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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 Corollarium 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 Corollarium 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 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, 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.

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"Octavum Corollarium 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 Corollarium 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.

66 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 such-like 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 afterwards, 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.

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"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 dake of 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.

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"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 hotel de St. Pol, where he met the nurse to the children of the duke of Orleans, carrying one of them in her ams. 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.

"In regard to my second charge, of fallacious deceptions, I have already touched upon them, in his treacherous conduct and advice to the queen, to quit the kingdom for the duchy of Luxembourg.

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As to my third charge, it is well known that the duke of Orleans, persevering in his wicked designs, has personally, and by ambassadors, often practised with the pope to deprive the king of his crown and kingdom. To succeed in this damnable conspiracy, he falsely and wickedly charged the king with crimes affecting his royal progeny, which he gave the pope to understand were such as required him to declare the king and his posterity unworthy to hold or succeed to the crown of France. He also requested the pope to grant absolution to all who should act contrary to the oath of fidelity they had been constrained to take to the king, and to declare the next of his blood the successor to the crown and government of France. The better to secure the pope in his interests, he has always favoured and supported him by divers ways, as is apparent from his conduct, in the cession and restitution of the monies from the hospital of Toulouse.

"Thus the third article of my minor is made clear, notwithstanding there are very many other horrible crimes of high treason in the third degree, committed by the late duke of Orleans, unnoticed, which my lord of Burgundy has reserved to himself, to bring forward or not as he may see occasion.

"I now come to the fourth article of my minor, which is, that the late duke of Orleans has been guilty of high treason in the fourth degree, namely, of offending against the public welfare.

66 Although I have before noticed his alliance with the enemies of the realm, which is acting positively against the public good, I shall show how he has otherwise committed this crime. In the first place, by keeping men-at-arms in different parts of the realm, who did nothing but plunder the people, rob all travellers, and force women. He moreover placed their captains in the strongest castles, and at all the passes, bridges and fords of rivers, the better to succeed in his wicked designs, namely, the usurpation of the government. Secondly, He has imposed intolerable taxes on the subjects of the realm, pretending they were for the carrying on the war against the enemy, but giving from their amount large sums to the ill-wishers to the kingdom, to induce them to become his allies, and support him in his attempt to seize the crown.

"Thus it appears that I have proved the duke of Orleans guilty of high treason in the fourth degree. There are beside many other facts more wicked and criminal than I have stated; but my lord of Burgundy has reserved them with others, to bring forward, if it be necessary, more strongly to convict the duke of Orleans of having had the design of compassing the king's death, and the deaths of his royal family, that he might obtain the crown. "Now, if my hearers will unite my minor with my major, it will clearly follow, that my lord of Burgundy is not deserving of any blame whatever for what has happened to the criminal duke of Orleans; nor ought the king our lord to be dissatisfied with him, but, on the contrary, he should be pleased with what he had done, and requite him for it in three ways, namely, in love, honour, and riches, after the example of the rewards given to my lord the archangel St. Michael, and to the valiant man Phineas, which I have already mentioned in my major. According to my plain understanding, I think our lord and king ought

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to declare his attachment to my aforesaid lord of Burgundy, and publish his good fame both within and without the kingdom, by his letters patent, in the manner of epistles or otherwise; and God grant it may be so done, Qui est benedictus in secula seculorum. Amen*? After master John Petit had finished his harangue, he requested of the duke of Burgundy that he would vouch for all he had said, which the duke granted, and avowed the whole of what master John Petit had laid to the charge of the late duke of Orleans, in the presence of the dauphin, who represented the person of the king, and all the other princes and lords before particularised. The orator, after this, declared that the duke of Burgundy had reserved some charges of a deeper nature to lay before the king personally, when a proper occasion should offer.

The assembly now broke up, and the princes and lords retired to their different hotels. The duke of Burgundy was escorted to his hôtel d'Artois by a large body of men-at-arms and archers.

There were great murmurings in Paris among all ranks, for the assembly had been open to all, respecting the charges made against the late duke of Orleans, and various were the opinions concerning them. Those attached to the Orleans party declared they were all false, whilst the Burgundians maintained the contrary.

Shortly afterward, queen Isabella of France, apprehensive of consequences to herself and children, set out from Paris with her son the duke of Aquitaine and the others, accompanied by Louis duke of Bavaria, her brother, and fixed her residence in the castle of Melun. The king, who had been very ill of his disorder for some time, now recovered: the duke of Burgundy waited on him, and was not only reconciled but obtained letters sealed with the king's seal and signed with his own hand, by which he was pardoned for what had lately happened to the duke of Orleans, to the astonishment of many great lords and wise men, but at this moment it could not be otherwise.

CHAPTER XL.-THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS A SOLEMN EMBASSY TO THE POPE.-THE ANSWER THEY RECEIVE.—THE POPE EXCOMMUNICATES THE KING AND HIS ADHERENTS.

ABOUT this period, some persons came to the king and the lords then at Paris, to inform them, that the pope and his rival would neither of them resign the popedom, as they had promised in the city of Savona,-but by various deceitful means kept up the schism that had so long hurt the true interests of the church. The king, in consequence, wrote letters to the pope, and sent them by Jean de Château-morant and Jean de Coursen, knights, his ambassadors, to declare, that if peace were not firmly established throughout the Christian church by Ascension-day next ensuing, he himself and the clergy, nobles and people of his realm and of Dauphiny, would no longer obey him or his adversary. Pope Benedict was not well pleased with the contents of these letters, nor with the embassy, although he dissembled with the ambassadors. He made them a short answer, saying he would speedily reply to the letters they had brought, after which they took leave of him and returned to Paris, to make the king and council acquainted with all that had passed. It was not long before a messenger from the pope arrived at Paris, who went to the hôtel de St. Pol, and, understanding the king was in his oratory at the commencement of the mass, proceeded thither, and presenting the king with an apostolical letter, instantly departed.

When mass was over, the king caused the letter to be opened, and deliberately read, by which he learnt that he himself and all his subjects were excommunicated. Search was instantly made in Paris after the person who had brought this excommunication, but in vain, for he had quitted the city as secretly and suddenly as he could. The king and his

*This is one of the most extraordinary pieces of special pleading on record. Its effect was most mischievous, and as we shall see hereafter, the duke of Burgundy, “Jean sans peur," himself fell a victim to the murderous creed broached by his own advocate. Jean Petit was undoubtedly a man of considerable attainments, and in his capacity of

VOL. I.

professor of theology in the university of Paris, he had obtained great reputation. His conduct on this occasion was reprobated by all his fellow collegians; and notwithstanding all the support of the duke of Burgundy, he could not endure the reproaches heaped upon him, but retiring to Hesdin, died there in 1411.-Ed.

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