necessary to undertake a journey to her court, to try the effect of his personal eloquence in turning her from this rash design. He arrived at Nantes on the 1st of October, and sent to announce his advent to the duchess Joanna, who welcomed him in proper form, invited him to dinner, and regaled him sumptuously. The duke of Burgundy, who perfectly understood the character of his niece, had prepared a treat of a more important kind for her, and at the conclusion of the banquet, presented her with a rich crown and a sceptre of crystal, and another of gold, ornamented with pearls and precious stones. He gave the young duke, her son, a buckle of gold adorned with rubies and pearls, a beautiful diamond, and a number of silver vessels. To his little brothers, Arthur earl of Richmond and count Jules of. Bretagne, he presented each a collar of gold enriched with rubies and pearls. He gave the countess of Rohan, Joanna's aunt, a splendid diamond, and a buckle to each of her ladies and damsels who werc present. The lords in waiting and officers of the duchess's household were not forgotten in this magnificent distribution of largesses, in which the duke expended an immense sum. These discreet gifts entirely gained the heart of the duchess, of the princes her children, her lords and officers, but, above all, of that most influential coterie, the ladies of her court and bedchamber. They were sure the duke of Burgundy would be the best person in the world to defend the rights and protect the person of their young duke, and to diffuse happiness and prosperity among his subjects, and they besought him to undertake the guardianship of the royal minors and their patrimony.

To turn Joanna from her intended marriage with the king of England, the duke of Burgundy found to be a thing impossible; but he succeeded in convincing her how much better it would be for the interests of her sons to leave them under his guardianship, and the protection of their natural sovereign the king of France, than to risk alienating the affections of the Bretons by taking them to England. He reminded her that he was her uncle, and one of the nearest relations her children had, and also that he was the friend and kinsman of

their father, the late duke; finally, he swore on the holy Evangelists to maintain their cause, and to preserve the laws, liberties, and privileges of the Bretons inviolate. The duchess was then persuaded to sign a deed, investing him with this important charge. When Joanna had resigned the guardianship of her children to the duke of Burgundy, he departed from Nantes for Paris on the 3rd of November, 1402, after a stay of two months, taking with him the young duke and his two brothers, Arthur and Jules. The duke was only in his thirteenth year, and the younger princes so small, that they could scarcely guide the horse on which they were mounted, one behind the other. They were conducted by the duke of Burgundy to Paris, where the young duke of Bretagne performed his homage to Charles VI. of France. Joanna had another son named Richard, an infant, who is not mentioned in the Breton chronicles as forming one of this party.'

One of Joanna's last actions as duchess of Bretagne was to secure to her aunt, Jane of Navarre, the wife of the viscount Rohan, a pension of 1000l. per year, out of the rents of her dower-city and county of Nantes. This deed, which is printed in the Fœdera, affords an interesting testimony of Joanna's affection for her deceased lord, as it states that the annuity is granted, not only in consideration of the nearness of kindred and friendship that is between her and her aunt, "but also," continues the august donor, "in remuneration of the good pains and diligence she used to procure our marriage with our very dear and beloved lord, (whom God assoile!) Of which marriage it has pleased our Lord and Saviour that we should continue a noble line, to the great profit of the country of Bretagne, in our very dear and beloved son the duke of Bretagne, and our other children, sons and daughters. And for this it was the will and pleasure of our said very dear and beloved lord, if he had had a longer life, to have bestowed many gifts and benefits on our said aunt, to aid her in her sustenance and provision.'

1 Actes de Bretagne. Chron. Briocense. Dom Morice.

Joanna's grant was confirmed by her betrothed husband, Henry IV. of England, to her aunt, under his great seal at Westminster, March 1st, 1402.Rymer's Foedera.

JOANNA OF NAVARRE,

QUEEN OF HENRY IV.

CHAPTER II.

Joanna assumes the title of queen-Writes to Henry IV.-Embarks for England -Her infants-Perils at sea-Lands at Falmouth-Married at WinchesterNuptial feast-Honours paid to her by the Londoners-Historical picture of her coronation-Tournament-King Henry's grants to Joanna-Arrival of her son Arthur-Joanna's foreign household-Her Breton servants dismissed— Marriage of her two daughters-Peril from pirates-Unpopularity of Joanna --She mediates peace with Bretagne-Additions to her dower-Her monument to her first husband-Queen's lead-mines-Sickness and death of king Henry -His will-Widowhood of Joanna-Her political influence-Capture of her son Arthur at Agincourt-She returns public thanks for the victory-Joanna a lady of the Garter-Her merchant-Her presents to her son's wife-Joanna is arrested at Havering-Bower-Accused of sorcery-Goods and dower confiscated-Imprisoned at Leeds-castle-Removed to Pevensey-Remonstrance of her son-Her doleful captivity—Henry V.'s death-bed remorse-Restoration to her rank and possessions-Her death-Her children-Obsequies-Her tomb-Mysterious reports-Exhumation of the bodies of Henry IV. and Joanna. JOANNA assumed the title of queen of England some months before her departure from Bretagne,' and she is mentioned as such in all contemporary documents. She appears to have exerted a sort of matrimonial influence with her royal bridegroom soon after the ceremonial of their espousals had been performed by proxy; for we find that she wrote to Henry in behalf of one of her countrymen, the master of a Navarrese wine-ship, who had been plundered of his cargo, in the reign of Richard II., by William Prince, a captain in the earl of Arundel's fleet. Her intercession proved effectual; for king Henry, as he expressly states, "at the request of his dearest consort, enjoins his admiral, Thomas Rampstone, to see that

'Dom Morice. Rymer's Fœdera, vol. viii.

proper satisfaction be made to the master of the wine-ship by the said William Prince." Previous to her departure from Bretagne, Joanna sold the government of her castle of Nantes to Clisson for twelve thousand crowns; and having only tarried to complete this arrangement, she, on the 20th of December, 1402, proceeded to Camaret with her two infant daughters, Blanche and Marguerite, their nurses, and a numerous train of Breton and Navarrese attendants.2

3

The English fleet, with the two half-brothers of her affianced bridegroom, (the earl of Somerset and Henry Beaufort, bishop of Lincoln,) and Thomas Percy, earl of Worcester, the lord chamberlain of England, had been waiting at that port a considerable time. Joanna, with her daughters and her retinue, embarked at Camaret, January 13th, in a vessel of war commanded by the young earl of Arundel. The expedi tion sailed the same day with a favourable wind, but encountered a dreadful tempest at sea, by which the vessels were much damaged. After tossing five days and five nights on the wintry waves, Joanna and her children were driven on the coast of Cornwall; and instead of landing at Southampton, their original destination, they disembarked at Falmouth. From thence the illustrious travellers proceeded to Winchester, where king Henry was in waiting with his lords to receive his long-expected bride. The nuptials between Joanna and Henry were publicly solemnized, February 7th, 1403, in that ancient royal city, in the church of St. Swithun, with great pomp. The bridal feast was very costly, having two courses of fish; and at the end of the second, panthers crowned were introduced for what was, in the quaint language of the times, called a sottiltie, or banquet-ornament of confectionary. Eagles crowned formed the sottiltie at the end of the third course."

5

1 Rymer's Fœdera.

2 Dom Morice.

3 Rymer's Fœdera.

He was the son of the brave Richard Fitzalan, lord admiral of England, who was beheaded by Richard II. There is, in the eighth volume of Rymer, a lively supplication from this nobleman to the king, "setting forth that he had provided, by the royal command, a ship well appointed with victuals, arms, and thirty-six mariners, for the service of bringing our lady the queen from Bretagne, and praying to be reimbursed from the exchequer for these expenses."

Acts of Privy Council, by sir H. Nicolas, vol. i. p. 189. Breton Chronicles.

Willement's Regal Heraldry, p. 31.

Great preparations were made by the citizens of London to meet and welcome the newly-married consort of the sovereign of their choice on her approach to the metropolis. Among other expenses for the civic procession ordained in her honour, the grocers' company allowed Robert Stiens, their beadle, 68. 8d. for riding into Suffolk to hire minstrels; he engaged six, namely, a panel mynstrale et ses rampagnons, probably meaning companions. The Suffolk musical band was paid four pounds for riding to Blackheath to meet the queen. The mayor, the aldermen, and sheriffs went out in procession on this occasion, with the crafts in brown and blue, and every man a red hood on his head. Queen Joanna rested the first day at the Tower. That she went to Westminster in grand procession on the following, is ascertained by the entry for paying the said Suffolk minstrels 138. 4d. on the morrow, when the queen passed through Cheapside to Westminster.'

There is an exquisite drawing in a contemporary MS. illustrative of Joanna's coronation, which took place February 26th, 1403, not quite three weeks after her bridal. She is there represented as a very majestic and graceful woman, in the meridian glory of her days, with a form of the most symmetrical proportions, and a countenance of equal beauty. Her attitude is that of easy dignity. She is depicted in her coronation robes, which are of a peculiarly elegant form. Her dalmatica differs little in fashion from that worn by our sovereign lady queen Victoria at her inauguration. It partially displays her throat and bust, and is closed at the breast with a rich cordon and tassels. The mantle has apertures, through which her arms are seen; they are bare, and very finely moulded. She is enthroned, not by the side of her royal husband, but, with the same ceremonial honours that are paid to a queen-regnant, in a chair of state placed singly under a rich canopy, emblazoned, and elevated on a very high platform of an hexagonal shape, approached on every side by six steps. Two archbishops have just crowned her, and are still

1 Herbert's History of the Livery Companies.

* Cottonian MS. Julius E 4, fol. 202. Stowe's Annals.