invicem contrariæ major tenenda est, et minor dissolvenda quantum adhoc,
sed in casu nostro concurrunt duæ obligationes. Et cum obligatio ad
principem sit major, et alia minor obligatio ad principem tenenda est,
et alia non in tali casu. Item arguendo eandem quæstionem, quandocunque
aliquis facit quod est melius quamvis juravit se id non facturum, non
est perjurium, sed perjurio contrarium: ut expresse ponit magister
sententiarum ultima dicti tertii: sed in casu nostro melius est tyrannum
in præfato casu occidere quamvis juravit se non occisurum quam presentem
vivere ut tactum est superius: ergo occidere tyrannum in præfato casu
quamvis juravit se non occisurum, non perjurium facit, sed perjurio
contrarium. Et consequenter Isidorus in libro de summo bono sic dicit:
id non est observandum sacramentum et juramentum quo malum incaute
remititur, sed in casu nostro male et incaute promititur. Sed non tenent
promissiones jurata vel confæderationes contra principem, uxorem
principis, liberos, vel reipublicæ utilitatem.’
‘Seventhly, If any of the above confederations and alliances should turn
out to the prejudice of the person so engaging, of his wife or his
children, he is not obliged to abide by them. ‘Patet hic veritas per
rationes tactas prius et cum hoc probatur sic, quia observare in illo
casu confæderationes contra legem charitatis qua quis magis sibiipsi,
uxori propriæ vel liberis quam posset obligari cuicunque alteri virtute
talis promissionis et omnia præcepta et consimilia in ordine ad
charitatem patent per apostolum sic dicentem. Finis præcepti est
charitas, quia in omnibus casibus et promissionibus intelligitur hoc, si
in fide observaverit juxta illud frangenti fidem, &c. Item,
subintelligitur si domino placuerit sed certum est quod non placeret Deo
cum foret contra legem charitatis, ideo,’ &c.
‘In regard to the seventh proposition, namely, that it is lawful and
meritorious for any subject to put to death a traitor that is disloyal
to his king, by waylaying him, and whether it be lawful for him to
dissemble his purposes,—I shall prove it first by the authority of that
moral philosopher Boccacio, already quoted, in his second book ‘De
Casibus Virorum illustrium,’ who, in speaking of a tyrant, says, ‘Shall
I honour him as prince? shall I preserve my faith to him as my lord? By
no means: he is an enemy, and I may employ arms and spies against him.’
This act of courage is holy and necessary; for there cannot be a more
agreeable sacrifice to God than the blood of a tyrant.
‘I prove this from holy writ, in the instance of Jehu: ‘Occident te
sacerdotes et cultores Baal, ut habetur primo reg. ex. ubi sic dicitur,
Jehu Acab parum coluit Baal, ego autem colam eum amplius. Et paululum
post; porro Jehu licet incidiose ut disperdat cultores Baal, dicit,
sanctificate diem solennem Baal, &c. et laudatur de hoc. Item de Athalia
regina vidente filium suum mortuum surrexit, et interfecit omne semen
regium, ut regnaret, et Joyadas summus sacerdos insidiose fecit eam
occidi. Et de hoc laudatur ut superius tactum est ad longum. Item,
Judith occidit Holofernem per insidias. Et etiam de hoc laudatur pater
familias quod ad zizaniæ eradicationem non voluit expectare tempus
messis ne triticum simul cum zizaniis eradicaretur, &c. Quod
intelligitur in occisione tyrannorum per insidias sed et bonam cautelam
et debet expectari loci et temporis opportunitas et expleri ne boni
eradicentur,’ &c.
‘This is the proper death for tyrants: they ought to be slain by
waylaying, or other means improper to be used toward good men; and for
this reason, we are bound, in many instances, to preserve our faith to
our capital enemy, but not to tyrants. As the reasons for this, urged by
doctors, are common, and of some length, I shall pass them over.
‘AS TO WITCHCRAFT.
‘Eighthly, Any subject and vassal who shall imagine and practise against
the health of his king and sovereign lord, to put him to death by a
languishing disorder, through covetousness to gain his crown and
kingdom,—any one who shall cause to be consecrated, or, more properly
speaking, to be directed against him swords, daggers, knives, golden
rods or rings, dedicated, by means of necromancy, to the devils, or
shall make invocations with characters, sorceries, charms, after having
thrust sharp instruments into the bodies of dead men hung on a gibbet,
and then into the mouths of such malefactors, leaving them there for the
space of several days, to the horror of all who detest these abominable
practices; and, beside these arts, shall wear near their bodies a piece
of cloth, containing the powder of some of the bones of malefactors,
sewed up, or tied, with the hair from the secret parts: I say, such as
shall commit any crimes similar to the above, are not only guilty of
human high treason, in the first degree, but are disloyal traitors to
God their Creator, and to their king.
‘As idolaters, and false to the catholic faith, they are worthy of the
double death, here and in the world to come, even when such sorceries
and witchcraft shall fail of their intended effect on the king’s person.
‘Quia dicit dominus Bonaventura, lib. ii. d. 6. Diabolus nunquam
satisfacit voluntati talium, nisi antequam infidelitas idolatriæ
immisceatur, sicut enim ad divina miracula plurimum facit fides, &c. Et
ideo experiencia de effectu prædictarum superstitionum secuta in
personam præfati regis probat clare ibi fuisse idolatriam et fidem
perversam. Item diabolus nihil faceret ad voluntatem talium in tali casu
nisi exhiberetur ei dominium quod multum affectat nec se exhibet ad
tales invocationes ipsis invocantibus eum, nisi ipsum adorent et
sacrificia et oblationes offerant, aut pacta cum ipsis dæmonibus
faciant. Item, doctor sanctus secunda secundæ in xi. articulo secundo
dicit quod tales invocationes nunquam sortiuntur effectum nisi fuerit
falsa corruptio fidei idolatria et pactio cum dæmonibus. Ejusdem
opinionis videtur esse Alexander de Hallis, Ricardus de Media-villa et
Astensis in summa. Et communiter omnes doctores qui de hac materia
locuti sunt, et sicut falsarii monetæ et pecuniarum regis,’ &c.
‘I thus perceive that all the doctors in theology agree in saying, that
such sorceries, charms and witchcraft can only succeed by the work of
the devil, or by his false means;—and that these sorceries, and suchlike
superstitions, have not of themselves the power of hurting any one, but
that the devils have the ability to injure any person so far only as
shall be permitted them by God.
‘The devils will not do any thing for those that call on them, unless
they perform three things, namely, pay them divine honour, which ought
solely to be paid to God, by offering them homage and adoration, proving
themselves false to the holy catholic faith,—and the doing of which
makes them guilty of the crime of high treason.
‘_Primum Corrolarium._ Should it happen, that for the circumstances
above stated, any of these invocators of the devil, idolaters, and
traitors to the king, should be confined in prison, and that during the
time that their process is carried to judgment, any accomplice of their
crimes should deliver or cause them to be delivered from prison, he
shall be punished just as these idolaters would have been, as guilty of
the crime of high treason in the first and fourth degree.
‘_Secundum Corrolarium._ If any subject who shall give, or promise to
give, a large sum of money to another for poisoning the king his
sovereign lord, and the bargain be proven and the poisons laid, although
they may fail to produce their effects, through the interference of the
providence of God or other means,—those who have committed this crime
are guilty of being traitors and disloyal to their sovereign, and shall
suffer the double death for high treason in the first degree.
‘_Tertium Corrolarium._ Any subject who, by treachery and hypocrisy,
shall during any mummeries, through malice aforethought, procure dresses
for his king, and, having clothed him in such dresses, shall cause them
to be set on fire, with the intent that the king his sovereign may be
burnt in them, so that he may obtain his kingdom, commits high treason
in the first degree, is a tyrant and disloyal to his king, and is
deserving of the double death, even should his sovereign escape, for the
noble and valiant persons who may have been burnt to death in exquisite
pain through his means.
‘_Quartum Corrolarium est_: When any subject and vassal to the king
shall make alliances with those who are mortal enemies to his sovereign
and kingdom, he cannot exculpate himself from being guilty of treason;
more especially when he shall send advice to the men at arms of the
enemy not to surrender any forts they may have gained in the
kingdom,—for that when he shall be employed against them he will afford
them succour. And beside, when he not only shall prevent the march of
any armies against such enemies, but shall encourage them by secret and
underhand means, he is a traitor to his king and country, and is
deserving of the double death.
‘_Quintum Corrolarium est_: If any subject or vassal shall, through
deceit and false information, sow the seeds of dissention between the
king and queen, by telling the latter that the king hates her so
mortally he is determined on having her and her children put to death,
and that she has no other remedy to prevent this but flying out of the
kingdom with her children; advising her strongly at the same time, to
put this plan into execution, and offering to conduct her out of the
realm to any castle she may please, adding with much subtilty, and by
way of caution, that the queen must keep this advice very secret, lest
she may be prevented from following it; and if, in order to accomplish
this plan, he propose to the queen that she should undertake different
pilgrimages until she be in a place of safety, intending by this means
to confine her and her children in some of his prisons, and to gloss it
over to the king, so that he may succeed him in his crown and kingdom.
Any subject guilty of such a crime commits high treason in the second,
third and fourth degrees. This is such an apparent truth that should I
wish to prove it, ‘esset adjuvare cœlum facibus.’
‘_Sextum Corrolarium est_: If any subject or vassal, through ambition to
obtain a crown and kingdom, shall visit the pope, and impose on him, by
imputing falsely and wickedly crimes and vices against his king and
sovereign lord, which would be blots in his royal issue, concluding
thence that such a king is unworthy to reign, and his children unfit to
succeed him, and requiring most urgently of the pope that he would issue
a declaration to the effect of depriving the king and his children of
the crown; and likewise declaring, that the kingdom had devolved to him
and his race, requesting that the pope would grant absolution to all the
vassals of the realm who should adhere to him, giving them a
dispensation for the oaths of fidelity that all subjects are obliged to
take to their king,—such as may commit the above crime are disloyal
traitors to their sovereign, and guilty of high treason in the first and
second degrees.
‘_Septimum Corrolarium est_: If any disloyal subject shall hinder
(‘animo deliberato’) the union of the church, and counteract the
conclusions formed by the king and clergy of this realm for the welfare
and security of the holy church, and shall use, among other means, that
of force, to induce the pope to incline to his iniquitous way of
thinking,—such subject is a traitor to his God, to the holy church, to
his king and sovereign lord, and ought to be reputed a schismatic and
obstinate heretic. He is worthy of the disgraceful death, insomuch that
the earth ought to open under him and swallow him up, like to Coran,
Nathan and Abiran, as we read in the Bible, ‘Aperta est terra sub
pedibus eorum, et aperiens os suum devoravit eos cum tabernaculis suis,
descenderuntque viri eorum in infernum operti humo.’ Num. xvi. Psal.
‘Aperta est terra et deglutivit Dathan,’ &c.
‘_Octavum Corrolarium est_: Any subject or vassal who shall, through
ambition to obtain the crown, practise the death of his sovereign and
his children by secret means, such as the poisoning their food, is
guilty of high treason in the first and third degrees.
‘_Nonum et ultimum Corrolarium est_: Every subject or vassal who shall
raise a body of men at arms, who do nothing but pillage and devour the
substance of the people, rob and murder whom they please, and force
women, and whose captains are posted in the strong places, castles,
passes, and fords and bridges of the said kingdom, and shall moreover
impose heavy taxes on the people under the pretext of carrying on the
war against a foreign enemy, and, when these taxes have been raised and
paid into the king’s treasury, shall seize on them by force, and
distribute the amount among the enemies and illwishers to the king and
kingdom, in order to strengthen himself that he may obtain his damnable
ends, namely, the crown and kingdom,—every subject who thus acts ought
to be punished as a false and disloyal traitor to the king and realm,
and as guilty of high treason in the first and fourth degrees, and
deserving of the double death.
‘Thus ends the first part of my justification of my good lord of
Burgundy.
‘SEQUITUR MINOR.
‘I come now to declare and prove my minor, in which I shall show, that
the late Louis duke of Orleans was devoured with covetousness of vain
honours and worldly riches: that to obtain for himself and his family
the kingdom and crown of France, by depriving our king of them, he
studied all sorts of sorcery and witchcraft, and practised various means
of destroying the person of the king, our sovereign lord, and his
children.
‘So greatly had ambition and covetousness, and the temptation of the
hellish adversary, possessed themselves of him that, as a tyrant to his
king and liege lord, he committed the crime of divine and human high
treason, in every manner and degree noticed in my major; that is to say,
in the first, second, third and fourth degrees.
‘In regard to the divine high treason, as that concerns the Sovereign
Judge in the heavens, I shall not lay any great stress upon this
article, but shall touch upon it incidentally, when I speak of human
high treason. I shall therefore enumerate, article by article, how he
has committed human high treason in the four degrees above stated, and
shall consequently divide my minor into four heads.
‘Respecting the first charge I make, of his having committed high
treason in the first degree,—that is, when the offence has been done
directly against the person of the king,—it may be done two ways: the
first by imagining and practising the death and destruction of the
prince, his sovereign lord, which may be divided into several heads, but
I shall content myself with three.
‘The first by practising the death of the prince by sorcery, charms and
witchcraft; the second, by poisons, venoms and intoxication; the third,
by killing or causing the prince to be killed by arms, water, fire, and
other violent injections.
‘That he is guilty of the first charge, I prove thus: To cause the king
our lord to die of a disorder so languishing, and so slow, that no one
should divine the cause of it,—by dint of money, he bribed four persons,
one of whom was an apostate monk, the others a knight, an esquire, and a
varlet, to whom he gave his own sword, his dagger and a ring, for them
to consecrate to, or, more properly speaking, to make use of, in the
name of the devils.
‘As suchlike sorceries can only be performed in solitude, and far from
the world, these persons took up their abode for many days in the tower
of Mont-Jay, near Laigny-sur-Marne. The aforesaid apostate monk, who was
the principal in this diabolical work, made there several invocations to
the devil, and at different times, the whole of which took place between
Easter and Ascension-day; and one grand invocation on a Sunday, very
early and before sun-rise, on a mountain near to the tower of Mont-jay.
‘The monk performed many superstitious acts near a bush, with
invocations to the devil; and while doing these, he stripped himself
naked to his shirt and kneeled down: he then stuck the points of the
sword and dagger into the ground, and placed the ring near them. Having
uttered many invocations to the devils, two of them appeared to him, in
the shape of two men, clothed in brownish green, one of whom was called
Hermias, and the other Estramain. He paid them such honours and
reverence as were due to God our Saviour, after which he withdrew behind
the bush.
‘The devil who had come for the ring took it and vanished; but he who
was come for the sword and dagger remained,—but afterward, having seized
them, he also vanished. The monk, shortly after, came to where the
devils had been, and found the sword and dagger lying flat on the
ground, the sword having the point broken,—but he saw the point among
some powder, where the devil had laid it. Having waited for half an
hour, the other devil returned, and gave him the ring, which to the
sight was of the colour of red, nearly scarlet, and said to him, ‘Thou
wilt put it into the mouth of a dead man, in the manner thou knowest,’
and then he vanished. The monk obeyed his instructions, thinking to burn
the king our lord,—but through the providence of God, and the aid of
those most excellent ladies the duchesses of Berry and Burgundy, who
were present, he escaped.
‘I shall next show that the duke of Orleans was guilty of the crime of
high treason in the first degree, by the alliances he contracted
contrary to the interest of the king and kingdom. It is a fact, that
when the king our lord and king Richard of England were firmly united in
friendship, by the marriage of Richard with the eldest princess of
France, king Richard would, at any risk, speak to the king our lord
respecting his health; and when they were together, he told him, that
the infirmity he was subject to was caused by means used by the dukes of
Orleans and of Milan, and entreated him, by the love of God, to be on
his guard against them.
‘The king, after this conversation, conceived so great a hatred against
the duke of Milan, and not without cause, that the herald who bore his
arms dared not appear in his presence. When this came to the ears of the
duke of Orleans, he took a mortal dislike to king Richard, and inquired
who was the greatest enemy he had in this world. He soon learnt that it
was Henry of Lancaster, to whom he made advances, and at length
concluded an alliance with him, in order to destroy the king, and to
strengthen himself as much as possible, to arrive at his damnable ends.
‘The duke of Orleans and Henry of Lancaster agreed mutually to labour
and assist each other to accomplish the deaths of the two kings, that
they might obtain the crowns of France and England,—that of France for
Louis d’Orleans, and that of England for Henry of Lancaster.
‘Henry succeeded in his attempt, but, thank God! the duke of Orleans has
failed. And to confirm the truth of this alliance, the duke of Orleans
has ever been favourable to the English, and has assisted Henry with all
his power, and particularly in regard to the siege of the castle of
Bordes, when he sent to the garrison not to surrender it to the French,
for that he would hinder the success of the siege, and afford them
sufficient succour when there should be need of it. He also prevented
many expeditions from taking place, which were intended against the
English.
‘Thus he proved himself a tyrant and disloyal to his prince and to the
welfare of the kingdom, and committed high treason of the first degree,
in a second manner. In confirmation of this, a fact has just struck me
which I will relate to you. At the time when king Richard was a
prisoner, and it was the intention of Henry to have him put to death,
some of the english lords said to him, that great danger might ensue
from the indignation of the French. Henry replied, they need not have
any fears on that head, for he had a powerful friend in France, to whom
he had allied himself, namely, the duke of Orleans, brother to the king,
who would not, for any attempt that might be made on king Richard,
suffer the French to attack the English; and to convince them, he made
them read the letters that had passed, and the articles of the treaty
concluded between them. It appears then, that the duke of Orleans has,
in various ways, committed high treason of the first degree.
‘I shall now finish this article of my minor, although there be many
other very horrible crimes perpetrated by the duke of Orleans of the
first degree of high treason, which my lord of Burgundy reserves to
charge him with at a proper opportunity, should there be a necessity for
it.
‘I proceed to the second article of my minor, wherein I shall charge the
duke of Orleans with being guilty of the crime of high treason, not only
in the first, but also in the second degree, which consists in offending
the king in the person of the queen his wife.
‘It is a fact, that about four years after the king was attacked by his
unfortunate disorder, the profligate duke of Orleans never ceased
imagining how he could succeed in his wicked and damnable designs, and
thought that if he could prevail on the queen to quit the kingdom with
her children, he would the more readily obtain his object. With this
intent, he falsely informed her, that the king was very indignant
against her,—and advised her, as she regarded her own life and the lives
of her children, to quit the presence of the king and to leave the
country.
‘He offered to conduct her and them to the duchy of Luxembourg (thinking
that when there he could do with them as he pleased), and promised the
queen that he would there safely guard her and her children. He added,
that should the king recover from his frenzy, and should he perceive
that he was no longer angry with her, and that she might safely return,
which he engaged to urge to the king with all his power, he would
re-conduct her and her children to his majesty. And in case the king
should not have changed his opinion concerning her, he would maintain
her according to her rank in the duchy of Luxembourg, were any of the
nobles, or even the king or others to visit her. The better to colour
his wicked designs, he gave the queen to understand that this project
must be kept secret, and executed with much caution, lest she and her
family should be stopped on the road to Luxembourg. He advised her to
undertake a pilgrimage with her children to St Fiacre, and thence to our
Lady at Liesse, whence he would escort her to Luxembourg, and give her
such an establishment as should be suitable for her and her children’s
rank, until the present dispositions of the king should be changed.
‘He frequently pressed the queen on this subject, using nearly the words
I have related, all tending to put the queen and her children in his
power to do with them as he pleased. They certainly were in great
danger,—and it would have increased, if some worthy persons, real
friends to the queen, had not informed her, that all she had heard was
false, which made her alter her intentions the moment she discovered the
wicked and damnable designs of the duke or Orleans. She determined, in
consequence, not to undertake this journey.—Thus concludes the second
article of my minor, which plainly proves the late duke of Orleans
guilty of high treason against the person of the queen of France.
‘I shall now show, that the duke of Orleans has been guilty of high
treason in the third degree, by three different crimes: the first, by
poisons and intoxications; the second, by fallacious deceptions; the
third, by his false representations to the pope.
‘In regard to my first charge, I declare the late duke of Orleans guilty
of intending the death of the late dauphin by means of a poisoned apple
which was given to a child, with orders to offer it to my lord the late
dauphin, and to none other, which was done. It chanced as he was
carrying this apple, he passed through the gardens of the hôtel de St
Pol, where he met the nurse to the children of the duke of Orleans,
carrying one of them in her arms. The apple seemed so beautiful that she
bade the child give it to her, that she might present it to the infant
she was carrying,—but he said he would not give it to any one but my
lord the dauphin. Seeing the boy so obstinate, the nurse took the apple
from him by force and gave it her child to eat, who soon after fell sick
and died.
‘I here ask one question. This innocent died of the poisoned apple:
ought the boy who brought it, or the nurse who gave it the child, be
punished? I reply, No, neither of them; but the crime must be attributed
to those who poisoned it, or caused it to be carried.