within your bailiwick endeavouring, by lies and false reports, to sow
discord among our loyal subjects, or in any way attempting a breach of
the peace; and for this purpose we delegate to you, by these presents,
full power and authority for the punishing of all whom you shall find
guilty of such disloyal conduct. We likewise command all our other
bailiffs, governors of towns, castles and bridges, and all our officers
of justice, diligently to assist you in obeying these our commands; and
we also enjoin these our aforesaid officers to permit all our loyal
subjects to pass free and unmolested with their horses and baggage when
travelling to join us, on showing only a certificate from you under the
royal seal of your bailiwick, that they are on their march to us, or
elsewhere on our service, notwithstanding we may before have ordered
them not to suffer any men at arms to pass or repass, whatever may have
been their rank or condition, without our especial licence contained in
letters patent of a prior date to these presents.
'Given at Paris the 26th day of January, in the year 1413.' Signed by
the king, on the report of a grand council held by the queen,--present
the duke of Acquitaine. Countersigned, 'Mauregard.'
This ordinance was sent to Amiens, and to other towns of France,--and
with it the king inclosed other letters to many towns on the line of
march which the duke of Burgundy would probably take, forbidding him,
or any of his people, to pass the frontiers of the realm, under pain of
incurring his indignation.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 30: Mondidier,--a town in Picardy, nine leagues from Amiens,
twenty-three from Paris.]
CHAP. XXX.
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY MARCHES A LARGE FORCE TOWARD PARIS.--HE FIXES HIS
QUARTERS AT ST DENIS.--THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING THIS MARCH, AND
IN CONSEQUENCE OF IT.
The duke of Burgundy, to accomplish his expedition to Paris, on
leaving Arras, made for Peronne, intending to enter France; but the
inhabitants, who had before received the king's orders not to let him
pass, sent to him the lord de Longueval, their governor, to excuse
them for denying him entrance into their town. Although the duke was
far from being pleased, he, however, pretended indifference to their
conduct, marched his forces beside the town, and crossed the Somme at
Esclusieu[31], and went to Roye in the Vermandois. He thence sent
forward his brother the count de Nevers, who had joined him with a
handsome company, to Compiegne.
The count treated so successfully with the townsmen of Compiegne that,
notwithstanding the commands of the king, they consented to permit him
to pass. The principal reasons for their assenting were the copies
of the correspondence between the duke of Acquitaine and the duke of
Burgundy, which were shown to them, and which contained the express
wishes of the duke of Acquitaine for the duke of Burgundy to come to
his aid.
The tenour of the above and of the certificate was as follows.
'To all who these presents shall see, Jean Clabault, esquire-keeper
for the king of the seal of the bailiwick of Vermandois established at
Roye, greeting.
'Know ye, that on the 23d day of February, of the present year 1413,
the most puissant and noble prince my lord duke of Burgundy has
exhibited to us, and shown three letters sealed and signed by the most
excellent and puissant prince the duke of Acquitaine, which we have
held, seen, and read, word by word,--the contents of which are as
follow.
'Very dear and well beloved father, we order, that on the receipt of
this letter, you lay all excuses aside and come to us, well accompanied
for your own proper security; and as you fear our anger, do not
fail coming. Written with our own hand, at Paris, the 4th day of
December[32].' Signed, 'Louis.'
'The address was, 'To our very dear and well beloved father the duke of
Burgundy.'
'Another letter was in these terms:
'Very dear and well beloved father, I wrote to you some time since, to
desire you would come to me very well accompanied. I therefore entreat
and order, that you hasten hither as speedily as may be, but well
accompanied, for good reasons: do not fail, for I will bear you through
the whole matter, as shall be seen. Written with my own hand, in Paris,
the 13th day of December.' Signed by himself, 'Louis.'
'The superscription was, 'To our very dear and well beloved father the
duke of Burgundy.'
'The third letter contained,--'Very dear and well beloved father, I
have twice written to you to come hither, and you have not complied: I,
however, write again, to order that you lay all other considerations
aside, and come to me well accompanied for your own security: do not
fail to come to me with all possible speed, notwithstanding any other
letters you may receive from me to the contrary. We trust that you
will instantly obey from the love you bear to us, and from the fear of
our displeasure. We have certain causes to desire your company, which
affect us in the strongest manner possible. Written with my own hand,
this 22d day of December,' and signed by himself, 'Louis.'
'The superscription was the same as the foregoing.
'As a testimony that we have seen and read the above letters, we have
affixed the seal of this bailiwick (saving the rights of the king
and others) to this copy, which we have faithfully collated with the
original, in the presence of Jean Billart, esquire-warden for the king
in the provostship of Roye, and of the exempted lands of Charmy, and of
the jurisdiction of Roye; and in the presence of Pierre de la Beane,
comptroller of salt in Roye, of Nicholas d'Ardelchanons, of Roye, Jean
Pellehaste, master Guillaume de la Garde, master Godefroy Baudun,
Brissart, royal notary, on the day and year aforesaid, and thus signed,
Brissart.'
On the third day, the duke of Burgundy left Roye, and went to
Compiegne, where, having prevailed on the principal inhabitants to
support his party, he took the road for Senlis, whither he had sent
forward the lord de Robaix, to know if the townsmen would admit him.
This they positively refused to do, in consequence of the orders
from the king,--and the duke then took the road by Baron[33] to
Dampmartin[34], whither the lords of Burgundy had advanced with a
powerful force to meet him.
News was daily carried to Paris, to the duke of Acquitaine and the
other princes of the blood, of the duke of Burgundy's march and
approach to the capital. When the last intelligence came, the duke of
Acquitaine was dining with a canon in the cloisters of Nôtre Dame in
Paris; and the moment it was known, the king of Sicily, the duke of
Orleans, the counts de Vertus, de Richemont, d'Eu, d'Armagnac, with
many other great lords, attended by a numerous body of men at arms,
assembled in the cloisters, where the duke of Acquitaine mounted his
horse. This force was divided into three battalions, the van, center,
and rear,--which done, they advanced to the front of the church of
Nôtre Dame, and thence marched to the town-house, where they halted.
The van was commanded by three counts, namely, those of Vertus, of Eu,
and of Richemont, who rode together in front, followed close by their
attendants, and at a little distance by the battalion.
In the center division were the king of Sicily and the dukes of
Acquitaine and of Orleans, followed by a very considerable body of men
at arms. The rear battalion was commanded by the count d'Armagnac,
Louis Bourdon and the lord de Gaule, who, like the other commanders,
rode all three in front of their men. The whole was estimated at eleven
thousand horse. On their coming to the town-house, a trumpet was
sounded, when the chancellor of Acquitaine made his appearance, and,
by orders of the duke, told the people of Paris, who were following
them, that he, as eldest son and heir to the king and kingdom of
France, thanked them for their loyalty and affection, which they had
now shown to him, and that he hoped they would exert themselves to the
utmost of their power to oppose the duke of Burgundy in his wicked
projects, who, in defiance of the king's positive commands, and in
violation of the peace, had marched an armed force into the heart of
the realm; that he affirmed and assured them, that he had never sent
for him, nor written to him to come to Paris, notwithstanding he had
declared he had received letters from him to the above purport.
The chancellor then asked the duke if he would vouch for what he had
said, who replied, that he would vouch for it, as he had spoken nothing
but the truth. After this had been said, they marched away in the same
order as before, to the Place du Croix du Tiroir, where they again
halted, when the chancellor from horseback, in front of the duke of
Acquitaine, repeated to the numerous populace there assembled what he
had before said in the Place de Gréve, which speech was again avowed
by the duke of Acquitaine, after which he retired to the Louvre. The
duke of Orleans went to the priory of St Martin des Champs, the king of
Sicily to the bastille of St Anthony, the count of Armagnac and Louis
Bourdon to the hôtel d'Artois, and the others elsewhere. Shortly after,
the duke of Berry came from his hôtel de Neelle to visit the duke of
Acquitaine in the Louvre, and thence retired to the Temple, where he
and his men had their quarters. The different lords went diligently
about the streets of Paris to check any tumults that might arise,--and
they had all the gates closed excepting those of St Anthony and of St
James.
Notwithstanding they were so numerous in men at arms, they were very
fearful of the populace rising against them, in favour of the duke of
Burgundy, more especially those who lived in the quartier des Halles.
The duke of Burgundy advanced from Dampmartin to St Denis, which was
open to him, for the inhabitants had fled. He there quartered his
whole army, and lodged himself at the hôtel of the Sword. His force
might consist of full two thousand helmets, knights and esquires, from
Artois, Picardy, Flanders, Rethel and Burgundy, with from two to
three thousand combatants, archers, cross-bows and armed varlets. He
was accompanied by sir John de Luxembourg, with all the vassals of his
uncle the count Waleran de St Pol.
On the third day after the duke of Burgundy's arrival at St Denis, he
sent his king at arms, Artois, to Paris, bearing letters to the king,
the queen, the duke of Acquitaine, and the commonalty of the town,--in
which he requested that they would permit him to wait on them, to
explain the cause of his thus coming to St Denis, which, he said, was
only with good intentions, no way to make war, nor to demand redress
from any person, but solely in obedience to the commands of the duke of
Acquitaine, whom he was bound to serve and obey.
When the king at arms arrived at the gates of Paris, he was led to an
hôtel,--when shortly after, a man came to him, whom he did not know,
and told him to make haste to quit the town, or his person would be
rudely treated. Perceiving that he should not be heard, nor allowed
to deliver his letters, he was mounting his horse, when the count
d'Armagnac advanced and said to him, that should he or any others come
again to Paris from the duke of Burgundy, he would have their heads cut
off. Upon this, he returned to his lord the duke of Burgundy, at St
Denis, and related to him all that had passed, and how rudely he had
been dealt with, which so much displeased the duke that he resolved, by
the advice of his council, to march thither in person with his whole
force.
On the morrow morning, therefore, the army was drawn up in the fields
in battle-array as if they were about to engage an enemy, and thus
marched to the gate of St Eustache, which was closed; and there they
remained in battle-array for a considerable space, which was a handsome
sight. The duke again sent his king at arms to the gate of St Honoré,
which was also closed, to demand from those stationed over the gate
that four of his most confidential knights, who were near at hand to
the king at arms, might be admitted with him, to explain the causes of
his coming, which tended to nothing but a solid peace. He was answered
by those above the gate, that if he did not speedily withdraw, they
would discharge bolts and arrows at him,--adding, that they would have
nothing to say to the duke of Burgundy nor to his knights. Upon this,
they retired to the army.
During this time, Enguerrand de Bournouville, with about four hundred
combatants, had dismounted, and, with the standard of the duke, had
advanced to the gate of St Honoré, to see if he could do any thing; for
they had great hopes that the populace would rise in sufficient force
to give them entrance through one of the gates, which, however, did not
happen.
Enguerrand, nevertheless, said a few words to Bourdon, who was over
the gate, but who made him no reply; and, finding nothing was to be
done, he retreated to the main body. In his retreat, some cross-bows
were discharged at him, and one of his men was wounded, although
neither himself nor any of his companions had shown the least offensive
intentions, by arrows or otherwise, against those of Paris,--for it had
been forbidden them by the duke out of respect to the king and the duke
of Acquitaine.
The duke, seeing the matter hopeless, marched his army back to St
Denis, and caused letters to be written, which, during the night, some
of his partisans affixed to the doors of the church of Nôtre Dame,
of the palace, and elsewhere in Paris. He sent copies also to the
principal towns in France, the tenour of which was as follows.
'We John duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders and Artois, palatine of
Burgundy, lord of Salines and Mechlin, make known to all, that by
virtue of several letters written and signed by the duke of Acquitaine
himself, we came toward Paris, to employ ourselves for the welfare of
the king, by command of my lord of Acquitaine, and withal to aid and
deliver him from the servitude in which he is held at this moment; in
which cause we shall cheerfully exert every power and influence which
God may have granted to us in this world; and we signify to all the
wellwishers of the king and of my lord of Acquitaine, that they shall
be set (if we be able) at full liberty to exercise their free will and
pleasure,--and those who have thus confined them shall be banished,
that it may be known to all that we do not come hither on any ambitious
schemes to seize the government of the kingdom, and that we have no
desire to hurt or destroy the good town of Paris, but are ready to
fulfil and maintain every article which we had sworn to observe in the
king's edict.
'We are also willing to return to any of our territories, provided
others who have sworn to the same ordinance do so likewise,--but they
act contrary to it: and we will, that God and all the world know,
that until we shall be sensible that my lord the king and my lord of
Acquitaine enjoy their full liberty, and that those who now manage
public affairs have retired to their several countries, and my said
lord the king is provided with honest, able, and notable counsellors
and knights, as well as my lord of Acquitaine, we will never desist
from our enterprise, nor quit the kingdom of France; for we had much
rather die than witness my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine in
such subjection.
'We cannot help being astonished that the citizens and loyal subjects
of his majesty can be so hard of heart as to suffer him to remain in
this disgraceful slavery; and we are the more surprised that, knowing
how nearly we are related to him, they have refused to receive either
our knights or our herald, or to permit any one from us to present our
letters to my lord the king, my lady the queen, my lord of Acquitaine,
or to the good town of Paris.
'And although we came before the walls of Paris without committing any
hostile act whatever, by the command aforesaid, in order to treat of
matters touching the peace and welfare of the kingdom, our men have
been killed and wounded, without listening to any proposals which they
might have made. The count d'Armagnac even told our king at arms, that
if he should return again, his head would be struck off,--which is an
insult hard to be borne, when we have come hither with our company,
paying for all our expenses, as the near relation and neighbour of my
lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine, requiring the aid of all good
and loyal subjects against those who have kept in servitude and in
peril my said lord of Acquitaine, signifying to them, at the same time,
that we should, in proper time and place, charge them with treason
against their sovereign. Of this you need not doubt,--for, by the aid
of God and our just cause in this quarrel, we will pursue and maintain
it, with the utmost of our powers, and with the assistance of very many
of the principal towns in the realm, who have attached themselves to
us.
'Given at St Denis, under our privy seal, in the absence of the grand
council, the 11th day of February, in the year 1413.'
When these letters were found posted in several of the public places of
Paris, those who were disaffected to the duke of Burgundy had stronger
suspicions of his conduct than before; and they took such precautions
in the guard of the town that no inconvenience happened.
During the time the duke of Burgundy remained at St Denis, the lord
de Croy, who had accompanied him, sent twenty of his most expert and
determined men at arms, well mounted, to cross the Seine near to
Conflans; thence they rode as secretly as they could, with lance in
hand, to the town of Montlehery, where they lodged themselves in two
inns near to each other, pretending to be of the Orleans party. Sir
John de Croy, son to the lord de Croy, was prisoner, as has been before
said, in the castle of that town, and had received intimation of their
coming by a chaplain who had the care of him. He made a pretence of
going to hear mass in the church that was hard by the castle, when
these men at arms who were ready prepared, and on the watch, mounted
their horses, hastened toward sir John, whom they instantly set on a
led horse, and thence galloped briskly to Pontoise: they afterward took
the road to the ford where they had before crossed the Seine, and made
such good haste that they brought sir John safe to his father in St
Denis.
This enterprise was highly praised by the duke of Burgundy and the lord
de Croy: the principal leaders of it were Lamont de Launoy, Villemont
de Meneat, Jenninet de Molliens, Jean Roussel,--the whole amounting
to the number aforesaid. They were, however, sharply pursued by the
garrison of Montlehery, but they could not overtake them by reason of
the variety of roads they took.
The duke of Burgundy again sent Artois, king at arms, to Paris, with
letters to the king of Sicily and to the dukes of Orleans and Berry,
to notify to them the causes of his coming, and to request that they
would suffer him, or at least some of his people, to speak with the
king and the duke of Acquitaine; that he was come with good intentions,
for he was willing punctually to keep all he had promised and sworn
to, provided they on their part would do the same; adding, that they
must allow the king and the duke of Acquitaine to rule and govern the
kingdom, without keeping them in servitude, more especially the duke of
Acquitaine, whom they detained to his great displeasure. But when the
king at arms came to the gate of St Anthony, he was told that he would
not be admitted, nor any letters received from him, and that if he did
not hasten away, they would treat him disrespectfully. On hearing this,
he considered for a few minutes, and then placing the letters at the
top of a cleft stick which he stuck in the ground, made off as fast as
he could to St Denis, when the duke was more discontented than ever.
Perceiving that he could no way succeed in his object, he deliberated
with his council whether he should return to his own country, and
within a few days retreated to Compiegne by the way he had come. In
this town, and in that of Soissons, he left strong garrisons of men
at arms and archers. He appointed sir Hugh de Launoy governor of
Compiegne, with the lords de Sainct Ligier and de Forez, Hector and
Philippe de Saveuse, Louvelet de Mazaheghen, and other expert men at
arms, to the amount of five hundred combatants or thereabout.
In Soissons he placed Enguerrand de Bournouville, sir Colart de
Phiennes, Lamon de Launoy, Guoit de Boutilliers Normant, sir Pierre de
Menault, and many more warriors.
It was resolved by the aforesaid duke and his chivalry, and by the good
towns above mentioned, that until the king and the duke of Acquitaine
should be at full liberty, and until they should regulate their conduct
by the counsel of such good men and true as they themselves should
approve, and until the lords aforesaid, who thus kept them under
restraint, and the troops in their pay should retire each to his own
territory--as he, the duke of Burgundy, and those of his party, offered
to return to their estates and countries--they would never change their
resolution, and would yield no obedience to the command of the king, as
issued by the advice of his present counsellors or their abettors.
This resolution the duke was to signify to the principal towns, and to
all the well-disposed persons in the kingdom, and even to summon them
in the names of the king and the duke of Acquitaine to unite themselves
to his party for the more effectually accomplishing so desirable
an object; for by so doing each person would acquit himself of his
loyalty, and gain renown for life; and the duke promised to aid and
support them to the utmost of his power, for the security of which he
issued his especial letters.
After this, he departed from Compiegne, and returned to Arras. He
sent his Burgundians, to the amount of about seven hundred lances, to
quarter themselves in the Cambresis, and in Tierache, in contempt of
the king of Sicily, whom he did not love, any more than sir Robert de
Bar[35], who had refused to assist him in this expedition, although he
was his liege-man.
He issued orders from Arras for the three estates of Artois to meet
him the 2d day of May, more particularly the nobles, when a great
parliament was holden on the state of his affairs. He there caused to
be displayed by the lord d'Ollehaing the three letters the duke of
Acquitaine had written to him, which being read, he declared on his
faith, in the presence of all the lords, that they were written and
signed by the duke of Acquitaine's own hand.
When those present had promised to serve him against all but the king
of France and his children, he ordered his ministers to write to many
of the principal towns letters of the following import, which were sent
to Amiens. He then departed from Arras for his county of Flanders, to
do the same.
'Very dear and good friends, being ever desirous that you and all other
loyal subjects of my lord the king, the wellwishers of the duke of
Acquitaine, dauphin of Vienne, should be advertised of whatever may
affect his honour and estate, that of his realm and the public good,
that efficient remedies may be provided according to the exigency of
the case, we in consequence signify to you the very singular request of
my said lord of Acquitaine, duly made to us by three different letters,
written and signed by his own hand, containing in substance, that on
the pleasure and service we were ever willing to do him, we should
incontinently come to him as well and greatly accompanied as possible.