and every implement
for battering towns, nor so numerous a body of men and horses to draw
them. These received their pay daily, and were under the command of
master John Bureau, treasurer of France, and of his brother Jasper
Bureau,--both of whom suffered many difficulties during the sieges
of the different towns and castles, for they were very active and
attentive to their duty. It was wonderful to see their diligence in
planning and forming the trenches and mines that were opened at almost
every siege during this expedition; for, to say the truth, there was
scarcely any place that surrendered on capitulation but what might have
been won by storm, had not the king, out of his benign nature, insisted
on the contrary, to prevent the effusion of blood and the total ruin of
such places and their inhabitants.
The late duke of Brittany was the leader of the conquest of lower
Normandy, having with him his uncle the count de Richemont, constable
of France, the late Pregent de Coictivy, lord of Retz and admiral of
France, who laboured hard at the business, the count de Laval, the
lord de Lohéac, marshal of France, his brother de Montauban, marshal
of Brittany, Geoffry de Couvran, James de Tilly, bailiff of the
Vermandois. Tuddual le Bourgeois was of this party during his life.
To find supplies for the support of the king's armies, and for the
better government of this duchy of Normandy, the lord de Trainel,
chancellor of France, the lord de Gaucourt, sir Thibaut de Vaulpergue,
bailiff of Lyon, sir James Cœur, counsellor, and master of the king's
wardrobe, exerted themselves greatly: the last, in particular, employed
every means in his power to prevent the soldiers, who were daily
increasing, from being disappointed of their regular monthly payment.
Sir John du Bar, lord of Baugey, and sir John Harduyn, treasurer of
France, gained great credit,--and all others who laboured at this time
in the service of the king.
When king Charles of France, the seventh of the name, had thus, by
the Divine grace, and his puissant chivalry, made the conquest of
the duchy of Normandy, which had been occupied about thirty years
by his ancient enemies the English, and had replaced all the strong
castles and principal towns with sufficient garrisons, and regulated
the government of each,--confiding always in the grace and mercy of
the King of kings, who wills that every one should have his own, as is
declared in that chapter of St Matthew's gospel, where our Lord says
to the pharisee, 'Render unto Cæsar the things that be Cæsar's and
unto God the things that be God's;' he consequently resolved to march
an army into Guienne against Bordeaux, which had been occupied by the
English time immemorial, contrary to all reason and justice, and in
direct contradiction to the said gospel. The nobles and people of this
country have ever been rebellious against the french kings, at least
for two hundred years, which is a long lapse of time, although it forms
part of the realm of France.
The king, desirous to act with prudence and circumspection, summoned
a council of his principal barons and knights on the 5th day of
September, in the year 1450, in the city of Tours, where the matter
was fully discussed in their presence, and also in the presence of
the princes of his blood and the chief prelates of the realm. It was
then determined to send a force into Guienne, after proper provision
had been made for the defence of Normandy, which was intrusted to the
constable, having under him some norman knights and esquires, together
with six hundred spears and a body of archers, paid monthly,--and a
great number of franc archers were likewise ordered thither by the
king. The government of the city of Rouen and the country of Caux was
given to sir Pierre de Brézé, grand seneschal of Normandy.
The king then arranged the army that was to invade Guienne and
besiege Bergerac[111], situated in the county of Perigord, on the
river Dordogne. He appointed the count de Penthievre and de Perigord,
viscount de Limoges, his lieutenant-general in those parts, who
accepted the command of this siege, and departed thither, accompanied
by sir Charles de Culant lord de Jalognes, marshal of France, Poton de
Saintrailles, bailiff of Berry and master of the horse to the king,
with many other knights, esquires, and others, to the amount of five
hundred lances, and archers in proportion.
They commenced the siege with great vigour, insomuch that, on the
arrival of master John Bureau with his train of artillery, the
garrison, alarmed at their numbers and activity, surrendered Bergerac
to the king of France. The English marched away with their horses,
arms and baggage,--and the inhabitants that chose to remain were, on
taking the oaths of allegiance, to remain unmolested in their different
occupations as before.