to the king, the queen, and the princes of the blood, excepting the duke of Orleans, whom they displeased. From that time, and indeed somewhat before, there were appearances of jealousy and dislike between these two princes of Orleans and Burgundy; and whatever seeming affection they may have shown to each other, there was no sincere love. These jealousies were fomented in great measure by the various reports which were carried to each, by their different dependants. The above-mentioned marriages, however, were agreed on, and proper acts drawn up, signed and mutually interchanged, for the security of them, between all the parties. A very heavy tax was about this time imposed on all the inhabitants throughout France, by the king and his council at Paris; but the duke of Burgundy would not consent that it should be levied,—which conduct gained him universal popularity throughout the kingdom. CHAPTER XXII.—JOHN DUKE OF BURGUNDY, AFTER THE DEATH OF THE DUCHESS MARGARET, IS RECEIVED BY THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS IN FLANDERS AS THEIR LORD. [A. D. 1405.] Ar the commencement of this year, the duke of Burgundy, having paid his duty to the king of France at Paris, set out for Flanders, attended by his brothers and a large company of the nobles of that country. He was most honourably and kindly received everywhere by his subjects, who made him handsome presents, more especially those of Ghent, Bruges, Ypres, and other great towns. They took the usual oaths of fidelity to him, promising to serve him faithfully, as they were bound to do. He then forbade all his subjects to pay the tax last imposed at Paris by the king and his council, as has been mentioned. This conduct greatly increased the hatred the duke of Orleans bore him,-for at that time the public affairs were governed according to his pleasure, insomuch that a stop was put to the marriages before mentioned, between the children of the king and the duke of Burgundy; and the duke of Orleans was desirous to find out some other match for his nephew, the duke of Aquitaine, which highly displeased the duke of Burgundy when it came to his knowledge. The duke instantly sent his ambassadors to the king, the queen, and the great council,but they had no very agreeable answer to bring back to their master, by reason of which they returned as speedily as they could to Flanders. Having heard their account, he consulted his most confidential ministers as to the manner in which he should act. They advised him to set out immediately for Paris, for that, being on the spot, he could pursue his business with the king and council with more urgency, and greater expectation of success, than by ambassadors. He assented to this advice, and made his preparations to go thither as speedily as he could. At this period, pope Benedict XIII.*, who resided and kept his court in the county of Provence, imposed a tax of a tenth on his clergy. This tax was intended to hasten the union of our holy mother church, and was to be paid at two terms, namely, at Easter, and on the feast of St. Remy. CHAPTER XXIII.-DUKE WILLIAM COUNT OF HAINAULT PRESIDES AT A COMBAT FOR LIFE OR DEATH, IN HIS TOWN OF QUESNOY, IN WHICH ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS IS SLAIN. A MORTAL Combat was this year fought in the town of Quesnoy, in the presence of duke William count of Hainault, judge of the field, between a gentleman named Bournecte, of the county of Hainault, appellant, and another gentleman called Sohier Bunaige, of the county of Flanders. The cause of quarrel was, that Bournecte declared and maintained that Sohier had killed and murdered one of his near relations; and in this case, duke William had ordered lists to be prepared at his expense, as was usual in such like instances. The duke had in vain attempted several times to reconcile them, but finding them unwilling to consent, he ordered them to appear before him at a certain time and place, to decide their difference by combat. * Peter de Luna, antipope of Avignon, elected after the death of Clement VII. * On the appointed day, the appellant entered the lists, accompanied by some of his nearest kindred, and was soon followed by the defendant. Proclamation was then made in the duke's name, by a herald, that no one should dare to give any hindrance to the combatants, under pain of death,-and then the champions were told to do their duty. After this last proclamation, the appellant first left his pavilion, and advanced to meet the defendant. When they had thrown each their lances without effect, they drew their swords, and fought for a short time; but Bournecte soon overcame his adversary, and made him publicly avow the truth of the charge he had made against him, and for which he had called him to the combat. The vanquished man was speedily condemned by the duke to be beheaded; which sentence was instantly executed, and the conqueror led in triumph to his hôtel. He was greatly honoured and respected by all the nobility,-and it was reported that the duke of Orleans had been present at this combat in disguise. CHAPTER XXIV.-THE COUNT DE SAINT POL MARCHES AN ARMY BEFORE THE CASTLE OF MERCQ, WHERE THE ENGLISH FROM CALAIS MEET AND DISCOMFIT HIM. In the month of May of this year, Waleran de Luxembourg, count de Ligny and de St. Pol, governor for the king of France in Picardy, assembled in that country and in the Boulonois from four to five hundred men at arms, five hundred Genoese cross-bows, and about one thousand Flemings on foot, from the country about Gravelines. He marched them from St. Omer to Tournehem, and thence advanced to lay siege to a castle called Mercq, in the possession of the English, who from that place, and other garrisons, had greatly harassed the Boulonois and the adjacent countries. The count caused many engines to be erected against this castle, which much annoyed the garrison, who defended themselves courageously. The count saw he could not gain the place by storm without great difficulty and loss of men, and in consequence lodged his army in the houses of the town that were surrounded by old ditches, which he had repaired to secure himself against his enemies, as well from Calais as from other garrisons. On the morrow, he made an attack on the lower court of the castle, which was carried by storm; and the assailants gained great numbers of horses, cows, sheep, and mares. At this attack, sir Robert de Birengueville, knight, was wounded so that he died shortly after. On this same day, about one hundred men at arms sallied out from Calais, and having viewed the French at their ease, returned to their town, and instantly sent a herald to the count de St. Pol to say, that on the morrow they would dine with him, if he would have the goodness to wait for them. The herald returned with the answer, that if they would come, they should be received, and find the dinner ready. On the morrow, very early, two hundred men at arms, two hundred archers, and about three hundred men on foot, lightly armed, marched out of Calais. They carried with them ten or twelve carts laden with wines and provision. The whole were under the command of an English knight named Richards, lieutenant-governor of Calais under the earl of Somerset, brother to Henry of Lancaster, at that time king of England. They advanced in good array until they were near the enemy, who, though advised of their coming by their spies, made no preparations, nor did they draw themselves up in battle without their quarters to meet them, as they should have done. They remained so long in their ditches that the English kept up a terrible discharge of arrows, by which numbers were killed and wounded, without the French being enabled to make any effectual resistance. The Flemings, and the greater part of the infantry, shortly began to give way, and take to flight from fear of the arrows,—and the men at arms soon followed their example. The * This use of the lance does not appear to have been common; no instance of the kind is related in Froissart, and indeed it is difficult to conceive how a javelin, although projected from a powerful hand, could make any impression on plate armour: it must rebound. It is indeed possible that in this case, the combatants were not fully armed, and being only esquires, the combat on horseback was not al lowed to them.-ED. Hollingshed says, sir Phillip Hall was governor of the castle of Mercq, "having with him four score archers and four-and-twenty other soldiers.” The troops from Calais were commanded by sir Richard Aston, knight, "lieutenant of the English pale for the earl of Somerset, captaingeneral of those marches." Genoese cross-bows also, having, in the preceding assault on the outer court of the castle, expended all their bolts, had not provided themselves with a fresh supply, so that at this time of need they made a very poor defence. By these means, the English, without any great loss on their side, soon discomfited the French, and remained victors on the field. The count de St. Pol, with others of his companions, made off without any regard to his honour, and, passing through St. Omer, returned to Therouenne. In general, all those of his party who remained were killed, or made prisoners. The slain were about sixty in number,-and among them were the principal of the French commanders, namely, the lord de Querecqs, sir Morlet de Savences, sir Courbet de Rempeupret, sir Martel de Vaulhuon, sir Guy d'Juergny, and the lord de Fayel. Among the prisoners were the lord de Hangestez, governor of Boulogne, the lord de Dampierret, seneschal of Ponthieu, the lord de Rambures, George la Personne, the lord de Ginenchy, with several other noble knights and esquires, to the amount of sixty or eighty. When the battle was concluded, and the English had taken possession of all the carts and engines of war which the enemy had brought thither, and had stript the dead, they returned to their town of Calais with their prisoners, rejoicing in their victory. On the contrary, count Waleran and those who had escaped with him were overwhelmed with despair, and not without cause. On the third day after this defeat, the English marched out of Calais with the numerous cannons and other artillery they had taken from the French before Mercq, for the town of Ardres. They amounted to about five hundred combatants; and as they had marched all night, thinking to surprise it, and that it was weakly garrisoned, they began their attack at the break of day, by placing ladders against its walls, and setting fire to different parts of it. But through the vigilance and courage of two notable and valiant knights who were in the town, sir Mansart de Boz and the lord de Lignes, the English were repulsed. At this attack and retreat, there were from forty to fifty English slain, whom their companions carried to a large house without the walls, and set fire to it, that the enemy might be ignorant of their *Hangest, a noble family in Picardy. Rogues de Hangest was grand pannetier and mareschal of France in 1352. His son, John Rabache, died a hostage in London. John de Hangest, grandson of Rogues, is here meant. He was chamberlain to the king and much esteemed at court. His son Miles was the last male of the family. † Aynard de Clermont en Dauphiné married Jane de his only surviving son, continued the line of Rambures. Maingret, heiress of Dampierre, about the middle of the 14th century. Probably their son was the lord de Dampierre here mentioned. Andrew lord de Rambures was governor of Gravelines. His son, David, is the person here mentioned. He was appointed grand master of the cross-bows, and fell at the battle of Agincourt, with three of his sons. Andrew II., loss. Confounded and dejected with their repulse and loss, they returned to Calais, where, some of those who had been at the affair of Mercq having died of the wounds they had received from the Genoese cross-bows, they wanted to put the Genoese prisoners to death, saying that their bolts and arrows had been poisoned. The count de St. Pol, who had retreated to Therouenne, sent an especial summons throughout Picardy for another assembly of men at arms, in the hopes of retrieving his honour. The lord de Dampierre, sir John de Craon, lord de Dompinart*, sir Morlet de Querecqs, the lord de Fosseux, the lord de Chin, the lord de Houcourt, and many other nobles, came to him numerously attended. The count held many councils with them; and it was determined to march to the frontiers of the enemy's country, and to harass them by every possible means. As they were preparing to put their intentions into execution, the king of France sent orders to the count and the other nobles not to proceed further in this business, for that he had provided other commanders. In truth, he sent the marquis du Pont, son to the duke de Bar, the count de Dammartin†, and Harpedanne, a knight of high renown, with four hundred men at arms and five hundred others, to quarter themselves at Boulogne, and other places on the frontiers of the Boulonois. The count de St. Pol was not well pleased at this; but he was forced to suffer, whether willingly or not, the talk of the public, as there was no other remedy than to let the public talk on. John duke of Burgundy was in his county of Flanders when he heard of the great defeat of the count de St. Pol before Mercq. He was much vexed thereat, and sent sir John de la Vallée, knight, in haste to Gravelines, and other places on that frontier, with men at arms and crossbows, to prevent the English from doing any injury to them. The guard of this country was also intrusted by the king of France to sir Lyonnet d'Arummes, who, night and day, most diligently attended to it. King Henry of England, having learnt from his commander at Calais the brilliant success he had obtained over the French before Mercq, ordered an army of four or five thousand combatants to be instantly raised. He embarked this force on board the vessels prepared for it, and ordered them to cruise off Dunkirk and Neuport, and to disembark the army at Sluys. About three thousand were landed on the strand, and marched along it about the distance of a league to attack the castle of Sluys; but the garrison, in conjunction with the inhabitants of the country, who were greatly frightened, defended it very valiantly; and, what with cannons and other offensive weapons, repulsed their enemies, killing about sixty, among whom was the earl of Pembroke, one of their leaders. News was brought to the English that the duke of Burgundy was marching a great force against them; on which they returned to their ships, and then to England. The duke of Burgundy, however, was not long before he ordered a number of men at arms to be collected under the command of the lord de Croy§, and other his captains, to defend his country against the invasions of the English. They assembled on the frontiers of Flanders to oppose the English, should they again return to his coasts. The duke also sent an embassy to the duke of Orleans and the great council at Paris, to demand men and money to enable him to lay siege to Calais, for he was very desirous of it; but he received a negative to the request made by his ambassadors. The duke of Burgundy, on receiving this answer, made preparations for waiting personally on the king at Paris, the better to expedite this business; and for this purpose he went to Arras, where he held many consultations with different great lords, his vassals and dependants. John de Craon, lord of Montbazon and Saint Maure, grand echanson of France, killed at Agincourt. of Pembroke." He also differs, as to the return of the English, from Monstrelet, and describes a sea-fight with + Antoine de Vergy, count de Dammartin, mareschal of four Genoese carracks, when the victory was gained by the France in 1421. English, who afterwards sailed to the coast of France, and burnt thirty-six towns in Normandy, &c. Hollingshed says, this expedition was commanded by king Henry's son, the lord Thomas of Lancaster, and the earl of Kent. He doubts the earl of Pembroke being slain, for he writes, "the person whom the Flemings called earl § John lord of Croy, Renty, &c. counsellor and chamberlain to the two dukes of Burgundy, Philip and John, afterwards grand butler of France, killed at Agincourt. CHAPTER XXV.-JOHN DUKE OF BURGUNDY GOES TO PARIS, AND CAUSES THE DAUPHIN AND QUEEN TO RETURN THITHER, WHOM THE DUKE OF ORLEANS WAS CARRYING OFF, WITH OTHER MATTERS. WHEN the duke of Burgundy had concluded his business at Arras, he set out on the vigil of the Assumption of the Virgin towards Paris, accompanied by a body of men, to the amount of eight hundred combatants, secretly armed. He stopped some days at the town of Louvres, in the Isle of France, where letters were brought him, to say that the king had recovered his health from his late illness, and that the queen and the duke of Orleans were gone to Melun, and thence to Chartres, carrying with them the duke of Aquitaine, dauphin of Vienne. Having considered the contents of these letters, he went to bed and slept, but ordered his trumpet to sound very early, and left the town with all his men, and hastened to Paris to prevent the dauphin from leaving it. On his arrival, he was told by the Parisians, that he was already departed after his mother, which was true; upon which the duke, without dismounting or making any delay, trotted through Paris with his troops as fast as he could in pursuit of the dauphin. He overtook him between Ville-Juive and Corbeil, where the queen and the duke of Orleans were waiting dinner for him. With the dauphin were his uncle by the mother's side, Louis of Bavaria, the marquis du Pont, son to the duke of Bar, the count Dammartin, Montagu, grand master of the king's household*, with many other lords to attend upon him. There was in the litter with him his sister de Priaux, wife to sir James de Bourbon. When the duke of Burgundy approached the dauphin, he made him the most respectful obeisances, and supplicated him to return and live in Paris, where, he said, he would be better than in any other part of France; adding, that he was desirous of conversing with him on many points which touched him personally. After this conversation, Louis of Bavaria, seeing the dauphin was inclined to comply with the request of the duke, said, "My lord duke of Burgundy, suffer my nephew the dauphin to follow the queen his mother and the duke of Orleans, as he has had the consent of his father for so doing." Notwithstanding this speech, and many others that were urged on the same subject, which for the sake of brevity I omit, the duke of Burgundy caused the litter of the dauphin to be turned about, and brought him and all his attendants back to Paris, excepting the marquis du Pont, the count Dammartin, and many more of the household of the duke of Orleans. These last galloped off toward Corbeil, where they related to the queen and the duke of Orleans how the duke of Burgundy had made the dauphin and his attendants return against their will to Paris. This intelligence alarmed and astonished them-for they knew not what the duke of Burgundy's intentions were-insomuch that the duke of Orleans left his dinner, which was quite ready, and went in haste to Melun, followed by the queen and their households. The duke of Burgundy, as I have said, conducted the dauphin to Paris; and the king of Navarre, the dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, the count de la Marche, with many more great lords, and an immense crowd of the citizens of Paris, came out to meet him, and escorted him most honourably into the town. The duke of Burgundy, however, and his two brothers, as well as the lords above mentioned, kept very close all this time by the sides of the litter. They rode on in this state at a foot's pace, until they came to the castle of the Louvre, when the dauphin was helped out of his litter by his uncle, Louis of Bavaria, and there lodged. All the lords then retired to their houses except the duke of Bungundy, who likewise lodged there. He shortly after sent many messengers to his different countries, to order men at arms instantly to attend him at Paris. The duke kept his state at the Louvre, in the apartments of St. Louis, and in those underneath, which formed part of them. The dauphin and his household were lodged in the chambers above them. On the morrow, the rector and the soundest + part of the university came to pay their respects to the duke of *John de Montagu, vidame du Laonnois, lord of Montagu en Laye, counsellor and chamberlain of the king, and grand master of the household. He was the son of Gerard de Montagu, a bourgeois of Paris, secretary to king Charles V. Through his great interest at court, his two brothers were presented, one to the bishopric of Paris, the other |