further interruption, and then replied, article by article: first,
then, as to what was said of his son being suspicious, he said,
that, if he was suspicious, he had it not from him, for he had never
in his life been doubtful of man or prince whatever; and if he had
that character, he had it from his mother, who was ever jealous lest
he should love any other woman but her. With regard to giving up
the bastard of Reubempré, he would not do it, as he was arrested in
Holland, of which he, the duke, was sovereign by sea and land, without
acknowledging other lord but God, and in or on that country the king
has not the smallest right or claim. The bastard had been imprisoned
there for crimes which would be judged in that country, and punished
according to its laws. He had been always esteemed of a wicked and
loose character, and guilty of murder and other crimes.
Respecting Olivier de la Marche, whom the king would have sent to
him, for having first uttered the words the king complains of and
the preacher who published them from the pulpit at Bruges,--the duke
replied, that the preacher was a churchman whom he would not touch, as
it was unbecoming him so to do; and that there be preachers who are
neither wise nor prudent, and who go from place to place, so that no
one knows where to find them; 'but for my part,' he continued, 'I do
not believe that any preacher has preached such language. As to Olivier
de la Marche, he is of the household of my son; and I do not think that
he has done any thing but what he ought to have done or said: should it
be otherwise, I shall make proper inquiries, and punish him according
to his deserts.
'With regard to not keeping my word, I will that all the world know
that I have never promised any thing by my mouth to any one alive,
but what I have kept to the very utmost of my power.' This he said
rather in a passion; and then, smiling, he said, 'I never failed in my
promises but to the ladies, and wish that you may know it; and tell my
lord your king, that when I last took leave of him, I indeed said,
that if affairs, or any other matters, did not require my presence
elsewhere, I should not quit Hêdin until I saw him again, if he wished
it; this, and nothing else, did I promise him. Now at the moment of
my setting out, news was brought me of the arrest of the bastard de
Reubempré, and of other affairs, that made my departure necessary; but
I made no very great haste,--for I only travelled four leagues a day
until I came to Lille.'
The chancellor of France then said, that considering the great respect
and affection he had always borne to the crown of France, and the
marked attention the king had shown by selecting for this embassy his
relative, the count d'Eu, and himself, who was chancellor of France,
he hoped the bastard of Reubempré would be given up, and begged of the
duke to weigh this in his mind.
The duke instantly replied, that, in truth, he had ever exerted himself
to pay the king every honour and love; 'but of all the things I have
asked,' added he, 'he has not only never granted one, but he has failed
to keep the promises he made me. Of the lands which he has regained,
he promised me the enjoyment during my life; but no sooner were the
payments made than he forgot what he had promised, and deprived me of
the enjoyment of them, for which I am not the better.'
At these words, master Pierre de Goux, knight and doctor of laws,
advanced, and said aloud to the ambassadors, that all might hear him,
'My lords, the duke, my lord, does not hold all his territories from
the king of France: he holds from him, indeed, the duchy of Burgundy,
the counties of Flanders and of Artois; but he has many fine dominions
out of the kingdom of France,--such as the duchies of Brabant, of
Luxembourg, of Lembourg, of Austria, together with the counties of
Burgundy, Hainault, Holland, Zealand and Namur, and other countries,
which he holds from God alone, although he be not a king.'
The duke interrupted him, and said, 'I will that all who hear may know,
that if I had wished it, I might have been a king!' without declaring
how, or by what means, and then simply added, that before three days
were passed, he would give a more ample answer to the ambassadors.
They then departed to their lodgings; but on this day, the duke wrote
a letter to the king, and sent it by a pursuivant, who delivered it in
person, and brought the duke an answer from the king. The pursuivant
was not more than ten days in going and returning,--but what the
contents of these letters were I am ignorant.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 36: This embassy consisted of the count d'Eu, Charles
d'Artois, a prince of the blood, who had been twenty-three years
prisoner of war in England, Pierre de Morvillier, chancellor of
France,--and Anthony du Bec-Crespin, archbishop of Narbonne.
The count de Charolois was only restrained by the presence of his
father from using severe language; but when the ambassadors took their
leave, he said to the archbishop, who went out the last, 'Recommend me
most humbly to the good graces of the king, and tell him that he has
had me well dressed by his chancellor,--but that, before a year pass,
he shall repent of it!'
It was probably from these intemperate speeches of the chancellor that
the _war of the public good_ had its origin.]
CHAP. XXXI.
THE ANSWER OF THE COUNT DE CHAROLOIS TO THE AMBASSADORS FROM
FRANCE.--THE KING OF FRANCE ORDERS CREVECŒUR, NEAR CAMBRAY, TO BE
TAKEN POSSESSION OF.--THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY SENDS AN EMBASSY TO THE
KING OF FRANCE.--THE DEATH OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.
On the 8th day of November, the French ambassadors were summoned to
come into the presence of the duke of Burgundy,--when the count de
Charolois, before a great company, coolly replied to the different
charges that had been made against him, article by article, without
showing the smallest sign of passion or trouble, to the great
astonishment of all who heard him,--more particularly to the surprise
of the duke, who, on the assembly's breaking up, said to some of his
confidential attendants, that he did not imagine his son was so able
and so prudent.
The ambassadors returned to France, without having obtained any of
the articles they had demanded. They passed through Tournay, Arras,
and Amiens,--and in these and all the other towns on their road,
they assembled the magistracy, and told them, that the king was much
angered at the rumours which had been spread abroad of his intending to
seize the count de Charolois, which they affirmed the king had never
even thought of, and would have disdained to do it, and that he had
assured them of this from his own mouth. If, therefore, those who had
industriously circulated such reports should continue their calumnies,
the ambassadors ordered the magistrates to lay hands on them, that they
might be punished according to the pleasure of the king.
The lords de Torcy and de Moy came, on the 15th November, to Crevecœur,
near Cambray, and took possession of the town and castle, by virtue of
letters-patent which they produced from king Louis, although, a short
time before, he had given it and its dependances to sir Anthony of
Burgundy, as an inheritance for himself and his heirs. The captain of
the castle made some show of resistance, and collected from sixteen to
twenty soldiers,--but he was so talked to by one and the other that he
agreed to surrender it. He was, however, carried away a prisoner to the
king, and, for some time, was in danger of his life,--but at length he
was sent back safe.
About the festival of Christmas, the duke of Burgundy sent a notable
embassy to the king of France, consisting of the bishop of Tournay,
the lord de Crequy, and other nobles, who waited on the king at Tours
in Touraine, where he had assembled the princes and great lords of his
realm: the principal of them were the king of Sicily duke of Anjou, the
duke of Orleans, the counts de Nevers and de St Pol, with numbers of
others.
When they were all met in the king's presence, the king addressed
them himself, and said, that he had not assembled them to hurt or
distress the duke of Burgundy, which many persons had affected to
believe; for he was under greater obligations to the duke than he
could express,--and so far from doing him any harm, he wished him all
happiness and honour. He had called them to his presence to consider
of the conduct of the duke of Brittany, who had told, or written, to
the count de Charolois, to the duke of Orleans, to the duke of Bourbon,
to the king of Sicily, and to other princes of his realm, that the
reason why he, the king, remained so much in Picardy, was to conclude
a peace with his ancient enemies the English; and to obtain this he
had promised to give them the duchies of Normandy and Guienne, that by
their assistance he might conquer and destroy the country of Burgundy,
of Brittany, of the Bourbonnois, of the Orleannois, and the other
territories of the princes of his blood and of his kingdom.
The king affirmed on his oath, that he never thought of such
things,--and that if he had, he was unworthy to wear a crown, or to
be a king. The reason of his remaining in Picardy was because the duke
of Burgundy had an intention to undertake an expedition against the
Turk; and on that account he had indeed attempted to conclude a peace
with England, that the duke's territories, during his absence, might
continue in peace.
The king then demanded of the princes present, if they believed what
the duke of Brittany had written to them: when they unanimously
replied, they did not. He then demanded, that they would all assist him
with their services against the duke of Brittany, who had so grossly
injured him; and they assured him they would do so to the utmost of
their power.
On the 3d of January, in this year 1464, died Charles duke of Orleans,
about seventy years old, who left a son about three years of age, and a
daughter of seven or eight years old. He it was who commenced the civil
war in France against John duke of Burgundy, in revenge for the murder
of his father, which lasted upward of thirty years, to such great loss
and destruction of the kingdom that it would be pitiless to relate it,
as it may be seen in the Chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet.[37]
This duke of Orleans was made prisoner at the battle of Agincourt,
and carried to England, where he remained twenty-five years; and it
is supposed that he would never have obtained his liberty, if duke
Philip of Burgundy had not ransomed him; he also gave him in marriage
his niece, a daughter of the duke of Cleves, by whom he had the two
children above mentioned.
On his return to France, he led an exemplary and devout life; and on
every Friday throughout the year, he gave thirteen poor persons their
dinner, in honour of God: he served them in person at table, before
he ate any thing himself, and then washed their feet, in imitation of
our Saviour, who washed the feet of his disciples on the day of the
Passover.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 37: 'Il semble par la que Monstrelet nie son auteur de la
plûpart de ce qui est contenue au 3me volume.'
_MS. note in M. du Cangé's copy._
This proves, however, what has been said in the preface, of nearly all
the last volume being by another writer than Monstrelet.]
CHAP. XXXII.
THE MARRIAGE OF KING EDWARD OF ENGLAND, AND THE ALLIANCE HE WISHES
TO FORM WITH FRANCE.--THE BASTARDS OF BURGUNDY RETURN FROM THEIR
EXPEDITION.--THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY DANGEROUSLY ILL.--THE FAMILY OF CROY
ARE DISMISSED FROM THEIR PLACES.
In this year, between Christmas and Easter, Edward king of England,
surnamed Long Shanks, one of the handsomest knights of his kingdom,
took to wife the daughter of lord Rivers, an English knight of middling
rank, who, in his youth, had been sent to France to serve the duchess
of Bedford. The duke of Bedford was then regent of France for his
nephew king Henry VI. an infant; and his duchess was his second wife,
and sister to the count Louis de St Pol,--an exceedingly handsome lady.
After the death of the duke, his widow, following her own inclinations,
which were contrary to the wishes of her family, particularly to those
of her uncle, the cardinal of Rouen, married the said lord Rivers,
reputed the handsomest man that could be seen, who shortly after
carried her to England, and never after could return to France for
fear of the relatives of this lady. She had several children by lord
Rivers,--and among them was a daughter of prodigious beauty, who, by
her charms, so captivated king Edward that he married her, to the great
discontent of several of the higher nobility, who would, if possible,
have prevented the marriage from taking place. But, to satisfy them
that the lady's birth was not inferior to theirs, king Edward sent
letters to the count de Charolois, to entreat that he would send him
some lord of the family of the lady to be present at her wedding.--The
count sent him sir James de St Pol, her uncle, grandly accompanied by
knights and gentlemen, to the number of more than one hundred horse,
who, on their arrival at London, put an end to the murmurings on this
marriage, and gave great satisfaction to the king. After the feasts,
when they were about to return home, the king presented sir James de St
Pol with three hundred nobles; and to each knight and gentleman of his
company he gave fifty nobles, beside most handsome entertainment.
It was commonly said at the time, that the count de Charolois had sent
so handsome a company of nobles to England to please king Edward, and
gain him over to his interests, knowing that the king of France was
anxious to form an alliance with Edward to his prejudice, and that
the lord de Launoy had been sent by Louis to negotiate a treaty with
England. King Edward would not, however, listen to it, and even sent
the letters which the lord de Launoy had brought from the king of
France to the duke of Burgundy, for his perusal, and likewise wrote
to him every thing the lord de Launoy had told him from Louis, which
greatly astonished the duke, who from that time became suspicious of
the king of France's designs, and of those by whom he was surrounded.
It was also said, that king Edward had charged sir James de St Pol to
tell the count de Charolois, that if he wanted men at arms, he would
send him as many as he pleased.
In this year, the frost was so severe that wine was not only frozen
in the cellars but at table: even some wells were frozen,--and this
weather lasted from the 10th of December to the 15th of February. The
frost was so sharp for seven or eight days that many persons died in
the fields; and the old people said that there had not been so very
severe a winter since the year 1407. Much snow also fell; and the
rivers Seine and Oise were frozen so that waggons passed over them.
Toward the end of February, sir Anthony and sir Baldwin, bastards of
Burgundy, returned from their intended expedition to Turkey. Though
there were more than two thousand combatants embarked at Sluys, from
four to five hundred died at sea of an epidemical distemper that
raged in the fleet. They left their fleet and arms at Marseilles and
travelled through Avignon to Burgundy, and thence to Brussels. At this
time, also, the bishop of Tournay and the other ambassadors returned
from their embassy to France. It was then said, that had they not gone
thither, the king was determined to invade the territories of the duke
of Burgundy, thinking to have the support of the count de St Pol and
the duke of Brittany, but in which he failed.
The duke of Burgundy was now attacked by so severe an illness that
every one despaired of his life. The count de Charolois was then at
Brussels, but without hope of his father's recovery; and knowing that
the lord de Croy and his friends had in their hands the government of
the country, and of all its strongest places, and that the lord de Croy
had been absent fifteen days with the king of France, he suddenly sent
his most confidential friends to Luxembourg, Namur, the Boulonois,
Beaumont, Hainault, and other parts, to take instant possession of
them, and appoint other governors on whom he could depend. As the
physicians gave no hope of the duke's amendment, his son sent orders
to all the abbeys and monasteries dependant on him, to offer up their
most devout prayers for his restoration to health; and he was so much
beloved by his people that their prayers were heard, and he recovered
his health. On his recovery, he made his son governor of all his
dominions, who instantly dismissed the lord de Quievrain, the duke's
second chamberlain, the lord d'Auxi being the first, and appointed the
lord d'Aymeries in his room, which displeased the duke so much that he
immediately revoked the appointment he had given his son.
The count de Charolois, upon this, called together the great
lords of the court, namely, the count de St Pol, sir Anthony his
bastard-brother, and the majority of the duke's council, and said to
them, 'I will not hide my mind from you,--but wish to tell you now,
what I had intended doing before, that you and all my other friends
may know that I consider the lord de Croy, his friends and allies, as
my mortal enemies.' He then declared his reasons for this opinion, and
had the same published throughout all the towns under his father's
subjection, by letters, the contents of which shall be hereafter
related.
The count, having thus explained himself to his friends, instantly sent
three or four knights of his household to the lord de Quievrain, who
was first chamberlain in the absence of his uncle, the lord de Croy,
ordering him to quit the service of the duke his father as quietly
as he could, that his father might not hear of it, nor be troubled
thereat. The lord de Quievrain, perplexed at such orders, unwilling to
quit so good a situation, and fearing to offend the count de Charolois,
followed his own counsel, and went on the morrow morning to the duke,
and, throwing himself on his knees, thanked him for all his bounties
for the trifling services he had done, and requested his permission
to depart, for that the count his son had ordered him to leave the
court,--and he was afraid he would not be contented until he was put to
death.
The duke, hearing these words, was in a mighty passion, and forbade him
to quit his service: then, snatching up a club, he sallied out of his
apartment in the greatest rage, saying to his attendants, that he would
go and see whether his son would put to death any of his servants. Some
of them, however, dreading the consequences of his passion, had the
doors closed, and the porter hidden with the keys, so that the duke
could not go out, but was forced to wait until the porter was found.
At this moment, his sister, the duchess of Bourbon, accompanied by sir
Anthony of Burgundy, and many ladies and damsels, came to him, and
remonstrated with him so prudently, that they moderated his anger, and
he returned to his apartments. In the mean time, the lord de Quievrain
left his house, with only one attendant, as secretly as he could.
The count de Charolois, hearing of his father's anger against him, held
daily councils with the duke's chief ministers, to seek the means of
appeasing it; and it was concluded, that the count should write letters
to all the great towns under the duke's dominion, stating to them his
grievances, and the reasons he had for dismissing the lord de Croy and
his friends from all the places they had holden under the duke. Similar
letters were likewise dispatched to the principal nobles,--and they
were ordered to be publicly read, that every one might know the true
state of the matter.
CHAP. XXXIII.
A COPY OF THE LETTERS WHICH THE COUNT DE CHAROLOIS SENT TO THE NOBLES
AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS UNDER THE DOMINION OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, TO
EXPLAIN THE REASONS WHY HE HAD DISMISSED THE LORD DE CROY AND HIS
FRIENDS FROM HIS FATHER'S SERVICE.
'Very dear and well beloved, you know, thanks to God, how long and
grandly our lord and father, by the noble virtues inherent in his
nature, has exalted the house of Burgundy, of which he is the head,
in a much higher degree than it ever was in the memory of man. And
although from his great age he has of late been afflicted with
illness, to the weakening of his faculties, he has, nevertheless,
always endeavoured to preserve his possessions untouched, to maintain
his subjects in peace, and to rule them with equity and justice; and
we have seen nothing to counteract such happy effects but the fraud
and damnable deceptions of the lord de Croy and his friends, who,
through an inordinate ambition and insatiable avarice, have attempted
to gain to themselves the whole government and the possession of all
the strong places so long as our said lord and father should live,
and, like ungrateful people, after his decease to ruin and destroy the
county, from hatred to us; for ever since we have arrived at years of
discretion, they have laboured, to the utmost of their power, by false
and wicked reports, that we might incur the anger of our said lord and
father, as you and the three estates have been before duly informed,
knowing that by such means alone they could succeed in their attempts.
They have, likewise, sought other means of destroying us, had it been
in their power; for while my lord the king, when dauphin, was in
this country, they endeavoured to lay hands on us, and make us their
prisoner. This we have been told by the king's own mouth since his
coronation, from his love to us,--for which singular affection we hold
ourself, and ever shall hold ourself, under the greatest obligations to
him.
'Since his majesty's coronation, they have been so much vexed at the
favour the king showed us that they have never ceased to intrigue
until they had found means to deprive us of his majesty's good graces,
and to keep us at a distance from him. By their machinations, the
french ambassadors lately, in the presence of our lord and father, made
heavy and public accusations against us in the town of Lille, as you
may have heard; and the said de Croys have offered their services to
the king after the decease of our lord and father, in case he should
intend making war on us, which I cannot believe his majesty will
do,--for we have not done any thing, nor, please God, will we do any
thing, that may induce him to it.
'They have boasted that they would make war on us from the strong
places of Bologne, Namur, Luxembourg, and others in their hands, and
that they would deliver them up to the power of others than the said
duke our father or ourself. These de Croys have, beside, by wicked
reports to our great prejudice, incited the king to repurchase the
towns and country our said lord had in pledge; and because our said
lord made some difficulty in acceding to this plan, because the king
required an acquittance for a very large sum, which ought to have been
paid at the time of this repurchase, the lord de Croy told him, and
caused him to be told, as from the king, that, notwithstanding the
repurchase of these said lands, he should remain in the enjoyment of
them during his life, which the lord de Croy knew at the same time to
be void of foundation, and notoriously contrary to truth.
'The lord de Croy, still further to do mischief to the territories
of our said lord and father, has, by himself and friends, strongly
aided and supported the pretensions of the count de Nevers, our
cousin, against us; and in consequence, the said count has boasted
that the king had promised to assist him with four hundred lances, in
conjunction with the men of Liege, to invade Brabant after the decease
of our said lord and father, and to deprive us of our rights therein.