LOUIS THE CRAFTY.
When Warwick sailed from Dartmouth as a mortal foe of the man whom, ten
years earlier, he had seated on the throne of the Plantagenets, the
excitement created by the event was not confined to England. So grand
was the earl's fame, so high his character, so ardent his patriotism,
and so great the influence he had exercised over that nation of which
he was the pride, that Continental princes listened to the news of
his breaking with Edward as they would have done to that of an empire
in convulsions. The circumstances of the King of France and the Duke
of Burgundy especially were such that they could not have remained
indifferent to what was passing; and lively, indeed, was the interest
which Charles the Rash and Louis the Crafty exhibited on the occasion.
Sir Walter Scott has rendered Louis, with his peculiarities of mind,
manner, and dress, familiar to the readers of "Quentin Durward." At
the mention of his name there rises before the mind's eye a man of
mean figure, with pinched features, a threadbare jerkin, and low fur
cap, ornamented with paltry leaden images--now indulging in ribald
talk, now practicing the lowest hypocrisy, and now taking refuge in the
grossest superstition. Our concern with him at present, however, is
only so far as his career is associated with the Wars of the Roses.
Louis was the son of the seventh Charles of France, and of his queen,
Mary of Anjou, a princess of worth and virtue, but not tenderly beloved
by her husband, whose heart was devoted to his mistress, Agnes Sorrel,
the handsomest woman of that age. Born at the commencement of those
operations which resulted in the expulsion of the English from France,
Louis had just reached the age of sixteen in 1440, when, to get rid of
his tutor, the Count de Perdriac, he stole from the Castle of Loches,
and conspired against his father's government. The conspiracy came to
naught, and Louis was pardoned; but, a few years later, he incurred
the suspicion of having poisoned Agnes Sorrel, and, flying from his
father's court, sought refuge in Dauphiny.
Enraged at the death of his mistress and the conduct of his son, the
king, in 1446, sent a band of armed men to arrest the heir of France;
and placed at their head the Count of Dammartin. Louis, however,
received timely warning, and projected an escape. With this view, he
appointed a grand hunting-match, ordered his dinner to be prepared at
the particular rendezvous, and took care that the count was informed
of the circumstance. Completely deceived, Dammartin placed troops
in ambush, and made certain of a capture; but Louis valued life and
liberty too much to allow himself to be caught. Instead of going to
the hunt, he mounted a fleet steed, and, riding to the territories of
the Duke of Burgundy, was courteously received and entertained by that
magnate.
On hearing that Burgundy had treated the dauphin so handsomely, King
Charles protested, and warned the duke against heaping benefits on a
man of so depraved a disposition. "You know not, Duke Philip," said
the king, "the nature of this savage animal. You cherish a wolf, who
will one day tear your sheep to pieces. Remember the fable of the
countryman, who, in compassion to a viper which he found half frozen
in the field, brought it to his house, and warmed it by the fireside,
till it turned round and hissed at its preserver." The good duke,
however, continued to protect Louis, granted him a pension to maintain
his state, and gave him the choice of a residence. Louis selected the
Castle of Gennape, in Brabant; and, during his residence there, formed
a close intimacy with the duke's son, the Count of Charolois, afterward
celebrated as Charles the Rash.
The heir of Burgundy was some years younger than the dauphin, and in
character presented a remarkable contrast with the exiled prince,
being violent, ungovernable, and, in all cases, ruled by his anger and
pride. Round this incarnation of feudalism Louis had the art to wind
himself, as the ivy does around the oak it is destined to destroy. They
feasted together, hawked together, hunted together, and, in fact, were
bosom friends; and when, in 1456, Isabel de Bourbon, the first wife
of Charles, gave birth to a daughter, at Brussels, it was Louis who
figured as sponsor at the baptism of the infant princess; and it was
Louis who gave Mary of Burgundy her Christian name, in honor of his
mother, Mary of Anjou.
When the dauphin had for years enjoyed the Duke of Burgundy's
hospitality, Charles the Seventh died; and, shortly after the battle of
Towton, the exiled prince, at the age of thirty-eight, succeeded to the
crown of St. Louis. Hardly, however, had the dauphin become king, when
he forgot all his obligations to the house which had sheltered him in
adversity. Eager to weaken the influence of the two great feudatories
of France, he sought to create hostility between the Duke of Brittany
and the Count of Charolois. With this object he granted each of them
the government of Normandy, in hopes of their contesting it, and
destroying each other. Discovering the deception, however, they united
against the deceiver, rallied around them the malcontents of France,
and placed at their head the king's brother, Charles de Valois, who
claimed Normandy as his appanage.
A formidable alliance, called "The League for the Public Good," having
been formed, Charolois, attended by the Count of St. Pol, and the
Bastard of Burgundy, who afterward tilted at Smithfield with Anthony
Woodville, led his forces into France in hostile array. Louis, though
taken by surprise, girded himself up for a conflict, and, on the 16th
of July, 1465, met his foes at Montlhéry. A fierce battle followed; and
the king fought with courage. The day, however, went against France;
and Louis was forced to leave the field, with the loss of some hundreds
of his men and several of his captains, among whom was one who, in
the Wars of the Roses, had spent a fortune, and enacted a strange and
romantic part. For among the slain at Montlhéry, was Sir Peter de
Brezé, celebrated for his chivalrous admiration of Margaret of Anjou,
who, at the tournament given in France in honor of her nuptials, had
distinguished himself by feats of arms, and who, when years of sorrow
had passed over her head, came to England to prove his devotion by
fighting for her husband's crown.
When Louis was under the necessity of abandoning the field at Montlhéry
to the heir of Burgundy, Normandy revolted to the insurgent princes;
and the king, finding himself the weaker party, had recourse to
dissimulation. He expressed his readiness to negotiate, pretended to
forget his resentment, surrendered Normandy to his brother, satisfied
the demands of the Count of Charolois, and named the Count of St. Pol
Constable of France. But this treaty negotiated at Conflans having, at
the king's desire, been annulled by the States-General, Louis avenged
himself by depriving Charles de Valois of Normandy, and stirring up
the rich cities of Flanders to revolt against Charolois, now, by
his father's death, Duke of Burgundy, and, by his second marriage,
brother-in-law to Edward of York.
At the time when Louis was inciting the Flemings to revolt against
their sovereign, and when he had an emissary in Liége for that purpose,
he endeavored to avert suspicion from himself by paying a visit to
Charles the Rash, at Peronne. This piece of diplomacy well-nigh cost
his life. Scarcely had the king arrived at Peronne ere intelligence
followed of the revolt at Liége; and Burgundy was exasperated in the
highest degree to learn that the populace had proceeded to horrible
excesses, massacred the canons, and murdered the bishop, Louis de
Bourbon, his own relative. But when, in addition to all this, Burgundy
heard that the king was the author of the sedition, his rage knew no
bounds. He immediately committed Louis to prison, menaced the captive
with death, and appeared determined to execute his threat. Louis,
however, became aware of his peril, and submitted to all that was
demanded. To extricate himself from danger he signed the treaty of
Peronne, divesting himself of all sovereignty over Burgundy, giving his
brother Champagne and Brie, and finally engaging to march in person
against the insurgents of Liége.
The treaty of Peronne restored Louis to liberty, but not till he had
played a part that must have tried even his seared conscience. He was
under the necessity of accompanying Burgundy to Liége, witnessing the
destruction of the unfortunate city, beholding a general massacre of
the men whom he had incited to revolt, and even congratulating Charles
the Rash on having executed vengeance. All this time, however, Louis
had no intention of maintaining the treaty of Peronne. Indeed, he only
awaited a favorable opportunity of breaking faith; but he deemed it
policy to proceed cautiously, for the alliance of Burgundy with Edward
of York rendered the duke formidable in his eyes.
At the opening of his reign Louis, notwithstanding his relationship to
Margaret of Anjou, had shown a disinclination to make sacrifices for
the house of Lancaster; while Charles the Rash, as a descendant of John
of Gaunt, had expressed much sympathy with the party whose badge was
the Red Rose. Even kings, however, are the creatures of circumstances;
and the disposal which Edward, in his wisdom, made of the hand of
Margaret of York rendered Burgundy favorable to the White Rose, while
it induced Louis, from selfish motives, to exhibit more friendship for
the adherents of Lancaster.
Louis had not a particle of chivalry in his composition, and would have
ridiculed the notion of undertaking any thing for the advantage of
others. He was keenly alive to his own interest, however, and deemed
it politic to give the enemies of Edward some degree of encouragement.
To make them formidable enough to keep the Yorkist king at home was
the object of his policy, for of all calamities Louis most dreaded
an English invasion. When Warwick broke with Edward, he was not only
freed from fear, but animated by hope; for in the earl's destiny he
had perfect faith; and the earl was known to entertain an antipathy to
Burgundy, and a strong opinion that peace with France was essential to
England's welfare.