conducted their prisoners, with the cattle, sheep and pigs, across the Somme, at the place where they had before passed.

In like manner similar excursions were made into the countries of the Beauvoisis, Vermandois, Santerre, Amiennois, and other districts under the king's government,-in all of which the inhabitants were grievously oppressed.

CHAPTER CLXIX.—THE KING'S GARRISON IN PERONNE CARRIES ON A SEVERE WAR AGAINST THE COUNTRIES ATTACHED TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.

DURING these times, the town of Peronne, situated on the river Somme, was strongly garrisoned by forces sent thither by the constable of France in the king's name, under the command of sir Robert de Loyre. They consisted of one hundred men-at-arms well appointed, one hundred Genoese cross-bowmen, and the same number of other combatants; and they made very frequent excursions, day and night, over the countries attached to the duke of Burgundy and his allies, bringing to their garrison considerable plunder of cattle and other effects. In like manner did the garrison of the castle du Main, belonging to sir Collart de Calville, make war in the king's name on all the allies and supporters of the duke of Burgundy.

The towns of Corbie and Amiens suffered much from these continued attacks; and the inhabitants of the latter town, by command of the duke of Burgundy, were forced to banish sir Robert d'Eusne the king's bailiff, Hugh de Puys the king's advocate, and some others, because they had acted with too much vigour, and contrary to his good pleasure, against several of his adherents. He had even declared, that he would make war on them if they pretended to support them against his will. They consequently left the town and went to Paris, where they made heavy complaints against the duke to the king and council, who were very far from being satisfied with the conduct of the duke, who was urging on matters from bad to worse.

CHAPTER CLXX. -THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY SENDS AMBASSADORS TO MANY OF THE KING'S PRINCIPAL TOWNS TO FORM ALLIANCES WITH THEM. THE OATHS THAT WERE MADE ON

THE OCCASION.

THE duke of Burgundy sent the lords de Fosseux, de Humbercourt, and master Philip de Morviller, as ambassadors, to several of the king's principal towns, with letters-patent from the duke, addressed to the magistrates and commonalty. They first went to Montreuil, which instantly assented to his proposals, then to St. Riquier, Abbeville, Amiens and Dourlens; and at each place they had their letters publicly read to the commonalty; after which master Philip de Morviller notably harangued them on the good intentions of the duke to provide for the public welfare, and with such effect that all the above towns formed alliances with the ambassadors, which they solemnly swore to maintain, and mutually exchanged the acts drawn up for this purpose.

The tenour of that of the town of Dourlens was as follows.

"To all those to whom these presents shall come; John de Fosseux lord de Fosseux and de Nivelle, David de Brimeu lord of Humbercourt, knights, and Philip de Morviller, counsellors and ambassadors from the very high and puissant prince, our much redoubted lord the duke of Burgundy, on the one part, and the governor, mayor, sheriffs, and resident burghers of the town of Dourlens on the other part, greeting. We make known, that we have entered into and formed a treaty of concord and amity, the terms of which are as follow. "First, the said governor, mayor, sheriffs, and resident burghers, will aid and support the said duke of Burgundy in his endeavours to restore the king our lord to the full enjoyment of his power and liberty, so that his realm may have uninterrupted justice, and commerce an unrestrained course.-Item, they will assist the said duke to the utmost of their power, that the king and his realm may be wisely and well governed, and secured against all enemies. They will admit him and his army into their town, allowing him to have a superiority of force, and they will, for money, supply him and his men with whatever provisions or

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necessaries they may require, they taking on themselves the guard and defence of the town, and permitting all merchants, as well of the town as otherwise, to bring into it, without molestation, whatever merchandises they may please.-Item, during the time the said duke shall remain in possession of the town of Dourlens, he shall not arrest, or cause to be arrested, any of the inhabitants, of whatever rank or condition, without a judicial inquiry having previously been held; and should any of the officers of the said duke commit an injury or insult on the inhabitants, he or they shall be severely punished by those to whom the cognizance of such cases belongs.-Item, the townsmen of Dourlens, of every degree, shall have free liberty to repair to the countries of the said duke on their affairs, without let or hindrance, either personally or otherwise.-Item, my lord the duke will support and defend the townsmen of Dourlens against all who may attempt to injure them, for having entered into this treaty in favour of the king and our aforesaid lord.-Item, it is not the intention of our said lord the duke to place any garrison in Dourlens, nor to claim any right of dominion over the said town; but he is contented that the town shall be governed in the king's name, as it has heretofore been, to the honour of the said town, and to the advantage of the public weal.

"The said town engages, on the other hand, never to admit any garrison from the party in opposition to the said duke.-Item, should there be any persons in the said town of Dourlens who may any way injure and attempt to retard the operations of the said duke, by speech or action, and the same be proved by legal evidence, they will cause such person or persons to be most rigorously punished as it behoves them to do.-Item, since the said town has been of late heavily oppressed in its agriculture, more especially in the harvest of this present month of August; and since many cattle have been carried away by men-at-arms avowing themselves of the Burgundian party, by which the labourers and the poor people are much distressed, and unless a remedy be speedily applied, must quit their habitations. We, therefore, the inhabitants of Dourlens, most humbly supplicate you, my lords ambassadors, that you would, out of your goodness and discretion, remonstrate with the duke on these matters, that such remedies may be applied as the urgency of the case requires, and the people of Dourlens will pray for your present and future welfare.-Item, for the more effectual security of the aforesaid articles, and of each of them, the said ambassadors and the said governor, sheriffs, and resident burghers of the town of Dourlens have exchanged the said articles, sealed with their seals, and signed by the sworn clerk of the shrievalty of the

said town.

"We the said ambassadors, by the powers vested in us by our very redoubted lord, and we the governor, mayor, &c., have promised, sworn, and agreed, and by these presents do punctually promise, swear, and agree, to preserve every article of this treaty, without any way the least infringing of it, under penalty of confiscation of our goods, without the smallest diminution. In testimony of which we have affixed our seals to these presents, in the town of Dourlens, the 7th day of August in the year of Grace 1417."

CHAPTER CLXXI.-KING HENRY OF ENGLAND RETURNS TO FRANCE WITH A LARGE ARMY, AND TAKES MANY TOWNS AND FORTRESSES. THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE, WHERE POPE MARTIN IS ELECTED HEAD OF THE CHURCH.

KING Henry of England, accompanied by his brothers the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, a number of other nobles, and a numerous army, landed at the port of Touques in Normandy, with the intent to conquer the whole of that duchy. The royal castle at Touques was speedily invested on all sides, which caused the governor, sir John d'Engennes, to surrender it within four days, on condition that he and the garrison should depart with their effects. Within a short time afterwards, the following towns and castles surrendered to king Henry without making any resistance: Harcourt, Beaumont-le-Roger, Evreux, and several others, in which he placed numerous garrisons. He then opened negociations for the surrender of the towns of Rouen and Louviers. The other towns in the duchy were astonished at the facility of king Henry's conquests, for scarcely any place made a defence.

This was caused by the divisions that existed among the nobles, some taking part with the king and others with the duke of Burgundy, and therefore they were fearful of trusting each other. The constable had besides drawn off the greater part of the forces in this district to Paris, to be prepared to meet the duke of Burgundy, whom he daily expected in those parts with a large army.

At this period, by orders from the holy council at Constance, Italy, France, England, and Germany, selected four discreet men from each nation, who entered the conclave with the cardinals of the Roman court, to elect a pope, on the eve of Martinmas-day. During the time they were shut up in conclave, Sigismund emperor of Germany, and king of Hungary and Bohemia, was seated on his royal throne without the doors of the conclave, having on his head an imperial crown, and in his hand the sceptre, surrounded by a numerous body of princes, knights, and men-at-arms. By the grace of the Holy Spirit (it is to be believed), they unanimously elected for pope the cardinal Colonna, a native of Rome. He bore for arms a shield vermilion, having a column argent in the centre surmounted with a crown or. He was conducted to the cathedral church, and consecrated by the cardinal of Ostia, dean of the cardinals, and took the name of Martin V.

This nomination was instantly published throughout all nations, for which the clergy and people returned thanks to God, with the exception of the city of Paris; for they were afraid this new pope and the emperor of Germany would be more favourable to the king of England and the duke of Burgundy than to the king of France, his son, the count d'Armagnac and others of the king's council.

CHAPTER CLXXII.-THE LORD DE CANNY IS SENT BY THE KING OF FRANCE AMBASSADOR TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, WHOM HE FINDS AT AMIENS.-THE ANSWER HE RECEIVES FROM THE DUKE.

THE duke of Burgundy had been a long time in making his preparations for a successful issue to his enterprise; and when all things were ready, he marched his army from Arras on St. Laurence's day, toward Corbie, with the intent to continue his march to Paris. On the same evening that he arrived at Corbic, Raoul de Roye, abbot of the place, departed this life, to the great sorrow of the duke. After remaining some days at Corbie, he went to Amiens, where he was most honourably received by all ranks, and carols were sung in the streets he passed through to his lodgings, at the house of master Robert le jeune, his counsellor.

Before he left Amiens he appointed a new set of officers, namely, the lord de Belloy governor, the lord de Humbercourt bailiff, Andrew Clavel attorney-general; and he changed others according to his good pleasure. During his stay at Amiens, letters were presented to him, signed by the king himself, by sir Aubert lord of Canny and Varennes, who said, "Very noble prince, and renowned lord, it will appear by these letters from the king our lord that I am commanded to enjoin and order you in his name, that you do instantly lay aside the expedition you have undertaken, by disbanding your army, that you return to your own country, and that you write him your reasons why you have raised this army contrary to his orders." The duke instantly replied, "You, lord de Canny, are, if you please, or if you do not please, of our kindred, by the Flanders line; notwithstanding which, in good truth, I have a great mind to have your head struck off for having brought me such a message." The lord de Canny, greatly terrified at this speech, fell on his knees, and humbly begged that he would hold him excused, for that he had been constrained to obey the king's commands, showing, at the same time, the instructions that had been given him by the king and council. The knights who surrounded the duke taking the part of the lord de Canny, he was somewhat appeased, but said he would not inform him of his intentions, and that another should carry his answer to the king; that he should not pay any regard to the prohibitions the king had sent, but would march his army to Paris as speedily as he could, and reply, face to face, to his majesty, to all the charges he had made against him. The duke, notwithstanding, ordered his council to draw up separate answers to the articles

of the instructions given to the lord de Canny, as well as to the different charges made by the king, which he gave to the lord de Canny, making him at the same time promise that he would deliver this writing into the hands of the king and of none other. It contained also the names of the traitors in the king's council, and such of his officers as wished the destruction of the duke. The lord de Canny, having finished his business, left Amiens and returned to the king at Paris.

Here follow the instructions given to sir Aubert de Canny lord de Varennes in the name of the king and council, prescribing his mode of proceeding with the duke of Burgundy. “He will first address the duke of Burgundy, and say that the king and my lord the dauphin are greatly astonished at his conduct towards the king and his highness, considering how near related to them he is by blood, and under what obligations he lies to them, as he has often avowed by his speeches, and by his various letters. He will strongly remonstrate with him on the open warfare which his vassals, subjects, and allies are carrying on against the king, by taking towns and castles by storm, and committing numberless cruelties by fire and sword against the liege subjects of the king, as bad or even worse than his enemies the English could have done. He will remonstrate with him, that his officers, and others attached to him, make the inhabitants of many of the king's towns swear obedience to the duke of Burgundy, forbidding them henceforward to pay any taxes or subsidies which they have usually done to the royal treasury, which is an astonishing act of authority against the honour and dignity of the king. He will likewise declare, that the above acts having been done so nearly at the time of the invasion of the English, it has caused many persons to suspect they were committed for their advantage, and to prevent the king from making resistance against them, and that the duke of Burgundy is their sworn ally.

"The lord de Canny, for these reasons, will, in the king's name, insist that the duke of Burgundy do henceforth abstain from such acts, more especially from attacking any of the towns in France, laying siege to them, and forcing the inhabitants to take illegal oaths. He will, at the same time require, that all the men-at-arms who have been assembled shall be disbanded, and sent to their different homes; for, considering the manner and time in which they have been collected, the king is firmly persuaded they have been thus raised to afford succour to the English, and to harass the king and his realm. Item, to induce the duke to comply, sir Aubert will dilate on the great dishonour he will incur, and the shame and reproach that will fall on him and his family, should he persevere in his present conduct; and at the same time gently entreat him to consider well these matters, and not to inflict such disgrace on the memory of his good father, who was so valiant and loyal, and who enjoined him, on his death-bed, to be ever obedient to the king and to his commands. Item, sir Aubert will, in like manner, remonstrate on all these matters with the barons, knights, esquires, and others who may have accompanied the duke of Burgundy, and to whom he may gain access, requiring them, in the king's name, not to fall off from that loyalty which they and their predecessors have always shown to the king and his realm, nor to disgrace themselves by listening to evil advisers, or by any act to draw on themselves and successors the opprobrium of being reported in times to come not only disobedient to their king, but even favourers of the enemies of the kingdom. Item, in the execution of these instructions, sir Aubert will act in the most gracious and polite manner,—and, before his return to Paris, will request to have answers in writing from all to whom he shall have addressed himself.

Item, should the duke of Burgundy, or any of his partisans, say, that those who have at present the government of the king, have showered on him, the duke, so many and gross insults that they were not longer to be borne,-sir Aubert will reply, that supposing any those about the king's person should have done anything displeasing to the duke, that is not a sufficient reason why he should endeavour to destroy the kingdom, as he is daily doing, nor why he should favour and give support to the English, the king's enemies, at the expense of his own honour and that of his posterity; for he might have expressed his dissatisfaction in a more decent and becoming manner. Item, sir Aubert will besides say, that in compliance with the requests of the late lord of Hainault, whose soul may God pardon! and from a sincere wish for peace with the duke of Burgundy and all others, the king had granted many considerable gifts, which ought to have been very agreeable to the duke, for

they were much to his profit, and to that of his dependants. Nevertheless, the king's hand is not so closed but that he is well inclined to show great courtesy and favours to the duke of Burgundy, and all others in his service, should there be occasion, and should they perform that duty they are bounden to do. Item, should it be necessary, sir Aubert shall have given to him copies in writing of the answers which the king made to the complaints of the duke of Burgundy, and of the acts that he said had been done to his prejudice, for him to show such answers to the barons, knights, esquires, and others of the nobility who may be attached to, or in the service of the duke of Burgundy.

"Given at Paris, the 2nd day of August, in the year of Grace 1417." Signed by the king: countersigned, "FERREMENT."

Here follows a copy of the answers which the duke of Burgundy made to the articles of the instructions in the name of the king, and given to sir Aubert de Canny, lord de Varennes.

"In the first place, with regard to the astonishment of the king at the conduct which the duke of Burgundy holds in opposition to his majesty, considering how nearly related he is to him by blood, and how very much he has been obliged to him,-the duke replies, that he is in truth his relation and vassal, and bound to serve him before all and against all; and it is from his warm affection and attachment that he is so anxious and pressing to procure a reform in the government of the realm, as well in regard to what personally concerns the king, the queen, and his children, as in the repairs of his palaces, the maintenance of strict justice, and a more equitable management of the public finances, as may be clearly proved by various royal ordinances. These reforms have been solemnly sworn to be pursued by the perseverance of the duke of Burgundy, in the presence of the king holding a bed of justice; but, through the intrigues of those who now surround the throne, and who shall hereafter be named, these measures have not only been interrupted, and then laid aside, but the finances of the king, his realm, and in general of all the resident subjects in the kingdom, have been most shamefully dissipated. They have even attempted to destroy, in body and estate, the duke of Burgundy, his well-wishers, and such of them as they could apprehend; and have employed the arms of the spiritual court against them, to effect the dishonour and damnation of his fair reputation, and of the renown of himself, and posterity; but the duke of Burgundy did obtain from the council of Constance a sentence in his favour, which clearly demonstrates the upright conduct of the duke, and the wickedness and hatred of his enemies.

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Item, with respect to what concerns the subjects of Burgundy, and others who avow their attachment to the duke, making open war on the king's towns and subjects, &c.— the duke of Burgundy replies, that when he perceived those about the king's person were persevering in their rigorous acts, and that they were unwilling to listen to any wholesome reforms for the welfare of the state, and that insult was added to insult upon him, by every violent means, the duke of Burgundy found himself obliged to send notice, by letters-patent, of these harsh proceedings, to many of the principal towns within the realm, signifying, at the same time, his good intentions, and the means he proposed to remedy them; and it was for this purpose he issued his summonses for assembling men-at-arms and archers. Thanks to God, he had now under his command, for the service of the king and the welfare of the kingdom, six thousand knights and esquires, and an army of thirty thousand combatants, all well-wishers to his majesty, his realm, and loyal subjects. During the march of this army, the duke approached several large towns, the inhabitants of which, knowing his good intentions, opened their gates to him. This army has forced many places, full of plunderers, to surrender to him in the king's name, and he has regarrisoned them with good and loyal subjects to the king, who are incapable of committing anything dishonourable to his majesty, themselves, or their country; and this has been done with the full approbation of these towns and the adjoining countries.

"Item, respecting the charge that has been made against the officers of the duke of Burgundy, for having induced several towns to swear obedience to him, and having afterward forbidden them to pay any taxes to the king, &c., the duke of Burgundy replies, that if he has received the oaths of allegiance from any city or town, it has been done that they