Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

assistance of his son and heir, Henry king of England, and regent of France, do speedy and effectual justice on all who had been concerned therein." On this, the assembly broke up, and the two kings returned to the hotels.

CHAPTER CCXXXI.—A PARTY OF ENGLISH ARE DEFEATED NEAR MONT-EPILOY.—THE MARRIAGE OF THE MARQUIS DU PONT WITH A PRINCESS OF LORRAINE.-THE CONDUCT OF SIR JAMES DE HARCOURT.

WHILE these things were passing, the English quartered at Gournay in Normandy, at NeufChâtel, d'Incourt, and other places on the borders, with sir Mauroy de St. Leger, who was posted at Creil, assembled in a body of about five hundred, and made an incursion into Brie and the Valois, where they gained great plunder, and made many prisoners. But on their return, they were met by the lord de Gamaches, who was quartered in Compiègne, and the garrisons from other parts, who rescued the prisoners, and recovered their plunder near to Mont-Epiloy, killing full sixty, besides making many prisoners. The rest saved themselves by flight, and in this affair the lord de Gamaches acted with great valour.

At this period, the marriage of René d'Anjou, brother to the king of Sicily, and marquis du Pont (by the gift of his uncle the cardinal of Bar), with the daughter and heiress of the duke of Lorraine, was celebrated in the castle of Nancy-le-Duc. By this alliance, an end was put to the discords that subsisted between the two duchies of Lorraine and Bar; for the cardinal had long before declared this nephew his heir to the duchy of Bar, to the great displeasure of the duke of Mons, who was likewise his nephew, being son to his sister; but his displeasure availed him nothing. On the other hand, sir James de Harcourt, who still pretended attachment to the duke of Burgundy, maintained a strong garrison in Crotoy, and thence made grievous war by sea and land, which coming to the knowledge of the king of England, he was very greatly angered. The companions of sir James in this warfare were the lord de Rambures, sir Louis de Thiembronne, and his brother Guichard, sir Coquard de Combronne, the two brothers of Herselaines, the youths of Chaumont, and other gentlemen and men-at-arms of that country.

CHAPTER CCXXXII.-COMMISSIONERS

ARRIVE AT PARIS FROM DIFFERENT TOWNS IN THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE. THE TWO KINGS HOLD THERE A COUNCIL OF THE THREE

ESTATES.-OTHER MATTERS.

AT this time, deputies arrived at Paris from the three estates of the principal towns within the realm, according to the orders before given. Many councils were held in their presence and absence, concerning the public welfare, at which the gabelles, and other taxes, were renewed, with the exception of those on grain. At the feast of the Nativity, the two kings, with their queens and households, kept open court in Paris,-the king of France at the hôtel de St. Pol, and the king of England at the Louvre: but their state was very different, for the king of France was poorly and meanly served, compared with the pomp with which he used to keep open court in former times, and attended only on that day by some old servants and persons of low degree; which must have been very disgusting to all true and loyal Frenchmen, thus to see by the chance of war this noble kingdom in the possession and under the government of its ancient enemies, to whose dominion they were forced to bend themselves. With regard to the state of the king and queen of England on that day, it is impossible to detail its magnificence, or that of the princes who attended them. The French nobility came from all parts to do them honour, with the utmost humility; and from that day king Henry took on himself the whole government of the kingdom, appointing officers at his pleasure, and dismissing those whom the king and the late duke of Burgundy had given appointments. He nominated the earl of Kyme, of the name of Umphraville, to the government of Melun, with a sufficient garrison of men-at-arms and archers. The earl of Huntingdon, his cousin-german, was made captain of Vincennes ;

and the duke of Exeter was ordered to remain with king Charles in Paris, with five hundred combatants.

After these appointments had been made, and the feasts concluded, king Henry set out from Paris with his queen, the dukes of Clarence, of Bedford, and others of his great barons, for the town of Rouen, where he remained a considerable time before he returned to England, and held many councils respecting the future government of the kingdom of France. Duke Philip of Burgundy departed also from Paris, and went to attend at Beauvais the feast of enthroning master Pierre Cauchon, doctor of divinity, the new bishop of that place, who was strongly attached to the Burgundian party. When the feasts were over, the duke set out for Lille, passing through Amiens and Dourlens, and from Lille to Ghent, where his duchess resided, with whom he staid about three weeks.

The red duke of Bavaria, who, as you have heard, had come to serve his brother-in-law, king Henry, with five hundred combatants, returned in haste through Cambray to his own country; for he had received intelligence that the Bohemians, led on and encouraged by an heretical priest of that country, were risen in rebellion, not only against the catholic faith, but against the emperor of Germany, and the monarchs of Hungary and Bohemia, and were waging a murderous war on all their subjects.

CHAPTER CCXXXIII.—KING HENRY SETS OUT FROM ROUEN TO CALAIS WITH HIS QUEEN, AND THENCE TO ENGLAND, WHERE HE IS RECEIVED WITH GREAT JOY BY ALL RANKS OF PEOPLE.

WHEN King Henry had satisfactorily arranged his affairs at Rouen, and appointed his brother the duke of Clarence, who was very prudent and renowned in arms, governorgeneral of all Normandy, he departed thence, accompanied by his queen, his brother the duke of Bedford, and six thousand men-at-arms. Having passed through Poix, he arrived at Amiens on the vigil of St. Vincent's day, and was lodged in the hotel of master Robert le Jeune, who had lately been nominated bailiff of Amiens in the room of the lord de Humbercourt. He was very honourably received there, and many presents were made by the municipality to him and to his queen. He continued his journey through Dourlens, St. Pol and Terouenne, to Calais, where he staid some days; and then crossed the Channel to England, where he was received as if he had been an angel from God. He lost no time after his arrival in having his consort crowned queen of England in the city of London, the metropolis of that kingdom. The coronation was performed with such splendid magnificence that the like had never been seen at any coronation since the time of that noble knight, Arthur, king of the English and Bretons. After this ceremony, king Henry made a progress to the principal towns of his realm, and explained to them with much eloquence what grand deeds he had performed through his prowess in France, and what yet remained to be done for the complete conquest of that kingdom,-namely, the subjugation of his adversary the dauphin of Vienne, only son to king Charles, and brother to his queen, who styled himself heir to the crown and regent of France, and who kept possession of the greater part of the country. To complete this conquest, he said, two things were necessary, money and men; and these requests were so liberally granted that of the first he collected larger sums than had ever before been seen, and they could scarcely be counted. Of the second, he enrolled all the most able youths in the country and the most expert in drawing the bow, and placing them under the command of his princes, knights and esquires, composed an army of full thirty thousand combatants, to enable him to prosecute a vigorous war against his enemy the dauphin.

very soon

Before he quitted England, that he might make all things secure, he renewed the truces with the Scots and Welsh, and consented to the deliverance of the king of Scotland, who, had been long prisoner in England, on condition that he would marry his cousin-german, sister to the earl of Somerset, and niece to the cardinal of Winchester, who had been the principal negotiator in these treaties.

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 PRISONER BY THE COUNT DE PENTHIEVRE, AND DETAINED BY HIM FOR A CONSIDERABLE TIME.-A WAR TAKES 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.

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 understood by reference to the following genealogical

table. The conspiracy against the duke of Bretagne is 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

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

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

[blocks in formation]

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

*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

siege of Chantoceau; but when the barons of

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.

« ZurückWeiter »