He told Balue, that he ought to be greatly ashamed for having brought forward and supported such a measure. In consequence of this, the heads of the university waited on the legate, and appealed against these letters to a general council. They went thence to the court of Châtelet, where they made a similar appeal, and had their opposition enregistered. The king sent this legate and the bishop of Evreux, who had lately been made cardinal*, with master John Ladriesche, treasurer of France, and others, to the count de Charolois, to execute some commissions he had charged them with. On the 8th of October, one called Swestre le Moyne, a native of Auxerre, having been imprisoned at Thiron + a long time for certain crimes, was this day drowned in the Seine, near the Grange aux Merciers, according to the sentence of sir Tristan de l'Hermite ‡, provost of the marshals of the king's household. Sunday the 11th, there was a prodigious storm of thunder and lightning, about eight o'clock at night, and before and after it the most extraordinary heat that had been ever felt at that season, which seemed to all persons very unnatural. The following day, the king went from his hôtel at the Tournelles, to hear vespers at Notre Dame,-after which, a procession was made by the bishop and canons of that church, when the king retired to repose himself some time at the hôtel of his first president of the parliament, John Dauvet. The king did not leave the president's house until dark night, when, looking up, he perceived a bright star over the hôtel, which followed the king until he had entered the hôtel of the Tournelles, when it disappeared, and was not seen again. News came to the king, on Thursday the 15th of October, that a large body of Bretons, having gained possession of the town and castle of Caen, had thence marched to Bayeux, and held them both against the king, which vexed him much,—and he sent thither instantly the marshal le Lohéac, then with him, to take proper measures respecting these towns, as he had under his charge one hundred lances from Brittany. The duke of Alençon, who had been convicted of high treason during the reign of the late king, at a court of justice held at Vendôme, and of having practised with the English, the ancient enemies of France, had been condemned, in consequence of his confessions, to death, saving the good pleasure of the king. His life had been spared, but he remained a close prisoner in the castle of Loches until the present king's accessior, when he was fully pardoned, and all proceedings against him were annulled. It happened, that a lame man had been one of the principal evidences against this duke, and was much afraid of his revenge when set at liberty,—to avoid which, he presented himself before the king, and solicited to be taken under his protection. This the king promised, and personally commanded the duke no way to injure this man, his family, or his fortune, as he was under his especial protection. The duke engaged to perform all the king wished; but he soon forgot his promises,—and, having had the lame man seized and brought before him, caused him instantly to be put to death. The wife of the murdered man appeared before the king, to make her loss known, and have redress for her injury; in consequence, the king seized on all the towns and lands of the duke, but it was not long before they were restored, and he was again pardoned. The duke, to show his gratitude for these repeated marks of favour, offered to give up his towns to the Bretons, and to the duke of Berry, in opposition to the interests of the king. At this time, sir Anthony de Château-neuf, lord du Lau, grand-butler of France, and seneschal of Guienne, who had been chamberlain to the king, and more beloved by him than any other courtier, who had amended his fortune by the king's service, to the amount of "Cardinal." He was created cardinal in 1464, according to Ciaconius. Balue obtained the cardinal's hat at the earnest solicitations of his master, and as a recompense for his services in the affair of the Pragmatic Sanction when he was so nobly checked by St. Romain. Pope Paul the Second was afterwards thoroughly ashamed of having been prevailed on to elevate to the sacred dignity a person of so thoroughly scandalous and depraved a character, and excused himself on the ground of compulsion.-DU CLOS. + Thiron, a small town in Beauce, election of Chartres. three or four hundred thousand golden crowns, had fallen into disgrace, and was confined in the castle of Sully-sur-Loire*; but in the month of October, the king sent sir Tristan l'Hermite, and master Guillaume Cerisay, lately appointed greffier-civil to the parliament, to take the lord du Lau from the prisons at Sully, and to carry him to the castle of Ussont in Auvergne. While they were thus transporting him, a report was spread, and long continued, that the lord du Lau was drowned ‡. Tuesday, the 22d of October, the king left Paris to go into Normandy, and this night lay at Villepreux §, and on the morrow at Mantes. Prior to his departure, he sent off such of his captains as were then near his person to collect the men under their command, and to follow him with them into Normandy or wherever else he might be. He also published an edict, to declare that henceforth his pleasure was that all officers should remain in peaceable possession of their places, and that there should be no vacation but by death, resignation, or confiscation; that should he, through importunities, grant any office contrary to this his declaration, he willed that it should not be valid, but that strict and equal justice should be done to all. From Mantes, he went to Vernon-sur-Seine, where he staid some time; during which the constable there joined him, and found means to obtain from the king a truce for six months with the count de Charolois, without including the Liegeois, who had already made war against the count, in the expectation of being supported by the king, according to the promises he had made them, and they now found themselves quite abandoned by him. The constable returned to the duke of Burgundy with the intelligence of the truce being signed. Soon after this, the cardinal of Evreux, and the others who had been sent by the king to Flanders, came to him at Vernon; and he thence went to Chartres, whither he sent for the greater part of his artillery from Orleans, that it might be transported to Alençon, and the other towns of which he wanted to gain the possession. The king again sent master John Prevost to Flanders, with a copy of the aforesaid truce to the duke of Burgundy. On the 16th of November, the cardinal, the treasurer Ladriesche, master John Berart, and master Geoffry Alnequin, came to Paris to review their banners, and to execute other commissions given them by the king. The king left Chartres and went to Orleans, Clery, and other towns thereabouts, and thence to Vendôme and Mont St. Michel, having a large train of artillery with him, and a great number of men-at-arms. During this time, the Bretons issued out in arms from their country, and gained Avranches and other towns in Normandy. They spread over the whole of that part of the country, as far as Caen, Bayeux and Coutances. The duke of Burgundy, in consequence of the truce with France, wherein the Liegeois were not mentioned, entered that country unmolested; when, finding that they had been deserted by the king, and that they should be destroyed, they surrendered all their towns to the count de Charolois, on condition of paying him a large sum of money, and having parts of the gates and walls of their towns pulled down. CHAPTER CLVIII.-THE KING SENDS COMMISSARIES TO REVIEW THE PARISIAN BANNERS, OFFICERS AS WELL AS MEN. THE KING'S ARMY MARCHES BETWEEN MANS AND ALENÇON, TO OPPOSE THAT OF THE BRETONS. THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY COLLECTS A LARGE ARMY AT ST. QUENTIN.-THE THREE ESTATES OF FRANCE ASSEMBLE AT TOURS IN MCCCCLXVII. THE cardinal de Balue, and the other commissaries, proceeded in mustering the troops under the Parisian banners, in different parts of that town, on the walls, between the gates of the Temple and St. Martin, within the Temple precincts, on the walls between the tower of wood and the gate of Saint Honoré, in front of the Louvre, and elsewhere. The king had it proclaimed through Paris, on the 22d of November, that all who had been accustomed Sully-sur-Loire,-eight leagues from Orleans. † Usson,-four leagues from Brionde. The lord du Lau did not die until 1483 or 1484. § Villepreux,-two leagues from Versailles. to bear arms and had been disbanded without receiving their pay, should appear before certain commissioners whom he had ordered to settle their accounts, and to relist them for his service in the wars. On the 24th, master John Prevost returned to the king from the count de Charolois, to whom he had carried a copy of the truce, with the count's answer. On the 26th, a general muster was made out of Paris, fronting the church and abbey of St. Germain des Prés, unto the river Seine, when great numbers appeared well equipped, both horse and foot. There were the treasurers of France, the counsellors and clerks of the exchequer, the masters of the mint, the officers of the treasury and of taxes, the assessors, the whole court of parliament, the practitioners in the court of the Châtelet: in all, a fine and numerous company. With the above companies were a great body of horse and foot under the standard and guidon of the Hôtel de Ville. The bishop, the heads of the university, the abbots, priors, and other churchmen of Paris, appeared there with a certain number of men, well-armed and well appointed. When these musters were over, the cardinal, and the other commissaries left Paris to wait on the king, who was between Mans and Alençon with a very great army, to oppose the further progress of the Bretons; for he was followed by more than one hundred thousand horse, and twenty thousand foot; he had also his train of artillery to besiege Alençon, or any other place, that should refuse him obedience. Truces were now in agitation, which kept the king's army idle, to the great destruction of the country for more than twenty or thirty leagues round Mans and Alençon, which was foraged by the troops. The count de Charolois, having had complete success over the Liegeois, returned to St. Quentin, and issued his summonses for all his vassals to appear there in arms on the 15th day of December, under heavy penalties. He also issued his orders throughout Burgundy, for all nobles, or others bearing arms, to appear before his commissioners at Montsavion, there to receive their pay, and to march from Montsavion on or before the 20th day of December for St. Quentin, to aid him in the support of his very dearly beloved brother the lord Charles of France and the duke of Brittany, against all their enemies and ill-wishers. Such was the substance of the proclamation. In consequence thereof, those merchants, and others, who had gone into Burgundy on their affairs, returned to Paris as speedily as they could. The count de Charolois issued fresh orders for all his troops to meet him at St. Quentin the 4th day of January. On Sunday, the feast of the Holy Innocents, the duke of Bourbon was sent to Paris by the king, to place therein, as well as in other towns, sufficient garrisons to defend them against the Burgundians, and to prevent their making any inroads through the country. The marshal de Lohéac came with him, as it was said, to be lieutenant of Paris; but he departed, two days afterwards, for Rouen, and other towns in Normandy, to put them in a proper state of defence, and remained there some time. The duke of Bourbon staid at Paris, and was feasted by all the chief persons in that town. At this time the town of Alençon was surrendered to the king by the count du Perche, son to the duke of Alençon, as he was in possession of the castle, though the Bretons had gained the town. The king, in the mean time, never quitted Mans; and while there, he sent the pope's legate before-mentioned, with Anthony de Chabannes, count of Dammartin, the treasurer Ladriesche, and others, to the lord Charles in Brittany, to negotiate an accommodation. The king, at length, consented to the assembly of the three estates; and the town of Tours was fixed on for their place of meeting, which was appointed for the first day of April *. The king now departed from Mans, and went to Montils-les-Tours, Amboise, and other places in that neighbourhood, on account of the holding of the three estates at Tours. The king was present at their opening,-when, after much discussion on the matters on account of which they were assembled, they were dissolved at Easter-day, in the year 1468. Each person now returned to his home. There were present at this meeting, besides the king, the king of Sicily, the duke of Bourbon, the count du Perche, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the cardinal of Angers, and many great barons, archbishops, abbots, and deputies from all the different provinces and towns of France. * The estates were held the 6th of April, and ended the 14th of the same month.—Petite Chronique. The question was agitated at this assembly respecting the appanage for the lord Charles, brother to the king, and after mature deliberation, it was agreed, that he ought to be satisfied with landed property, having the title of duchy or marquisate, of twelve thousand livres tournois yearly rent; and that the king, in addition, should pay him an annual pension of sixty thousand livres, but without serving as a precedent for other children of France, who should hereafter descend from the crown, to demand a similar establishment, the king having granted so very large a sum as sixty thousand livres from his brotherly affection and his wish for peace; that, in regard to the duchy of Normandy, the lord Charles could not have it, as it was not in the king's power to grant it by dismembering the crown. Respecting the duke of Brittany, who detained the lord Charles in his duchy, and had taken by force some towns in France, and was suspected of holding intelligence with the English, the ancient enemies of France, it was determined by the three estates that he should be summoned to restore these said towns to the king; and should he refuse to do so, and should the king have certain information of his connexion with the English, he must recover them by force of arms, and attack the duke wherever he might meet him. The three estates promised to support him in these measures; namely, the churchmen with their prayers and temporal effects, and the nobles and commonalty with their lives and fortunes unto death. In regard to the want of due justice being administered throughout the realm, the king had a singular desire to accomplish it, and was willing that sufficiently well informed persons should be elected from all ranks, to provide a remedy for any abuses, and establish order and equity. The three estates were of opinion that the count de Charolois ought, from his near relation to the king of France, and as a peer of the realm, to exert himself manfully in these measures. The king, on the breaking up of the estates, went to Amboise, and thence sent an embassy to those assembled at Cambray, to know their resolutions in consequence of what had passed at the meeting at Tours. CHAPTER CLXIX.-TOURNAMENTS AT PARIS AND AT BRUGES.-THE KING GOES TO MEAUX. -THE PRINCE OF PIEDMONT COMES TO PARIS. THE LORD DU LAU ESCAPES FROM HIS CONFINEMENT IN THE CASTLE OF USSON, WHICH CAUSES MANY TO LOSE THEIR HEADS. THE BRETONS AND BURGUNDIANS TAKE MERVILLE. CHARLES DE MELUN BEHEADED.-THE SUBSTANCE OF WHAT PASSED BETWEEN THE KING AND THE DUKES OF BERRY AND BRITTANY.PEACE CONCLUDED WITH THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, IN THE YEAR MCCCCLXVIII. ON Monday, the 5th day of May, the lady Ambroise de Lore, widow of the late sir Robert d'Estouteville, provost of Paris, died about an hour after midnight, and was much lamented; for she was a noble, good, and modest lady, and all decent, well-behaved persons were honourably received at her house. This same day, about nine or ten at night, a mill at Paris, belonging to the prior of St. Ladre, took fire, through the carelessness of a scoundrel servant, who had stuck his candle against the wall near his bed, which fell thereon and burnt the premises; but this servant escaped, and ran away like a fox. A tournament was held, on the 15th of this month, in front of the king's hôtel at the Tournelles, by four gentlemen belonging to the company of the grand seneschal of Normandy, who had ordered the lists, and prepared the field. They had caused proclamation to be made, that they would there be ready to break three lances against all comers. Many Parisians appeared at the lists on the appointed day: the first was Jean Raguier, overseer of the salt-magazines at Soissons, treasurer of the army in Normandy, and son to master Anthony Raguier, counsellor and treasurer of the king's armies. Raguier arrived in great haste from Rouen, to be ready for this tournament, and came late in the evening of the day to St. Ladre, attended by many gentlemen of the company of Joachim Rohault, marshal of France, and others, to the number of twenty horse. He remained secretly, and without noise, at St. Ladre, until the morrow, when his companions conducted him, with the sound of trumpets and clarions, to the lists. He was attended by four footmen dressed in liveries, who kept close to the side of the courser he rode, ready to serve him and hold his lance. His companions were all uniformly dressed in handsome hoods, embroidered with great letters of gold. He made several circuits of the lists before the other champions appeared, and behaved gallantly against them; for he broke five lances, and would have done more, had the judges of the field permitted it. When he had so honourably performed his courses, he paraded round the lists, thanking the ladies and damsels for their presence, and taking his leave of the judges,—from all of whom he acquired much praise. He was succeeded by an assessor of Paris, called Marc Senamy, and two sons of sir John Sanguin, who all acquitted themselves with courage and address, but did not gain equal praises with their predecessor. Then came Charles de Louviers, cup-bearer to the king, who carried himself with such gallantry and vigour that he broke several lances, and the prize of the day was adjudged to him. The four champions remained much bruised: two of them carried their arms in scarfs, and another had his hand badly wounded below his gauntlet, so that the honour of the day belonged to the Parisians. On the preceding Sunday, the 8th of May, another tournament was performed at Bruges before the duke of Burgundy with great triumph; and there another Parisian, called Jerom of Cambray, attached to the service of the duke, tilted, and carried away the prize*. When the tiltings were over at Paris, the king left Amboise for that city, bringing with him the lords of Bourbon, of Lyont, of Beaujeu, and other great barons. He made some stay at Lagny-sur-Marne, Meaux, and other places in the neighbourhood. On the day of Ascension was an earthquake felt at Tours, Amboise, and in divers parts of Touraine. During the king's stay at Lagny and Meaux, he had his summons proclaimed in Paris, for all nobles and others to be prepared on the eighth day, in arms, to march whithersoever they should be ordered, under the severest penalties. While he remained at Meaux, a man from the Bourbonnois was there beheaded, on the 27th day of June, for having revealed the king's secrets to his ancient enemies the English. Prior to this, the king had sent the prince of Piedmont, son to the duke of Savoy, to Paris, to kindle a bonfire at the Greve, and to set at liberty all who were confined in the prisons of the parliament, the Châtelet, and elsewhere. About this time, Charles de Melun, a man-at-arms in the company of the lord admiral, having been made governor of the castle of Usson in Auvergne, had the guard of the person of the lord du Lau entrusted to him on pain of his life. But this lord made his escape, to the great vexation of the king, who, in consequence, had Charles de Melun confined in the castle of Loches, and afterwards beheaded there for his negligence. A youth called Remmonet, the son of Melun's wife, was also beheaded at Tours for this escape,‚—and the king's attorney at Usson suffered a similar fate at Meaux for the same cause. The king, on leaving Meaux, went to Senlis, and thence to Creil. The Burgundians and Bretons still kept possession of Normandy, and one day took prisoner the lord de Merville-which town of Merville is situated between Saint Sauveur-sur-Dive and Caen-and forced him to surrender the place, in which was a body of franc-archers. The instant they entered the town, they murdered all they found, hung the lord de Merville, and, having completely pillaged the houses and castle, set the whole on fire. The king went from Creil to Compiègne, where he made some stay, and then returned to Senlis. The duke of Burgundy came from Senlis to Paris on the feast of the Assumption of our Lady; but the king, before his departure, had sent the lord of Lyon and the lord constable to the duke of Burgundy to negotiate terms of peace between them. The king, however, did not fail to order his army into Normandy, under the command of the lord admiral. He was so diligent that in less than a month he drove away the Bretons who had possessed themselves of Bayeux. On Saturday the 20th of August, sir Charles de Melun, lord of Normanville, and lately grand-master of the household, who had been imprisoned at the castle of Gaillard +, under • Fuller particulars of this tournament may be seen in the Memoirs of Olivier de la Marche. Philip de Comines tilted with Jerom of Cambray; but it is not said that VOL. II. Jerom, in this tilting, bore off the honour. CC |