Paris, in consequence of the deliberations of the prelates, clergy and
council, sent certain ambassadors to pope Benedict,—namely, the
patriarch of Alexandria, who was then at Paris, the bishops of Cambray
and Beauvais, the abbots of Saint Denis and of Mont St Michel, the lord
de Courrouille, master John Toussain, secretary to the king, and other
doctors of the university, with many very respectable persons. They took
the road to Marseilles, where Benedict, and some of the cardinals of his
party, then resided.
These ambassadors were charged to remonstrate with him, in an amicable
manner, on the offer which his rival had made to renounce the papacy, in
order to effectuate an union of the church. In case he should not be
willing to make a similar offer, they were to intimate to him, that if
he refused, the whole realm of France and Dauphiny, in conjunction with
many other countries of Christendom, would withdraw themselves from him,
and no longer obey his bulls or apostolical mandates. In like manner
would they act toward his adversary, were he to refuse compliance with
the offers made by his ambassadors to the king of France and the
university of Paris.
The ambassadors were graciously received by pope Benedict, on their
arrival at Marseilles; but when they opened the matter of their embassy,
and explained the subject at length, the pope replied in person, that in
a short time they should have his answer,—and in the mean while, he was
not forgetful that they had threatened to withdraw themselves from his
obedience.
To provide a remedy against the effects of this menace, and that no
cardinal might publish a constitution against such as might withdraw
themselves from his obedience, or even that of his successors, he sent
an envoy to the king and the university of Paris, to their great
astonishment.
The pope having given an answer to the ambassadors from France, very
different indeed from what they expected, they set out on their return
to Paris much displeased with him. On their arrival, they related all
that had passed. The patriarch, however, had remained at Marseilles,
with the hope of inclining pope Benedict to an union of the church.
[A. D. 1407.]
CHAP. XXXIV.
THE DUKE OF ORLEANS RECEIVES THE DUCHY OF ACQUITAINE, AS A
PRESENT, FROM THE KING OF FRANCE.—A TRUCE CONCLUDED
BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
At the beginning of this year, the duke of Orleans, by means which he
had long practised, prevailed on his brother, the king of France, to
give him the duchy of Acquitaine, which he had long been wishing for.
Truces were at this time concluded between the kings of France and
England, for one year only, and were proclaimed at the accustomed
places. The Flemings were much rejoiced thereat, for they thought that
their commerce would now be more securely carried on.
Ambassadors from England arrived at Paris from king Henry, the principal
of whom was sir Thomas Erpingham, having with him an archdeacon, and
several noblemen. He was presented to the king by Tassin de Servillers,
and required in marriage one of the princesses, a nun at Poissy, for the
prince of Wales, eldest son to king Henry. But as they demanded too
great concessions with the princess, they returned without success. The
lord de Hangest, whom the king had lately for his merit made master of
the cross-bows, escorted them as far as Boulogne-sur-mer[106].
CHAP. XXXV.
THE PRINCE OF WALES[107], ACCOMPANIED BY HIS TWO UNCLES,
MARCHES A CONSIDERABLE FORCE TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THE
SCOTS.
The prince of Wales, son to king Henry, assembled, about the feast of
All-saints, one thousand men at arms and six thousand archers, to make
an incursion into Scotland. His uncles, the dukes of York and Somerset,
and the lords Mortimer, Rôs, Cornwall, and many other nobles attended
him.
Their object was to retaliate on the Scots, who had lately broken the
truce, and done much mischief with fire and sword in the duchy of
Lancaster. They entered Scotland, and committed great carnage wherever
they passed; for the Scots were quite unprepared to receive them, nor
had they any intelligence of their coming until they were in the midst
of their country.
When news of this invasion was brought to the king of Scotland, he was
at his town of St Jangon[108], in the center of his realm. He assembled
in haste his nobles, and as large a force as could be collected on so
short notice, which he sent under the command of the earls of Douglas
and Buchan, with his constable, to meet the English and combat them,
should they think it advisable. When they were within six leagues of the
enemy, they were informed, that the English were far superior in
numbers, and they adopted other measures. They sent ambassadors to the
prince of Wales to treat of peace, and they managed so well that the
truce was renewed for one year.
The prince of Wales, having done great mischief to Scotland, returned to
England; and the Scots disbanded their army.
CHAP. XXXVI.
THE DUKE OF ORLEANS, ONLY BROTHER TO CHARLES VI. THE
WELL-BELOVED, KING OF FRANCE, IS INHUMANLY ASSASSINATED
IN THE TOWN OF PARIS.
This year there happened the most melancholy event in the town of Paris
that had ever befallen the Christian kingdom of France by the death of a
single man. It occasioned the utmost grief to the king and the princes
of the blood, as well as to the kingdom in general, and was the cause of
most disastrous quarrels between them, which lasted a very long time,
insomuch that the kingdom was nearly ruined and overturned, as will more
plainly be shewn in the continuation of this history.
This event was nothing less than the murder of the duke of Orleans, only
brother to Charles the well-beloved, king of France.
The duke was, on a Wednesday, the feast-day of pope St Clement,
assassinated in Paris, about seven o’clock in the evening, on his return
from dinner. This murder was committed by about eighteen men, who had
lodged at an hôtel having for sign the image of our Lady, near the Porte
Barbette, and who, it was afterward discovered, had for several days
intended this assassination.
On the Wednesday before mentioned, they sent one named Scas de
Courteheuze, valet de chambre to the king, and one of their accomplices,
to the duke of Orleans, who had gone to visit the queen of France at an
hôtel which she had lately purchased from Montagu, grand master of the
king’s household, situated very near the Porte Barbette. She had lain in
there of a child, which had died shortly after its birth, and had not
then accomplished the days of her purification.
Scas, on his seeing the duke, said, by way of deceiving him, ‘My lord,
the king sends for you, and you must instantly hasten to him, for he has
business of great importance to you and him, which he must communicate
to you.’ The duke, on hearing this message, was eager to obey the king’s
orders, although the monarch knew nothing of the matter, and immediately
mounted his mule, attended by two esquires on one horse, and four or
five valets on foot, who followed behind bearing torches; but his other
attendants made no haste to follow him. He had made this visit in a
private manner, notwithstanding at this time he had within the city of
Paris six hundred knights and esquires of his retinue, and at his
expense.
On his arrival at the Porte Barbette, the eighteen men, all well and
secretly armed, were waiting for him, and were lying in ambush, under
shelter of a pent-house. The night was pretty dark; and as they sallied
out against him, one cried out, ‘Put him to death!’ and gave him such a
blow on the wrist with his battle-axe as severed it from his arm.
The duke, astonished at this attack, cried out, ‘I am the duke of
Orleans!’ when the assassins, continuing their blows, answered, ‘You are
the person we were looking for.’ So many rushed on him that he was
struck off his mule, and his skull was split that his brains were dashed
on the pavement. They turned him over and over, and massacred him that
he was very soon completely dead. A young esquire, a German by birth,
who had been his page, was murdered with him: seeing his master struck
to the ground, he threw himself on his body to protect him, but in vain,
and he suffered for his generous courage. The horse which carried the
two esquires that preceded the duke, seeing so many armed men advance,
began to snort, and when he had passed them set out on a gallop, so that
it was some time before he could be checked.
When the esquires had stopped their horse, they saw their lord’s mule
following them full gallop: having caught him, they fancied the duke
must have fallen, and were bringing it back by the bridle; but on their
arrival where their lord lay, they were menaced by the assassins, that
if they did not instantly depart, they should share his fate. Seeing
their lord had been thus basely murdered, they hastened to the hôtel of
the queen, crying out,—‘Murder!’
Those who had killed the duke, in their turn, bawled out, ‘Fire!’ and
they had arranged their plan, that while some were assassinating the
duke, others were to set fire to their lodgings. Some mounted on
horseback, and the rest on foot, made off as fast as they could,
throwing behind them broken glass and sharp points of iron to prevent
their being pursued.
Report said, that many of them went the back way to the hôtel d’Artois,
to their master the duke of Burgundy, who had commanded them to do this
deed, as he afterward publicly confessed, to inform him of the success
of their murder,—when instantly afterward they withdrew to places of
safety.
The chief of these assassins, and the conductor of the business, was one
called Rollet d’Auctonville[109], a Norman, whom the duke of Orleans
had, a little before, deprived of his office of commissioner of taxes,
which the king had given to him, at the request of the late duke of
Burgundy. From that time, the said Rollet had been considering how he
could revenge himself on the duke of Orleans. His other accomplices were
William Courteheuze and Scas Courteheuze, before mentioned, from the
county of Guines, John de la Motte and others, to the amount of
eighteen.
Within half an hour, the household of the duke of Orleans, hearing of
this horrid murder, made loud complaints, and, with great crowds of
nobles and others, hastened to the fatal spot, where they found him
lying dead in the street. His knights and esquires, and in general all
his dependants, made grievous lamentations, seeing him thus wounded and
disfigured.
With many groans, they raised the body, and carried it to the hôtel of
the lord de Rieux, marshal of France, which was hard by; and shortly
afterward, the body was covered with a white pall, and conveyed most
honourably to the church of the Guillemins[110], where it lay, as being
the nearest church to where the murder had been committed.
Soon afterward, the king of Sicily, and many other princes, knights and
esquires, having heard of this foul murder of the only brother of the
king of France, came with many tears to visit the body. It was put into
a leaden coffin, and the monks of the church, with all the late duke’s
household, watched it all night, saying prayers, and singing psalms over
it.
On the morrow, his servants found the hand which had been cut off, and
collected much of the brains that had been scattered over the
street,—all of which were inclosed in a leaden case and placed by the
coffin.
The whole of the princes who were in Paris, except the king and his
children, namely, the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy and
Bourbon, the marquis du Pont, the counts de Nevers, de Clermont, de
Vendôme, de St Pol, de Dammartin, the constable of France and several
others, having assembled, with a large body of the clergy and nobles,
and a multitude of the citizens of Paris, went in a body to the church
of the Guillemins. Then the principal officers of the late duke’s
household took the body, and bore it out of the church with a great
number of lighted torches carried by the esquires of the defunct. On
each side of the body were, in due order, uttering groans and shedding
tears, the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Bourbon,
each holding a corner of the pall.
After the body followed the other princes, the clergy and barons,
according to their rank, recommending his soul to his Creator,—and thus
they proceeded with it to the church of the Celestins. When a most
solemn service had been performed, the body was interred in a beautiful
chapel he himself had founded and built. After the service, all the
princes, and others who had attended it, returned to their homes.
Many suspicions were formed, as to the authors of this assassination of
the duke of Orleans; and at first it was thought to have been
perpetrated by sir Aubert de Canny, from the great hatred he bore the
duke, for having carried off his wife[111], by whom he had a son, of
whom, and his education, I shall say more hereafter. The truth was soon
known who were the guilty persons, and that sir Aubert was perfectly
innocent of the crime.
The queen Isabella was so much alarmed the day she heard of this murder
being committed thus near her hôtel, that, although she was not
recovered from her lying in, she had herself carried by her brother
Louis of Bavaria, and others, to a litter, and thence conveyed to the
hôtel de St Pol, where she was lodged in the adjoining chamber to that
of the king, for her greater security.
The night this murder was committed the count de St Pol and many others
of the nobility armed themselves, and went to the hôtel de St Pol, where
the king resided, not knowing how far these matters might be carried.
When the body of the duke of Orleans had been interred, as has been
related, the princes of the blood assembled at the hôtel of the king of
Sicily, with the council of state, whither the provost of Paris and
others of the king’s lawyers were summoned, and ordered by the princes
to make the most diligent inquiries, by every possible means, after the
perpetrators and accomplices of this base act. All the gates of Paris
were commanded to be closed, except two, and those to be well guarded,
that all who might pass them should be known.
Having given these orders, the lords and the council retired to their
hôtels in much sorrow and grief. On the morrow, the council was again
assembled at the king’s palace of St Pol, in the presence of the king of
Sicily, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Bourbon, and other great lords.
On the entrance of the provost of Paris, he was asked by the duke of
Berry what measures he had taken to discover the murderers of so great a
prince as the king’s brother. The provost replied, that he had used all
diligence in his researches, but in vain,—adding, that if the king and
the great lords present would permit him to search their hôtels, and
those of other great lords in Paris, he made no doubt but that he should
discover the murderers and their accomplices. The king of Sicily, and
the dukes of Berry and Bourbon, gave him instant orders to search
wherever he pleased.
The duke of Burgundy, hearing such positive orders given, began to be
alarmed, and, drawing king Louis and his uncle, the duke of Berry,
aside, briefly[112] confessed to them what he had done, saying, that by
the temptation of the devil he had committed the murder by means of
Auctonville and his accomplices[113]. The two princes were so much
astonished and grieved at this confession that they were scarcely
enabled to make him any reply, but what they did say was reproving him
bitterly for having committed so base an act against his
cousin-german[114].
After this confession of the duke of Burgundy, they returned to the
council-chamber, but did not immediately declare what had passed between
them,—when the council broke up, and all retired to their hôtels.
On the ensuing day, which was Saturday, the lords before mentioned again
assembled at ten o’clock in the morning, at the hôtel de Neelle, where
the duke of Berry resided, to hold another council. The duke of Burgundy
came thither as usual, attended by the count Waleran de St Pol; but when
he was about to enter the council-chamber, the duke of Berry said to
him, ‘Fair nephew, do not now enter the council-chamber, for it is
displeasing to all the members that you should come among them.’ On
saying this, the duke of Berry re-entered the council-chamber, ordering
the door to be closed, according to the resolutions of the council.
The duke of Burgundy was greatly confused at this,—and being unresolved
how to proceed, said to the count de St Pol, ‘Good cousin, what should I
do?’ The count replied, ‘My lord, you have only to return to your hôtel,
since it is not agreeable to the lords of the council that you should
sit among them.’ The duke said, ‘Good cousin, return with me, to bear me
company;’ but the count answered, ‘My lord, you must excuse me; for I
shall go to the council, since I have been summoned to attend it.’
After these words, the duke of Burgundy, in great fear, returned to his
hôtel of Artois; and to avoid being arrested, on his arrival there, he
mounted a fresh horse, and, attended by six men, hastily quitted Paris
by the gate of Saint Denis,—and only changing horses, but not stopping
at any place, he travelled onwards until he reached his castle of
Bapaume. When he had slept some little, he again continued his route
with all speed to Lille in Flanders. Those whom he had left in his hôtel
at Paris followed him as speedily as they could, to avoid being
imprisoned, of which they were greatly afraid.
In like manner, Rollet d’Auctonville and his accomplices changed their
clothes, and disguised themselves, and escaped from Paris by different
ways, and went to quarter themselves in the castle of Lens in Artois, by
orders of their lord and master John duke of Burgundy.
With so mean an attendance did this duke quit Paris, after the death of
the duke of Orleans, leaving the great lords of France in the utmost
tribulation and distress.
When those of the household of the late duke of Orleans heard of the
secret departure of the duke of Burgundy, they armed themselves, to the
amount of six score, having at their head sir Clugnet de Brabant, and,
mounting their horses, sallied out of Paris in pursuit of the duke of
Burgundy, with the intent of putting him to death, could they overtake
him. The king of Sicily, learning their intentions, sent after to forbid
them executing their plan,—on which they returned, very indignant, to
their hôtels.
It was now publicly known throughout Paris that the duke of Burgundy had
committed this murder; but the Parisians were not well pleased with the
duke of Orleans, for they had learnt that he was the author of all the
heavy taxes that oppressed them, and began to say among themselves in
secret, ‘The knotty stick is smoothed.’
This melancholy event took place in the great winter of the year 1407,
when the frost lasted for sixty-six days with the greatest severity. On
the thaw, the new bridge at Paris was destroyed, and fell into the
Seine; and the floods did very great mischief to many parts of the
kingdom of France.
I have no need, in this chapter, to speak of the great hatred and
jealousy that had taken place between the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy,
prior to the death of the former, as it would occupy too much room; and
besides, they will be fully spoken of in the proceedings which were
shortly afterward instituted,—namely, in the justification which the
duke of Burgundy proposed offering publicly, in the presence of the
princes of the blood, the nobility, both ecclesiastical and secular,
shewing the causes why he openly avowed being the author of the death of
the duke of Orleans, and likewise from the answers which the
dowager-duchess of Orleans and her children made in exculpation of the
late duke,—which shall all be written in this present chronicle exactly
in the manner in which they were proposed in the presence of the whole
royal council, and great numbers of others of different ranks.
CHAP. XXXVII.
THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS, WITH HER YOUNGEST SON, WAIT ON THE
KING IN PARIS, TO MAKE COMPLAINT OF THE CRUEL MURDER OF
THE LATE DUKE HER HUSBAND.
The late duke of Orleans had married the daughter of Galeazzo duke of
Milan, his cousin-german, by whom he left three sons and one
daughter,—namely, Charles, the eldest, who succeeded his father in the
dukedom of Orleans; Philip, count de Vertus; John, count of Angoulême.
The daughter was married to Richard of Brittany. We shall say more
hereafter respecting these princes, and of the fortunes that befel them.
On the 10th day of December, the duchess of Orleans, widow to the late
duke, with her youngest son John, and accompanied by the late queen of
England, now wife to her eldest son, set out for Paris. The king of
Sicily, the dukes of Berry and Bourbon, the counts of Clermont and
Vendôme, the lord Charles d’Albreth, constable of France, and many other
great lords, went out of the town to meet her, attended by a number of
people and horses, and thus escorted her to the hôtel de St Pol, where
the king of France resided. Being instantly admitted to an audience, she
fell on her knees to the king, and made a pitiful complaint to him of
the very inhuman murder of her lord and husband. The king, who at that
time was in his sound senses, having lately recovered from his illness,
raised her up with tears, and assured her he would comply with all her
request, according to the opinion of his council. Having received this
answer, she returned to the hôtel of Orleans, accompanied by the
before-mentioned lords.
On the following Monday, the king of France, by the advice of his
parliament, resumed in court the county of Dreux, Chastel-Thierry, and
Mont d’Arcuelles, and all the lands which the king had given to his
brother for his life.
On the Wednesday after St Thomas’s day, the duchess of Orleans,
accompanied by her youngest son,—the queen of England, her
daughter-in-law,—the chancellor of Orleans, and others of her council,
with many knights and esquires, who had been of the household of the
late duke, all clothed in black, came to the hôtel of St Pol to have an
audience of the king. She found there the king of Sicily, the dukes of
Berry and Bourbon, the chancellor of France, and several others, who,
having demanded an audience for her of the king, instantly obtained it.
She was led into the presence by the count d’Alençon, and with many
tears, and before all the princes, again supplicated the king that he
would do her justice on those who had traitorously murdered her lord and
husband, the late duke of Orleans. The whole manner of this deed she
caused to be declared to the king by her advocate in the parliament; and
the chancellor of Orleans was by her side, who repeated to the advocate
word for word what she wished to have divulged.
She had explained at length the whole history of the murder: how he had
been watched, and the hour and place where the assassins had fallen on
him; and how he had been betrayed by a false message from his lord and
brother the king, giving him to understand that the king had sent for
him,—and ending with declaring that this murder more nearly touched the
king than any other person. The advocate of the duchess concluded by
saying, the king was bound to avenge the death of his brother, as well
in regard to the duchess and her children, from their proximity of
blood, as in respect to the offence which had been committed against
justice and his royal majesty.
The chancellor of France, who was seated at the king’s feet, replied,
with the advice of the dukes and lords present, that the king, having
heard the detail of the murder of his brother, would, as speedily as
possible, do strict and equal justice against the offenders. When the
chancellor had said this, the king himself spoke, and said, ‘Be it known
to all, that the facts thus exposed, relative to the death of our only
brother, affect us most sensibly, and we hold the offence as committed
against our own proper person.’
Upon this the duchess, her son John, and the queen of England, her
daughter-in-law, cast themselves on their knees before the king, and,
with abundance of tears, supplicated him to remember to do good justice
on the perpetrators of the murder of his brother. The king raised them
up, and, kissing them, again promised strict justice, and named a day
for the enforcement of it. After these words they took their leave, and
returned to the hôtel of Orleans.