he was appointed by the king governor of Normandy, from the river Seine to Abbeville and as far as the river Somme.

He, in consequence, assembled a body of men-at-arms, and went to take possession of the town of Harfleur, where he was received by the lord de Rieux, marshal of France, and those of his party; but others disputed his authority, and withdrew into the towers, and fortified one of the gates, to the great displeasure of the count d'Eu, who instantly attacked them with such vigour that those in the gate surrendered to him. The others, who had taken possession of the towers, sent to Rouen for assistance from the English; but in a short time they made secret arrangements with the count,- -so that when the English advanced to their support, conformably to their own request, they were deceived, and about thirty made prisoners: the rest, being aware of their treachery, returned back to Rouen very much vexed.

After the count d'Eu had subjected Harfleur, and other places in the country of Caux, to his will, and strongly garrisoned them, he departed for Brussels, to visit his brother-in-law the duke of Burgundy, who feasted him grandly, and presented him with very rich gifts. On leaving the duke, he went by short days' journeys to Noyon, where he was congratulated on his liberty by the inhabitants. They made heavy complaints to him of certain pillagers that held some castles in their neighbourhood, and who daily committed on them great damages, advancing even to their gates, seizing and carrying away all they could lay hands on, calling themselves at one time partisans of the king of France; at others, of sir John de Luxembourg.

In the number, was one named Jean de l'Isle, who, with his brother, had under their command more than thirty companions, and had taken possession of an old castle called Bretigny, which they had repaired and fortified, with the intent of waging war against the whole country. Part of them wore the red cross, pretending to be English. The count J'Eu, on hearing this, collected a number of men-at-arms to provide a remedy for it, and ordered thither the count d'Estampes, his nephew, with a party of his men. They marched

to the castle of Bretigny, the fortifications of which were incomplete; and it was likewise badly provided with stores, artillery and provision; so that it was very soon forced to surrender to the will of the count d'Eu. He sent Jean de l'Isle and his brother to Noyon, where they were soon after beheaded, and about twenty of the others were hanged.

For these executions, sir John de Luxembourg conceived a great hatred to the count d'Eu, and to those who had been parties in the expedition. A few days afterward, in consequence thereof, while the count d'Eu was at Chargny-sur-Oise, sir John ordered an ambuscade to be formed on the road leading thence to Noyon, to attack the count on his return thither; but he, having received information of the plan, took another road, so that the ambuscade failed of the intended effect: a violent quarrel, however, ensued ever after between them.

CHAPTER CCXXXIII.-LA HIRE, BLANCHEFORT, AND OTHERS OF KING CHARLES'S CAPTAINS, MAKE EXCURSIONS INTO GERMANY.

Ar this same period, several of king Charles's captains, such as La Hire, Blanchefort, Boussac, Anthony de Chabannes, Chappelle, Pierre Regnault, and others, to the amount of six thousand horse, marched from the frontiers of Bar and Lorraine toward Germany, and even advanced as far as the city of Basil, wherein the council was sitting. They gave it to be understood by some, that they were sent thither with the consent of pope Eugenius, in defence of his rights, and to lay waste the country with fire and sword. They then directed their march to the country of Aussois*, and toward Frankfort, taking and ransoming many small castles and large monasteries. While they were thus employed in wasting the country, the Germans assembled in great bodies to oppose and repulse them. They first ordered the farmers and peasants to retire into the strong castles and great towns with their corn and provisions, and then made war on the French whenever they could do it advantageously, or when they went out to forage in small parties. In this manner they destroyed numbers, and always refused to accept a challenge for a general battle, although required by the French to name a day for a combat.

The French, therefore, seeing their numbers daily lessened, while the enemy were increasing, retreated from Germany toward Burgundy, doing great mischiefs wherever they passed, and thence went into the Nivernois. Continuing their wicked conduct in those parts, they retreated, after a short stay, into Auvergne. Their army was now increased by evil-disposed persons, and vagabonds, to the amount of ten thousand men : and they spared no person noble or not, nor any towns, although dependent on the king of France, or on the princes of his blood and alliance,-all were equally despoiled. No remedy could be applied to these evils, on account of their great numbers, and they were called in all countries through which they passed, 'Skinners,' as has been before mentioned. The whole kingdom suffered intolerable hardships by this army, in addition to famine and pestilence.

CHAPTER CCXXXIV.-THE

COUNT D'ESTAMPES RECOVERS THE CASTLE OF ROULLET FROM THE MEN OF THE LORD DE MOY.-OTHER MATTERS.

PRIOR to this melancholy famine, the men of the lord de Moy, in the Beauvoisis, gained the castle of Roullet (two leagues distant from Mondidier) from those of Guy de Roye, who had the guard of it, and made war against Mondidier and the country around. As this district was within the government of the count d'Estampes, and under his charge, he detached a body of men under the command of some of his captains-namely, Waleran de Moreul, Guy de Roye, and others-against this castle of Roullet, who attacked it so sharply that it was surrendered unconditionally to the will of the count d'Estampes, who hanged from twenty to thirty of the garrison, and again placed it under the guard of Guy de Roye.

*The country of Aussois is comprehended in the duchy of Burgundy.-See Martiniere's Geographical Dictionary.

The lord de Moy, who was governor of Clermont, from vexation at this loss carried on a severer war than before on Mondidier, which made it necessary to post garrisons of men-atarms in all the towns and castles round to oppose it. Thus did the country suffer greater hardships from both parties than before peace was concluded, as each destroyed it at their pleasure. In another quarter, the English won the castles of St. Germain-en-Laye and Gerberoy by storm, and strongly garrisoned them, to the great annoyance of the Parisians.

At this time, a shocking and unheard of crime was detected at a village near Abbeville. A woman was arrested on the charge of having murdered several children, of cutting them in pieces, and of having kept them when salted in her house. She was accused of this crime by some robbers, who, having entered her house by night, had discovered parts of the bodies of these children. She confessed herself guilty, and was publicly burned at Abbeville, according to the sentence of the law

Great quarrels and dissentions now arose between those of Brussels and the towns of Louvain, Mechlin, and other places in Brabant, for having constrained all the farmers within the district of Antwerp to carry to them their corn, in prejudice to the inhabitants of Brussels; which caused a war against Mechlin,—and this last town closed the passage of the river with chains, so that no boats could go to Brussels. They met in arms, and very many were slain and wounded on each side; but the duke of Burgundy and his council found means to appease these discords.

CHAPTER CCXXXV.-A MEETING IS HELD BETWEEN CALAIS AND GRAVELINES BETWEEN THE CARDINAL OF ENGLAND AND THE DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY, TO DELIBERATE ON THE MEANS OF ESTABLISHING A LASTING PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

ABOUT the month of January in this year, the cardinal of England and the duchess of Burgundy met at a place agreed on between them, half way from Calais to Gravelines, to consider on the means of establishing a firm peace between England and France. Tents had been pitched for their meeting; and each party was grandly accompanied by nobles, as well ecclesiastical as secular. The ambassadors from the king of France were a master of the household named sir Regnault Girard, knight and lord of Bazoches, and master Robert Mallien, counsellor and master of accounts, to give their advice and aid toward the conclusion of a general peace, and also to treat of the ransom and deliverance of Charles duke of Orleans from his imprisonment in England.

Many proposals were offered on different days, but no conclusion was made, except to adjourn, to inform the respective kings of France and England of these proposals, and hold another meeting when they should have been fully discussed. The time and place for another meeting was to be communicated to the duchess of Burgundy, that she might make it known to each party and it was agreed that, at that time, the duke of Orleans should be conducted either to Calais or to Cherbourg, as the two parties should fix. When these matters had been settled, they all separated, and returned to the places they had come from.

In this year, the duke of Burgundy assembled about sixteen hundred combatants, whom he marched toward Calais, to cover and defend against the English a very great number of pioneers, carpenters and labourers, who had been sent thither to break down and destroy a sea-dyke, in order to drown the town of Calais and the surrounding country. The duke had been made to believe that this was possible to be done, and the town destroyed; but when the pioneers had worked a short space of time, they found that it was a work not easily accomplished, the enterprise was therefore abandoned; but they broke down the bridge of Nieulay, and some small dykes, which did very little harm to the English.

CHAPTER CCXXXVI.-THE KING OF FRANCE COMPELS RODERIGO DE VILLANDRAS, WHO WAS COMMITTING GREAT WASTE ON HIS TERRITORIES, TO MARCH AWAY AND MAKE WAR ON THE ENGLISH.

KING CHARLES of France, in the course of this year, learned that many of his captains were grievously harassing divers parts of his kingdom, and that they kept large bodies of armed men under their command to overrun the provinces. The principal among them was Roderigo de Villandras, who had upwards of six hundred horse under his orders. The king sent him his commands to quit his territories immediately, and to make war on those of the English, but he refused obedience to them. On this, the king, who was at Bourges in Berry, assembled an army to march against him in person, and force him to obey him; but Roderigo, having had information of the king's intentions, retreated toward Toulouse, and thence advanced into Guienne, where, in conjunction with some of that country, he again collected a considerable force.

He carried on a severe warfare against the English, to their great loss, and won from them many towns and castles, which he garrisoned with his own men. He entered Medoc, and advanced as far as Soulac*, destroying the country, which he found very rich in all sorts of commodities. In like manner he conquered the territory of Blanchefort, and came to a fort called Châtel-neuf, belonging to the Captal de Buch, which he took by storm.

He was soon after joined by the lord d'Albreth† with a strong power of men-at-arms, when they advanced nearer Bordeaux, and took the church of St. Severin, which is but a bow-shot distant from that city. There they quartered themselves, and in the course of the night placed a strong ambuscade among the vineyards close to the town-for the vines there are as high as an arbour-and on the morrow pretended to decamp. The Bordelois, seeing this, sallied out in great numbers, to the amount of full two thousand, and were surprised by those in ambush, when a sharp conflict took place, which lasted a long time, for it was desperately contested by each party; but the French were superior in numbers,—and the English were forced to retire into Bordeaux, after leaving about eight hundred dead on the field. Large detachments of men-at-arms were now posted round Bordeaux, who destroyed, without opposition, that part of the country, which was abundant in all things,-for until then, it had been a long time without suffering the miseries of war.

In consideration of these valuable services, and for his courageous actions, the king of France pardoned Roderigo de Villandras all the offences and evil deeds he had done against him. However, in the course of a year, the English reconquered the greater part of these places that had been won from them.

CHAPTER CCXXXVII.-POPE EUGENIUS SENDS BULLS TO DIVERS PARTS OF EUROPE.—THEIR

TENOR.

[A. D. 1439.]

AT the commencement of this year, pope Eugenius published bulls against the members of the council at Basil, the tenor of which was as follows.

"Eugenius bishop, and servant of the servants of God. Every example from the Old and New Testaments admonishes us not to pass over in silence, or to leave unpunished, crimes and misdemeanours,- —more especially such as may bring on slander against, or cause a division among, the people committed to our charge. Should we delay pursuing and avenging those faults which have given just offence to God, we should most certainly

Soulac, a small town near Bordeaux.

+ Charles II. eldest son and successor of the constable, count of Dreux, &c. married Anne of Armagnac, and died in 1471.

Don Roderigo de Villandrado, first count of Ribadeo, was a Castilian by birth, of the town of Valladolid. He married Margaret, a natural daughter of John, duke of

Bourbon. Returning to Spain in this year, he performed some essential services for the king of Castile, who in recompense, accorded to him and his descendants, the valuable privilege of eating at the king's table on New Year's Day, and of having the robe worn by the king on that day.-La Mayerne, Hist. d'Espagne liv. 19.

provoke the Divine Wisdom to anger; for the delay of pursuing crimes deserving punishment, according to the judgments of the holy fathers of the church, would be sinful. Those also who contemn the divine commands, and are disobedient to paternal ordinances according to our holy institutions, deserve the severest chastisements, to make others ashamed of similar conduct, that fraternal concord may rejoice, and all take warning from such examples. Should we be remiss in our vigour or solicitude for the welfare of the church, its discipline would perish through our indolence, which would be of the greatest injury to all good and true Christians. To cut off, therefore, the unsound flesh from the sound,-to separate the scabby sheep from the rest, that the whole flock be not infected, is a duty imposed upon us; for as that glorious doctor St. Jerome says, 'Arius, when at Alexandria, was but a spark of fire, but, from not being instantly extinguished, the flame was increased, and spread throughout Christendom."

"It was for this cause that our Saviour gave to the bishop of Rome the keys, to bind and unbind such as wandered from the ways of truth, that they may be constrained to return by the bonds of correction and obligation. We may say, therefore, of the apostolical authority, that when, in the judgment of the church, it has consigned those over to Satan who have led others into error, it has exerted its power for the salvation of their souls, and to teach others not to blaspheme. The blessed pope Sixtus says, ' We keep in our remembrance that we govern under the name of that church in which our greatest pleasure is to glorify our dear Saviour JESUS CHRIST, whose faith nourishes not heresy but totally destroys it.' For this reason, we hold it unlawful to exert our powers, except when the interest of the whole church shall call for it.

"In truth, during the latter days, our very beloved sons master Hutin de la Plante, doctor of laws, master John de Plato, doctor of laws, and master Venture du Chastel, licentiate, all of them presidents at the congregation of the general council of the holy church, the second enjoying the office of proctor, and the last procurator of the said council,— have exposed before us the account of the lamentable quarrels that have taken place in the said council, in these words: Most holy and reverend father, although this sacred and œcumenical general council has been legally assembled for the preservation of the peace of the catholic and apostolical Roman church, which the blessed Holy Spirit, under the person of our Lord, in the book of Canticles, plainly points out, by saying, " My dove, my undefiled, is but one she is the only one of her mother: she is the choice one of her that bare her." "St. Paul demonstrates the union of the church, and the sacredness of this union, by calling it the body, soul, and hope, of our vocation: one Lord, one faith, one baptism,by baptism, one God; and as the blessed St. Cyprian says, she is the head, a fruitful mother, and, as spouse to JESUS CHRIST, as pure and unadulterated, chaste and holy. The same Cyprian declares, in another place, that there is no ecclesiastical ordinance that does not maintain the unity of the Christian church. Pope Pelagius affirms the same from the words of the blessed St. Austin, a celebrated doctor in the church, and that it has an apostolical throne, irradiated by a succession of bishops.

"Nevertheless, from the commencement of this church, the wickedness and wanton conduct of mankind have ever sought to deny and destroy the peace thereof,-against which wickedness, according to the authority of the holy fathers, Divine vengeance has been excited. Whoever therefore shall dare sacrilegiously, and with diabolical intention, to deny this spotless unity, the sacred canon points him out as an enemy to the church, and declares that he cannot have God for his father, unless he hold unity of the universal church; for, since CHRIST died for the church, the church is the body of CHRIST-there can therefore be no doubt but that he who divides the church is guilty of dividing and tearing asunder the body of JESUS CHRIST.

"When Dathan and Abiram formed a schism against the honour of God, Divine vengeance caused the earth to open and swallow them,-and their adherents perished by fire from heaven. The more inseparable the holy sacrament is with the union of the church, the greater guilt do they incur who attempt to divide them,-and who, leaving the legal spouse of the church, choose to follow a false doctrine. Examples of similar wickedness, and the punishments that ensued, are displayed in the Book of Kings; for when the Jews made a distinction between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the other ten tribes, and, laying