KING CHARLES GENEROUSLY RESTORES ROUSSILLON TO KING FERDINAND OF
ARRAGON.--THE INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF FILLES REPENTIES AT
PARIS.--THE TOWN OF ST OMER IS TAKEN BY THE LORD DES CORDES.--A
TREATY OF PEACE CONCLUDED WITH THE KING OF ENGLAND AFTER THE SIEGE
OF BOULOGNE.--THE TREASON COMMITTED BY CARQUELEVANT IN THE TOWN OF
ARRAS.--AMIENS WELL GUARDED.--THE TREATY BETWEEN THE KING OF FRANCE
AND THE ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA.
When the king was returned from his expedition into Brittany, and had
concluded a treaty with the Bretons on the terms before mentioned,
he generously restored to Ferdinand king of Arragon the county of
Roussillon, and gave him a free acquittance of the sums of money this
county had been mortgaged for,--and for the accomplishment of this, he
sent thither, as his ambassador, the lord Louis d'Ambois, bishop of
Alby. There were some, however, who thought that this county should not
have been restored,--and, to appease all murmurings on the subject,
the king had it published that he had only acted in conformity to
the orders given by his late father, king Louis, when dying. It was
therefore the opinion of many, that a perpetual friendship should now
be established between the kings of France and of Arragon.
In the year 1494 was established the order of repentant women and
girls, who had been public strumpets at Paris. The institution of this
order, in honour of the blessed Mary Magdalen, was commenced by a
devout sermon preached by friar John Tisserant, a Franciscan monk,--and
a house that belonged to the family of Orleans was granted to them,
wherein reside many devout women.
After the restoration of the county of Roussillon, the lord des Cordes
was so active with his army, in Picardy, that he gained by force of
arms, for the king, the town of St Omer. He valiantly passed the breach
into the town, his battle-axe hanging on his wrist, and followed by
numbers of gallant men at arms, shouting out, 'Vive le roi!' which so
astonished the inhabitants that they submitted to his pleasure.
Some days after this, the king of England, ungrateful for the services
he had received from the king of France, as has been mentioned, landed
a large force at Calais, and marched it to lay siege to Boulogne. The
lord des Cordes, imagining that the English would make great efforts
to gain Boulogne, he being governor of Artois, left St Omer, having
well garrisoned it and other towns, in company with the bastard Cardon
captain of Arras, and hastened, with a body of French, to throw himself
into Boulogne, to oppose the English, and force them to raise their
siege. In consequence of this, only Carquelevant, a Breton, remained in
the castle of Arras,--and that town was given up traitorously to the
archduke, as shall be more amply detailed hereafter.
When the lord des Cordes[113] and Cardon had shown their resistance
to the king of England's troops before Boulogne they found means to
conclude a peace which was very advantageous to the kingdom of France:
for the English were to recross the sea without interfering more in the
quarrel with the archduke.
Master Gaguin tells us, in his chronicle, that this peace was very
agreeable to the king of England; for he loved the French in his heart,
but had been constrained by his subjects to send this armament to
Boulogne,--and by his advice and remonstrances he had prevented its
advancing farther into the kingdom; but that he had been obliged to
dissemble, to avoid being suspected by the English of having too strong
an inclination to king Charles, whose former kindnesses he could never
forget, and this treaty of peace was not long in being ratified by the
two kings.
Within two or three days after this peace had been concluded, the town
of Arras was won by a party from Maximilian's army during the night,
owing to the treason or neglect of Carquelevant. He had entrusted the
keys of the gates to some of his people,--so that the enemy entered
the place without meeting any resistance whatever, while he was asleep
in bed. They first plundered all the principal persons, and then
the churches; and according to Gaguin, these Germans committed such
destruction that it seemed as if they were come not to take possession
of the town but utterly to destroy it.
After some months, Maximilian demolished a large tower in the
market-place, and several other fortifications, which Louis XI. had
erected to defend the city against the town of Arras. He also caused
the walls of the city to be destroyed, and fortified the town against
it, which was not displeasing to several of the inhabitants, as they
hated even the french name, although, from the remotest antiquity,
they had been always dependant on the kings of France, as their
sovereign lords.
Shortly after, Maximilian found means to obtain a truce, that he
might again employ his army on similar expeditions,--for the truce
on his side was only a pretence. It was not long before a party from
the garrison of Arras appeared under the walls of Amiens at midnight,
thinking to take it by surprise; but the French garrison and the
townsmen were too well on their guard, and made such good use of their
bows and artillery that they repulsed the enemy with vigour, so that
they were glad to retreat from the suburbs of St Pierre, where they had
formed a lodgement, and return in all haste to Arras, whence they had
come. Had the lord de Rubempré been allowed to follow his inclinations,
he would have sallied out after them, for he was very eager to defeat
them; but sir Anthony Clabaut, then mayor of the town, and the council
would not permit him, saying, that in their opinion it was fully
sufficient to defend the town well when attacked.
The principal lords of France, in conjunction with those of Picardy,
solicited the king to conclude a lasting peace with the archduke: terms
were, in consequence, agreed on,--and the county of Artois was restored
to Maximilian; by which means all Picardy was in perfect union with
France, and remains so to this day, which is of very great advantage to
the whole realm.