CHAPTER CCXXXIV.A QUARREL TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF BRABANT. SHE SEPARATES HERSELF FROM HIM AND PASSES OVER INTO ENGLAND.

IN these days, a great quarrel took place between duke John of Brabant and Jacquilina of Bavaria his duchess, insomuch that she left the palace of the duke. The principal reasons for her so doing were commonly reported to be, that she found him of poor understanding, and that he suffered himself to be governed by persons of low degree. The duke of Burgundy, who was equally related to both, and the countess of Hainault, her mother, vainly attempted to reconcile them; but they could never prevail on her to return to the duke. She declared, she would find means to effect a divorce, so that she might marry again to some other person who would pay attentions to her becoming her rank. The duchess was at this time in the flower of her youth, beautiful, well made, and as fully accomplished as any lady of her age. She was much hurt at seeing her days pass in the melancholy way they had done, and for this cause returned to her hotel with the countess her mother, who, in fact, had married her to the duke of Brabant against her inclinations.

Having remained with her mother a short time, they came together to Valenciennes, where the duchess took leave of her, and went, as she said, to amuse herself in her town of Bouchain; but on the morrow she departed thence very early in the morning, and was met on the plain by the lord d'Escaillon, a native of Hainault, but who had long been an Englishman in his heart, and with whom she had held many conferences while at Valenciennes, and had promised to accompany him to England, to seek redress from king Henry, and on the means of being finally separated from her husband. On meeting the lord d'Escaillon, who had about sixty horsemen with him, she took the road to Calais, and rode this first day as far as Hêdin, near to St. Pol, and thence straight to Calais, whence, after some stay, she crossed over to England, where she was most honourably received by the king, who made her general promises of aid in all her concerns.

CHAPTER CCXXXV.-THE DUKE OF BRITTANY IS MADE PENTHIEVRE, AND DETAINED BY PLACE IN CONSEQUENCE THEREOF*. WE must now speak of a wonderful event that happened this year in Brittany. It has been told by some historians, especially by master John Froissart, how the ancestors of John de Montfort, the present duke of Brittany, and those of Olivier de Bretagne, count de Penthievre, had in former times great quarrels and wars respecting the succession to the dukedom of Brittany, each of them claiming it as his right. At length, the duchy was given up to the Montforts, by means of certain compensations that were made to the family of Penthievre, the mention of which I shall pass over, as these events are anterior to my history, and they had possessed the duchy peaceably ever since.

PRISONER BY THE COUNT DE HIM FOR A CONSIDERABLE TIME.-A WAR TAKES

The present count de Penthievre, however, notwithstanding he showed great outward marks of affection to the duke of Brittany, had not forgotten these ancient quarrels, as you will soon perceive. In truth, what with the hope of regaining the duchy, and with the exhortations of his mother, who was daughter to the late sir Olivier de Clisson, constable of France, the count de Penthievre obtained a sealed order from the dauphin to arrest and imprison the duke of Brittany, although he was married to his sister; but he was ill pleased with the duke, because he and the estates of the duchy had refused to assist him in his war against the English and Burgundians. When the count had obtained this order, he considered how he could the most easily carry it into effect, and thought his best way would be to invite the duke to dinner at Chantoceau. He went, therefore, to pay a visit to the duke at Nantes; and after some conversation, he earnestly pressed him to come and amuse

*The events of the ensuing chapter will be better table. The conspiracy against the duke of Bretagne is understood by reference to the following genealogical said, by most historians, to have been a plot of Charles

himself at Chantoceau, and dine there; adding, that his mother would be delighted to see him, and would entertain him to the best of her power. The duke consented to both proposals, not imagining that any evil designs could have been devised against him, and the day fixed on was the 4th of February.

When that day was come, the duke set out from le Lorrons Bocqteriaux, where he had slept, and took the road to Chantoceau. His maîtres-d'hôtel and harbingers preceded him, as is customary, to have all things in readiness for him on his arrival. When they appeared before the castle, the count and all his household mounted their horses, and advanced to meet the duke so far as a bridge called the Bridge à la Tuberbe, which is thrown over a VII., who was instigated to it by his pernicious minister Penthievre. Its only effect was for a time to attach the Louvet, and the lord de Avaugour, brother of the count of duke more closely to the English interest.

married for his third wife, Jane of Navarre, afterwards wife to Henry IV, of England,

66

small river. The duke crossed this bridge, accompanied by his brother Richard, and some knights and esquires of his household, followed at a distance by the rest of his attendants, for he never suspected the mischief that was intended him. When he had passed the bridge, one of the count's attendants who counterfeited being a fool, dismounted and threw the planks of the bridge into the water by way of amusement, which prevented the retinue of the duke that had remained behind from crossing it. The duke, still unsuspecting, laughed heartily at this trick of the fool; but in the mean time, Charles, lord of Avaugour, brother to the count, who had lain in ambush with about forty men-at-arms, sallied out against the duke, who, seeing this, said to the count, "Fair cousin, what means this? and who are these people?" 'My lord, they are my people, and I arrest you in the name of the dauphin," at the same time laying hands on him. The duke, greatly surprised, said, “ Ah ! fair cousin, you act wickedly; for I came hither at your request, not suspecting you had any evil designs." Some of his people, however, drew their swords in his defence; but they soon perceived they were too inferior in numbers to do any good. At the same time, those who had been placed in ambuscade advanced on the duke with drawn swords, when one of the duke's gentlemen, called John de Beaumanoir*, had his wrist cut through, and another, named Thibault Buisson, was wounded in the hand. One of the count's household, called Henry l'Allemand, wanted to strike the duke with his sword; but the count defended him, and ordered his men to cease fighting, for that he should carry the duke prisoner to the dauphin.

The duke's attendants on the other side of the bridge, seeing the situation of their lord, were much distressed that they could not come to his aid, and knew not how to act. Shortly after, the count de Penthievre, his brother, and his men-at-arms, hastily carried off the duke and his brother Richard towards Poitou, to Bressaire, and thence to Lusignan, to Bournouiau, to Châteaumur, and other places. He was thus a prisoner for six or seven months, without being confined in any prison or treated personally ill; but he was closely watched, and had only one of his domestics to wait on him. His brother Richard was detained a prisoner with him.

You may suppose, that when the knowledge of this arrest of the duke was made known to the duchess and lords of Brittany, they were highly incensed: in particular, the duchess was so grieved that it was with difficulty she could be appeased. The whole of the nobility were speedily assembled, with the duchess, in the town of Nantes, when they solemnly resolved, on oath, to proceed to the deliverance of the duke, and to make war on the count de Penthievre, and on all his friends, allies, and well-wishers. They unanimously chose the lords de Châteaubriant† and de Rieux as their commanders, who instantly marched a powerful force against Lamballe, which belonged to the count. It held out for fifteen days, and then surrendered; and the castle and town, which were strongly fortified, were destroyed, and the walls razed. They thence marched to Castle Andren, and to la Motte d'Ebron, which were treated in the same manner.

They proceeded to lay siege to Chantoceau, in which was the old countess de Penthievre. The governor was the lord de Bressieres, who defended it well. This siege lasted three months, without much being gained by the besiegers; for it was amply supplied with provision and stores, and well garrisoned by good men-at-arms. During this siege a treaty was made between the count and the duke, who promised to restore all his places, as well those that had been taken as those that had been demolished, and that he would not, by himself or his friends, any way molest him for what he had done. When this treaty had been concluded, and hostages given for its performance, the count sent back the duke, escorted by the lord de l'Esgle his brother.

The first act of the duke was to raise the siege of Chantoceau; but when the barons of

* Afterwards grand-ecuyer to the king of France. He was son of William de Beaumanoir, lord of Landemont, and obtained the lands of Lavardin by marriage with the heiress of that barony.

Geoffrey de Châteaubriant, lord of Lyon, d'Angers, &c., married to Louisa, daughter of the lord of Mont

gaugier, by whom he had issue, John, lord of Chalain, his successor, and Guy de Châteaubriant.

John II., lord of Rieux and Rochefort, marshal of France, died in 1417, leaving John III., viscount of Donges, his successor, the same here mentioned, besides two other sons,-Peter, afterwards marshal of France, and Michael, lord of Châteaumont.

*

Brittany had again possession of their duke, they refused to comply with the treaty he had made, and insisted that the countess of Penthievre should depart from Chantoceau, and that the place should be put into the hands of the duke. A day of conference was appointed. between the two parties, to see if any terms could be thought of to put an end to these differences; and the count promised to attend in person, giving his brother William as an hostage for his keeping his promise: but he did not appear, having had sure information, that if he did come, he would never return. In truth, had he appeared, he would have been executed judicially, for it had been so determined on by the three estates of the duchy; and they told the duke, that if he meant to keep the treaty made with the count de Penthievre, they would deprive him of the dukedom, and elect his eldest son duke in his stead, so that he was obliged to comply with their wills.

The count de Penthievre, on hearing these things, was much troubled, and not without cause; for he knew that all his landed property and lordships in Brittany were confiscated and in possession of the duke, and that his brother remained as hostage in the hands of the duke, without a possibility of his deliverance. On the other hand, he was on bad terms with the dauphin, because he would not give up to him the person of the duke of Brittany, —and was not very safe as to himself, for he found few willing to support him. To avoid greater inconveniences, he withdrew into the viscounty of Limoges, and after some consultations with his brothers, departed thence through the country of Auvergne to Lyon, and thence to Geneva and Basil, on his way to his possessions at Avesnes in Hainault. As he was travelling down the Rhine, he was arrested by the marquis of Baden, by way of reprisal for the pillaging of some of his people in Hainault, and was detained a long time prisoner. To obtain his liberty, it cost him full thirty thousand crowns; after which he went to Avesnes in Hainault. While he resided at Avesnes, the Duke of Brittany sent some of his people thither to arrest him, and put an iron chain round his neck. They were under the conduct of the following Breton gentlemen: sir Roland de Saint Pol, sir John de Lumon, Jacquet de Faulermine, and others; but they managed the matter with so little secrecy that their enterprise was known, and some were imprisoned. The rest saved themselves by flight. The count was forced to surrender the prisoners to the judicial court of Mons, and none were executed.

The count de Penthievre never returned to Brittany, but remained all his days in Hainault, and married the daughter and heiress of the lord de Quievrain, by whom, at his decease, he left several children, who did not, however, live until of competent age, so that his estates descended to his brother, the lord de l'Esgle.

CHAPTER CCXXXVI.-THE DAUPHINOIS RETAKE

VILLENEUVE-LE-ROI.-THE

LORD

DE

CHATILLON CONQUERS CHATEAU-THIERRY, AND MAKES LA HIRE PRISONER. In the month of February, the Dauphinois regained the town of Villeneuve-le-Roi; but shortly after, the lord de l'Isle-Adam, with others of the Burgundian captains, quartered themselves in all the adjoining villages, by way of blockading it. They, however, only remained a certain time, and then decamped without subjecting the town to their obedience, which caused the country around to suffer much. A treaty was, however, made with the governor to allow provision to be brought unmolested to Paris, on paying certain taxes, of which he was to have his share. At this same time, Château-Thierry, with its castle, was delivered into the hands of the lord de Châtillont, though garrisoned by the Dauphinois, by means of some of the inhabitants, in which La Hire and many of his men were made prisoners, but were set at liberty afterward on ransom.

During this period, the Dauphinois garrisons at Meaux in Brie, at Compiègne, Pierrefons, and on the borders of the Valois, destroyed all the country round by their inroads, more especially the Beauvoisis, the Vermandois, and Santerre. In like manner did those

* Viscount of Limoges, fourth son of John, count of Penthievre.

William, lord of Châtillon, brother of Charles de Châtillon, lord of Marigny, killed at Azincourt.

quartered in the country of Guise to the inhabitants of Hainault, the Cambresis, and the adjacent parts. While these troubles lasted, from the year 1415 to 1420, the money in France was greatly lowered in value, insomuch that a gold crown from the king's mint was worth twenty-nine sols in the money of the day, although it had been coined for eighteen sols parisis, which very much affected those lords whose rents were payable in money, and caused several law-suits between the parties, on account of the said diminution of the coin, when a horse-load of wheat was worth from seven to eight francs.

CHAPTER

CCXXXVII.-TIE DAUPHIN IS SUMMONED BY THE PARLIAMENT TO APPEAR AT THE TABLE OF MARBLE. THE DUKE OF EXETER ARRESTS THE LORD DE L'ISLE-ADAM IN PARIS.

In this year, before king Henry left Paris to recross the sea, he caused Charles duke of Touraine and dauphin to be summoned to appear before the parliament at the table of marble, with all the usual ceremonies and solemnities, to answer for himself and his accomplices to the charges made against him and them, respecting the murder of the late John duke of Burgundy. And because he neither appeared himself, nor sent any one, he was by the council and parliament publicly banished the realm, and declared incapable of succeeding to any lands or lordships, at present or in times to come,-and even to the succession of the crown of France, notwithstanding he was the true and lawful heir after the decease of his father king Charles, according to the laws and usages of the realm. From this sentence, he made an appeal to his sword. Numbers of the Parisians were greatly pleased at his banishment, for they much feared him.

The duke of Exeter, governor of Paris, for certain reasons best known to himself ordered the lord de l'Isle-Adam to be arrested by some of his English, which caused a thousand or more of the commonalty of Paris to rise in order to rescue him from those who were carrying him to the Bastille. But the Duke of Exeter sent six-score combatants, the greater part of whom were archers, to support them; and they by their arrows, and by proclaiming that what they were about was by the king's order, created so great an alarm that the people retired to their houses, and the lord de l'Isle-Adam remained prisoner to the king of England so long as he lived. He would indeed have had him put to death, if the duke of Burgundy had not greatly interested himself in his behalf.

CHAPTER CCXXXVIII.-THE DUKE OF CLARENCE IS DEFEATED BY THE DAUPHINOIS NEAR TO BAUGEY.-IN THIS ENGAGEMENT GREAT NUMBERS OF THE NOBLES AND GENTLEMEN OF EACH PARTY ARE SLAIN.

THE duke of Clarence, who had been appointed governor-general of all Normandy on the departure of his brother king Henry for England, marched his army, on Easter-eve, toward the country of Anjou, to combat a large body of the Dauphinois under the command of the earl of Buchan *, constable to the dauphin, the lord de la Fayette, and several others. It happened that on this day the duke heard that his enemies were near him at a town called Baugey in Anjou; on which, being very renowned in arms, he instantly advanced thither a part of his force, particularly almost all his captains, when a very severe and bloody conflict ensued. The body of his army followed with much difficulty at a distance on account of a dangerous river they had to ford. On the other hand, the Dauphinois, who had been advertised of their approach, fought so manfully, that in the end they obtained the victory over the English. The duke of Clarence, the earl of Kyme, the lord Roos, marshal of England, and in general the flower of his chivalry and esquiredom, were left dead on the

*John Stuart, carl of Buchan, son to the duke of Albany, regent of Scotland; made constable of France

after the battle of Baugé; lord of Aubigny, and carl of Evreux.