the said duke of Burgundy, contrary to his promise on oath, came
thither, intending to annul the said peace made by us, and sworn to by
him, as has been before said, and caused to be drawn up certain letters
in our name, which he had attached to our edict concerning the peace,
by which he made us repeal and annul the greater part of what had been
granted by us and our said eldest son, thus infringing the articles of
the peace, namely, the restitution of estates, inheritances, honours
and offices, to such as had adhered to the party of our said uncle
and nephews, and to others of our blood and lineage, their allies
and partisans. He has, moreover, retained, for a long space of time,
against our will, and contrary to the agreements we had entered into,
and his own oath, the castles of Coucy and Pierrefons, belonging to our
said nephew the duke of Orleans, with many other castles, estates, and
houses of several of that party, notwithstanding letters of restitution
granted by us, and verified by our court of parliament. Neither the
duke of Orleans nor any of his adherents could regain the possession
of their lands,--for there was scarcely any one member of our court of
parliament who dared to gainsay the will and enterprises of the duke of
Burgundy or his accomplices, who were solely bent on having the entire
management of us, of our dear companion the queen, our well beloved
eldest son the duke of Acquitaine, and the whole government of the
realm.
'To keep us in the greater subjection, the said Burgundian raised
persons of low rank and consideration in Paris to places of trust, who,
by his authority and exhortations, and being in his full confidence,
undertook the government of our royal self, that of the queen, the
duke of Acquitaine and the whole kingdom. These persons frequently came
to our councils, and those of our court of parliament, in a violent
and disorderly manner, menacing our faithful and honest counsellors in
such wise that the regular course of justice was stopped; and it was
impossible to prevent whatever they should ordain or desire from being
agreed to, one way or other.
'In pursuing their wicked courses and damnable designs, it is a fact,
that on Friday the 28th day of April last passed, when the said
Burgundian, his accomplices, adherents, and people of low degree
began to perceive that several of our blood and lineage, and others
our officers, and those of our well beloved son, the members of the
university, wealthy merchants and loyal burgesses of the town of Paris,
were discontented with their mode of government, suspecting also that
they intended even to drive them from their power and authority by
force, and then punish them for their malversations, caused a great
assembly of the populace to be holden, the most part of whom knew not
for what they were thus assembled.
'Then, without any justifiable reason, they marched with displayed
banners, in a warlike manner, to the hôtel of our said son, whence,
against his commands and will, and to his great displeasure, they
carried away our very dear and well beloved cousin the duke of Bar,
with many others the especial counsellors and servants of our said son,
according to a written list of names which the duke of Burgundy held in
his hand, and who had them first conducted to his hôtel of Artois, and
thence to different prisons.
'Not long after, on another day, these same people of low degree, by
the practices of the duke of Burgundy again returned to our palace of
St Pol with displayed banners, and with force and violence, contrary
to our will and pleasure, as well as in disobedience to the commands
of our said queen and eldest son, they seized our very dear and well
beloved brother Louis duke of Bavaria, with other officers of our said
son, and also certain ladies and damsels attached to and in the service
of our said companion the queen, whom they arrested in her chamber, she
being present, and carried to different prisons, where they were long
detained in great personal danger.
'This same populace, through the connivance and encouragement of the
duke of Burgundy, committed a variety of crimes and excesses, such as
seizing day and night, without any judicial authority, many of our
officers and other inhabitants of our said town of Paris, confining
them in prisons, murdering some, and throwing the bodies of others into
the river, by which means they were drowned, ransoming several for
large sums of money, without any one daring to check or punish such
atrocious acts.
'All this was done through the practices and support of the duke
of Burgundy; by which means he has detained us, our companion the
queen, and our said eldest son, in such subjection and danger that
we had not liberty to do any one thing as we should have pleased;
for after these arrests had taken place, he appointed others to fill
their places, who were firmly attached to him and his measures. Even
persons of the lowest order were raised by him to offices,--and this
conduct was pursued until it pleased the Lord, by means of the activity
and diligence of our very dear and well beloved cousin the king of
Sicily, in conjunction with our dear nephews of Orleans, our well
beloved cousins the duke of Bourbon, the counts d'Alençon, d'Eu, and
others of our royal blood, many prelates, barons, knights, esquires,
and several of our court of parliament and of our dear daughter the
university of Paris, and capital burgesses of that town, to restore us,
our dear companion the queen and son, to that liberty which we should
reasonably enjoy; and the peace that had been agreed to at Auxerre was
again confirmed and sworn to by the said Burgundian, and others of our
blood and lineage. Nevertheless, the duke of Burgundy, prior to the
expedition which our said eldest son made, by means of the populace
of Paris, on the 4th day of August last past, exerted himself to the
utmost to put an end to this peace, by having it published in several
hôtels and other places in Paris, that if the people consented to such
a peace, it would be the ruin of the town, which was notoriously false.
'Since the peace was thus renewed and confirmed, the duke of Burgundy
has been much discontented; and when some of those disturbers of the
peace, persons of low degree, quitted Paris under pretence of going
to Burgundy, though in fact they went to Flanders, Artois, and other
territories of the duke, he received them graciously, criminals as they
were, with other traitors and murderers of our said brother the duke
of Orleans, notwithstanding we had sent him especial ambassadors, who,
among other things, required and commanded him in our name that those
criminals whom he had received, and who had been convicted of treason
against us, and consequently banished the realm for ever, should be
delivered up that justice might be done on them. They also demanded
restitution of several castles that he kept possession of, by himself
or others, contrary to our pleasure, namely, the castles of Crotoy,
Laon, and Chinon,--but to all these demands he has been disobedient.
'The worst part of his conduct is, that under colour of the most
abominable falsehoods, he has raised as large a body of men at arms and
archers as was possible, as well from his own countries of Burgundy
and Savoy as from Flanders, Artois and elsewhere, which he has marched
to the walls of our good town of Paris. To gain partisans, and an
undisturbed march, he has sent sealed letters to several of our large
towns to require aid and support, under colour that he was marching
to Paris by the command of our said eldest son, to deliver us from
the bondage in which, as he said, we were detained, and which is a
notorious falsehood,--for we never enjoyed greater liberty than we do
at this moment, and have done ever since his departure from Paris.
'It is also false that he has had any commands from us on this subject:
on the contrary, we and our dear son have, by our letters patent,
positively forbidden him, under pain of our displeasure, to dare to
come before us with any assemblage of men at arms, which he has not
only disregarded and paid no attention to, but has imprisoned one of
the sergeants at arms of our court of parliament, whom we had sent with
the above letters patent, solemnly to forbid his assembling any bodies
of men at arms, and which he properly executed.
'Pursuing his evil designs, his conduct from bad becomes worse; and,
contemning the orders of us, who are his sovereign, he marched like a
rebel, in a hostile manner, toward our town or Paris, with the largest
force he could collect, in direct opposition to our express commands,
thus breaking the peace which he had so solemnly sworn to keep, and
rendering himself unworthy of those graces and favours which had been
shown him in former times. He has with him, and under his obedience,
all those false traitors who on conviction of their treasons have been
for ever banished the kingdom, that through their means he may be
enabled to stir up sedition in our good town of Paris and elsewhere.
'He has gained possession of our town of Compiegne, although we had
sent orders to the inhabitants not to suffer him to enter it with any
body of men at arms, or in an hostile manner, which orders were shown
to him; but he held them in contempt, and what is worse he now occupies
that town, and has placed therein a garrison contrary to our commands.
In like manner has he taken possession of the town of Soissons,
although the inhabitants had received orders similar to those sent to
Compiegne, of which the army of the duke of Burgundy was assured.
'This Burgundian has even advanced his army to St Denis, which he
has seized and made his head-quarters, contrary to our will and
pleasure, forming of it, as it were, a frontier to our good town
of Paris; and by way of demonstrating his wickedness and infamous
designs, he advanced his army with displayed banners, and in a warlike
manner, to the very walls of Paris, and remained there a long time in
battle-array. He even sent his scouts to the very gates, in the hope of
raising a sedition among the populace, and then entering the town by
force of arms, contrary to our will, and thus acting like an enemy, and
being guilty of the crime of high treason toward us, many complaints of
which have been and are daily made to us on this subject.
'Know ye, that having considered the above acts, and others connected
with them, and the whole of the duke of Burgundy's conduct since the
death of our said brother to this present time, inasmuch as he has
been ever ready to proceed by force of arms, and has several times
notoriously disobeyed our commands, more especially in this last act,
when we positively enjoined him not to march any armed force to Paris,
and in several others, which he has obeyed or not according to his
pleasure. For these causes he is and must be esteemed ungrateful, and
undeserving of all the favours that have been shown him by us in former
times.
'Having therefore held a grand council on the above, to which persons
of all ranks were admitted, and having duly considered the same, we
declare that the duke of Burgundy, and all who shall give him any
aid, support or advice, or join his company, contrary to our said
edicts, issued by us to forbid the same, shall be, and are by these
presents, held and reputed rebels to us, and violators of the peace,
consequently enemies to us and to the public welfare of our kingdom.
For these causes we have determined to call out our arriere-ban, and
to muster such forces of those who have been accustomed to bear arms
as may be sufficient to enable us to resist the perverse dispositions
and attempts of the duke of Burgundy, his accomplices and adherents,
to reduce them to that subjection and obedience which they owe to us,
and to punish them for their traitorous misdeeds, so that honour may
redound to us, and they may serve in future as examples to all others.
'We give it in command by these presents to our well beloved and
faithful counsellors, members of our parliament, to the provost of
Paris, to the bailiff of Amiens, and to all other our officers of
justice, to their deputies, and to each of them to whom it may
appertain, that they do proclaim these presents, or cause them to be
proclaimed, in the most public places within their jurisdictions where
such proclamations have usually been made, so that no one may plead
ignorance of the same.
'Commanding also, at the same time, that all our officers and subjects
who may have been used to arms do hasten with all possible speed to
join and serve us in such things as we may command, with as many men
at arms as they can collect, under pain of our highest displeasure and
suffering confiscation of effects, or such other punishment as may
be awarded against all who shall in any way disobey these our said
commands.
'In testimony of which, we have to these presents affixed our
seal.--Given at Paris, the 10th day of February, in the year of Grace
1413, and of our reign the 33d[37].' Thus signed by the king, on
the report of the great council, held by the queen and my lord of
Acquitaine. Countersigned, 'Derion.'
This edict was proclaimed in Amiens, and afterward in the provostships,
and throughout the bailiwick by commission from the said bailiff.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 36: _Arriere-ban_,--'a proclamation, whereby those that hold
of the king by a mesne tenure are summoned to assemble and serve him
in his wars,--different from _ban_, whereby such are called as hold
immediately of him,--also the whole troop of those mesne tenants or
under vassals so assembled.'
_Cotgrave's Dict._--See '_Ban_' and '_Arriere-ban_.']
[Footnote 37: There is the most extraordinary confusion of dates
throughout these state-papers, which it is, probably, utterly
impossible to rectify by any conjectural emendations: but it seems
right to take some notice of the circumstance, as at first sight it
appears a most culpable oversight. It is not only here but throughout
the book that this confusion prevails, as is very evident from the
challenges of the arragonian esquire in the beginning of the volume.]
END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
AT THE HAFOD PRESS,
BY JA. HENDERSON.
Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.