_Whether_ Women _are not as much debarr'd_ (_by the_
Francogallican Law) _from the_ Administration, _as from
the_ Inheritance _of the Kingdom_.
The present Dispute being about the _Government_ of the Kingdom, and the
chief _Administration_ of Publick Affairs, we have thought fit not to
omit this Question: Whether _Women_ are not as much debarr'd from the
_Administration_, as from the _Inheritance_ of the Kingdom? And in the
first Place we openly declare, that 'tis none of our Intention to argue
for or against the _Roman_ Customs or Laws, or those of any other
Nation, but only of the Institutions of this our own _Francogallia_. For
as on the one Hand 'tis notorious to all the World, that by the _Roman_
Institutions, _Women_ were always under _Guardianship_, and excluded
from intermeddling, either in publick or private Affairs, by Reason of
the _Weakness_ of their Judgment: So on the other, _Women_ (by ancient
Custom) obtain the _Supreme Command_ in _Some_ Countries. "The
(_Britains_ says _Tacitus_ in his Life of _Agricola_) make _no
Distinction of Sexes_ in _Government_." Thus much being premised, and
our Protestation being clearly and plainly proposed, we will now return
to the Question. And as the Examples of some former Times seem to make
for the affirmative, wherein the Kingdom of _Francogallia_ has been
administered by _Queens_, especially by _Widows_ and _Queen-Mothers_: So
on the contrary, the Reason of the Argument used in Disputations, is
clearly against it. For she, who cannot be Queen in her _own Right_, can
never have any Power of Governing in another's Right: But here a Woman
cannot reign in her own Right, nor can the Inheritance of the Crown fall
to her, or any of her Descendants; and if they be stiled _Queens_ 'tis
only accidentally; as they are _Wives_ to the _Kings_ their _Husbands_.
Which we have prov'd out of Records for twelve hundred Years together.
To this may be added (which we have likewise prov'd) that nor only the
sole Power of _Creating_ and _Abdicating_ their Kings, but also the
Right of electing _Guardians_ and _Administrators_ of the Commonwealth,
was lodged in the same _Publick Council_. Nay, and after the Kings were
created, the supreme Power of the Administration was retained still by
the same _Council_. And 'tis not yet full a hundred Years since 36
Guardians of the Commonwealth were constituted by the same _Council_,
like so many _Ephori_: and this during the Reign of _Lewis_ the
_Eleventh_, as crafty and cunning as he was. If we seek for Authorities
and Examples from our Ancestors, we may find several; there is a
remarkable one in _Aimoinus_, lib. 4. cap. 1. where speaking of Queen
_Brunechild_, Mother to young _Childebert_; "The Nobility of _France_
(says he) understanding that _Brunechild_ designed to keep the chief
Management of the Kingdom in her own Hands; and having always hitherto,
for so long a Time disdained to be subject to a Female Domination, did,
&c." And indeed it has so happned in the Days of our Ancestors, that
whenever Women got into their Hands the Procuration of the Kingdom, they
have been always the Occasion of wonderful Tragedies: Of which it will
not be amiss to give some Examples. Queen _Crotildis_, Mother of the two
Kings, _Childebert_ and _Clotarius_, got once the Power into her Hands;
and being extravagantly fond of the Sons of _Clodomer_, (another of her
Sons then dead) occasion'd a great deal of Contention, by her
endeavouring to exclude her Sons, and promote these Grandsons to the
Regal Dignity; and upon that Score she nourished their _large Heads of
Hair_ with the greatest Care and Diligence imaginable, according to that
ancient Custom of the Kings of the _Franks_, which we have before given
an Account of. The two Kings (as soon as they understood it) presently
sent one _Archadius_, who presenting her with a naked Sword and a Pair
of Shears, gave her Choice which of the two She had rather shou'd be
applied to the Boys Heads. But She (says _Gregory_ of _Tours_) being
enraged with Choler, especially when She beheld the naked Sword and the
Scissars, anwer'd with a great deal of Bitterness--"Since they cannot be
advanced to the Kingdom, I had rather see them dead than shaven"--And
thereupon both her Grandsons were beheaded in her Presence. The same
_Gregory_, lib. 3. cap. 18. subjoyns--"This Queen, by her Liberalities
and Gifts conferr'd upon Monasteries, got the Affections, _Plebis &
vulgi_ of the common People and Mob: _Date frenos_ (says Cato)
_impotenti naturæ, & indomito animali, & sperate ipsas modum licentiæ
facturas_. Give Bridles to their unruly Natures, and curb the untamed
Animal; and then, you may hope they shall see some Bounds to their
Licentiousness." What an unbridled Animal and profligate Wretch was that
Daughter of King _Theodorick_, by Birth an _Italian_; who being mad in
Love with one of her Domesticks, and knowing him to have been kill'd by
her Mother's Orders, feigned a thorough Reconciliation, and desir'd in
Token of it to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper with her
Mother; but Privately mixing some Poyson in the Chalice, She at once
gave the strangest Instance both of Impiety and Cruelty in thus
murdering her own Mother. The Account given of it by _Gregory_ of
_Tours_ is this: "They were (says he) of the _Arrian Sect_, and because
it was their Custom that the Royal Family shou'd communicate at the
Altar out of one Chalice, and People of Inferior Quality out of another.
(_By the way, pray take notice of the Custom of Communicating in both
kinds by the People._) She dropped Poyson into that Chalice out of which
her Mother was to communicate; which as soon as she had tasted of it,
kill'd her presently."--_Fredegunda, Queen-Mother_, and Widow of
_Chilperick the First_, got the Government into her Hands; She, in her
Husband's Time, lived in Adultery with one _Lander_; and as soon as she
found out that her Husband _Chilperick_ had got Wind of it, she had him
murdered, and presently seiz'd upon the Administration of the Kingdom as
Queen-Mother, and Guardian of her Son _Clotharius_, and kept Possession
of it for 13 Years; in the first Place she poyson'd her Son's Uncle
_Childebert_, together with his Wife; afterwards she stirred up the
_Hunns_ against his Sons, and raised a Civil War in the Republick. And
lastly, She was the Firebrand of all those Commotions which wasted and
burnt all _Francogallia_, during many Years, as _Aimoinus_ tells us,
[lib. 3. cap. 36. & lib. 8. cap. 29.]
There ruled once in _France_, _Brunechild_, Widow of King _Sigebert_,
and Mother of _Childebert_. This woman had for her Adulterer a certain
_Italian_, called _Protadius_, whom She advanced to great Honours: She
bred up her two Sons, _Theodebert_ and _Theodorick_, in such a wicked
and profligate Course of Life, that at last they became at mortal Enmity
with each other: And after having had long Wars, fought a cruel single
Combat. She kill'd with her own Hands her Grandson _Meroveus_, the Son
of _Theodebert:_ She poysoned her Son _Theodorick_. What need we say
more? _Date frænos_ (as _Cato_ says) _impotenti naturæ, & indomito
animali; & sperate illas modum licentiæ facturas_. She was the Occasion
of the Death of Ten of the Royal Family: And when a certain Bishop
reproved her, and exhorted her to mend her Life, She caused him to be
thrown into the River. At last, a _Great Council_ of the _Franks_ being
summoned, She was judged, and condemned, and drawn in Pieces by wild
horses, being torn Limb from Limb. The Relators of this Story are,
_Greg. Turonensis_, [lib. 5. cap. 39.] and [lib. 8. cap. 29.] And _Ado_
[Ætat. 6.] _Otto Frising._ [Chron. 5. Cap. 7.] _Godfridus Viterbiensis_
[Chron. parte 16.] & _Aimoinus_ [lib. 4. cap. 1.] Also the Appendix of
_Gregory of Tours_, [lib. 11.] whose Words are these: "_Having convicted
her of being the Occasion of the Death of Ten Kings of the_ Franks; _to
wit, of_ Sigebert, Meroveus, _and his Father_ Chilperick; Theodebert,
_and his Son_ Clothair; Meroveus, _the Son of_ Clothair, Theodorick,
_and his three Children, which had been newly killed, they order'd her
to be placed upon a Camel, and to be tortured with divers sorts of
Torments, and so to be carried about all the Army; afterwards to be tied
by the Hair of the Head, one Leg and one Arm to a Wild Horse's Tail; by
which being kick'd, and swiftly dragg'd about, She was torn Limb from
Limb._"
Let us instance in some others: _Plectrudis_ got the Government into her
Hands; a Widow not of the King, but of _Pipin_, who ruled the Kingdom
whilst _Dagobert_ the Second bore the empty Title of King. This
_Plectrudis_ having been divorced by her Husband _Pipin_, because of her
many Adulteries and flagitious Course of Life; as soon as her Husband
was dead, proved the Incendiary of many Seditions in France. She
compell'd that gallant Man _Charles Martel_, Mayor of the Palace, to
quit his Employment, and in his Place put one _Theobald_, a most vile
and wicked Wretch; and at last She raised a most grievous Civil War
among the _Franks_, who in divers Battels discomfited each other with
most terrible Slaughters. Thus, says _Aimoinus_, [lib 4. cap. 50. & cap
sequen.] Also the Author of a Book called, The State of the Kingdom of
_France_ under _Dagobert_ the Second, has these Words: _"When the_
Franks _were no longer able to hear the Fury and Madness of_ Plectrude,
_and saw no Hopes of Redress from King_ Dagobert, _they elected one_
Daniel _for their King, (who formerly had been a Monk) and called him_
Chilperick." Which Story we have once before told you.
But let us proceed. The Queen-Mother of _Charles_ the _Bald_, (whose
Name was _Judith_) and Wife of _Lewis the Pious_, who had not only been
King of _Francogallia_, but Emperor of _Italy_ and _Germany_, got the
Government into her Hands. This Woman stirred up a most terrible and
fatal War between King _Lewis_ and his Sons, (her Sons in Law) from
whence arose so great a Conspiracy, that they constrained their Father
to abdicate the Government, and give up the Power into their Hands, to
the great Detriment of almost all _Europe_: The Rise of which Mischiefs,
our Historians do unanimously attribute, for the most Part, to _Queen
Judith_ in a particular Manner: The Authors of this History are the
_Abbot_ of _Ursperg_, _Michael Ritius_ and _Otto Frising._ [Chron. 5.
cap. 34.] "_Lewis_ (says this last) _by reason of the Evil Deeds of his
Wife_ Judith, _was driven out of his Kingdom_." Also _Rhegino_ [in Chron.
ann. 1338.] "_Lewis_ (says he) _was deprived of the Kingdom by his
Subjects, and being reduced to the Condition of a private Man, was put
into Prison, and the Sole Government of the Kingdom, by the Election of
the_ Franks, _was conferr'd upon_ Lotharius _his Son. And this
Deprivation of_ Lewis _was occasioned principally through the many
Whoredoms of his Wife_ Judith."
Some Ages after, Queen _Blanch_, a _Spanish_ Woman, and Mother to St.
_Lewis_, ruled the Land. As soon as She had seized the Helm of
Government, the Nobility of _France_ began to take up Arms under the
Conduct of _Philip_ Earl of _Bologn_, the King's Uncle, crying out (as
that excellent Author _Joannes Joinvillæus_ writes) [cap. histor. 4.]
"_That it was not to be endured that so great a Kingdom shou'd be
governed by a Woman, and She a Stranger._" Whereupon those Nobles
rejecting _Blanch_, chose Earl _Philip_ to be Administrator of the
Kingdom: But _Blanch_ persisting in her Purpose, sollicited Succours
from all Parts, and at last determined to conclude a League with
_Ferdinand_ King of _Spain_. With _Philip_ joyned the Duke of
_Brittany_, and the _Count de Eureux_ his Brother. These, on a sudden,
seiz'd on some Towns, and put good Garisons into them. And thus a
grievous War was begun in _France_, because the Administration of the
Government had been seized by the Queen-Mother: It hapned that the King
went (about that Time) to _Estampes_, being sent thither by his Mother
upon Account of the War: To that Place the Nobles from all Parts hastily
got together, and began to surround the King not with an Intention (as
_Joinville_ says) to do him any Harm, but to withdraw him from the Power
of his Mother. Which She hearing, with all Speed armed the People of
_Paris_, and commanded them to march towards _Estampes_. Scarce were
these Forces got as far as _Montlebery_, when the King (getting from the
Nobles) joyned them, and returned along with them to _Paris_. As soon as
_Philip_ found that he was not provided with a sufficient force of
Domestick Troops, he sent for Succours to the Queen of _Cyprus_, (who at
the fame Time had some Controversy depending in the Kingdom) She entring
with a great Army into _Champagn_, plunder'd that Country far and near;
_Blanch_ however continues in her Resolution. This constrains the
Nobility to call in the _English_ Auxiliaries, who waste _Aquitain_ and
all the Maritime Regions; which Mischiefs arose thro' the Ambition and
unbridled Lust of Rule of the Queen-Mother, as Joinvillæus tells us at
large, [cap. 7, 8, 9, 10.]
And because many of our Countrymen have a far different Opinion of the
Life and Manners of Queen _Blanch_, occasioned (as 'tis probable) by the
Flattery of the Writers of those Times; (For all Writers either thro'
Fear of Punishment, or, by Reason of the Esteem which the Kings their
Sons have in the World, are cautious how they write of Queen-Mothers:) I
think it not amiss to relate what _Joinville_ himself records [cap 76.]
_viz._ That She had so great a Command over her Son, and had reduced him
to that Degree of Timidity and Lowness of Spirit, that She would very
seldom suffer the King to converse with his Wife _Margaret_, (her
Daughter-in-Law) whom She hated. And therefore whenever the King went a
Journey, She ordered the Purveyors to mark out different Lodgings, that
the Queen might lie separate from the King. So that the poor King was
forced to place Waiters and Doorkeepers in Ambush whenever He went near
his Queen; Ordering them, that when they heard his Mother _Blanch_
approach the Lodgings, they shou'd beat some Dogs, by whose Cry he might
have Warning to hide himself: And one Day (says _Joinville_) when Queen
_Margaret_ was in Labour, and the King in Kindness was come to visit
her, on a sudden Queen _Blanch_ surprized him in her Lodgings: For
altho' he had been warned by the howling of the Dogs, and had hid
himself (wrapp'd up in the Curtains) behind the Bed; yet She found him
out, and in the Presence of all the Company laid Hands on him, and drew
him out of the Chamber: You have nothing to do here (said She) get out.
The poor Queen, in the mean Time, being not able to bear the Disgrace of
such a Reproof, fell into a Swoon for Grief; so that the Attendants were
forced to call back the King to bring her to her self again, by whose
Return She was comforted and recover'd. _Joinville_ tells this Story
[_cap. hist. 76._] in almost these same Words.
Again, Some Years after this, _Isabella_, Widow of _Charles_ the 6th,
(Sirnamed the _Simple_) got Possession of the Government: For before the
Administration of the Publick Affairs cou'd be taken care of by the
_Great Council_, or committed by them to the Management of chosen and
approved Men, many ambitious Courtiers had stirr'd up Contentions: Six
Times these Controversies were renewed, and as often composed by
Agreement. At last _Isabella_ being driven out of _Paris_ betook her
self to _Chartres_: There, having taken into her Service a subtle Knave,
one _Philip de Morvilliers_, She made up a Council of her own, with a
President, and appointed this _Morvilliers_ her Chancellor; by whose
Advice She order'd a Broad-Seal, commonly called, a Chancery-Seal, to be
engraven: On which her own Image was cut, holding her Arms down by her
Sides: and in her Patents She made use of this Preamble. "Isabella, _by
the Grace of God, Queen of_ France: _who, by Reason of the King's
Infirmity, has the Administration of the Government in her Hands,
&c._"--But when the Affairs of the Commonwealth were reduced to that
desperate Future, that all Things went to Rack and Ruin, She was by the
_Publick Council_ banished to _Tours_, and committed to the Charge of
Four Tutors, who had Orders to keep her lock'd up at Home, and to watch
her so narrowly, that She shou'd be able to do nothing; not so much as
to write a Letter without their Knowledge. A large Account of all this
Transaction we have in _Monstrellet's_; History. [_cap._ 161 & _cap._
168.]
* * * * *