to the royal palace, where a sumptuous banquet had been prepared, with a numerous band of trumpets and clarions; after which a grand tournament was held in the rue St. Antoine, when the king acquitted himself most gallantly. A treaty was concluded between the king of France and the archduke, and a marriage agreed on between the archduke and the princess Renée, daughter to the late king, Louis XII., by the count of Nassau, and other ambassadors despatched for this purpose. The count of Nassau was also betrothed to the daughter of the prince of Orange, whom he afterwards married. At this time the duke of Bourbon was made constable of France,and while the king remained at Paris, the duke of Suffolk espoused the queen-dowager of France, sister to Henry king of England. That king had sent the duke of Suffolk to France, and when he carried his queen to England, he was grandly accompanied by the highest of the nobility. Thus was confirmed the peace between the two kingdoms. At this time also, the king of France sent to seek Pedro de Navarre, a prisoner of war, whom he set at liberty, gave him many rich gifts, and the command of a large body of men. When all these marriages and other matters had been concluded, the king celebrated the feast of Easter in Paris, and then, with his queen and court, went by water as far as Montereau-faut-Yonne. He thence went, on the 1st of May, to a small castle called Egreville, where were some joustings, and proceeded to Montargis and Briare, where he embarked on the Loire for Amboise. He made a public entry into all the towns he passed; namely, Mehun, Montereau, Montargis, Blois, Amboise, and other small towns, where every honour was paid him. While he was hunting at Amboise, a thorn pierced his leg through boot and hose, and gave him such pain that he was for a time very ill. During his residence at Amboise, the lord de Lorraine was married to mademoiselle de Bourbon, sister to the constable of France. Great feasts were displayed on the occasion, and the court of the donjon of the castle was covered with an awning of cloth, to keep off the rays of the sun. the evening of that day were great maskings and mummeries, with morris-dancers richly dressed, and divers pastimes. In These feastings being over, the king departed very early one morning for Romorantin *, where he was also grandly entertained by the lady his mother. While with her he received intelligence that the Swiss had entered Dauphiny, near to Briançon, and burned a village close to Château Dauphin; on which he took a hasty leave of his mother, and set off suddenly for Bourges, where he made a public entry. The king departed on the morrow in haste for Moulins, where the duchess of Bourbon handsomely received him, and his entry was splendid for so small a town; for there were triumphant cars filled with the handsomest ladies of the country, representations of ships and wild beasts, mounted by the beauties of the town, who preceded the king on his entry. The king left Moulins for Lyon, where a most magnificent entry was prepared for him. He gave there his final orders respecting the provision and stores, which were in a state of forwardness to be transported over the Alps, for the prosecution of the war in the Milanese. During his absence in Italy, he nominated his mother, the duchess of Anjou and Maine, countess of Angoulême, &c., regent of the kingdom. Shortly after the king departed from Lyon, and went to Grenoble, where he made a handsome entry, and staid there until his preparations should be completed. About this period, the young son of Frederic, late king of Naples, died: he had already commenced a warlike career; and had he lived, I believe he would have made a figure as a warrior, for he was very courageous and virtuous. When the king set out from Grenoble, he passed through Embrun, although his army, or the greater part, had taken the road through the small town of Duissant, for there had been formed stores of provision on all that line of march. The king halted at Guillestre †, and afterward at St. Paul ‡, and then traversed a road so bad, that it was thought no man had ever before attempted it. Great difficulties attended this march, and the poor infantry suffered much; for as the artillery was to pass this road, the cannon were dismounted, and dragged by men over the rocks. * Romorantin,--fifteen leagues from Amboise, eleven from Blois. Guillestre,-near Mont-Dauphin, in Dauphiny. During this time, the pope had sent fifteen hundred horse, well appointed, under the command of Prospero Colonna, to join the forces of Maximilian, in the hope of surprising the king before he could pass the mountains; but Prospero, ignorant how near he was to the French, or that they had succeeded in passing the Alps, had halted at a town in Piedmont, called Villa-franca *. Of this circumstance a peasant of that country had informed one of the king's gentlemen, named the lord de la Morette, and that, as Prospero was quite unsuspicious of the French being so near, it would be easy to surprise him. The lord de la Morette lost no time to carry this news to the marshal de la Palisse, the lord d'Aubigny, the lord d'Imbercourt, Bayard, and others, who all instantly agreed to follow the lord d'Imbercourt in the attempt to surprise Colonna. He had sent forward one of his archers to reconnoitre, who reported, that as Colonna and his men were just sitting down to dinner, and entirely off their guard, an immediate attack would be necessary: d'Imbercourt sent, therefore, to hasten the march of La Palisse and the others. Notwithstanding this, d'Imbercourt boldly advanced to enter Villa-franca,-when, as his trumpet was within the gates, and had sounded his charge, his horse's neck was inclosed within them; but the men-at-arms came to his relief, by crossing their lances over the horse, and put to death all who had opposed them at the gate. They galloped up the streets, shouting out" France, France!" and advanced to where Colonna was at dinner: a sharp conflict now took place,-but the lord de la Palisse and the others arrived, who soon ended it, by making Colonna prisoner, and slaying great numbers of his men. All his baggage was pillaged, and very many fine horses gained that were in the stables of the town. Prospero Colonna was carried, with the other prisoners, to the king of France, and thence sent into confinement at the castle of Montagu, belonging to the lord de la Palisse. CHAPTER CCXLI.-THE KING OF FRANCE PURSUES THE SWISS WITH HIS WHOLE ARMY.THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF NOVARA SURRENDER TO THE KING. THE pope, when he heard of the defeat of Prospero Colonna and his army, and that he was sent prisoner to France, was very much surprised, and not without reason; for he never had imagined that the king of France would attempt to cross the Alps where he had, and for some time would not believe it. The Swiss cantoned at Susa, Villaine, Rivoli, and other parts, hearing of what had passed at Villa-franca, retreated toward Milan, followed by the French as far as Turin, whence the duke of Savoy came out to meet the king, and gave him a handsome reception. The king, having received from the duke of Savoy five large pieces of artillery, continued his pursuit of the Swiss, who had passed the Po in an extraordinary hurry, for they had no boats, nor any means but cords to drag their artillery and baggage over, with which they marched day and night. They burned the castle of Chivazzo, and part of that small town, belonging to the duke of Savoy, which lay on their line of march, killing many of the inhabitants and plundering the town, because they would not afford them provision, nor allow them passage through Chivazzo. Some of the Swiss were slain that had remained behind to pillage. In this interval, the lord de Prie, with a body of Genoese, arrived at Alexandria and other towns, which he sacked, although their inhabitants had fled,—but they were deserving of punishment for the many tricks they had before played the French. The French army kept pursuing the Swiss, who seemed inclined to march to Jurea †, but, turning short, entered Novara. The king arrived with his army at Vercelli ‡, where it was rumoured that an agreement would take place between the king and Swiss. The lord bastard of Savoy and the lord de Lautrec, with others, were charged with this commission; but notwithstanding this, the king continued his march after the Swiss, who had quitted Novara, and taken the road to Milan. He was now joined by a considerable reinforcement of Lansquenets, * Villa-franca,-sixteen miles s.s.w. of Turin. Jurea, on the great Dora in Piedmont. Vercelli,-thirty miles s.w. of Milan, thirty-eight N.E. of Turin. called the Black Band *, very well equipped. The king advanced to Novara, wnich was instantly assaulted by Pedro de Navarre and others, and surrendered to the king's obedience. In the absence of the king, his queen was brought to bed, at Amboise, of a fair daughter, who was christened Louisa,-and soon afterwards her portrait was sent to him, while engaged in his Italian campaign. The surrender of the town and castle of Novara saved them from pillage, by the king's commands,-who, pursuing his march toward Milan, went to Bufalora. Here the agreement between the king and Swiss was made public, which had been accomplished by means of a large sum of money paid down, according to a promise made them by the king. The Swiss, in consequence, swore fidelity to him, and signed the treaty, but which they did not keep, notwithstanding their oaths and engagements, but falsified both. CHAPTER CCXLII. THE KING OF FRANCE DEFEATS THE SWISS ARMY AT MARIGNANO †, ON THE FEAST-DAY OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS.-OF THE CRUEL BATTLE AND SLAUGHTER OF THE FRENCH AND SWISS. THE king of France, thinking that he had secured the Swiss by the payment of the sum agreed on between them and the lord de Lautrec, marched his army to Marignano, beyond Milan; but it was not long before he found that he had miscalculated on their keeping the promises they had made him. In the interval between the signing of the late treaty and the payment of the money, the Swiss had resolved to surprise the king's army,-induced thereto by the remonstrances and preachments of the cardinal of Sion, who had corrupted them at the instigation of the emperor Maximilian, and of the inhabitants of the Milanese, who had given them corslets and other armour, together with the fairest promises. The Swiss believing that they would be joined by every Italian, and that, if successful, they might acquire territories of a great extent in a fertile country, and be feared and redoubted by all the world, caused them to act in the treacherous manner they did. The king learning that the Swiss were turned against him, was much mortified; for he concluded, that at that moment they were receiving the money agreed on. However, like a hardy knight, he was not cast down, but gave his orders for the forming of his army, to receive the enemy with the most advantage. While thus employed, news was brought him that a lage body of infantry well armed had marched out of Milan, to join the Swiss in the meditated attack against him. In fact, about three or four o'clock in that afternoon, the Swiss advanced on the king's army, but were received with such valour, that many were more inclined to seek for a retreat than to persevere in the combat. The king, who commanded the main body, on seeing the Swiss advance, charged them in person, attended by his gentlemen, and defeated one band. The French volunteers now placed themselves in the position of the Lansquenets, who had in part turned their backs; but they must not be blamed for this, for they had before heard of the agreement made with the Swiss, and without any explanation had been led on to an unexpected battle, which made them believe that they were betrayed by the king, who wanted to have them destroyed. But when they saw the volunteers thus step boldly into their ranks, they recovered courage, and fought with the utmost bravery. The French volunteers did wonders; and although they were not numerous, amounting to no more than two thousand, they defeated a band of Swiss consisting of double their number. Great feats of arms were done at this battle, with battle-axes, lances, and twohanded swords, so that for a long time it was doubtful on which side victory would remain. The Swiss behaved with the utmost courage, and charged the main body and reserve of the French with an impetuosity that astonished them, in the hopes of succeeding as they had before done at Novara. The artillery of the French was not asleep, and the Swiss made an * Black band,-under the command of Ruberta della details of these wars in Italy. Marchia, from lower Germany.-Guicciardini. † Marignano,-eleven miles s.E. from Milan. I must refer the reader to Guicciardini, &c. for further attempt to seize it, but were repulsed with much loss,-for not a cannon was fired without killing numbers of them. This battle lasted until the going down of the sun,-and both sides fought as long as the dust and light allowed them to see each other. Some, thinking to retire to their own camp, found themselves in that of the enemy; but what caused great confusion was the Swiss shouting out "France! France!" and then attacking the French. The night was not long. The king was constantly with his men, giving them every sort of encouragement by words and example. He was particularly anxious about his artillery, which was well guarded by a party of Lansquenets. Having visited the different divisions of his army, he reposed himself in his armour on the carriage of a cannon; and I may with truth assert, that if the king had not been present at this engagement, the French would have had more than enough to do. On the morrow, the 14th of September, in the year 1515, and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Swiss, enraged against the French, advanced on them by day-break (notwithstanding their loss on the preceding night had been more than they supposed) with an eagerness as if they had been going to a dance, and made their charge with valour and steadiness. The conflict was long and doubtful; but the king's artillery, where he was in person, did the greatest service, particularly on a strong body that kept firmly united until their losses were so considerable, the remainder turned their backs and fled for Milan. other divisions of the Swiss made now little resistance; and to make short of the matter, all that remained were put to death, or taken prisoners; and had not the dust been great, fewer would have escaped, for it was so thick they could not see many yards before them*. The BATTLE OF MARIGNANO. Designed from contemporary authorities. The heat that day was very oppressive; and the king and his lords suffered greatly from thirst, for there was no water near that was pure,-for all the springs and streams The marshal de Trivulce said that he had been at eighteen pitched battles, but that they were children's play compared with this. were discoloured with blood, of which nevertheless they were forced to drink; at length, some clear water was brought them. The king was as much rejoiced that the Swiss had renewed the battle on the following day, as a huntsman when he lays blinkes in the chase of a stag. The Swiss left full sixteen thousand dead on the field, who did not lose their lives like children, but as men of true courage; and all the roads toward Milan and Como were full of those who, in their flight, had died of the wounds they had received in battle. This was the first victory of king Francis I., and was very marvellous it proved so great, considering how much he had been deceived in the Swiss by their treaty some days prior to the combat. It is worthy of remembrance,-for, since the days of Julius Cæsar, this nation, so valorous in war, never lost in battle so many as sixteen thousand men. Louis XI. had defeated, when dauphin, a body of three or four thousand: a duke of Milan had also conquered a body of two thousand, which inclines me so much to exalt this victory of the king over enemies so determined and numerous, for thirty-six thousand men had marched out of Milan. Toward the end of the combat a reinforcement of Venetians arrived, which the constable of Bourbon had gone to seek. The troops made all diligence, were well accoutred, and ready for battle; but they found the Swiss defeated, and flying in all directions for Como and Milan. The Venetians pursued the enemy, and showed themselves men of courage, particularly their commander, sir Bartholomew d'Alviano, and the son of the count de Petigliano, who did wonders; but as he was attempting to leap a wide ditch his horse fell upon him,—and he was surrounded and slain by the Swiss, for none were near enough to prevent them. The lord d'Imbercourt was also killed fighting valiantly; he had rushed among the ranks of the Swiss, like to an enraged wild boar, and was of a most warlike nature, with the intrepidity of a lion, as many can testify, who have seen him engaged on former occasions. Francis, lord of Bourbon, was inclosed by the Swiss and put to death, his men not being nigh to rescue him. The prince of Tallemont, the count de Sancerre, the lord de Bussi, the captain Mouy, with a very great number of lords and gentlemen of renown, whose courage had many times been displayed in war, were killed at this battle. During the engagement, neither baggage nor artillery were in danger of being taken, for they were excellently well defended by those who ran as much risk as others engaged in the main battle. Many were well mounted, so that, if fortune had been adverse, the poor adventurers might have been able to support their friends, and have renewed the fight. The king made, this day, several new knights. During the conflict, the cardinal of Sion fled, on seeing the quantities of dead, under pretence, as he told Maximilian Sforza, of bringing back reinforcements, but returned when too late. In the course of this great butchery, a body of Swiss retreated toward a cassino of the van-guard, where was posted the duke of Bourbon, constable of France: he instantly pursued them, had the cassino set on fire, and, unless they could have flown through the flames, not one could have escaped. May God have mercy on their souls, and of all those who fell on this day! It is a great pity that it should be in the power of two or three persons to cause the deaths of so many human creatures, whom they seem to estimate no more than as so many sheep. Alas! they are not beasts, and have sense and reason, or at least ought to have, although sometimes their strength fails through wicked intentions. Some of the wounded Swiss fled to Milan, others to Como: those who entered Milan told the citizens that they had gained the battle, on which they were led to the great hospital to be cured, but when the Lansquenets afterwards entered that city, they put an end to their misery in a strange and terrible manner. |