(Vol. vii., p. 10.)
MR. KING'S inquiry reminds me of two Queries on the same subject which I
sent you as far back as the end of 1851, or beginning of 1852. Those
Queries have not appeared in "N. & Q.," and I was led to suppose, either
that you had laid them aside for some future occasion, or had found
something objectionable in the form in which they were presented. The
following is a literal copy.
"There are two circumstances connected with this event (the
surrender of Calais), respecting which I am desirous of
obtaining information. The first has reference to the
individuals who offered themselves as victims to appease the
exasperation of Edward III., after the obstinate siege of {330}
that town in 1347. They are represented as _six_ of the
principal citizens; Eustache de Saint Pierre was at their
head, and the names of three others have come down to us, as
Jean d'Aire, Jacques de Wissant, and Pierre de Wissant. Who
were the other two?
"The second point relates to the character of that occurrence.
Some historians are of opinion that the devotedness of Saint
Pierre and his associates was prompted by the most exalted
sentiments of patriotism; while others assert that it was all
a 'sham,' that Saint-Pierre was secretly attached to the cause
of the English monarch, and that he was subsequently employed
by him in some confidential negociations. To which of these
opinions should the historical inquirer give his assent?"
I may add, in reply to MR. KING, that "the light thrown on the
subject, through M. de Bréquigny's labours," has been noticed in the
_Biographie Universelle_, sub voce _Saint-Pierre (Eustache de)_; and it
was the remarks in that work that first drew my attention to it. The
circumstances disclosed by Bréquigny are also commented upon by Lévesque
in his _La France sous les Valois_.