whom these presents may come, health and greeting. We make known by
them, that the most potent prince, and our very dear cousin, Henry, duke
of Lancaster and Hereford, earl of Derby, Lincoln, Leicester and
Northampton, has given us his love and friendship. Nevertheless, being
desirous of strengthening the ties of this affection between us, seeing
that nothing in this world can be more delectable or profitable:
‘In the name of God and the most holy Trinity, which is a fair example
and sound foundation of perfect love and charity, and without whose
grace nothing can be profitably concluded,—to the end that the form and
manner of this our friendship may be reputed honourable, we have caused
the terms of it to be thus drawn up. First, we both hold it just and
right to except from it all whom we shall think proper; and conformably
thereto we except, on our part, the following persons: first, our very
mighty and puissant prince and lord Charles, by the grace of God king of
France; my lord the dauphin, his eldest son, and all the other children
of my foresaid lord; the queen of France; our very dear uncles the dukes
of Berry, Burgundy and Bourbon; those most noble princes, our dear
cousins, the king of the Romans and of Bohemia; the king of Hungary, his
brother and their uncles, and Becop[34] marquis of Moravia; and also all
our cousins, and others of our blood, now living, or that may be born,
as well males as females, and our very dear father the duke of Milan,
whose daughter we have married. This relationship must make us
favourable to his honour. Also those noble princes, and our very dear
cousins, the kings of Castille and of Scotland, with all the other
allies of our foresaid lord. To whom must likewise be added our very
dear cousin the duke of Lorraine[35], the count of Cleves[36], the lord
de Clisson, and all our vassals bound to us by faith and oath, whom we
hold ourselves obliged to guard from ill, since they have submitted to
our obedience and commands.
‘Item, The duke of Lancaster and myself will be always united in the
strictest ties of love and affection, as loyal and true friends should
be.
‘Item, Each of us will be, at all times and places, friendly to one
another, and to our friends, and enemies to our enemies, as will be
honourable and praise-worthy.
‘Item, We will each, in all times and places, aid and assist the other
in the defence of his person, his fortune, honour and estate, as well by
words as deeds, diligently and carefully in the most honourable manner.
‘Item, In times of war and discord we will mutually defend each other
against all princes, lords and barons, with the utmost good will, and
also against any corporation, college or university, by every means in
our power, engines, councils, force, men at arms, subsidies, or by
whatever other means we may think most efficient to make war on and
oppose the enemies of either of us; and we will exert ourselves to the
utmost against every person whatever, excepting those who have been
before excepted, in every lawful and honourable manner.
‘Item, All the above articles we will strictly observe so long as the
truces shall continue between my aforesaid sovereign lord and king and
the king of England, and should a more solid peace be formed, so long as
that peace shall last, without infringing an article. In witness of
which we have caused these articles to be drawn up, and have appended
our seal thereto. Done at Paris the 17th day of June, in the year of
Grace 1396.’
THE SECOND LETTER OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS, IN REPLY TO THAT
FROM THE KING OF ENGLAND.
‘High and mighty prince Henry, king of England,—I, Louis, by the grace
of God, son and brother to the kings of France, duke of Orleans, write,
to make known to you, that I received, as a new year’s gift, the first
day of January, by the hands of your herald Lancaster, king at arms, the
letter you have written to me, in answer to the one I sent to you by
Champagne, king at arms, and Orleans my herald, and have heard its
contents.
‘In regard to your ignorance, or pretended ignorance, whether my letter
could have been addressed to you, your name was on it, such as you
received at the font, and by which you were always called by your
parents when they were alive. I had not indeed given you your new titles
at length, because I do not approve of the manner whereby you have
attained them,—but know that my letter was addressed to you.
‘In regard to your being surprised at my requesting to perform a deed of
arms with you during the existence of the truce between my most
redoubted lord the king of France and the high and mighty prince king
Richard, my nephew, and your liege lord lately deceased, (God knows by
whose orders) as well as an alliance of friendship subsisting between
us, of which you have sent me a copy,—that treaty is now at an end by
your own fault; first, by your having undertaken your enterprise against
your sovereign lord king Richard, whom God pardon! who was the ally of
my lord the king of France by marriage with his daughter, as well as by
written articles, sealed with their seals, to the observance of which
the kindred on each side made oath, in the presence of the two monarchs
and their relations, in their different countries.
‘You may have seen in those articles, of which you sent me a copy, that
the allies of my said lord the king were excepted, and may judge whether
I can honestly now have any friendship for you; for at the time I made
the said alliance I never conceived it possible you could have done
against your king what it is well known you have done.
‘In regard to your objection, that no knight, of whatever rank he may
be, ought to request a deed of arms until he shall have returned the
articles of alliance, supposing such to exist between them, I wish to
know whether you rendered to your lord, king Richard, the oath of
fidelity you made to him before you proceeded in the manner you have
done against his person.
‘In respect to your throwing up my friendship, know, that from the
moment I was informed of the acts you committed, against your liege
lord, I had not any expectation that you could suppose you would place
any dependance on me,—for you must have known that I could not have any
desire to preserve your friendship.
‘With regard to your high situation, I do not think the divine virtues
have placed you there. God may have dissembled with you, and have set
you on a throne, like many other princes, whose reign has ended in
confusion. And, in consideration of my own honour, I do not wish to be
compared with you.
‘You say, you shall be always eager to defend your honour, which has
been ever unblemished. Enough on that head is sufficiently known in all
countries.
‘As for your intentions of visiting your possessions on this side of the
sea, without informing me of your arrival, I assure you, that you shall
not be there long without hearing from me; for, if God permit, I will
accomplish what I have proposed, if it be not your fault.
‘In regard to your telling me, that your progenitors have not thus been
accustomed to be challenged by those of less degree than themselves,—who
have been my ancestors, I need not be my own herald, for they are well
known to all the world. And in respect to my personal honour, through
the mercy of God, it is without reproach, as I have always acted like a
loyal and honest man, as well toward my God as to my king and his realm:
whoever has acted, or may act otherwise, though he hold the universe in
his hand, is worthless, and undeserving of respect.
‘You tell me, that a prince ought to make his every action redound to
the honour of God, to the common advantage of all Christendom, and the
particular welfare of his kingdom, and not through vain glory, nor for
selfish purposes. I reply, that you say well; but if you had acted
accordingly in your own country, many things done there by you, or by
your orders, would not have taken place.
‘How could you suffer my much redoubted lady the queen of England to
return so desolate to this country after the death of her lord,
despoiled, by your rigour and cruelty, of her dower, which you detain
from her, and likewise the portion she carried hence on her marriage?
The man who seeks to gain honour is always the defender and guardian of
the rights of widows and damsels of virtuous life, such as my niece was
known to lead. And as I am so nearly related to her, acquitting myself
toward God and toward her, as a relation, I reply, that to avoid
effusion of blood, I will cheerfully meet you in single combat, or with
any greater number you may please, and that through the aid of God, of
the blessed virgin Mary, and of my lord St Michael, so soon as I shall
receive your answer to this letter, whether body to body or with any
greater number than ourselves, you shall find me doing my duty, for the
preservation of my honour, in such wise as the case may require.
‘I return you thanks, in the name of those of my party, for the greater
care you seem to have of their healths than you had for that of your
sovereign and liege lord.
‘You tell me, that he who is not void of discernment in regard to his
own condition will be desirous of selecting irreproachable companions.
Know, that I am not ignorant who I am, nor who are my companions; and I
inform you, that you will find us loyal and honest, for such we have
been ever reported. And, thanks to God, we have never done any thing by
word or deed but what has been becoming loyal gentlemen. Do you and your
people look to yourselves, and write me back your intention as to what I
have offered, which I am impatient to know. That you may be assured this
letter has been written by me, and that, through God’s aid, I am
resolved to execute my purpose, I have put to it the seal of my arms,
and signed it with my own hand, on the morrow of the feast of our Lady,
the 26th day of March, 1402.’
THE REPLY OF KING HENRY TO THIS SECOND LETTER OF THE DUKE OF
ORLEANS.
‘Henry, king of England and lord of Ireland, to Louis de Valois, duke of
Orleans.
‘We write to inform you, that we have received, the last day of this
present month of April, the letter you have sent to us by Champagne king
at arms and your herald Orleans, intending it as an answer to the one
from us, received by you, on the 26th day of last January, from the
hands of Lancaster king at arms, our herald. Your letter is dated the
26th day of March, in the year 1402, and we have heard its contents.
‘Considering all things, more especially the situation in which it has
pleased God to place us, we ought not to make you any reply to the
request you make, nor to the replications since your first letter.
However, as you attack our honour, we send you this answer, recollecting
we did reply to your first request, which you pretended arose from the
hot spirit of youth, and your earnest desire to gain renown in arms. It
seems by your present letter, that this desire has taken a frivolous
turn, and that you wish for a war of words, thinking that by defaming
our person, you may overwhelm us with confusion, which God grant may
fall, and more justly, on yourself! We are therefore moved, and not
without cause, to make answer to the principal points of your letter, in
manner as will hereafter to you more plainly appear, considering that it
does not become our state nor honour to do so by chiding; but in respect
to such frivolous points, replete with malice, we shall not condescend
to make any answer, except declaring that all your reproaches are false.
‘First, in regard to the dignity we hold, that you write you do not
approve it, nor the manner by which we have obtained it. We are
certainly very much surprised at this, for we made you fully acquainted
with our intentions before we departed from France; at which time you
approved of it, and even promised us aid against our very dear lord and
cousin, king Richard, whom God pardon! We would not accept of your
assistance; and we hold your approbation or disapprobation of our
undertaking of little worth, since it has pleased God, by his gracious
favour, to approve of it, as well as the inhabitants of our kingdom.
This is a sufficient reply to such as would deny our right,—and I am
confident in the benign grace of God, who has hitherto guarded us, that
he will continue his gracious mercy and bring the matter to so happy a
conclusion that you shall be forced to acknowledge the dignity we enjoy,
and the right we have to it.
‘In regard to that passage in your letter, where you speak of the
decease of our very dear cousin and lord, whom God pardon! adding, God
knows how it happened, and by whom caused,—we know not with what intent
this expression has been used; but if you mean, or dare to say, that his
death was caused by our order or consent, it is false, and will be a
falsehood every time you utter it,—and this we are ready to prove,
through the grace of God, in personal combat, if you be willing and have
the courage to dare it.
‘As to your saying, that you would have preserved the alliance made
between us, if we had not undertaken such offensive measures against our
very dear lord and cousin, who was so intimately related to your lord
and brother by marriage and treaties sealed with their seals, adding,
that at the time you made the alliance with us, you never imagined we
should have acted against our very dear lord and cousin, as is publicly
known to have been done by us,—we reply, we have done nothing against
him but what we would have dared to do before God and the whole world.
‘You say, that we might have seen in the bond of alliance what persons
were excepted in it, and whether our very dear and well beloved cousin,
the lady Isabella, your much honoured lady and niece, was not
comprehended in those excepted. We know that you excepted them in
general; but when, at your request, I entered into this alliance, you
did not make any specific exceptions of them, like to what you did
respecting your fair uncle of Burgundy; and yet the principal cause of
your seeking our friendship, and requesting this alliance to be made,
was your dislike to your uncle of Burgundy, which we can prove whenever
we please, and then all loyal men will see if you have not been
defective in your conduct as to our alliance; and though hypocrisy may
not avail before God, it may serve to blind mankind.
‘When you maintain that, after you were acquainted with the pretended
act done by us against our aforesaid lord and cousin, you lost all hope
that I would abide by any agreement entered into with you, or any other
person, we must suppose that you no longer wish to preserve any
friendship with us; but we marvel greatly that some time after we were
in possession of the dignity to which it has pleased God to raise us,
you should send to us one of your knights wearing your badges, to assure
us that you were eager to remain our very sincere friend, and that,
after your lord and brother, the friendship of no prince would be so
agreeable to you as ours. You charged him also to assure us, that the
bonds of alliance between us had been sealed with our great seals, which
he said you would not that any Frenchman should know.
‘You have afterward made us acquainted, by some of our vassals, with
your good inclinations, and the true friendship you bore us; but since
you wish not any connexion with us, considering the state we hold, (such
is your expression) we know not why we should wish your friendship,—for
what you formerly wrote to us does not correspond with your present
letters.
‘When you say, that in respect to the dignity we now enjoy, you suppose
that divine virtue has not assisted us, adding, that God may have
dissembled his intentions, and, like too many other princes, have caused
us to reign to our confusion,—assuredly many persons speak
thoughtlessly, and judge of others from themselves, so that the
all-powerful God may turn their judgments against themselves, and not
without cause. And as for the divine virtue having placed us on the
throne, we reply, that our Lord God, to whom we owe every praise and
duty, has shewn us more grace than we deserve; and it is solely to his
mercy and benignity we are indebted for what he has been pleased to
bestow upon us,—for certainly no sorceries nor witchcrafts could have
done it; and however you may doubt, we do not, but have the fullest
confidence that, through the grace of God, we have been placed where we
are.
‘In regard to your charge against us for our rigour against your niece,
and for having cruelly suffered her to depart from this country in
despair for the loss of her lord, and robbed her of her dower, which you
say we detain, after despoiling her of the money she brought hither,—God
knows, from whom nothing can be concealed, that so far from acting
towards her harshly, we have ever shewn her kindness and friendship; and
whoever shall dare say otherwise lies wickedly. We wish to God that you
may never have acted with greater rigour, unkindness, or cruelty,
towards any lady or damsel than we have done to her, and we believe it
would be the better for you.
‘As to the despair you say that she is in for the loss of our very dear
lord and cousin, we must answer as we have before done; and in regard to
her dower, of the seizure of which you complain, we are satisfied, that
if you had well examined the articles of the marriage you could not, if
you had spoken truth, have made this charge against us.
‘In regard to her money, it is notorious, that on her leaving this
kingdom we had made her such restitution of jewels and money, (much more
than she brought hither) that we hold ourselves acquitted; and we have,
beside, an acquittance under the seal of her father, our lord and
brother, drawn up in his council, and in your presence, as may be made
apparent to all the world, and prove that we have never despoiled her,
as you have falsely asserted.
‘You ought therefore to be more cautious in what you write: for no
prince should write any thing but what is the truth, and honourable to
himself, which is what you have not hitherto done. We have, however,
answered your letter very particularly, in such wise, that through the
aid of GOD, of our Lady, and of my lord Saint George, all men of honour
will think our reply satisfactory, and our honour preserved.
‘With regard to your companions, we have not any fault to find, for we
are not acquainted with them; but as to yourself, considering all
things, we do not repute very highly of you. And when you return thanks
to those of your family for having felt more pity than we have done for
our king and sovereign liege lord, we reply, that by the honour of GOD,
of our Lady, and of my lord St George, when you say so you lie falsely
and wickedly, for we hold his blood dearer to us than the blood of those
on your side, whatever you may falsely say to the contrary; and if you
say that his blood was not dear to us in his lifetime, we tell you that
you lie, and will falsely lie every time you assert it. This is known to
God, to whom we appeal, offering our body to combat against yours, in
our defence, as a loyal prince should do, if you be willing or dare to
prove it.
‘I wish to God that you had never done, or procured to be done, any
thing more against the person of your lord and brother, or his children,
than we have done against our late lord,—and in that case we believe
that you would find your conscience more at ease[37].
‘Although you think us undeserving of thanks for our conduct to those on
your side, we are persuaded that we have acted uprightly before God and
man, and not in the manner you falsely pretend,—considering that, after
our faithful lieges and subjects, we have good reason to love those of
France, from the just right God has given us to that crown; and we hope,
through his aid, to obtain possession of it. For their preservation, we
the more willingly shall accept a single combat with you, as it will
spare the effusion of blood, as a good shepherd should expose himself to
save his flock; whereas your pride and vain glory would triumph in their
death,—and, like the mercenary shepherd to whom the flock does not
belong, on seeing the wolf approach, you will take to flight, without
ever attending to the safety of your sheep, confirming the quarrel of
the two mothers before Solomon; that is to say, the true mother who had
pity on her child, while the other cruelly wished to have the child
divided, if the wise judge had not prevented it.
‘As you declare in your letter, that you are willing to meet us, body
against body, or with a greater or lesser number of men, in the defence
of your honour, we shall thank you to perform it, and make known to you,
that, through God’s assistance, you shall see the day when you shall not
depart without the deed being accomplished according to one or other of
these proposals, and to our honour.
‘Since you are desirous to have the time ascertained when we shall visit
our possessions on your side of the sea, we inform you, that whenever it
may please us, or we may judge it most expedient, we shall visit those
possessions accompanied by as many persons as we shall think proper, for
the honour of God, of ourself, and of our kingdom, which persons we
esteem as our loyal servants and subjects, and friends, to assert our
right,—opposing however, with God’s aid, our body against yours, in
defending our honour against the false and wicked aspersions you are
inclined to throw on it, if you have the courage to meet us, which, if
it please God, shall be soon, when you shall be known for what you are.
‘God knows, and we wish all the world to know, that this our answer does
not proceed from pride or presumption of heart, but from your having
made such false charges against us, and from our eager desire to defend
our right with every means that God, through his grace, has granted us.
We have therefore made the above answer; and that you may be assured of
its truth, we have sealed with our arms this present letter.’
Notwithstanding these letters and answers that passed between the king
of England and the duke of Orleans, they never personally met, and the
quarrel remained as before.
CHAP. X.
WALERAN COUNT DE SAINT POL SENDS A CHALLENGE TO THE KING OF
ENGLAND.
In this same year, Waleran count de St Pol sent a challenge to the king
of England, in the following words:
‘Most high and mighty prince Henry, duke of Lancaster,—I Waleran de
Luxembourg, count de Ligny and de St Pol, considering the affinity,
love, and esteem I bore the most high and potent prince Richard, king of
England, whose sister I married[38], and whose destruction you are
notoriously accused of, and greatly blamed for;—considering also the
disgrace I and my descendants would feel, as well as the indignation of
an all-powerful God, if I did not attempt to revenge the death of the
said king, my father-in-law;—
‘I make known to you by these presents, that I will annoy you by every
possible means in my power, and that personally, and by my friends,
relations and subjects, I will do you every mischief by sea and land,
beyond the limits of the kingdom of France, for the cause before said,
and no way for the acts that have taken place, and may hereafter take
place, between my very redoubted lord and sovereign, the king of France,
and the kingdom of England.
‘This I certify to you under my seal, given at my castle of Luxembourg,
the 10th day of February, in the year 1402.’
This letter was carried to the king of England by a herald of count
Waleran; and thereto the king, Henry, made answer, that he held his
menaces cheap, and that it was his will that count Waleran should enjoy
his country and his subjects.
The count de St Pol, having sent this challenge, made preparations to
begin the war against the king of England and his allies. He also caused
to be made, in his castle of Bohain, a figure to represent the earl of
Rutland[39], with an emblazoned coat of arms, and a portable gibbet,
which he got secretly conveyed to one of his forts in the country of the
Boulonois; and thence he caused them to be carried by Robinet de
Robretanges, Aliaume de Biurtin, and other experienced warriors, to the
gates of Calais. There the gibbet was erected, and the figure of the
earl of Rutland hung on it by the feet; and when this was done, the
above persons returned to their fort.
When the english garrison in Calais saw this spectacle in the morning,
they were much surprised thereat, and without delay cut the figure down,
and carried it into the town. After that time, they were more inclined
than ever to do mischief to the count Waleran and his subjects.
CHAP. XI.
CONCERNING THE SENDING OF SIR JAMES DE BOURBON, COUNT DE LA
MARCHE, AND HIS TWO BROTHERS, BY ORDERS FROM THE KING OF
FRANCE, TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE WELSH,—AND OTHER
MATTERS.