d'Alençon had declared that he had made most ample communications
respecting the said Matthew Prestre; and the said Gallet has been
confronted with the said d'Alençon, and interrogated respecting the
different messages he had carried to England, as well as others of
his accomplices, who, it may be supposed, would know if the statement
touching this Matthew Prestre were true, who have all denied any
knowledge thereof, so that it may be presumed, from their depositions,
that the contrary to what the said d'Alençon had said was the fact:
besides, the said d'Alençon declares that he never had any letters from
our said son, nor any communication from him on these matters, but
through the said Matthew, and that he knew not whether he communicated
the above from himself or from others,--and that he, the said
d'Alençon, had never any instructions from our said son on this subject.
'Several remonstrances having been made to the said d'Alençon on this
part of his conduct, it has appeared that the whole was a contrivance
to cover his treasonable practices, and to give a colour to them,--for
the said d'Alençon said, that he knew not what reply to make to these
remonstrances. As a further confirmation, when the said d'Alençon has
been interrogated as to this Matthew, he has varied in his answers on
many points, as may be clearly seen in the evidence of his trial.
'From all of which, and from the whole of what has been advanced by the
said d'Alençon, as well as from the interrogatories of the different
witnesses respecting Matthew Prestre and his interference, and from
other evidence examined at the request of the said d'Alençon, we have
not found any thing wherewith we could accuse our said son the dauphin,
nor the bastard d'Armagnac, as any way implicated in the treasons of
the said d'Alençon.
'When the whole of the evidence had been gone through, there only
remained judgment to be given. And we make known that the court,
having fully and maturely examined the different interrogatories and
confrontations, together with his voluntary confessions, have declared,
and do declare, by these presents, the said d'Alençon guilty of high
treason, and, as such, to be deprived of the honour and dignity of the
peerage of France and all other dignities and prerogatives, and do,
besides, condemn him to death by the public executioner. The court has
also declared, and does declare, that all his effects whatever shall
be confiscated to our use, and that they shall henceforth be reputed
legally to belong to us as we may please to dispose of them.
'Such was the sentence passed by the peers of France and the other
members of the court of justice held at Vendôme. We, however, reserved
to ourself the power to make whatever changes we should please; and we
now declare our will to be, that the capital part of the said sentence,
on the said John d'Alençon, be deferred until our further pleasure be
known.
'With regard to the effects of the said d'Alençon, considering the
enormity of his guilt, his children ought to be deprived of them, and
reduced to a state of beggary, to serve as an example to all others.
Nevertheless, remembering the good services their ancestors have
done to the crown and kingdom of France, and in the hope that these
children will behave themselves as good and loyal subjects toward their
sovereign; and in consideration of the earnest solicitations for mercy
from our very dear and well-beloved cousin the duke of Brittany, uncle
to the said d'Alençon, we, out of our especial grace, shall moderate
these confiscations,--and declare our pleasure to be, that the moveable
effects shall remain to the wife of the said d'Alençon, and to his
children, with the exception of his artillery and military stores,
which we reserve to ourself.
'In regard to his lands and lordships, we shall moderate the
confiscation as follows: We retain the town and castlewick of Domfront,
the town, castle, castlewick and viscounty, of Vernueil, on both
sides of the river Aure, with all their appurtenances, lordships and
dependances, which we from this moment unite, incorporate and adjoin,
to the patrimony and domain of our crown.
'We shall likewise retain in our hands the duchy of Alençon, together
with its town, castle, lordship, rights, appurtenances, revenues, and
immoveable effects, and every claim that might have belonged to the
said Alençon as duke thereof, and all rights and duties that may have
been granted from our crown as an appanage to the said d'Alençon,
with the reserve of the country of Perche, concerning which we shall
hereafter ordain, according to our good pleasure.
'We retain also the castle and castlewick of St Blansay in Touraine,
together with all the duties the said d'Alençon received for pontage in
our town of Tours, and the other rents and revenues he was accustomed
to receive from the said town, to order as we may please best. We
likewise reserve to ourself the homages appertaining to the said
d'Alençon as count du Perche, on the town of Nogent le Rotrou and its
dependances, and also on the lands and lordships of our very dear and
well-beloved cousin the countess du Maine, wife to the said d'Alençon.
'In respect to the other lands and lordships that did belong to the
said d'Alençon, we will that they remain to the children of the said
d'Alençon, in manner following,--that is to say, the only son of the
said d'Alençon shall have and retain the county, lands, and lordships
of Perche, to be freely enjoyed by him and his male descendants,
lawfully begotten in marriage, but without any dignity or prerogative
of peerage. With regard to the remaining lands, lordships, and other
immoveable effects, we will that they belong to the other children, as
well males as females, of the said d'Alençon, for them to enjoy the
same under our tutelage until they become of a proper age to manage
for themselves,--and that they descend to the heirs of their bodies
in lawful marriage, according to the usages and laws of the countries
these different estates may be situated in. In testimony of which,' &c.
Given at Vendôme, the 10th day of October, in the year of Grace 1458,
and of our reign the 37th.
This sentence was pronounced in the absence of the said John d'Alençon,
but read to him afterwards in his prison by the first president of
the parliament de Thorette, master John Boulanger, counsellor to the
king in his court of parliament, master John Bureau, treasurer of
France, and others of the king's council, which much astonished and
overwhelmed the said John d'Alençon, and not without cause.[7]
In the month of January, in this year, that most noble and potent
prince Arthur duke of Brittany departed this life, who, before and
after he had succeeded to the dukedom, had been constable of France. He
was succeeded by the lord Francis, son to madame d'Estampes, sister to
the duke of Orleans, who, in person, conducted him to take possession
of the duchy of Brittany.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: Mont Richart, or Mont Tricard,--six leagues from Amboise.]
[Footnote 6: Granville,--a sea-port in Normandy, six leagues from
Coutances.]
[Footnote 7: 'John duke of Alençon was condemned to death by a
celebrated sentence given by king Charles VII. sitting in a bed of
justice, at Vendôme, the 10th of October 1458, which sentence was
instantly commuted to perpetual imprisonment. The duke was confined in
the castle of Loches until Louis XI. came to the throne in 1461, who
granted him a free pardon in the month of October in the same year.
'The duke could not remain quiet, but attempted again to throw the
kingdom into confusion,--and Louis XI. had him arrested a second time,
the 22d September 1472. Another sentence was passed on him, but its
execution was again suspended,--and the duke remained a prisoner in
the Louvre, but did not die there, as is supposed. He was transferred
to the house of a burgher, as a private prisoner. He died in the year
1476.'
See more in the note from which this is copied, page 595 of the viiith
volume of the Memoires de l'Académie.]
[A.D. 1459.]
CHAP. VI.
THE AMBASSADORS FROM ENGLAND ARE DENIED ACCESS TO THE KING OF
FRANCE.--THE DUKE OF CLEVES ATTENDS THE MEETING OF PRINCES AT
MANTUA.--THE DAUPHINESS BROUGHT TO BED OF A SON, AT GENAPPE.--THE KING
OF SCOTLAND KILLED BY A SPLINTER FROM A BOMB.
This year, ambassadors from England arrived in France, anxious to
obtain an alliance with the king by a marriage or truce; but the king
would neither hear nor see them. They were, therefore, forced to return
without effecting any thing; and what was more, neither lord nor lady
would accept of their palfreys, which they had brought with them in
numbers, to gain the friendship of the lords and ladies of the court.
In the month of June, in this year, the duke of Burgundy, being very
desirous of the welfare of Christendom, sent his nephew the duke of
Cleves, as his proxy and ambassador, to Mantua, where the meeting was
to take place of the pope and the princes, and cardinals of Europe, to
consider on the means of opposing the enterprises of the grand Turk,
who was making daily conquests on the Christians, more especially in
Greece. The duke of Cleves was nobly received wherever he passed, as
well to honour the duke of Burgundy, whose proxy he was, as out of
respect to his own personal worth.
About this time, the count d'Estampes, by orders from his uncle
the duke of Burgundy, made prisoner, in the town of Amiens, the
viscount d'Amiens and lord of Pecquigny, whom he carried prisoner to
Vilvorden,[8] on account of his having conducted himself in a manner
unbecoming a person of his rank.
Toward the end of July, in this year, the princess Charlotte of Savoy,
dauphiness of France, was delivered of a fair son, who was baptised
by the name of Joachim. Great rejoicings took place for this event
throughout the territories of the duke of Burgundy, wherein the dauphin
resided during the time he was in ill estimation with his father king
Charles VII. and indeed so long as the king lived, keeping his court
at the castle of Genappe in Brabant. These rejoicings were, however,
turned to grief, for the child did not long survive its birth.
In the month of August, it happened that while the king of Scotland
was pointing a cannon, to try its power, it burst, and the king was
so severely wounded by a splinter that he died soon after: it was a
melancholy accident. He had married a daughter of the duke of Gueldres,
and niece to the duke of Burgundy, by whom he had several children.[9]
A terrible and melancholy transaction took place this year in the town
of Arras, the capital of the country of Artois, which said transaction
was called, I know not why, Vaudoisie;[10] but it was said, that
certain men and women transported themselves whither they pleased from
the places where they were, by virtue of a compact with the devil.
Suddenly they were carried to forests or deserts, where they found
assembled great numbers of both sexes, and with them a devil in the
form of a man, whose face they never saw. This devil read to them, or
repeated, his laws and commandments, and in what manner they were to
worship and serve him; then each person kissed his backside,--and he
gave to them, after this ceremony, some little money: he then regaled
them with great plenty of meats and wines, when the lights were
extinguished, and each male selected a female for amorous dalliance,
and suddenly they were all transported back to the places they had come
from.
For such criminal and mad acts, many of the principal persons of the
town were imprisoned; and others of the lower ranks, with women and
such as were known to be of this sect, were so terribly tormented
that some confessed matters to have happened as has been related.
They likewise confessed to have seen and known many persons of rank,
prelates, nobles, and governors of districts, as having been present
at their meetings,--such, indeed, as, upon the rumour of common fame,
their judges and examiners named, and, as it were, put into their
mouths,--so that, through the pains of the torments, they accused many,
and declared that they had seen them at these meetings.
Such as had been thus accused were instantly arrested, and so long and
grievously tormented that they were forced to confess just whatever
their judges pleased, when those of the lower ranks were inhumanly
burnt. Some of the richer and more powerful ransomed themselves from
this disgrace by dint of money,--while others of the higher orders were
remonstrated with and seduced by their examiners into confessions,
under a promise that, if they would confess, they should not suffer in
person or fortune. Others again suffered the severest torments with the
utmost fortitude and patience.
The judges received very large sums of money from such as were enabled
to pay them: others fled the country, or completely proved their
innocence of the charges made against them, and remained unmolested.
It must not be concealed, that many persons of worth knew well that
these charges had been raked up, by a set of wicked persons, to
harrass and disgrace some of the principal inhabitants of Arras, whom
they hated with the bitterest rancour, and, from avarice, were eager
to possess themselves of their fortunes. They had first maliciously
arrested some persons deserving punishment for their crimes, whom
they had so severely tormented, holding out promises of pardon, that
they forced them to accuse whomsoever they were pleased to name, and
them they arrested and tormented as mentioned above. This matter was
considered, by all men of sense and virtue, as most abominable; and it
was thought that those who had thus destroyed and disgraced so many
persons of worth would put their souls in imminent danger at the last
day.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 8: Vilvorden,--a town in Brabant, between Brussels and
Mechlin.]
[Footnote 9: 'While king James was observing the effects of
his artillery, (at the siege of Roxburgh-castle) one of the
rudely-contrived cannons of that age, consisting of bars of iron,
girded with circles of metal, suddenly burst: a fragment struck his
thigh,--and the great effusion of blood produced a death almost
instantaneous. The earl of Angus, who stood next to James, was wounded.
'It is impossible to express the grief of the camp, or of the kingdom,
at the premature loss of a beloved sovereign, in the flower of his age,
aggravated by the circumstances and the strange fatality of the case.
The young regretted a youthful prince, and an ardent leader: the old
sighed at the prospect of another minority.
'Could any consolation have arisen, it must have proceeded from the
spirit of the queen, Mary of Gueldres, who, immediately upon the
tidings, arrived in the camp with the infant heir of the monarchy, and
showing him to the soldiers, while tears gushed from her eyes, she
conjured them by every domestic tie, by the memory of their sovereign,
by the fame of Scottish valour, not to depart from their design, but
to destroy this calamitous fortress. The castle was taken and levelled
with the ground.'
_Pinkerton's Hist. of Scotland_, v. ii. p. 244.]
[Footnote 10: Vaudoisie,--a nocturnal meeting of sorcerers.--DU CANGE.
Supplement. See Valdenses, in his glossary.]
[A.D. 1460.]
CHAP. VII.
SLIGHT MENTION MADE OF THE REBELLION AND DISCORD IN ENGLAND.--OTHER
INCIDENTS.
In this year, there were great troubles, civil wars, and murders in
England. Some held for the party of king Henry, such as the duke of
Somerset and others; and some held for the party of the duke of York,
namely, the earl of Warwick, the earl of Salisbury and others. A severe
battle took place, in which numbers of each side fell; but it was
gained by the duke of York,[11] who made a treaty with the king, in
such wise that, on the decease of the king, the duke was to succeed to
the crown, to the prejudice of the prince of Wales, son to king Henry
and the daughter of Réné king of Sicily.
This treaty was so contrary to the will and interests of the queen
that she raised another army, of all who were inclined to her and her
son the prince of Wales, and took the field, to offer battle to the
duke of York, who had increased his army as strongly as possible, to
defend his rights. On the first day of January, in this year, the
battle took place, which was very bloody, and hardly contested; but
this time, fortune turned against the duke, who was made prisoner,
together with his second son[12] and the earl of Salisbury[13]. Shortly
after, the queen had them beheaded, and their heads put on the points
of three lances: and on the head of the duke was placed, by way of
derision, a paper crown, to denote his eagerness to be king, and his
having failed in the attempt. The earl of Warwick[14] found means to
escape after the battle, and quit the kingdom, which he did in a small
boat, with great danger, and arrived safely at his government of Calais.
In this year, the rector of a village near to Soissons would have the
tithes from a farm, near to this village, belonging to some croisaders
in the holy land. The farmer refused to pay the tithe,--and the rector
instituted a suit against him and the croisaders, which he lost, and,
for this reason, conceived a great hatred against the farmer and the
farmer's wife.
In this same village resided a sorceress, a woman of very bad fame, and
using the black art, who having quarrelled with the farmer's wife for
some trifle, complained to every one of the wrong that had been done
her, and even made complaint of it to the rector. He, full of hatred
against the farmer's wife, said that he wished to be revenged on her
if he knew but how; when the sorceress instantly said, that if he
would do as she should direct, he would have ample vengeance on her.
The rector replied, that there was nothing he would not do to satisfy
his revenge. The sorceress then went and brought him an earthen pot, in
which was a large toad that she had long kept and fed, and said, 'Take,
sir, this animal, and baptize it in the same manner as if it were a
child, and christen it John; then consecrate a holy wafer and give it
him to eat, and leave the rest to me.'
The accursed priest, blinded by his hatred, baptized the filthy beast
by the name of John, and gave it to devour the holy body of our Lord,
then returned it to the hag, who instantaneously cut it in pieces, and
made a drink of it, with other diabolical ingredients. She then gave
it to a young girl whom she had, bidding her carry it to the house of
the farmer at his dinner-hour,--and after holding some conversation
with the farmer, his wife and children, while they were at dinner, to
throw it under the dining-table and come back to her. The girl did
as her mother had ordered, when the consequence was, that the farmer,
his wife, and one of their sons who was dining at the table, felt
themselves suddenly taken with qualms as if they had eaten something
nauseous,--and all died within three days.
This coming to the knowledge of the magistrates, the sorceress, her
daughter, and the rector, were arrested; and, on the truth coming out,
the hag was publicly burnt in the town of Soissons: the girl, being
with child, was sent back to the prison, whence she escaped, but was
afterward retaken, and carried by an appeal before the parliament. The
rector was confined in the prisons of the bishop of Paris, whence he
escaped by dint of friends and money. I know not what became of the
girl.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 11: Battle of Northampton.]
[Footnote 12: Second son,--Edmund earl of Rutland.]
[Footnote 13: Battle of Wakefield. For particulars of this reign,
see the english historians, particularly Wethamstede, a contemporary
writer.]
[Footnote 14: The earl of Warwick--was not present at this battle, for
he and the duke of Norfolk had the charge of king Henry and of the city
of London: it was from the second battle, of St Alban's, that he fled
to Calais.]
CHAP. VIII.
EDWARD EARL OF MARCHE, ELDEST SON TO THE LATE DUKE OF YORK, DEFEATS IN
BATTLE QUEEN MARGARET OF ENGLAND AND OBTAINS THE CROWN BY MEANS OF THE
LONDONERS.--THE QUEEN SEEKS AID FROM THE SCOTS.
On Palm Sunday, the 28th of March, in this same year, Edward earl
of Marche, eldest son to the duke of York, who had so lately been
beheaded, accompanied by the earl of Warwick and other english barons,
marched in arms to London, where he was received as king, and was
offered the crown, but refused to accept of it, until, as he said, he
should drive his enemies out of the kingdom. He thence led his army to
York, where the queen, the duke of Somerset, and those of her party,
were waiting in great numbers to give him battle.
When the two armies approached, an engagement was agreed on between
the parties, to take effect near to a place called Ferrybridge, eight
leagues from York[15]; and when the day of battle arrived, the earls
of Marche and of Warwick ordered their van to advance, under the
command of earl Warwick's uncle, which was severely handled by the
Lancastrians, and put to the rout. The duke of Somerset, thinking the
battle won, allowed his troops to plunder and strip the dead. News of
this was carried instantly to the earl of Marche, whose army, though
very large and unbroken, was much alarmed at the intelligence. When the
earl saw them thus panicstruck, he had it proclaimed through the ranks,
that whoever was frightened might return home, but that all who were
willing to share his fortune should, if successful, receive a sum of
money; and that whoever fled, after having agreed to remain, the person
who put him to death should be handsomely paid for so doing.
The earl of Warwick, hearing that his uncle was slain, and his men
defeated, cried out, with tears, 'I pray to God that he would receive
the souls of all who die in this battle:' then added, 'Dear Lord God, I
have none other succour but thine now in the world, who art my Creator
and Redeemer, to apply to: I beg therefore, vengeance at thy hands!'
then drawing his sword, he kissed the cross at the handle, and said to
his men, 'Whoever chooses to return home, may, for I shall live or die
this day with such as may like to remain with me.' On saying this, he
dismounted, and killed his horse with his sword.
On the morrow, the main body of each army was so near that a general
battle took place, which was most bloody and severe; insomuch that
it lasted three days,--and for some time no one could tell which
side would be victorious: at length, the queen's party were defeated
and almost all killed or made prisoners. Among the principal persons
of note who fell that day were the earl of Northumberland, the lord
Clifford, the lord Muelle[16], brother to the earl,--the lord
Willoughby, the lord Wells, son to the duke of Buckingham, the lord
Grey, sir Andrew Trollop, a terrible man at arms, who had done
marvellous deeds of valour at this and other battles, and numbers of
other valiant gentlemen, and others, to the amount of thirty thousand.
Some that were made prisoners were afterward beheaded at York.[17]
After the battle, Edward entered York, and had the heads of his father
and of his other friends taken down from the gates and most honourably
interred; and magnificent obsequies were performed for their souls
in the cathedral. He then returned to London, triumphant after his
victory, where he was joyfully received, and soon after crowned king of
England.
On the other hand, the queen and the duke of Somerset had retreated
to a castle, wherein they remained until they heard that king Edward
was marching to besiege it[18]. On this, they fled from the castle,
and sought a refuge with Mary queen of Scotland, daughter to the duke
of Gueldres. The two queens concerted a marriage between the young
prince of Wales and queen Mary's eldest daughter, to secure the aid
of the Scots against Edward; but the duke of Burgundy, uncle to Mary,
instantly dispatched to her the lord de Groothuse, to break off this
marriage, because the king of Sicily, father to queen Margaret, was no
friend to the duke,--and thus the match was interrupted[19].