THE EARL OF WARWICK AND THE DUKE OF CLARENCE, DRIVEN OUT OF ENGLAND
BY KING EDWARD, COME TO FRANCE.--QUEEN MARGARET AND HER SON ARRIVE
THERE ALSO, TO THE DISPLEASURE OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.--THE BIRTH OF
THE DAUPHIN, CHARLES.--THE EARL OF WARWICK RETURNS TO ENGLAND.--AN
ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE KING OF FRANCE AND KING HENRY OF ENGLAND.--THE
FLIGHT OF KING EDWARD.--THE ENTRY OF THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND INTO
PARIS.--THE INHABITANTS OF AUXERRE TAKE PART WITH THE DUKE OF
BURGUNDY.--THE KING'S VICTORIES IN THE DUCHY OF BURGUNDY AND THE
COUNTRIES OF CHAROLOIS AND PICARDY.--OF THE KING'S JOURNEYS, AND OTHER
EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING THE YEAR MCCCCLXX.
In the month of May in this year, the earl of Warwick and the duke of
Clarence, whom king Edward had forced to banish themselves, and their
families from England, arrived at Honnefleur and Harfleur, with about
four score vessels. They found there the lord admiral of France, who
received the earl of Warwick, the duke of Clarence, and the count de
Vuasanfort[32], and their ladies with every respect. Their vessels were
admitted in the harbours; and after a short time, the ladies, with
their trains, departed, and went to Valognes, where lodgings had been
provided for them.
The duke of Burgundy, hearing of this, wrote to the court of parliament
at Paris, to say, that he had received intelligence of the king having
admitted the earl of Warwick and his company into some of his towns
within the duchy of Normandy contrary to the articles of the treaty of
Peronne; and to entreat that the parliament would remonstrate with the
king on this subject, to prevent him from favouring the said Warwick
and his party, whom he styled his capital enemy, as well as the enemy
of the realm of France,--otherwise he would seek him wherever he could
find him, in the kingdom of France, to do with him as should seem to
him good.
Nevertheless the earl of Warwick remained some time at Honnefleur,
namely, the whole of the month of June,--and during this, several of
the king's garrisons made frequent sallies on the borders of Normandy
and Picardy, and wasted the country.--In this same month two men at
arms under the command of the constable waylaid and murdered two young
clerks of the treasurer of the army, in the plains of Beauce, to rob
them of the money they were carrying to the troops. Shortly after they
were taken at Honnefleur, and carried before the constable at Meaux,
who had them hanged on two trees that were by the side of two different
roads.
The king all this while resided at Tours, Amboise, Vendôme, and at
divers places in that country, whither the English came to him, as
did queen Margaret and her son the prince of Wales. They had many
conferences on the causes of their having left England, and on public
affairs,--after which, the English returned to Honnefleur, Valognes,
St Lo, and other towns in Normandy. The duke of Burgundy, in the mean
time, had all the effects of the french merchants in his countries
seized, until his own merchants should have restitution made them for
the vessels and goods which these English had captured on their voyage
to Harfleur.
On Saturday, the last day of June about two or three in the morning the
queen of France was brought to bed in the castle of Amboise, of a fair
son, who was then baptised by the name of Charles by the archbishop
of Lyon, who was his godfather with the prince of Wales, son to king
Henry VI. which latter was then detained a prisoner by Edward, calling
himself king of England: his godmother was the princess Jeanne of
France, duchess of Bourbon. This event was celebrated by Te Deums sung
in most of the churches, by bonfires, and public tables in all the
streets of the principal towns.
Not long after this, the king of Sicily, the duke of Guienne, the duke
of Bourbon, the archbishop of Lyon, the lord de Beaujeu, and others
went to Angers, Saumur, Pont de Cé, and other places near, to negotiate
a pacification between the king and the duke of Brittany,--and they
remained until it was accomplished. The king having signed the treaty,
returned to the queen at Amboise. Ambassadors were, in consequence of
this peace, sent by the duke of Brittany to the duke of Burgundy, to
deliver up and cancel the alliance that subsisted between them, which
greatly vexed the duke of Burgundy, especially on hearing the good
understanding and union that reigned between the duke of Brittany and
the king.
The duke of Burgundy hearing that the earl of Warwick was preparing to
sail for England, instantly ordered a fleet of ships of war, full of
artillery, and manned with English, Picards, Burgundians, and others,
to cruize in the channel to intercept him. They sailed close to the
norman coast in hopes of falling in with the earl, and there remained
at anchor a considerable time,--during which the king was gone on a
pilgrimage to Mont Saint Michael.
Having performed his devotions, he returned to Avranches,
Tombelaine[33], Coutances, Caen and Honnefleur; and while on the
coast, he ordered the ships Lord Admiral, the Colon, and others, to
be victualled, on board of which the earl of Warwick and the duke of
Clarence embarked with their company, and a body of franc-archers and
men at arms which the king had given them as an escort, and for their
defence. On their embarking, they weighed anchor, and set sail in sight
of the Burgundians, who had been at anchor, so long without doing any
thing but expend all their provision, which forced them to weigh also,
and return to their duke with hungry stomachs. This was matter of
joy to the king, for they had lost much time in inactivity,--and the
victualling and manning of this fleet had been very expensive.
The wind proving favourable to the french fleet, it soon arrived off
the english coast,--and the earl of Warwick and his company landed,
during the night at Plymouth and Dartmouth. Warwick, on his landing,
instantly dispatched a party of his men ten miles up the country
to seize an english baron, who was quietly sleeping in his bed,
unsuspicious of this invasion. They brought him to Warwick who ordered
him to be immediately beheaded. From Dartmouth, Warwick marched to
Bristol, where he was well received,--for it was there he had left his
artillery and baggage when he fled to Normandy. When he had remained
there about three days, to collect his friends together, he found
himself at the head of about sixty thousand men in arms who promised to
stand by him until death, and with them he began his march to meet king
Edward; but it was more than fifteen days after his landing in England
before any intelligence from him reached France.
In this interval, the lord d'Argueil son to the prince of Orange[34],
who was of the household of the duke of Burgundy, and one of his
nearest relatives, having married the sister of the duke of Bourbon,
suddenly quitted the service of the duke of Burgundy, and joined
the king, who received him with much distinction. The duke, when he
heard of his departure, was ready to burst with grief and vexation;
and declared, in the presence of the ambassadors from Brittany, that
the lord d'Argueil should have all the property he possessed in his
territories confiscated,--and he afterwards had all his castles within
his dominions razed to the ground.
The king on the 14th of October, sent letters-patent to Paris, which
were read and published in all the squares, in the presence of the
lieutenants of the provostship of Paris. They contained information of
the treaty of peace which he had concluded with Henry VI. of England,
and orders for the admission of all the English of his party into
France on their private affairs, or commercial transactions, with or
without passports,--but to the exclusion of all who supported the late
king Edward IV. his allies and abettors.
This day, news arrived in France, that the duke of Clarence and the
earl of Warwick prospered greatly in their enterprises; that they had
taken the field in pursuit of Edward,--and that the greater part of
the nobles, prelates and gentlemen of England, had joined them, more
especially the populace of London, who had gone out to meet Warwick,
having turned their backs on Edward; that king Henry, who had been so
long detained in confinement by Edward, was fully restored to liberty
and to his crown,--that Warwick had been appointed regent of the
kingdom,--and that great rejoicings had taken place in London. All the
french prisoners were sent home free of ransom; but Warwick had seized
on the persons and effects of those who were subjects to the duke of
Burgundy. And the intelligence concluded by saying, that Edward,
finding himself thus abandoned, had fled the kingdom, to seek an asylum
with his brother in law the duke of Burgundy,--but that his wife and
family had remained behind.
The king of France, having made a long stay at Tours and Amboise, moved
by devotion, went on a pilgrimage to the church of our Lady at Celles,
in Poitou,--whence after a few days, he returned to Amboise.
In the month of November, the king sent letters to Paris, to order all
the nobles, clergy, and inhabitants of that city, to make processions
in praise of God and the virgin Mary, and to continue them, laying
aside all other employments whatever, for three days, to return thanks
for the great victory which Henry of Lancaster, king of England, had
gained over the earl of March, who had, for a long time usurped his
throne, by the support of the duke of Burgundy, and, also, for the
happy peace and good understanding that now subsisted between him and
the king of England. These processions, thus ordered, were executed in
all the principal towns of France.
Shortly after, he dispatched other letters to Paris, to say, that he
should send thither the queen of England, consort to king Henry, with
her son the prince of Wales, his princess, daughter to the earl of
Warwick, and her mother the countess of Warwick, the lady Wiltshire,
and other ladies and damsels that were with the queen of England.
Queen Margaret came thither as the king had given notice, attended,
according to his orders, by the counts d'Eu, de Vendôme, and de Dunois,
the lord de Châtillon and other noblemen. When she approached Paris,
the bishop, the court of parliament, the university, the provosts
of Paris, and the court of Châtelet, by express orders from the
king, together with the principal inhabitants, came out to meet her,
handsomely dressed, and in very numerous bodies.
She made her entry by the gate of St James,--and all the streets
through which she passed from that gate to the palace, where apartments
had been handsomely prepared for her, were adorned with hangings of
tapestry, and had tents pitched in all the squares. At this time the
royal artillery was removed from Tours to the Louvre, wherein it was
deposited,--and the king wrote to the provost and sheriffs, that it was
his pleasure to hold the feast of his order in their city: having the
intention to bring a large company of nobles and knights-companions
with him, he willed that lodgings should be provided for them by the
inhabitants, according to the choice of his harbingers which was
complied with.
In the month of December of this year, sir Arthur de Longueval entered
the town of St Quentin, in the name of the king, with the consent
of the inhabitants. Afterward, on the 10th day of that month, the
constable came thither with two hundred lances and archers; and on
the 14th, master John Ladriesche, treasurer of France, master Robert
Fessier, master Pierre de Boieuval, and other officers attached to the
constable, made a proclamation by sound of trumpet, at the table of
marble, in the palace at Paris, to make known the capture of the town
of St Quentin, in the Vermandois, by the lord constable, and ordering
the public to return thanks to God, praying him to grant prosperity to
the king and to the constable, in the recovery of the other pledged
towns, which he intended to wrest from the hands of Charles, styling
himself duke of Burgundy: such were the words of the proclamation.
The king left Amboise, in the month of January, for Clery and Orleans,
and thence went into Beauce. He lay the first night at Puiset[35], and
on the morrow at Palaiseau, near Montlehery. The next day, he dined
at Seaux, at the house of master John Baillet, master in ordinary of
requests of the king's household, and that evening came to his hôtel
of the Tournelles at Paris. He was accompanied by the queen, madam de
Bourbon, and other ladies and damsels, their attendants, and remained
in Paris until the 26th of January, when he set out for Senlis,
Compiégne, and other places thereabout, where his army was quartered,
in readiness to march against the duke of Burgundy. His artillery was
sent after him, by land and water, to Compiégne, Noyon, and other parts
of Picardy and Flanders. Proclamation was also made in Paris, that all
franc-archers and nobles, in the Isle of France, should make themselves
ready, and, properly equipped, to follow the king to the army. In
the mean time, great quantities of powder and cannons were made and
constructed at Paris.
Before the king joined his army, he sent sir Christopher Paillard,
member of the chamber of accounts, and sir James Hesselin, comptroller
of the salt magazines at Paris, to the town of Auxerre, to summon the
inhabitants to surrender the place to the king, and admit a garrison
from him. These commissioners made them an eloquent harangue; but they
required time for consulting among themselves, and until the Thursday
following to give their answer. To wait their answer, the commissioners
went to the town of Joigny, six leagues distant, where they staid
until the Thursday, when the townsmen sent them their answer by an
inhabitant of Auxerre, said to be a cobbler, who told them, that the
inhabitants of Auxerre had garrisoned their town with a steady garrison
for the duke of Burgundy, as they were resolved to live and die in his
service, and to defend their town for him. The day the duke's garrison
was admitted, one of the townsmen, called Guillemin Goutier was
killed,--which was a pity, for he suffered from supporting the cause of
the king.
On the king's departure from Paris for Senlis, the towns of Amiens,
Roye and Mondidier, surrendered to his obedience. The 4th of February,
general processions were made at Paris, at which the queen, madame de
Bourbon, and the court assisted, to the cathedral church of Nôtre Dame,
and thence to our Lady of Recovery at the Carmelites. At both places
prayers were offered up for the prosperity of the king and queen.
It was now published, that the three before-mentioned towns had
submitted to the king's obedience, to which Abbeville was added,--but
this was groundless. Masons, carpenters, and various other workmen,
were now collected at Paris, and sent to the towns that had
surrendered, under the care of master Henry de la Cloche, king's
attorney at the Châtelet, a good and loyal Frenchman, who conducted
them to Roye, where they erected strong outworks and bulwarks, as
well as at the other towns. These workmen remained in those parts a
considerable time, even unto Easter, when the king agreed to a truce
with the duke of Burgundy. The duke had been besieged in his encampment
between Bapaumes and Amiens, and was in such misery and distress for
provision that, had it not been for the truce, the king might have had
his whole army at his pleasure.
Since the commencement of this war, the king had been very successful
in his different engagements with the Picards and Flemings, as well
against the foraging party from the enemy's camp as against others
of the burgundian party. Great damages had been done in the duchy of
Burgundy, the county of Charolois, and in the Mâconnois, where the
royal partisans gained much plunder, made many good prisoners, and
slew numbers. The lords count-dauphin of Auvergne, of Comminges, of
Combrodes, of Charente, sir William Cousinot, and several others of the
nobility, would have conquered the whole country had not the king sent
to stop them on account of the truce, which was very displeasing to
them as well as to many more who had a regard for the king's honour. On
this occasion several libels were written and placed in the churchyard
of the holy Innocents at Paris and on the town-house, greatly blaming
and abusing many of the lords about the king's person.
During the truce, the king, the duke of Guienne, and others of the
nobility fixed their quarters at Ham with the constable, whence there
were great goings and comings between the ambassadors of the king
and those from the duke of Burgundy. Nothing, for a long time, was
concluded on; but at length, a truce for one year was signed,--during
which, commissioners were to be appointed on each side, to examine into
the matters in dispute between the king and the duke, and between
their partisans. The king now left Ham, and every person retired to his
home, but the royal army was quartered in the towns he had won prior to
the truce.