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diff --git a/14496-0.txt b/14496-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3bdba44 --- /dev/null +++ b/14496-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14414 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14496 *** + +[Illustration: CHARLES THE BOLD OF BURGUNDY (1433-1477) (FROM MS. +STATUTE BOOK OF THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE, VIENNA) PAINTED +BETWEEN 1518-1531] + + + + + +CHARLES THE BOLD + +LAST DUKE OF BURGUNDY + +1433-1477 + + +BY + + +RUTH PUTNAM + +AUTHOR OF "WILLIAM THE SILENT," "A MEDIÆVAL PRINCESS," ETC. + + + * * * * * + +G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS + +NEW YORK AND LONDON + +The Knickerbocker Press + +1908 + + * * * * * + +COPYRIGHT 1908, + +BY + +G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS + +The Knickerbocker Press, New York + + * * * * * + + + +PREFACE + +The admission of Charles, Duke of Burgundy into the series of Heroes +of the Nations, is justified by his relation to events rather than by +his national or his heroic qualities. _"Il n'avait pas assez de sens +ni de malice pour conduire ses entreprises,"_ is one phrase of Philip +de Commines in regard to the master he had once served. Render _sens_ +by _genius_ and _malice_ by _diplomacy_ and the words are not far +wrong. Yet in spite of the failure to obtain either a kingly or an +imperial crown, the story of those same unaccomplished enterprises +contains the germs of much that has happened later in the borderlands +of France and Germany where the projected "middle kingdom" might have +been erected. A sketch of the duke's character with its traits of +ambition and shortcomings may therefore be placed, not unfitly, among +the pen portraits of individuals who have attempted to change the map +of Europe. + +The materials for an exhaustive study of the times, and of the +participants in the scenes thereof, are almost overwhelming +in quantity. Into this narrative, I have woven the words of +contemporaries when these related what they saw and thought, or at +least what they said they saw or thought, about events passing within +their sight or their ken. The veracity attained is only that of a +mosaic of bits, each with its morsel of truth. And the rim in which +these bits are set is too slender to contain all the illumination +necessary. The narrative is, of necessity, partial and fragmentary, +for a complete story would require a series of biographies presented +in parallel columns. My own preliminary chapter to this book--a +mere explanation of the presence of the dukes of Burgundy in the +Netherlands--grew into an account of a sovereign whom they deposed and +was published under the title of _A Mediæval Princess._ + +John Foster Kirk gave 1713 pages to his record of Charles the Bold, +Duke of Burgundy. Forty years have elapsed since that publication +appeared and a mass of interesting material pertinent to the subject +has been given out to the public, while separate phases of it have +been minutely discussed by competent critics, so that at every point +there is new temptation for the biographer to expand the theme where +the scope of his work demands brevity. + +In using the later fruit of historical investigation, it is delightful +for an American to find that scholars of all nations do justice to +Mr. Kirk's accuracy and industry even when they may differ from his +conclusions. It has been my privilege to be permitted free access to +this scholar's collection of books, and I would here express my deep +gratitude to the Kirk family for their generosity and courtesy towards +me. + +After some preliminary reading at Brussels and Paris and in England, +the work for this volume has been completed in America, where the +opportunity of securing the latest results of research and criticism +is constantly increasing, although these results are still lodged +under many roofs. I have had many reasons to thank the librarians of +New York, Boston, and Washington, and also those of Harvard, Columbia, +and Cornell universities for courtesies and for serviceable aid; and +just as many reasons to regret the meagreness of what can be put +between two covers as the gleanings from so rich a harvest. + +One word further in explanation of the use of _Bold_. The adjective +has been retained simply because it has been so long identified with +Charles in English usage. I should have preferred the word _Rash_ as +a better equivalent for the contemporary term, applied to the duke in +his lifetime,--_le téméraire_. + +R.P. + +WASHINGTON, D.C., 1908. + + * * * * * + + + +CONTENTS + +* * * + +CHAPTER I +CHILDHOOD + +CHAPTER II +YOUTH + +CHAPTER III +THE FEAST OF THE PHEASANT + +CHAPTER IV +BURGUNDY AND FRANCE + +CHAPTER V +THE COUNT AND THE DAUPHIN + +CHAPTER VI +THE WAR OF PUBLIC WEAL + +CHAPTER VII +LIEGE AND ITS FATE + +CHAPTER VIII +THE NEW DUKE + +CHAPTER IX +THE UNJOYOUS ENTRY + +CHAPTER X +THE DUKE'S MARRIAGE + +CHAPTER XI +THE MEETING AT PERONNE + +CHAPTER XII +AN EASY VICTORY + +CHAPTER XIII +A NEW ACQUISITION + +CHAPTER XIV +ENGLISH AFFAIRS + +CHAPTER XV +NEGOTIATIONS AND TREACHERY + +CHAPTER XVI +GUELDERS + +CHAPTER XVII +THE MEETING AT TRÈVES + +CHAPTER XVIII +COLOGNE, LORRAINE, AND ALSACE + +CHAPTER XIX +THE FIRST REVERSES + +CHAPTER XX +THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1475 AND 1476 + +CHAPTER XXI +THE BATTLE OF NANCY + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +INDEX + + +[Illustration] + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +* * * + +CHARLES THE BOLD, DUKE OF BURGUNDY _Frontispiece_ +From MS. statute book of the Order of the Golden +Fleece at Vienna. The artist is unknown. Date +of the codex is between 1518 and 1565. This +portrait is possibly redrawn from that attributed +to Roger van der Weyden. That, however, +shows a much stronger face. + +PHILIP THE GOOD AS FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF +THE GOLDEN FLEECE +From a reproduction of a miniature in MS. at Brussels. + +A DUKE OF BURGUNDY AND THE POPE AT AVIGNON +From a contemporary miniature reproduced in +Petit's _Hist. de Bourgogne_. + +PHILIP THE GOOD, DUKE OF BURGUNDY, AS PATRON +OF LETTERS +From a reproduction of part of a miniature in a +beautiful MS. copy in Brussels Library of Jacques +de Guise's _Annales_. The author is depicted +presenting his book to the duke, who is attended +by his son and his courtiers. The miniature is +attributed by turns to Roger van der Weyden, to +Guillaume Wijelant or Vrelant, and to Hans +Memling. + +A CASTLE IN BURGUNDY +From Petit's _Hist. de Bourgogne_. + +FRONTISPIECE OF A XVTH CENTURY ACCOUNT BOOK + +COUNT OF ST. POL AND HIS JESTER +From reproduction of a miniature in Barante, _Les +ducs de Bourgogne_, + +THE STATUE OF CHARLES OF BURGUNDY AT INNSBRÜCK + +LOUIS XI +From an engraving by A. Boilly after a drawing by +G. Boilly. + +PHILIP AND CHARLES OF BURGUNDY +From a drawing in a MS. at Arras. + +BATTLE OF MONTL'HÉRY (JULY 16, 1465) +From a contemporary miniature reproduced in +Comines-Lenglet. + +LOUIS XI, WITH THE PRINCES AND SEIGNEURS OF THE +WAR OF THE PUBLIC WEAL +From a contemporary miniature reproduced in +Comines-Lenglet. + +ANTHONY OF BURGUNDY +After Hans Memling, Dresden Gallery. + +CHARLES, DUKE OF BURGUNDY, PRESIDING OVER A +CHAPTER OF THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE +From reproduction of a miniature in MS. at +Brussels. + +PHILIP DE COMMINES + +OLIVIER DE LA MARCHE +From sketch in MS. at Arras reproduced in +_Mémoires couronnés de l'acad. royale de Belgique,_ +xlix. + +MARY OF BURGUNDY +From a contemporary miniature reproduced in +Barante, _Les ducs de Bourgogne_. + +MAP OF ALSACE AND ADJACENT TERRITORIES +From Toutey, _Charles le téméraire_. + +MEDAL OF CHARLES, DUKE OF BURGUNDY + +BURGUNDIAN STANDARD CAPTURED AT BEAUVAIS + +ARNOLD, DUKE OF GUELDERS +From engraving by G. Robert in Comines-Lenglet. + +MARY OF BURGUNDY +After design by C. Laplante. + +CHARLES THE BOLD +Idealised by P. P. Rubens, Vienna Gallery. (By +permission of J. J. Löwy, Vienna.) + +MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA +Medal. + +A FORTIFIED CHURCH IN BURGUNDY +From Petit's _Hist. de Bourgogne_, + +KING RUHMREICH AND HIS DAUGHTER EHRENREICH +(These characters in Maximilian's poem of _Theuerdank_ +represent Charles and Mary of Burgundy.) +From a reproduction of a wood engraving by +Schäufelein in edition of 1517. + +A PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF MORAT +Used by kind permission of Miss Sophia Kirk and +J. B. Lippincott Company. + +PHILIBERT, DUKE OF SAVOY +After a design by Matthey reproduced in +Comines-Lenglet. + +PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF NANCY +Used by kind permission of Miss Sophia Kirk and +the J. B. Lippincott Company. + +PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF NANCY +From contemporary miniature reproduced in +Comines-Lenglet. + +A MONUMENT ON THE BATTLEFIELD AT NANCY +From Barante, _Let ducs de Bourgogne_. + +THE TOMB OF CHARLES OF BURGUNDY +Church of Notre Dame, Bruges + + + + + +CHARLES THE BOLD + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +CHILDHOOD + +1433-1440 + + +On St. Andrew's Eve, in the year 1433, the good people of Dijon were +abroad, eager to catch what glimpses they might of certain stately +functions to be formally celebrated by the Duke of Burgundy. The mere +presence of the sovereign in the capital of his duchy was in itself +a gala event from its rarity. Various cities of the dominions +agglomerated under his sway claimed his attentions successively. His +residence was now here and now there, without long tarrying anywhere. +His coming was usually very welcome. In times of peaceful submission +to his behest, the city of his sojourn reaped many advantages besides +the amusement of seeing her streets alive beyond their wont. In the +outlay for the necessities and the luxuries of the peripatetic ducal +court, the expenditures were lavish, and in the temporary commercial +activity enjoyed by the merchants, the fact that the burghers' own +contributions to this luxury were heavy, passed into temporary +oblivion.[1] + +This autumn visit of Philip the Good to Dijon was more significant +than usual. It had lasted several weeks, and among its notable +occasions was an assembly of the Knights of the Golden Fleece for the +third anniversary of their Order. On this November 30th, Burgundy was +to witness for the first time the pompous ceremonials inaugurated at +Bruges in January, 1430. Three years had sufficed to render the new +institution almost as well known as its senior English rival, the +Order of the Garter, which it was destined to outshine for a brief +period at least. Its foundation had formed part of the elaborate +festivities accompanying the celebration of the marriage of Philip, +Duke of Burgundy, to Isabella of Portugal. As a signal honour to his +bride, Philip published his intention of creating a new order of +knighthood which would evince "his great and perfect love for the +noble state of chivalry." + +Rumour, indeed, told various tales about the duke's real motives. It +was whispered that a certain lady of Bruges, whom he had distinguished +by his attentions, was ridiculed for her red hair by a few merry +courtiers, whereupon Philip declared that her tresses should be +immortally honoured in the golden emblem of a new society.[2] But that +may be set down as gossip. Philip's own assertion, when he instituted +the Order of the Golden Fleece, was that he intended to create a +bulwark + + "for the reverence of God and the sustenance of our Christian + faith, and to honour and enhance the noble order of chivalry, and + also for three reasons hereafter declared; first, to honour the + ancient knights ...; second, to the end that these present.... may + exercise the deeds of chivalry and constantly improve; third, that + all gentlemen marking the honour paid to the knights will exert + themselves to attain the dignity." [2] + +The special homage to the new duchess was expressed in the device + + _Aultre n'aray + Dame Isabeau tant que vivray[4]_ + +This pledge of absolute fidelity to Dame Isabella was, indeed, utterly +disregarded by the bridegroom, but in outward and formal honour to her +he never failed. + +The new institution was, from the beginning, pre-eminently significant +of the duke's magnificent state existence, wherein his Portuguese +consort proved herself an efficient and able helpmeet. Again and again +during a period of thirty years, rich in diplomatic parleying, did +Isabella act as confidential ambassador for her husband, and many were +the negotiations conducted by her to his satisfaction.[5] + +But it must be noted that whatever lay at the exact root of Philip's +motives when he conceived the plan of his Order, the actual result of +his foundation was not affected. He failed, indeed, to bring back into +the world the ancient system of knighthood in its ideal purity and +strength. Rather did he make a notable contribution to its decadence +and speed its parting. What was brought into existence was a house +of peers for the head of the Burgundian family, a body of faithful +satellites who did not hamper their chief overmuch with the criticism +permitted by the rules of their society, while their own glory added +shining rays to the brilliant centre of the Burgundian court. + +Twenty-five, inclusive of the duke, was the original number appointed +to form the chosen circle of knights. This was speedily increased to +thirty-one, and a duty to be performed in the session of 1433, was +the election of new members to fill vacancies and to round out the +allotted tale. + +[Illustration: PHILIP THE GOOD AS FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN +FLEECE] + +In their manner of accomplishing the appointed task, the new +chevaliers had, from the outset, evinced a readiness to cast their +votes to the satisfaction of their chief, even if his pleasure +directly conflicted with the regulations they had sworn to obey. No +candidate was to be eligible whose birth was not legitimate,[6] a +regulation quite ignored when the duke proposed the names of his sons +Cornelius and Anthony. For his obedient knights did not refuse to open +their ranks to these great bastards of Burgundy, who carried a bar +sinister proudly on their escutcheon. So, too, others of Philip's many +illegitimate descendants were not rejected when their father proposed +their names. + +Again, it was plainly stipulated that the new member should have +proven himself a knight of renown. Yet, in this session of 1433, one +of the candidates proposed for election, though nominally a knight, +had assuredly had no time to show his mettle. The dignity was his only +because his spurs had been thrown right royally into his cradle before +his tiny hands had sufficient baby strength to grasp a rattle, and +before he was even old enough to use the pleasant gold to cut his +teeth upon.[7] + +Among the eight elected at Dijon in 1433, was Charles of Burgundy, +Count of Charolais, son of the sovereign duke, born at Dijon on the +previous St. Martin's Eve, November 10th.[8] + + "The new chevaliers, with the exception of the Count of + Virnenbourg who was absent, took the accustomed oath at the hands + of the sovereign in a room of his palace." + + +So runs the record. Jean le Févre, Seigneur de St. Remy, present on +the occasion in his capacity of king-at-arms of the Order, is a trifle +more communicative.[9] According to him, all the gentlemen were very +joyous at their election as they received their collars and made their +vows as stated. He excepted no member in the phrase about the joy +displayed, though, as a matter of inference, the pleasure experienced +by the Count of Charolais may be reckoned as somewhat problematical. + +The heir of Burgundy had attained the ripe age of just twenty days +when thus officially listed among the chevaliers present at the +festival. Born on November 10th of this same year, 1433,[10] he had +been knighted on the very day of his baptism, when Charles, Count of +Nevers, and the Seigneur of Croy were his sponsors. The former gave +his name to the infant while the latter's name was destined to be +identified with many unpleasant incidents in the career of the future +man. This brief span of life is sufficient reason for the further item +in the archives of the Golden Fleece: + + "As to the Count of Charolais, he was carried into the same room. + There the sovereign, his father, and the duchess, his mother, took + the oath on his behalf. Afterwards the duke put the collars upon + all." [11] + + +Thus was emphasised at birth the parental conviction that Charles of +Burgundy was of different metal than the rest of the world. The great +duke of the Occident made a distinct epoch in the history of chivalry +when he conferred its dignities upon a speechless, unconscious infant. +The theory that knighthood was a personal acquisition had been +maintained up to this period, the Children of France[12] alone being +excepted from the rule, though in his _Lay de Vaillance_ Eustache +Deschamps complains that the degree of knighthood is actually +conferred on those who are only ten or twelve years old, and who do +not know what to do with the honour.[13] That plaint was written not +later than the first years of the fifteenth century, and the poet's +prediction that ruin of the institution was imminent when affected by +such disorders seemed justified if, in 1433, even the years of the +eligible age had shrunk to days. Philip himself had not received the +accolade until he was twenty-five. + +How his predecessor in Holland, Count William VI., had acquitted +himself valiantly the moment that he was dubbed knight is told by +Froissart, and the tales of other accolades of the period are too well +known to need reference. + +It is said that the baby cavalier was nourished by his own mother. +Having lost her first two infants, Isabella was solicitous for the +welfare of this third child, who also proved her last. He was, +moreover, Philip's sole legal heir, as Michelle of France and Bonne of +Artois, his first wives, had left no offspring. The care and devotion +expended on the boy were repaid. Charles became a sturdy child who +developed into youthful vigour. In person, he strangely resembled +his mother and her Portuguese ancestors, rather than the English +Lancastrians, from whom she was equally descended. + +His dark hair and his features were very different from the fair type +of his paternal ancestors, the vigorous branch of the Valois family. +Possibly other characteristics suggesting his Portuguese origin were +intensified by close association with his mother, who supervised the +education directed by the Seigneur d' Auxy. They often lived at The +Hague, where Isabella acted as chief and official adviser to the +duke's stadtholder in the administration. [14] + +Charles was a diligent pupil, if we may believe his contemporaries, +surprisingly so, considering his early taste for all martial pursuits +and his intense interest in military operations. + +At two years of age he received his first lesson in horsemanship, on +a wooden steed constructed for his especial use by Jean Rampart, a +saddler of Brussels. + +His biographers repeat from each other statements of his proficiency +in Latin. This must be balanced by noting that the only texts which +he could have read were probably not classic. In the inventory of the +various Burgundian libraries of the period, there are not six Greek +and Latin classical texts all told, and excepting Sallust, not a +single Roman historian in the original.[15] There was a translation +of Livy by the Prior of St. Eloi and late abridgments of Sallust, +Suetonius, Lucan, and Cæsar,[16] with a French version of Valerius +Maximus, but nothing of Tacitus. Doubtless these versions and a volume +called _Les faits des Romains_ were used as text-books to teach the +young count about the world's conquerors. The last mentioned book +shows what travesties of Roman history were gravely read in the +fifteenth century. + +There are stories[17] that the bit of history most enjoyed by the +pupil was the narrative of Alexander. Books about that hero were easy +to come by long before the invention of printing, though Alexander +would have had difficulty in recognising his identity under the +strange mediæval motley in which his namesake wandered over the land. +No single man, with the possible exception of Charlemagne, was so +much written about or played so brilliantly the part of a hero to +the Middle Ages and after.[18] The simplicity and universality of his +success were of a type to appeal to the boy Charles, himself built on +simple lines. The fact, too, that Alexander was the son of a Philip +stimulated his imagination and instilled in his breast hopes of +conquering, not the whole world perhaps, but a good slice of territory +which should enable him to hold his own between the emperor and the +French king. Tales of definite schemes of early ambition are often +fabricated in the later life of a conqueror, but in this case they may +be believed, as all threads of testimony lead to the same conclusion. + +The air breathed by the boy when he first became conscious of his +own individuality was certainly heavy with the aroma of satisfied +ambition. The period of his childhood was a time when his father stood +at the very zenith of his power. In 1435, was signed the Treaty of +Arras, the death-blow to the long coalition existing between Burgundy +and England to the continual detriment of France. Philip was +reconciled with great solemnity to the king, responsible in his +dauphin days for the murder of the late Duke of Burgundy. After +ostentatiously parading his filial resentment sixteen long years, +Philip forgave Charles VII. his share in the death of John the +Fearless, on the bridge at Montereau, and swore to lend his support to +keep the French monarch on the throne whither the efforts of Joan of +Arc had carried him from Bourges, the forlorn court of his exile. + +England's pretensions were repudiated. To be sure, the recent +coronation of Henry VI. at Paris was not immediately forgotten, but +while the Duke of Bedford had actually administered the government as +regent, in behalf of his infant nephew, it was a mere shadow of his +office that passed to his successor. Bedford's death, in 1435, was +almost coincident with the compact at Arras when the English Henry's +realms across the Channel shrank to Normandy and the outlying +fortresses of Picardy and Maine. Later events on English soil were to +prove how little fitted was the son of Henry V. for sovereignty of any +kind. + +Out of the negotiations at Arras, Philip of Burgundy rose triumphant +with a seal set upon his personal importance.[19] His recognition of +Charles VII. as lawful sovereign of France, and his reconciliation did +not pass without signal gain to himself. + +The king declared his own hands unstained by the blood of John of +Burgundy, agreed to punish all those designated by Philip as actually +responsible for that treacherous murder, and pledged himself to erect +a cross on the bridge at Montereau, the scene of the crime. Further, +he relinquished various revenues in Burgundy, hitherto retained by the +crown from the moment when the junior branch of the Valois had been +invested with the duchy (1364); and he ceded the counties of Boulogne, +Artois, and all the seigniories belonging to the French sovereign on +both banks of the Somme. To this last cession, however, was appended +the condition that the towns included in this clause could be redeemed +at the king's pleasure, for the sum of four hundred thousand gold +crowns. Further, Charles exempted Philip from acts of homage to +himself, promised to demand no _aides_ from the duke's subjects +in case of war, and to assist his cousin if he were attacked from +England. Lastly, he renounced an alliance lately contracted with the +emperor to Philip's disadvantage.[20] + +One clause in the treaty crowned the royal submissiveness towards the +powerful vassal. It provided that in case of Charles's failure to +observe all the stipulated conditions, his own subjects would be +justified in taking arms against him at the duke's orders. A similar +clause occurs in certain treaties between an earlier French king and +his Flemish vassals, but always to the advantage of the suzerain, not +to that of the lesser lords. + +The duke was left in a position infinitely superior to that of the +king, whose realm was terribly exhausted by the long contest with +England, a contest wherein one nation alone had felt the invader's +foot. French prosperity had been nibbled off like green foliage before +a swarm of locusts, and the whole north-eastern portion of France +was in a sorry state of desolation by 1435. On the other hand, the +territories covered by Burgundy as an overlord had greatly increased +during the sixteen years that Philip had worn the title. An +aggregation of duchies, counties, and lordships formed his domain, +loosely hung together by reason of their several titles being vested +in one person--titles which the bearer had inherited or assumed under +various pretexts. + +Flanders and Artois, together with the duchy and county of Burgundy, +came to him from his father, John the Fearless, in 1419. In 1421, he +bought Namur. In 1430, he declared himself heir to his cousins in +Brabant and Limbourg when Duke Anthony's second son followed his +equally childless brother into a premature grave, and the claims were +made good in spite of all opposition. Holland, Zealand, and Hainaut +became his through the unwilling abdication of his other cousin, +Jacqueline, in 1433. To save the life of her husband, Frank van +Borselen, the last representative of the Bavarian House then +formally resigned her titles, which she had already divested of all +significance five years previously, when Philip of Burgundy had become +her _ruward_, to relieve a "poor feminine person" of a weight of +responsibility too heavy for her shoulders.[21] + +Divers items in the accounts show what Philip expended in having +the titles of Holland, Zealand, and Hainaut added to his other +designations. Also there were various places where his predecessor's +name had to be effaced to make room for his. (Laborde, i., 345).] + +Antwerp and Mechlin were included in Brabant. Luxemburg was a later +acquisition obtained through Elizabeth of Görlitz. + +There were very shady bits in the chapters about Philip's entry into +many of his possessions, but it is interesting to note how cleverly +the best colour is given to his actions by Olivier de la Marche and +other writers who enjoyed Burgundian patronage. Very gentle are the +adjectives employed, and a nice cloak of legality is thrown over the +naked facts as they are ushered into history. Contemporary criticism +did occasionally make itself heard, especially from the emperor, who +declared that the Netherland provinces must come to him as a lapsed +imperial fief. For a time Philip denied that any links existed between +his domain and the empire, but in 1449 he finally found it convenient +to discuss the question with Frederic III. at Besançon; still he never +came to the point of paying homage. + +All these territories made a goodly realm for a mere duke. But +they were individual entities centred around one head with little +interconnection. + +Philip thought that the one thing needed to bring his possessions into +a national life, as coherent as that of France, was a unity of legal +existence among the dissimilar parts, and the effort to attain this +unity was the one thought dominating the career of his successor, +whose pompous introduction to life naturally inspired him with a high +idea of his own rank, and led him to dream of greater dignities for +himself and his successor than a bundle of titles,--a splendid, vain, +fatal dream as it proved. + +As a final cement to the new friendship between Burgundy and France, +it was also agreed at Arras that the heir of the former should wed a +daughter of Charles VII. When the Count of Charolais was five years +old, the Seigneur of Crèvecoeur,[22] "a wise and prudent gentleman" +was despatched to the French court on divers missions, among which +was the business of negotiating the projected alliance. A very joyous +reception was accorded the envoy by the king and the queen, and his +proposal was accepted in behalf of the second daughter, Catherine, +easily substituted for an older sister, deceased between the first and +second stages of negotiation. + +A year later, a formal betrothal took place at St Omer, whither +the young bride was conducted, most honourably accompanied by the +archbishops of Rheims and of Narbonne, by the counts of Vendôme, +Tonnerre, and Dunois, the young son of the Duke of Bourbon, named the +Lord of Beaujeu, and various other distinguished nobles, besides a +train of noble dames and demoiselles in special attendance on the +princess, and an escort of three hundred horse. + +At the various cities where the party made halt they were graciously +received, and all honour was paid to the ten-year-old Daughter of +France. At Cambray, she was met by the duke's envoys and as she +travelled on towards her destination, all the towns of Philip's +obedience contributed their quota of welcome. + +At St. Omer, the duke was awaiting her coming. When her approach was +announced he rode out in person to greet her, attended by a brilliant +escort. + +[Illustration: A DUKE OF BURGUNDY AND THE POPE AT AVIGNON] + +Within the city, "melodious festivals" were ready to burst into tune; +the betrothal was confirmed amid joyousness and the ceremony was +followed by tourneys and jousts, all at the expense of the duke. + +What a series of pompous betrothals between infant parties the +fifteenth and sixteenth centuries can show! Poor little puppets, in +whose persons national interests were supposed to be centred, were +made to lisp out their roles in international dramas whose final acts +rarely were consistent with the promise of the prologue. + +Catherine did not live to become Duchess of Burgundy nor to temper the +duel between her husband and her brother Louis. The remainder of +her short existence was passed under the care of Duchess Isabella, +sometimes in one city of the Netherlands, sometimes in another. + +La Marche[23] records one return of Philip to Brussels when his +arrival was greeted by Charles of Burgundy, honourably accompanied +by children of high birth about his age or less, some only eleven or +twelve years old. There were with him Jehan de la Trémoille, Philip +de Croy, Philip de Crèvecoeur, Philip de Wavrin, and many others. All +were mounted on little horses harnessed like that of their governor, a +very honest and wise gentleman, named Messire Jehan, Seigneur et Ber +d'Auxy. This gentleman was a fine man, well known, of good lineage, +ready of speech and able to discuss matters of honour and of state. + +He was both hunter and falconer, skilled in all exercise and sport. + + "Never [asserts La Marche] have I met a gentleman better adapted + to supervise the education of a young prince than he.... Among his + pupils were also Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy,[24] son of Philip, + and the Marquis Hugues de Rottelin. These lads were older than the + first mentioned." + +La Marche dilates on the pleasure the duke felt in this youthful band +of horse, and then tells how, within Brussels, + + "he was received by the magistrates and conducted to his palace, + where the Duchess of Burgundy awaited him holding by the hand + Madame Catherine of France, Countess of Charolais. She was about + twelve and seemed a lady grown, for she was good and wise, and + well conditioned for her age." + +At various state functions the Count and Countess of Charolais +appeared together in public, and witnessed certain of the gorgeous +and costly entertainments which were almost the daily food of the gay +Burgundian court. One of these occasions was calculated to make a deep +impression on the boy and to arouse his pride at the spectacle of a +proud city wooing his father's favour, in deep humiliation. + +In 1436, an insurrection had occurred in Bruges, when the animosity of +the burghers had caused the duchess to flee from their midst, holding +her little son in her arms, alarmed for his personal safety. Philip +suppressed the revolt, but, in his anger at its insolence, declared +that never again would he set foot within the gates unless in company +with his superior. + +[Illustration: PHILIP THE GOOD AS PATRON OF LETTERS + +THE YOUNG COUNT OF CHAROLAIS IS IN THE BACKGROUND WITH ONE OF PHILIP'S +SONS FROM MINIATURE REPRODUCED IN BARANTE, "HIST. DES DUCS DE +BOURGOGNE"] + +Among the many negotiations wherein Isabella played a prominent part +as her husband's representative, were those concerning the liberation +of the Duke of Orleans, who had remained in England, a prisoner, after +the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The last advice given by Henry V. +to his brothers was that they should make this captivity perpetual. +Therefore, whenever overtures were made for his redemption, a strong +party, headed by Humphrey of Gloucester, rejected them vehemently. + +In 1440, however, there was a turn in the tide of sentiment. Possibly +the low state of the English exchequer made the duke's ransom more +attractive than his person. At any rate, 120,000 golden crowns were +accepted as his equivalent, and the exile of twenty-five years +returned to France, having pledged himself never to bear arms against +England. + +Isabella of Burgundy was at Calais to welcome him, and to escort him +to St. Omer, where high revels were held in his honour and in that of +his alliance with Marie of Cleves, Philip's niece. + +The week intervening between the betrothal and the nuptials was +passed in a succession of banquets and tourneys, gorgeous in their +elaboration. Moreover, St. Andrew's Day chancing to fall just then, +the new Burgundian Order was convened and the Duke of Orleans was +elected a Knight of the Golden Fleece, while in his turn he presented +his cousin with the collar of his own Order of the Porcupine. Lord +Cornwallis and other English gentlemen who had accompanied Orleans +across the Channel participated in these gaieties, nor were they among +the least favoured guests, adds Barante. + +Amity was triumphant, and there was a general feeling abroad that the +returned exile was henceforth to be the ruling power in France. People +began to look to him to act as the go-between in their behalf, to be +their mediator with Charles VII., still little known at his best. Many +towns turned towards him in hopes of finding a friend, and among them +was Bruges. But it was not royal favours that Bruges sought. Her +burghers felt great inconvenience from the breach with their sovereign +duke. Anxious to be reinstated in his grace, they seized the +opportunity of reminding Philip of his assertion, and they besought +him to enter their gates in company with the Duke of Orleans, a +prince of the blood, closer to the French sovereign than the Duke of +Burgundy. + +After some demur, Philip consented to grant their petition. Possibly +he was not loth to be persuaded. The deputies hastened back to Bruges +to rejoice their fellow-citizens with the news, and to prepare a +reception for their appeased sovereign, calculated to make him content +with the late rebels. + +Before the grand cortège, composed of the two dukes, their consorts, +and the dignitaries who had assisted in the feasts of marriage and of +chivalry, reached the gates of Bruges, the citizens were ready with a +touching spectacle of humility and repentance.[25] + +A league from the gates, the magistrates and burghers stood in the +road awaiting the travellers from St. Omer. All were barefooted and +bareheaded. Under the December sky they waited the approach of the +stately procession. When the duke arrived, they all fell upon their +knees and implored him to forgive the late troubles and to reinstate +their city in his favour. Philip did not answer immediately--delay was +always a feature of these episodes. Thereupon, the Duke of Orleans, +both duchesses, and all the gentlemen joined their entreaties to the +citizens' prayers. Again a pause, and then, as if generously yielding +to pressure, Philip bade the burghers put on their shoes and their +hats while he accepted at their hands the keys of all the gates. Then +the long procession moved on towards Bruges. At the gate were the +clergy, followed by the monks, nuns, and beguins of the various +convents and foundations, bearing crosses, banners, reliquaries, and +many precious ecclesiastical treasures. There, too, were the gilds +and merchants, on horseback, with magnificent accoutrements freshly +burnished to do honour to the welcome they offered their forgiving +overlord. + +Throughout Bruges, at convenient places, platforms and stages +were erected, whereon were enacted dramatic performances, given +continuously, to provide amusement for the collected crowds. Sometimes +the presentation carried significance beyond mere entertainment. Here +a maid, garbed as a wood nymph, appeared leading a swan which wore the +collar of the Golden Fleece and a porcupine. This last beast was to +symbolise the Orleans device, _Near and Far_, as the creature was +supposed to project his spines to a distance. + +One enthusiastic citizen covered his whole house with gold and the +roof with silver leaves to betoken his satisfaction. Indeed, if we +may believe the chroniclers, never in the memory of man had any city +incurred so much expense to honour its lord. The duke permitted his +heart to be touched by these proofs of devotion, and on the very +evening of his arrival he evinced that his confidence was restored by +sending the civic keys and a gracious message to the magistrates. At +the news of this condescension the cries of "_Noël_" re-echoed afresh +through the illuminated streets. + +Charles was not present at this entry, which took place on Saturday, +December 11th, but Philip was so much entertained with the performance +that he sent for his son, and on the following Saturday he and the +Countess of Charolais came from Ghent to join the party. The Duke of +Orleans and many nobles rode out of the city to meet the young couple, +who were formally escorted to the palace by magistrates and citizens +in a body. On the Sunday there were repetitions of some of the plays +and every attention was offered by the Bruges burghers to their young +guests. When Orleans departed with his bride on Tuesday, December +14th, what wonder that the lady wept in sorrow at leaving these gay +Burgundian doings! + +While Charles did not actually witness the humiliation of the +citizens, the seven-year-old boy would, undoubtedly, have heard and +known sufficient of the cause of the festivals to be fully aware that +the citizens who had dared defy his father were glad to buy back his +smiles at any cost to their pride and purse. He would have known, too, +that merchants from Venice, Genoa, Florence, and elsewhere joined the +Bruges burghers in the welcome to the mollified overlord. It was a +spectacle of the relations between a city and the ducal father not to +be easily forgotten by the son. + + +[Footnote 1: The indefatigable Gachard has published an itinerary of +Philip the Good, so far as he could make it. _(Collection des voyages +des souverains des Pays Bas_, i., 71.) Unfortunately, owing to +the destruction of papers, only a few years are complete. Between +1428-1441, there is nothing. But the itinerary for 1441 and for other +years shows how often the duke changed his residences. Sometimes he +is accompanied by Madame de Bourgogne, sometimes by M. and Madame de +Charolais.] + +[Footnote 2: It was also said that the woollen manufactures of +Flanders were denoted by the emblem of the golden fleece.] + +[Footnote 3: Reiffenberg, _Histoire de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or,_ p. +xxi.] + +[Footnote 4: _ Hist. de I'Ordre,_ etc., p. i.] + +[Footnote 5: All the Burgundian embassies were not as patent to +the public as were Isabella's. An item like the following from the +accounts of 1448-49 whets the reader's curiosity: + +"To Jehan Lanternier, barber and varlet of the chamber, for delivering +to a certain person for certain causes and for secret matters of which +Monseigneur does not wish further declaration to be made, 53 pounds 17 +sous." + +(Laborde _Les Ducs de Bourgogne_, etc., "Preuves," i. xiii.)] + +[Footnote 6: "Vingt-quatre chevaliers gentilshommes de nom et d'armes +et sans reproches nés et procrées en léal mariage" _(see_ description +of the first list).--_Hist. de l'Ordre,_ p. xxi.] + +[Footnote 7: Jacquemin Dauxonne, a merchant of Lombardy living at +Dijon, received twenty-two francs and a half for a rich cloth of black +silk draped about the baptismal font. Why mourning was used on this +joyful occasion does not appear. (Laborde, i., 321.)] + +[Footnote 8: Summary of a register containing the acts of the Order of +the Golden Fleece quoted in _Histoire de l'Ordre,_ pp. 12, 13.] + +[Footnote 9: St. Remy, _Chronique_, ii., 284. St. Remy is usually +called _Toison d'Or._] + +[Footnote 10: His full name was Charles Martin. One tower alone +remains of the palace where he was born.] + +[Footnote 11: _Hist, de l'Ordre,_ p. 13.] + +[Footnote 12: Selden _(Titles of Honor_, p. 457), however, says he +knows not by what authority this statement is made and that he knows +nothing of it. Seven is the earliest age mentioned by Gautier for +receiving knighthood.] + +[Footnote 13: Deschamps, _OEuvres Complètes_, ii., 214.] + +[Footnote 14: The ancient quarrel between the old Holland parties of +Hooks and Cods continually blazed out anew. On one notable occasion, +to show her impartiality, the duchess appeared in public accompanied +by the stadtholder, Lelaing, a partisan of the Hooks, and by Frank van +Borselen, himself a Cod, the widower of Jacqueline, the late Countess +of Holland.] + +[Footnote 15: Barante, _Histoire des Dues de Bourgogne_, vi., 2, note +by Reiffenberg.] + +[Footnote 16: See _Catalogue des manuscrits des Ducs de Bourgogne,_ +"Résumé historique," i., lxxix.] + +[Footnote 17: Barante, vi., 2, note.] + +[Footnote 18: Loomis, _Medieval Hellenism_.] + +[Footnote 19: Pirenne, _Histoire de Belgique_, ii., 231.] + +[Footnote 20: It was in June, 1434, that this alliance had been made. +Sigismund claimed that Philip had no right in Brabant, Holland, +Zealand, and Hainaut, which in his opinion were lapsed fiefs, of the +empire.] + +[Footnote 21: Putnam, _A Medieval Princess_. + +[Footnote 22: Monstrelet, _La Chronique_, v., 344.] + +[Footnote 23: La Marche, _Mémoires_, ii., 50.] + +[Footnote 24: Reiffenberg, _Essai sur les enfants naturels de Philippe +de Bourgogne._] + +[Footnote 25: Meyer, _Commentarii sive Annales rerum Flandricarum, _ +p. 296.] + + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +YOUTH + +1440-1453 + + +The heir of Burgundy was still in very tender years when he began to +take official part in public affairs, sometimes associated with one +parent, sometimes with the other. + +There was a practical advantage in bringing the boy to the fore by +which the duke was glad to profit. With his own manifold interests, it +was impossible for him to be present in his various capitals as often +as was demanded by the usage of the diverse individual seigniories. It +was politic, therefore, to magnify the representative capacity of his +son and of his consort in order to obtain the grants and _aides_ which +certain of his subjects declared could be given only when requested +orally by their sovereign lord. Thus, in 1444, it was Count Charles +and the duchess who appeared in Holland to ask an _aide_.[1] In the +following year, Charles accompanied his father when Philip made one +of his rare visits--there were only three between 1428 and 1466--to +Holland and Zealand. + +[Illustration: A CASTLE IN BURGUNDY] + +Olivier de la Marche was among the attendants on this occasion, and he +describes with great detail how rejoiced were the inhabitants to have +their absentee count in their land.[2] Many matters could only be +set aright by his authority. Among the complaints brought to him at +Middelburg were accusations against a certain knight of high birth, +Jehan de Dombourc. Philip ordered that the man be arrested at once and +brought before him for trial. This was easier said than done. Warned +of his danger, Dombourc, with four or five comrades, took refuge in +the clock tower of the church of the Cordeliers, a sanctuary that +could not be taken by storm.[2] He was provided with a good store of +food, this audacious criminal, and prepared to stand a siege. There he +remained three days, because, for the honour of the Church, they could +not fire upon him. + +"And I remember [adds La Marche] seeing a nun come out and call to +Jehan Dombourc, her brother, advising him to perish defending himself +rather than to dishonour their lineage by falling into the hands of +the executioner. Nevertheless, finally he was forced to surrender to +his prince, and he was beheaded in the market-place at Middelburg, +but, at the plea of his sister, the said nun, his body was delivered +to her to be buried in consecrated ground." + +In this same visit Philip presided over the Zealand estates and the +young count sat by his side, not as an idle spectator, but because +usage required the presence of the heir as well as that of the Count +of Zealand. + +When Charles was twelve he was present at an assembly of the Order of +the Golden Fleece held in Ghent. It was the first occasion of the kind +witnessed by La Marche, and very minute is his description of the +lavish magnificence of the affair, undoubtedly intended to awe the +citizens into complying with the requests of their Count of Flanders. + +Charles played a prominent part in all the functions, and assisted in +the election of his tutor, Seigneur et Ber d'Auxy. Another candidate +of that year was Frank van Borselen, Count of Ostrevant, widower of +Jacqueline, late Countess of Holland. + +In 1446, the little Countess of Charolais died at Brussels. +"Honourably as befitted a king's daughter" was she buried at Ste. +Gudule.[4] + + "Tireless in their devotion were the duke and duchess in her last + illness, and Charles VII. despatched two skilled doctors to her + aid but all efforts were vain. + + "Much bemourned was the princess for she was virtuous. God have + pity on her soul" + +piously ejaculates La Marche. + +A little item[5] in the accounts suggests that a pleasant friendship +had existed between the two young people: + + "To Jehan de la Court, harper of Mme. the Countess of Charolais, + for a harp which she had bought from him and given to Ms. the + Count of Charolais for him to play and take his amusement, xii + francs."[6] + +It is easy to surmise that music was not, however, the young count's +favourite amusement. In Philip's court, tournaments were still held +and afforded a fascinating entertainment for a lad whose bent was +undoubtedly towards a military career. + +One valiant actor in these tourneys where were revived the ancient +traditions of knighthood, was Jacques de Lalaing, a chevalier with all +the characteristics of times past, fighting for fame in the present. +In his youth, this aspirant for reputation swore a vow to meet thirty +knights in combat before he attained his thirtieth year. Dominated by +a desire to fulfil his vow, Lalaing haunted the court of Burgundy, +because the Netherlands were on the highroad between England and many +points in Germany, Italy, and the East, and there he had the best +chance of falling in with all the prowess that might be abroad. For +stay-at-home prowess he cared naught. A delightful personage is +Messire Jacques and a brave rôle does he play in the series of jousts, +sporting gaily on the pages of the various Burgundian chroniclers, +who recorded in their old age what they had seen in their youth. One +description, however, of these encounters reads much like another and +they need not be repeated. + +During his childhood Charles was a spectator only on the days of mimic +battle. In his seventeenth year he was permitted to enter the lists +as a regular combatant, a permission shared by his fellow pupils all +eager to flesh their maiden spears. The duke arranged that his son +should have a preliminary tilt a few days before the public affair in +order to test his ability. All the courtiers--and apparently ladies +were not excluded from the discussion on the matter--agreed that no +better knight could be found for this purpose than Jacques de Lalaing, +who, on his part, was highly honoured by being selected to gauge the +untried capabilities of the prince.[7] + +In the park at Brussels with the duke and duchess as onlookers, the +preliminary encounter took place. At the very first attack, Charles +struck Messire Jacques on the shield and shattered his lance into many +pieces. The duke was displeased because he thought that the knight +had not exerted his full strength and was favouring his son. He +accordingly sent word to Jacques that he must play in earnest and not +hold his force in leash. Fresh lances were brought; again did +the count withstand the attack so sturdily that both lances were +shattered. This time the boy's mother was the dissatisfied one, +thinking that the knight was too hard with his junior, but the duke +only laughed. + + "Thus differed the parents. The one desired him to prove his + manhood, the other was preoccupied with his safety. With these + two courses the trial ended amid rounds of applause for the + prince."[8] + +The actual tourney was held on the market-place in Brussels before a +distinguished assembly. Count Charles was escorted into the arena by +his cousin, the Count d'Estampes, and other nobles. Seigneur d'Auxy, +his tutor, stood near to watch the maiden efforts of the prince and +his mates. He had reason to be proud of Charles, both for his bearing +and his skill. He gave and received excellent thrusts, broke more +than ten lances, and did his duty so valiantly that in the evening he +received the prize from two princesses, and "Montjoye" was cried +by the heralds in his honour. From that time forth, the count was +considered a puissant and rude jouster and gained great renown. + + "And that is the reason why I commence my memoirs about him and + his deeds[9] [continues La Marche, on concluding his description + of the tournament], and I do not speak from hearsay and rumour. + As one who has been brought up with him from his youth in his + father's service and in his own, I will touch upon his education, + his morals, his character, and his habits from the moment when I + first saw him as appears above in my memoirs. + + "As to his character, I will commence at the worst features. He + was hot, active, and impetuous: as a child he was very eager to + have his own way. Nevertheless, he had so much understanding and + good sense that he resisted his inclinations and in his youth no + one could be found sweeter or more courteous than he. He did not + take the name of God or the saints in vain, and held God in great + fear and reverence. He learned well and had a retentive memory. He + was fond of reading and of hearing read the stories of Lancelot + and Gawain, but to both he preferred the sea and boats. Falconry, + too, he loved and he hunted whenever he had leave. In archery he + early excelled his comrades and was good at other sports. Thus was + the count educated, trained, and taught, and thus did he devote + himself to good and excellent exercise." + +That the report of the lavishness and extravagance of the Burgundian +court was no idle rumour, exaggerated by frequent repetitions, is +attested to by every bit of contemporary evidence. Enthusiastic and +loyal chroniclers dwell on the magnificence, and the arid details of +bills paid show what it cost to attain the vaunted perfection, while +the protests from taxpayers prove that this splendour did not grow +like the lilies of the field. + +[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE OF AN ACCOUNT-BOOK XVTH CENTURY] + +Philip's treasury had many separate compartments. There were many +quarters to which he could turn for his needed supplies, but there +were times when his exchequer ran very threateningly low, and his +financial stress led him to be very conciliatory towards the burghers +with full purses. + +In 1445, Ghent had been honoured by the celebration of the feast of +the Order of the Golden Fleece within her gates. Two years later, +Philip appeared in person at a meeting of the _collace_, or municipal +assembly, and delivered a harangue to the Ghentish magistrates and +burghers, flattering them, moreover, by using their vernacular. The +tenor of this speech was as follows[10]: + + "My good and faithful friends, you know how I have been brought + up among you from my infancy. That is why I have always loved you + more than the inhabitants of all my other cities, and I have + proved this by acceding to all your requests. I believe then that + I am justified in hoping that you will not abandon me to-day when + I have need of your support. Doubtless you are not ignorant of the + condition of my father's treasury at the period of his death. The + majority of his possessions had been sold. His jewels were + in pawn. Nevertheless, the demands of a legitimate vengeance + compelled me to undertake a long and bloody war, during which the + defence of my fortresses and of my cities, and the pay of my + army have necessitated outlays so large that it is impossible to + estimate them. You know, too, that at the very moment when the war + on France was at its height, I was obliged, in order to assure the + protection of my country of Flanders, to take arms against the + English in Hainaut, in Zealand, and in Friesland, a proceeding + costing me more than 10,000 _saluts d'or,_ which I raised with + difficulty. Was I not equally obliged to proceed against Liege, in + behalf of my countship of Namur, which sprang from the bosom of + Flanders? It is not necessary to add to all these outlays those + which I assume daily for the cause of the Christians in Jerusalem, + and the maintenance of the Holy Sepulchre. + + "It is true, however, that, yielding to the persuasions of the + pope and the Council, I have now consented to put an end to the + evils multiplied by war by forgetting my father's death, and by + reconciling myself with the king. Since the conclusion of this + treaty, I considered that while I had succeeded in preserving + to my subjects during the war the advantages of industry and of + peace, they had submitted to heavy burdens in taxes and in + voluntary contributions, and that it was my duty to re-establish + order and justice in the administration. But everything went on as + though the war had not ceased. All my frontiers have been menaced, + and I found myself obliged to make good my rights in Luxemburg, so + useful to the defence of my other lands, especially of Brabant and + Flanders. + + "In this way, my expenses continued to increase; all my resources + are now exhausted, and the saddest part of it all is that the good + cities and communes of Flanders and especially the country folk + are at the very end of their sacrifices. With grief I see many of + my subjects unable to pay their taxes, and obliged to emigrate. + Nevertheless, my receipts are so scanty that I have little + advantage from them. Nor do I reap more from my hereditary lands, + for all are equally impoverished. + + "A way must be found to ease the poor people, and at the same time + to protect Flanders from insult, Flanders for whose sake I would + risk my own person, although to arrive at this end, important + measures have become imperative." + +After this affectionate preamble, Philip finally states that, in order +to raise the requisite revenues, no method seemed to him so good and +so simple as a tax on salt, three sous on every measure for a term of +twelve years. He promised to dispense with all other subsidies and to +make his son swear to demand nothing further as long as the _gabelle_ +was imposed. + + "Know [he added in conclusion] that even if you consent to it I + will renounce it if others prove of a different opinion, for I do + not desire that the communes of Flanders be more heavily weighted + than any other portion of my territory." + +The duke might have spared his trouble and his elaborate +condescension. The answer to his conciliatory request was a flat +refusal to consider the matter at all. Salt was a vital necessity to +Flemish fisheries, and its cost could not be increased to the least +degree without serious inconvenience. The Flemings were wroth at his +imitating the worst custom of his French kinsmen. + +Philip departed from Ghent in great dudgeon. After a time he was +persuaded that the indisposition of the town to meet his reasonable +wishes was not due to the citizens at large, but to the machinations +of a few unruly agitators among the magistrates. In 1449, therefore, +he took a high-handed course of trying to direct the issue of the +regular municipal elections, so as to ensure the choice of magistrates +on whose obedience he could rely. The appearance of Burgundian troops +in Ghent, before the election of mid-August, aroused the wrath of the +community, who thought that their most cherished franchises were in +jeopardy. + +This was the beginning of a bitter struggle between Ghent and Philip. +The duke found it no light matter to coerce the independent burghers +into remembering that they were simply part of the Burgundian state. +"_Tantæ molis erat liberam gentem in servitutem adigere_!" ejaculates +Meyer in the midst of his chronicle of the details of fourteen months +of active hostilities.[11] Matters were long in coming to an outbreak. +Various points had been contended over, when Philip had endeavoured +to change the seat of the great council, or to take divers measures +tending to concentrate certain judicial or legislative functions for +his own convenience, but in a manner prejudicial to the autonomy of +Ghent. His centripetal policy was disliked, but when his policy went +further, and he attempted to control purely civic offices, dislike +grew into resentment and the Ghenters rose in open revolt. + +For a time, their opposition passed in Philip's estimation as mere +insignificant unruliness. By 1452, however, the date of the tourney +above described, it became evident that a vital issue was at stake. +The Estates of Flanders endeavoured to mediate between overlord and +town, but without success. Owing to Philip's interference in the +elections, the results were declared void, and when a new election was +appointed, the Burgundians accused the city of hastily augmenting its +number of legal voters by over-facile naturalisation laws. The gilds, +too, evinced a readiness to be very lenient in their scrutiny of +candidates for admission to their cherished privileges, preferring, +for the nonce, numbers to quality. Occupancy of furnished rooms was +declared sufficient for enfranchisement, and there were cases where +mere guests of a bourgeois were hastily recorded on the lists as +full-fledged citizens. + +By these means the popular party waxed very strong numerically. The +sheriffs found themselves quite unequal to holding the rampant spirit +of democracy in check. The regular government was overthrown, and the +demagogues succeeded in electing three captains _(hooftmans)_ +invested with arbitrary power for the time being. The decrees of +the ex-sheriffs were suspended, and a mass of very radical measures +promulgated and joyfully confirmed by the populace, assembled on the +Friday market. It was to be the judgment of the town meeting that +ruled, not deputed authority. One ordinance stipulated that at the +sound of the bell every burgher must hasten to the market-place, to +lend his voice to the deliberations. + +For a time various negotiations went on between Philip and envoys from +Ghent. The latter took a high hand and insinuated in unmistakable +terms that if the duke refused an accommodation with them, they would +appeal to their suzerain, the King of France. No act of rebellion, +overt or covert, exasperated Philip more than this suggestion. Charles +VII. was only too ready to ignore those clauses in the treaty of +Arras, releasing the duke from homage, and virtually acknowledging his +complete independence in his French territories. The king accepted +missives from his late vassal's city, without reprimanding the writers +for their presumption in signing themselves "Seigneurs of Ghent."[12] +His action, however, was confined to mild attempts at mediation. + +It was plain to the duke that his other towns would follow Ghent's +resistance to his authority if there were hopes of her success. +Therefore he threw aside all other interests for the time being, and +exerted himself to levy a body of troops to crush Flemish pretensions. +His counsellors advised him to sound the temper of other citizens and +to ascertain whether their sympathies were with Ghent. Answers of +feeble loyalty came back to him from the majority of the other towns. +Undoubtedly they highly approved Ghent's efforts. They, too, could +not afford to pay taxes fraught with danger to their commerce, nor to +relinquish one jot of privileges dearly bought at successive crises +throughout a long period of years. The only doubt in their minds was +as to the ultimate success of the burghers to stem the course of +Burgundian usurpation. Therefore, they first hedged, and then +consented to aid the duke. This course was pursued by the Hollanders +and the Zealanders, all alike short-sighted. + +The Ghenters succeeded in possessing themselves of the castle of +Poucque by force, and of the village of Gaveren by stratagem, taking +advantage in the latter case of the castellan's absence at church. + +When every part of his dominions had been canvassed for troops, and +Philip was prepared for his first active campaign against Ghent, he +was anxious to leave his heir under the protection of the duchess, +conscious that the imminent contest would be bitter and deadly. A +pretence was made that the young count's accoutrements were not ready, +and that, therefore, he would have to remain in Brussels. + + "But he whose ambitions waxed, hastened the completion of his + accoutrements, and swore by St. George, the greatest oath he ever + used, that he would rather go in his shirt than not accompany his + father to punish his impudent rebel subjects."[13] + +The approaching hostilities were watched by foreign merchants in dread +of commercial disaster. + + "On May 18th, the _nations_[14] of the merchants of Bruges + departed thence to go to Ghent to try to make peace between that + city and the Duke of Burgundy, and there were _nations_ of Spain, + Aragon, Portugal, and Scotland, besides the Venetians, Milanese, + Genoese, and Luccans."[15] + +But the men of Ghent were beyond the point where commercial arguments +could stem their course. The very day that this company arrived in the +city, the burghers sallied forth six or seven thousand strong, fully +equipped for offensive warfare. + +Both the actual engagements and guerilla skirmishes that raged over +a minute stretch of territory were characterised by an extraordinary +ferocity. Around Oudenarde, which town Philip was determined to +relieve, men were beheaded like sheep. + +In the first regular engagement in which Charles took part, he showed +a brave front and learned the duties of a prince by rewarding others +with the honour of knighthood. Among those slain in the course of the +war, were Cornelius, Bastard of Burgundy, and the gallant Jacques +de Lalaing. Philip grieved deeply over the death of the former, his +favourite among his natural sons, and buried him with all honours in +the Church of Ste-Gudule in Brussels. The title by which he was known, +hardly a proud one it would seem, passed to his brother Anthony. +Lalaing, too, was greatly mourned, thus prematurely cut down in his +thirty-third year. + +There was so much fear lest the duke's sole legitimate heir might also +perish in these conflicts where there was no mercy, that Charles was +persuaded to go to visit his mother in the hope that she would keep +him by her side. She made a feast in his honour, but, to the surprise +of all, the duchess, who had wished to protect her son from the mild +perils of a tourney, now encouraged him with brave words to return +to fight in all earnest for his inheritance.[16] He himself was very +indignant at the efforts to treat him as a child. + +The first truce and negotiations for peace, initiated in the summer of +1452, were broken off because the conditions were unbearable to the +Ghenters. Another year of warfare followed before the decisive battle +of Gaveren, in July, 1453, forced them sadly to succumb. There was +no other course open to them. Not only were they defeated but their +numbers were decimated.[17] With full allowance for exaggeration, it +is certain that the loss was very heavy. Terms scornfully rejected at +an earlier date were, in 1453, accepted with every humiliating detail. +More, the defeated rebels were bidden to be grateful that their kind +sovereign had imposed nothing further to the conditions. As to abating +the severity of the articles, he declared that he would not change an +_a_ for a _b_.[18] + +The chief provisions were as follows: The deans of the gilds were +deprived of participation in the election of sheriffs. The privileges +of the naturalisation laws were considerably abridged. No sentence of +banishment could be pronounced without the intervention of the duke's +bailiff, whose authorisation, too, was required before the publication +of edicts, ordinances, etc. The sheriffs were forbidden to place their +names at the head of letters to the officers of the duke. The banners +were to be delivered to the duke and placed under five locks, whose +several keys should be deposited with as many different people, +without whose consensus the banners could not be brought forth to lead +the burghers to sedition. One gate was to be closed every Thursday in +memory of the day when the citizens had marched through it to attack +their liege lord, and another was to be barred up in perpetuity or +at the pleasure of their sovereign. To reimburse the duke for his +enforced outlay, a heavy indemnity was to be paid by the city. + +July 30th was the date appointed for the final act of submission, the +_amende honorable_ of the unfortunate city. The scene was very similar +to that played at Bruges in 1440. Two thousand citizens headed by the +sheriffs, councillors, and captains of the burgher guard met the +duke and his suite a league without the walls of Ghent. Bareheaded, +barefooted, and divested of all their robes of office and of dignity, +clad only in shirts and small clothes, these magistrates confessed +that they had wronged their loving lord by unruly rebellion, and +begged his pardon most humbly. + +The duke spent the night of July 29th at Gaveren, prepared to march +out in the morning with his whole army in handsome array. Philip was +magnificently apparelled, but he rode the same horse which he had used +on the day of battle, with the various wounds received on that day +ostentatiously plastered over to make a dramatic show of what the +injured sovereign had suffered at the hands of his disloyal subjects. + +The civic procession was headed by the Abbot of St. Bavon and the +Prior of the Carthusians. The burghers who followed the half-clad +officials were fully dressed but they, too, were barefoot and +ungirdled. All prostrated themselves in the dust and cried, "Mercy on +the town of Ghent." While they were thus prostrate, the town spokesman +of the council made an elaborate speech in French, assuring the +duke that if, out of his benign grace. he would take his loving and +repentant subjects again into his favour, they would never again give +him cause for reproach. + + "At the conclusion of this harangue, the duke and the Count of + Charolais, there present, pardoned the petitioners for their evil + deeds. The men of Ghent re-entered their town more happy and + rejoiced than can be expressed, and the duke departed for Lille, + having disbanded his army, that every one might return to their + several homes." [19] + +The joy experienced by the conquered, here described by La Marche, as +he looked back at the event from the calm retirement of his old age, +was not visible to all eye-witnesses. The progress of this war was +watched eagerly from other parts of Philip's dominion. His army was +full of men from both the Burgundies, who sent frequent reports to +their own homes. Some passages from one of these reports by an unknown +war correspondent run as follows: + + "As to news from here, Monday after St. Magdalen's Day, + Monseigneur the duke got the better of the Ghenters near Gaveren + between ten and eleven o'clock. They attacked him near his + quarters.... The duke risked his own person in advance of his + company in the very worst of the slaughter, which lasted from the + said place up to Ghent, a distance of about two leagues. The slain + number three or four thousand, more or less, and those drowned in + the river of Quaux about two hundred.... This Tuesday, the date of + writing, the army departs from their quarters to advance on Ghent + to demand the conditions lately offered them, and the bearer of + this letter will tell you what is the result. M. the duke and + his army marched up to Ghent and I have seen the bearing of the + citizens. They are very bitter and despondent. M. the marshall has + been parleying. I hear that matters have been settled. I hear that + the Ghenters' loss is thirteen to fourteen thousand men. I + cannot write more for I have no time owing to the haste of the + messenger." + +This was written July 23d. There is another despatch of July 31st, +giving the last news, which was "very joyous." The public apology had +just been enacted-- + + "and afterwards, in token of being conquered and as a confession + that my said seigneur was victorious, those of Ghent have + delivered up all their banners to the number of eighty. And on + this day my said lord has created seven or eight knights and + heralds in honour of his triumph, which is inestimable."[20] + +The duke's victory was certainly "inestimable" in its value to him, +yet, in spite of the rigour enforced on this defeated people, they +were not as crushed as they might have been had they submitted in +1445. Philip was clever enough to be more lenient than appeared at +first. Ancient privileges were confirmed in a special compact, and the +duke swore to maintain all former concessions in their entirety except +in the points above specified. Liberty of person was guaranteed, and +it was expressly stipulated that if the bailiff refused to sustain the +sheriffs in their exercise of justice, or tried to arrogate to himself +more than his due authority, he should forfeit his office. Lastly, and +more important than all, the duke made no attempt to revive the demand +for the _gabelle_--salt was left free and untaxed. As a matter of +fact, too, the duke was not exigeant in the fulfilment of every item +of the treaty and, two years later, he increased certain privileges. +He had cut the lion's claws but he had no desire to pit his strength +again with Flemish communes. He had taught the audacious rebels a +lesson and that sufficed him.[21] + + +[Footnote 1: Blok, _Eene Hollandsche stad onder de Bourg. +Oostenrijksche Heerschappij,_ p. 84.] + +[Footnote 2: La Marche, ii., 79, etc.] + +[Footnote 3: See also _Chronijcke van Nederlant,_ p. 76, and +_Vlaamsche Kronijk,_ p. 203. Ed. C. Piot.] + +[Footnote 4: D'Escouchy, _Chronique_, i., 110.] + +[Footnote 5: The items of the funeral expenses can be found in +Laborde, i., 380. There were 600 masses at two sous apiece.] + +[Footnote 6: In that same year, 1440, in which this gift is recorded, +there is another item showing how Charles took his amusement not only +on the harp but in planning some of the elaborate surprises regularly +introduced between courses in the banquets. "To Barthelmy the painter, +for making the cover of a pasty for the Count of Charolais to present +to Monseigneur on the night of St. Martin in the previous year, v +francs" (Laborde, i., 381).] + +[Footnote 7: La Marche, ii., 214.] + +[Footnote 8: Gachard puts this tournament in Lent, 1452. Charles's +outfit cost 360 livres.] + +[Footnote 9: La Marche, i., ch. 21.] + +[Footnote 10: Kervyn, _Histoire de Flandre_, iv. Kervyn quotes from +the _Dagboek des gentsche collatie_, M. Schayes.] + +[Footnote 11: Meyer, xvi., 303.] + +[Footnote 12: They were charged with using this phrase. Gachard says +that they placed at the top of their letter their titles of +sheriffs and deans, as princes and lords take the title of their +seignories.--(La Marche, ii., 221. _See also_ d'Escouchy, ii., 25.)] + +[Footnote 13: La Marche, ii., 230.] + +[Footnote 14: Associations of merchants in foreign cities.] + +[Footnote 15: Chastellain, _OEuvres_, ii., 221.] + +[Footnote 16: La Marche, ii., 312. Chastellain, ii., 278. See also +_Chronique d'Adrian de Budt_, p. 242, etc.] + +[Footnote 17: Meyer, p. 313. La Marche, ii., 313. Lavisse, _Histoire +de France_, accepts 13,000 as the number slain. Chastellain (ii., 375) +puts the number at 22-30,000, including those drowned by the duke's +order. Du Clercq lets a certain sympathy for the rebellious people +escape his pen. Chastellain and La Marche treat the antagonism to +taxes as unreasonable.] + +[Footnote 18: Chastellain, ii., 387.] + +[Footnote 19: La Marche, ii., 331. The Chastellain MS. is lacking for +this event.] + +[Footnote 20: _Revue des sociétés savantes des départements_, 7me. +série, 6, p. 209. + +These two reports were enclosed with brief notes dated July 31 and +August 8, 1453, from the ducal attorney at Amont to the magistrates +of Baume. The former was one of the highest officials in the +Franche-Comté. The reporter might have been one of his secretaries. +The two notes with their unsigned enclosures were discovered (1881)in +the archives of the town of Baume-les-Dames.] + +[Footnote 21: Kervyn, _Histoire de Flandre_, iv., 494.] + + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +THE FEAST OF THE PHEASANT + +1454 + + +After the fatigues of this contest with Ghent, followed a period of +relaxation for the Burgundian nobles at Lille, where a notable +round of gay festivities was enjoyed by the court. Adolph of Cleves +inaugurated the series with an entertainment where, among other +things, he delighted his friends by a representation of the tale of +the miraculous swan,[1] famous in the annals of his house for bringing +the opportune knight down the Rhine to wed the forlorn heiress. + +When his satisfied guests took their leave, Adolph placed a chaplet on +the head of one of the gentlemen, thus designating him to devise a new +amusement for the company; and under the invitation lurked a tacit +challenge to make the coming occasion more brilliant than the first. +Again and again was this process repeated. Entertainment followed +entertainment, all a mixture of repasts and vaudeville shows in whose +preparation the successive hosts vied with each other to attain +perfection. + +The hard times, the stress of ready money, so eloquently painted when +the merchants were implored to take pity on their poverty-stricken +lord, were cast into utter oblivion. It was harvest tide for skilled +craftsmen and artisans. Any one blessed with a clever or fantastic +idea easily found a market for the product of his brain. He could see +his poetic or quaint conception presented to an applauding public with +a wealth of paraphernalia that a modern stage manager would not +scorn. How much the nobles spent can only be inferred from the ducal +accounts, which are eloquent with information about the creators of +all this mimic pomp. About six sous a day was the wage earned by a +painter, while the plumbers received eight. These latter were called +upon to coax pliable lead into all sorts of shapes, often more +grotesque than graceful. + +One fête followed another from the early autumn of 1453 to February, +1454, when "The Feast of the Pheasant," as the ducal entertainment was +called, crowned the series with an elaborate magnificence that has +never been surpassed. + +Undoubtedly Philip possessed a genius for dramatic effect and it is +more than possible that he instigated the progressive banquets for the +express purpose of leading up to the occasion with which he intended +to dazzle Europe.[2] + +[Illustration: COUNT OF ST. POL AND HIS JESTER] + +For the duke's thoughts were now turned from civic revolts to a great +international movement which he hoped to see set in motion. Almost +coincident with the capitulation of Ghent to Philip's will had been +the capitulation of Constantinople to the Turks. The event long +dreaded by pope and Christendom had happened at last (May 29, 1453). +Again and again was the necessity for a united opposition to the +inroads of the dangerous infidels urged by Rome. On the eve of St. +Martin, 1453, a legate arrived in Lille bringing an official letter +from the pope, setting forth the dire stress of the Christian Church, +and imploring the mightiest duke of the Occident to be her saviour, +and to assume the leadership of a crusade in her behalf against the +encroaching Turk.[2] + +Philip was ready to give heed to the prayer. Whatever the exact +sequence of his plans in relation to the court revels, the result was +that his own banquet was utilised as a proper occasion for blazoning +forth to the world with a flourish of trumpets his august intention of +dislodging the invader from the ancient capital of the Eastern empire. + +The superintendence of the arrangements for this all-eclipsing fête +was entrusted, as La Marche relates, + + "to Messire Jehan, Seigneur de Lannoy, Knight of the Golden + Fleece, and a skilful ingenious gentleman, and to one Squire Jehan + Boudault, a notable and discreet man. And the duke honoured me so + far that he desired me to be consulted. Several councils were held + for the matter to which the chancellor and the first chamberlain + were invited. The latter had just returned from the war in + Luxemburg already described. + + "These council meetings were very important and very private, and + after discussion it was decided what ceremonies and mysteries were + to be presented. The duke desired that I should personate the + character of Holy Church of which he wished to make use at this + assembly." + +As in many half amateur affairs the preparations took more time than +was expected. At the first date set, all was not in readiness and the +performance was postponed until February 17th. This entailed serious +loss upon the provision merchants and they received compensation for +the spoiled birds and other perishable edibles.[4] + +The gala-day opened with a tournament at which Adolph of Cleves again +sported as Knight of the Swan to the applause of the onlookers. After +the jousting, the guests adjourned to the banqueting hall, where fancy +had indeed, run riot, to make ready for their admiring eyes and their +sagacious palates. _Entremets_ is the term applied to the elaborate +set pieces and side-shows provided to entertain the feasters between +courses, and these were on an unprecedented scale. + +Three tables stood prepared respectively for the duke and his suite, +for the Count of Charolais, his cousins, and their comrades, and for +the knights and ladies. The first table was decorated with marvellous +constructions, among which was a cruciform church whose mimic clock +tower was capacious enough to hold a whole chorus of singers. The +enormous pie in which twenty-eight musicians were discovered when the +crust was cut may have been the original of that pasty whose opening +revealed four-and-twenty blackbirds in a similar plight. Wild animals +wandered gravely at a machinist's will through deep forests, but in +the midst of the counterfeit brutes there was at least one live lion, +for Gilles le Cat[5] received twenty shillings from the duke for the +chain and locks he made to hold the savage beast fast "on the day of +the said banquet." + +Again there was an anchored ship, manned with a full crew and rigged +completely. "I hardly think," observes La Marche, "that the greatest +ship in the world has a greater number of ropes and sails." + +Before the guests seated themselves they wandered around the hall +and inspected the decorations one by one. Nor was their admiration +exhausted when they turned to the discussion of the toothsome dainties +provided for their delectation. + +During the progress of the banquet, the story of Jason was enacted. +Time there certainly was for the play. La Marche estimated forty-eight +dishes to every course, though he qualifies his statement by the +admission that his memory might be inexact. These dishes were wheeled +over the tables in little chariots before each person in turn. + +"Such were the mundane marvels that graced the fête," is the +conclusion of La Marche's[6] exhaustive enumeration of the +masterpieces from artists' workshops and ducal kitchen. + + "I will leave them now to record a pity moving _entremets_ which + seemed to be more special than the others. Through the portal + whence the previous actors had made their entrance, came a giant + larger without artifice than any I had ever seen, clad in a long + green silk robe, a turban on his head like a Saracen in Granada. + His left hand held a great, old-fashioned two-bladed axe, his + right hand led an elephant covered with silk. On its back was a + castle wherein sat a lady looking like a nun, wearing a mantle of + black cloth and a white head-dress like a recluse.[7] + + "Once within the hall and in sight of the noble company, like one + who had work before her, she said to the giant, her conductor: + + "'Giant, prithee let me stay + For I spy a noble throng + To whom I wish to speak.' + + "At these words her guide conducted his charge before the ducal + table and there she made a piteous appeal to all assembled to come + to rescue her, Holy Church, fallen into the hands of unbelieving + miscreants. As soon as she ceased speaking a body of officers + entered the hall, Toison d'Or, king-at-arms, bringing up the rear. + This last carried a live pheasant ornamented with a rich collar of + gold studded with jewels. Toison d'Or was followed by two maidens, + Mademoiselle Yolande, bastard daughter of the duke, and Isabelle + of Neufchâtel, escorted by two gentlemen of the Order. They all + proceeded to the host. After greetings, Toison d'Or then said: + + "'High and puissant prince and my redoubtable lord, here are + ladies who recommend themselves very humbly to you because it is, + and has been, the custom at great feasts and noble assemblies to + present to the lords and nobles a peacock or some other noble bird + whereon useful and valid vows may be made. I am sent hither with + these two demoiselles to present to you this noble pheasant, + praying you to remember them.' + + "When these words were said, Monseigneur the duke, who knew for + what purpose he had given the banquet, looked at the personified + Church, and then, as though in pity for her stress, drew from his + bosom a document containing his vow to succour Christianity, as + will appear later. The Church manifested her joy, and seeing that + my said seigneur had given his vow to Toison d'Or, she again burst + forth forth into rhyme: + + "'God be praised and highly served + By thee, my son, the foremost peer in France. + Thy sumptuous bearing have I close observed + Until it seemed thou wert reserved + To bring me my deliverance. + Near and far I seek alliance + And pray to God to grant thee grace + To work His pleasure in thy place. + + "'0 every prince and noble, man and knight, + Ye see your master pledged to worthy deed. + Abandon ease, abjure delight, + Lift up your hand, each in his right, + Offer God the savings from thy greed. + I take my leave, imploring each, indeed, + To risk his life for Christian gain, + To serve his God and 'suage my pain.' + + "At this the giant led off the elephant and departed by the same + way in which he had entered. + + "When I had seen this _entremets_, that is, the Church and a + castle on the back of such a strange beast, I pondered as to + whether I could understand what it meant and could not make it out + otherwise except that she had brought this beast, rare among us, + in sign that she toiled and laboured in great adversity in the + region of Constantinople, whose trials we know, and the castle in + which she was signified Faith. Moreover, because this lady was + conducted by this mighty giant, armed, I inferred that she wished + to denote her dread of the Turkish arms which had chased her away + and sought her destruction. + + "As soon as this play was played out, the noble gentlemen, moved + by pity and compassion, hastened to make vows, each in his own + fashion." + + The vow of the Count of Charolais was as follows: "I swear to God + my creator, and to His glorious mother, to the ladies and to the + pheasant, that, if my very redoubtable lord and father embark on + this holy journey, and if it be his pleasure that I accompany him, + I will go and will serve him as well as I can and know how to do." + +Other vows were less simple: all kinds of fantastic conditions being +appended according to individual fancy. One gentleman decided never to +go to bed on a Saturday until his pledge were accomplished. Another +that he would eat nothing on Fridays that had ever lived until he +had had an opportunity of meeting the enemy hand to hand, and of +attacking, at peril of his life, the banner of the Grand Turk. + +Philip Pot vowed never to sit at table on a Tuesday and to wear no +protection on his right arm. This last the duke refused to permit. +Hugues de Longueval vowed that when he had once turned his face to the +East he would abstain from wine until he had plunged his sword in an +infidel's blood, and that he would devote two years to the crusade +even if he had to remain all alone, provided Constantinople were not +recovered. Louis de Chevelast swore that no covering should protect +his head until he had come to within four leagues of the infidels, +and that he would fight a Turk on foot with nothing on his arm but a +glove. There was the same emulation in the vows as in the banquets and +many of the self-imposed penalties were as bizarre as the side-shows. + +There were so many chevaliers eager to bind themselves to the +enterprise that the prolonged ceremony threatened to become tedious. +The duke, therefore, declared that the morrow would be equally valid +as the day.[8] + +The Count of St. Pol was the only knight present who made his going +dependent on the consent of the King of France, a condition very +displeasing to his liege lord of Burgundy.] + + "To abridge my tale [continues La Marche], the banquet was + finished and the cloth removed and every one began to walk + around the room. To me it seemed like a dream, for, of all the + decorations, soon nothing remained but the crystal fountain. + When there was no further spectacle to distract me, then my + understanding began to work and various considerations touching + this business came into my mind. First, I pondered upon the + outrageous excess and great expense incurred in a brief space by + these banquets, for this fashion of progressive entertainments, + with the hosts designated by chaplets, had lasted a long time. All + had tried to outshine their predecessors, and all, especially my + said lord, had spent so much that I considered the whole thing + outrageous and without any justification for the expense, except + as regarded the _entremets_ of the Church and the vows. Even that + seemed to me too lightly treated for an important enterprise. + + "Meditating thus I found myself by chance near a gentleman, + councillor and chamberlain, who was in my lord's confidence and + with whom I had some acquaintance. To him I imparted my thoughts + in the course of a friendly chat and his comment was as follows: + + "'My friend, I know positively that these chaplet entertainments + would never have occurred except by the secret desire of the duke + to lead up to this very banquet where he hoped to achieve a holy + purpose and to resist the enemies of our faith. It is three years + now since the distress of our Church was presented to the Knights + of the Golden Fleece at Mons. My lord there dedicated his person + and his wealth to her service. Since then occurred the rebellion + of Ghent, which entailed upon him a loss of time and money. Thanks + be to God, he has attained there a good and honourable peace, as + every one knows. Now it has chanced that, during this very period, + the Turks have encroached on Christianity still further in their + capture of Constantinople. The need of succour is very pressing + and all that you have witnessed to-day is proof that the good duke + is intent on the weal of Christendom.'" + +During the progress of this conversation, a new company was ushered +into the hall, preceded by musicians. Here came _Grâce Dieu_, clad +as a nun followed by twelve knights dressed in grey and black velvet +ornamented with jewels. Not alone did they come. Each gentleman +escorted a dame wearing a coat of satin cramoisy over a fur-edged +round skirt _à la Portuguaise. Grâce Dieu_ declared in rhyme that God +had heard the pious resolution of Duke Philip of Burgundy. He had +forthwith sent her with her twelve attendants to promise him a happy +termination to his enterprise. Her ladies, Faith, Charity, Justice, +Reason, Prudence, and their sisters, were then presented to him. +_Grâce Dieu_ departs alone and no sooner has she disappeared than +Philip's new attributes begin to dance to add to the good cheer. Among +the knights was Charles and one of his half-brothers; among the ladies +was Margaret, Bastard of Burgundy, and the others were all of high +birth. Not until two o'clock did the revels finally cease. + +It must be noted that La Marche's reflections upon the extravagance of +the entertainment occur also in Escouchy's memoirs. Probably both +drew their moralising from another author. It is stated by several +reputable chroniclers that Olivier de la Marche himself represented +the Church. That he merely wrote her lines is far more probable. +Female performers certainly appeared freely in these as in other +masques, and there was no reason for putting a handsome youth in this +rôle of the captive Church. In mentioning the plans that La Marche +claims to have heard discussed in the council meeting, he says plainly +that he was to play the rôle of Holy Church, but as he makes no +further allusion to the fact, it may be dismissed as one of his +careless statements. + +This pompous announcement of big plans was the prelude to nothing! Yet +it was by no means a farce when enacted. Philip fully intended to +make this crusade the crowning event of his life, and his proceedings +immediately after the great fête were all to further that end. To +obtain allies abroad, to raise money at home, and to ensure a peaceful +succession for his son in case of his own death in the East--such were +the cares demanding the duke's attention. + +The twenty-year-old Count of Charolais was entrusted with the regency +for the term of his father's sojourn abroad in quest of allies, and +he hastened to Holland to assume the reins of government, but he was +speedily recalled to Lille to submit once more to paternal authority +before being left to his own devices and to maternal bias. + +For the ducal pair disagreed seriously on the subject of their son's +second marriage. Isabella wished that a bride should be sought in +England, and this wish was apparently echoed by Charles himself. The +important topic was discussed with more or less freedom among the +young courtiers, until the drift of the conversations, whose burden +was wholly adverse to his own fixed purpose, came to Philip's ears, +together with the information that one of his own children was among +those who incited the count to independent desires about his future +wife. Very stern was the duke in his reprimand to the two young men. +He acknowledged that force of circumstances had once led him into +friendly bonds with the foes of his own France, but never had he been +"English at heart." Charles must accept his father's decision on pain +of disinheritance. "As for this bastard," Philip added, turning to the +other son, destitute of status in the eyes of the law, "if I find that +he counsels you to oppose my will, I will have him tied up in a sack +and thrown into the sea."[9] + +The bride selected for the heir was Isabella of Bourbon, daughter +of the duke's sister, and the betrothal was hastily made. Even the +approval of the bride's parents was dispensed with. This passed the +more easily as the young lady herself was conveniently present in the +Burgundian court under the guardianship of her aunt, the duchess, +who had superintended her education. A papal dispensation was more +necessary than paternal consent, but that, too, was waived as far as +the betrothal was concerned. To that extent was Philip obeyed. Then +Charles returned to Holland and his father proceeded to Germany to +obtain imperial co-operation in his Eastern enterprise. + +The duke's departure from Lille was made very privately at five +o'clock in the morning. He was off before his courtiers were aware of +his last preparations. That was a surprise, but not the only one in +store for those left behind. In order to save every penny for his +journey, Philip ordered radical retrenchment in his household +expenses. The luxurious repasts served to his retainers were abolished +and all alike found themselves forced to restrict their appetites to +the dainties they could purchase with the table allowance accorded +them. "The court's leg is broken," said Michel, the rhetorician.[10] + +In his own outlay there was no stinting; the duke's progress was +pompous and stately as was his wont. As he traversed Switzerland, +Berne, Zurich, and Constance asked and obtained permission to show +their friendship with ceremonious receptions. Loud were the cries of +"_Vive Bourgogne_." Equally hospitable were the German cities. Game, +wine, fodder, were offered for the traveller's use at every stage, as +he and his suite rode to the imperial diet. + +At Ratisbon, disappointment greeted him. The emperor whom he had come +so far to see in person failed to appear. Unwilling to accede to the +plan of co-operation, afraid to give an open refusal, Frederic +simply avoided hearing the request. Essentially lazy, he shrank from +committing himself to a difficult enterprise, nor was his ambition +tempted by possible glory. It had cost no pang to refuse the crown +of Bohemia and Hungary. But even had he been personally ambitious +he might still have been slow to lend his adherence to the duke's +project, in the not unnatural dread lest the flashing renown of the +greatest duke of the Occident might throw a poor emperor as ally +into the shade. The very warmth of Philip's reception in Germany had +chilled Frederic. From a retreat in Austria, he sent his secretary, +Æneas Sylvius, to represent him at Ratisbon, a substitution far from +pleasing to the visitor. + +There were other defections, too, from the diet. None of those present +was in a position to aid Philip in furthering his schemes. The matter +was brought forward and laid on the table to be discussed at the next +diet, appointed to meet in November at Frankfort. But Philip would +not wait for that. Germany did not agree with him. He was not well. +Rumours there were of various kinds about his reasons for returning +home. They do not seem to require much explanation, however. He had +not been met half way in Germany and was highly displeased at the +failure. Declining all further entertainment proffered by the cities, +he travelled back to Besançon by way of Stuttgart and Basel. In the +early autumn he was at Dijon. + +During this summer, negotiations about Charles's marriage had +continued. The Duke of Bourbon was inclined to chaffer about the dowry +demanded by Philip. One of the estates asked for was Chinon, and it +was urged that it, a male fief, was not capable of alienation. Philip +was not inclined to accept this reason as final and the negotiations +hung fire, much to the distress of the Duchess of Bourbon, who feared +a breach between her husband and brother. Naïve are the phrases in one +of her letters as quoted by Chastellain[11]: + + "MY VERY DEAR SEIGNEUR AND BROTHER, + + "I have heard all Boudault's message from you ... To be brief, + Monseigneur is content and ready to accede the points that you + demand. It seems to me that you ought to give him easy terms and + that you ought to put aside any grudge you may cherish against + him. Monseigneur, since I consider the thing as done, I beg you to + celebrate the nuptials as soon as possible although not without me + as you have promised me."[12] + +The king, too, was interested in the matter, and wrote as follows to +Duke Philip: + + "DEAR AND MUCH LOVED BROTHER: + + "Some time ago my cousin of Bourbon informed me of the + negotiations for the marriage of my cousin of Charolais, your son, + to my cousin Isabella of Bourbon, his daughter, which marriage + has been deferred, as he writes me, because he does not wish to + alienate to his daughter the seignory of Château-Chinon. It is not + possible for him to do this on account of the marriage agreement + of our daughter Jeanne and my cousin of Clermont, his son, wherein + it was stipulated that Château-Chinon should go to them and their + heirs. Moreover, it cannot descend in the female line, and in + default of heirs male it must return to the crown as a true + appanage of France. + + "Lest, peradventure, you may doubt the truth of this, and imagine + that the point is urged by our cousin of Bourbon simply as an + excuse for not ceding the estate, we assure you that it is true, + and was considered in arranging the alliance of our daughter so + that it is beyond the power of our cousin of Bourbon to make any + alienation or transfer of the territory at the marriage of his + daughter. We never would have permitted the marriage of our + daughter without this express settlement. With this consideration + it seems to me that you ought not to block the marriage in + question, especially as my cousin says he is offering you an + equivalent. He cannot do more as we have charged our councillor, + the bailiff of Berry, to explain to you in full. So pray do not + postpone the marriage for the above cause or for any cause, if + by the permission of the Church and of our Holy Father it can be + lawfully completed. + + "Given at Romorantin, Oct. 17. + + "CHARLES.[13] + + CHALIGAUT." + + +As the marriage was an event of importance, and the circumstances +are simple historic facts, it is strange that there should be any +uncertainty regarding the details of its solemnisation. But there is a +certain vagueness about the narratives. One version is so amusing that +it deserves a slight consideration.[14] The chronicler relates how +Charles VII. felt some uneasiness at the delay in the negotiations. +Conscious of the sentiments of the Duchess of Burgundy, he feared +lest her well-known sympathies for England might prevail in the final +decision. + +When Philip had returned to Dijon, the bailiff of Berry came as the +king's special envoy to discuss some aspects of the subject with him. +The mission was gladly undertaken as the messenger had never seen +Philip nor his court and he was pleased at the chance of meeting a +personage whose fame rang through Europe. Very graciously was he +received by the duke, who read the king's letters attentively and +replied to the envoy's messages in general terms of courteous +recognition, without making his own intention manifest. The bailiff +waited for an answer, finding, in the meanwhile, that his days passed +very agreeably. + +As a matter of fact, before his arrival at Dijon Philip Pot had set +out for the Netherlands, bearing the duke's orders to his son to +celebrate his nuptials without further delay. The duke did not intend +to be influenced by any one. It was his will that his son should +accept the bride selected and that was all sufficient. The reason why +the duke detained the king's messenger was that he "awaited news from +Messire Philip de Pot, whom he had sent in all speed to his son to +hasten the wedding."[15] The said gentleman found the count at Lille +with the duchess, his mother, and he was so diligent in the discharge +of his mission that he made all the arrangements himself and saw the +wedding rites solemnised immediately. The bridegroom did not even know +of the plan until the night preceding the important day. Then Philip +Pot rode back to Dijon. + +When the duke was assured that the alliance was irrevocably sealed +he was quite ready to answer the king's messenger, whom he at once +invited to an audience. In a casual fashion Philip remarked: + +"Now bailiff, the king sent you hither about a matter which I am +humbly grateful for his interest in. You know my opinion. I had no +desire to dissemble. Here is a gentleman fresh from Flanders; ask him +his news and note his reply." + +"What tidings, Monsieur, do you bring us? + +Prithee impart it" said the bailiff to the chevalier. And the +gentleman, laughing, replied: "By my faith, Monsieur bailiff, the +greatest news that I know is that Monseigneur de Charolais is +married!" + +"Married! to whom?" + +"To whom?" responded the chevalier, "why, to his first cousin, +Monseigneur's niece." + +Merry was the duke over the Frenchman's blank amazement. Again the +latter had to be reassured of the truth of the statement. Philip Pot +told him that it was so true that the wedded pair had spent the night +together according to their lawful right. + +The bailiff did not know which way to turn. "So he acted out his +two rôles. Returning thanks to the duke in the king's name with all +formality, he then joined in the general laugh over the unsuspected +trick. He was a man of the world and knew how to take advantage of +sense and of folly." + +It was on the morrow of this hasty tying of the wedding knot that the +Countess of Charolais sent a messenger to announce the fact to her +parents. They seem to have been perfectly satisfied, made no further +objection to any point, and the mooted territory of Chinon made part +of the dower in spite of the reasons urged against it. + +As to the bailiff, when he made his adieux at Dijon, Philip presented +him with a round dozen stirrup cups, each worth three silver marks, +and he went home a surprised and delighted man. + + "About this time [says Alienor de Poictiers] Monsieur de Charolais + married Mademoiselle de Bourbon and he married her on the eve of + All Saints[16] at Lille, and there was no festival because Duke + Philip was then in Germany. Eight days after the nuptials the + duchess gave a splendid banquet where were all the ladies of + Lille, but they were seated all together, as is usually done at + an ordinary banquet, without mesdames holding state as would have + been proper for such an occasion." + +It is evident from all the stories that Charles protested against his +father's orders as much as he dared and then obeyed simply because he +could not help himself. + +Yet, strange to say, the unwilling bridegroom proved a faithful +husband in a court where marital fidelity was a rare trait. + +Philip's plans for the international union against the Turk were less +easily completed than those for the union of his son and his niece. In +November, the diet met at Frankfort; the expedition was discussed and +some resolutions were passed, but nothing further was achieved. + +Charles VII. would not even promise co-operation on paper. He had +gradually extended his own domain in French-speaking territory and had +dislodged the English from every stronghold except Guisnes and Calais. +Under him France was regaining her prestige. Charles had much to lose, +therefore, in joining the undertaking urged by Philip and he was +wholly unwilling to risk it. From him Philip obtained only expressions +of general interest in the repulse of the Turks, and more definite +suggestions of the dangers that would menace Western Europe if all her +natural defenders carried their arms and their fortunes to the East. + +When the anniversary of the great fête came round not a vow was yet +fulfilled! + + +[Footnote 1: A performance repeated in our modern Lohengrin.] + +[Footnote 2: The chroniclers are not at one on this point.] + +[Footnote 3: DuClercq, _Mémoires_, ii., 159.] + +[Footnote 4: This banquet at Lille was the subject of several +descriptions by spectators or at least contemporary authors. + +The Royal Library at the Hague possesses a manuscript copied from an +older one which contains the order of proceedings together with the +text of all vows. There is a minute description in Mathieu d'Escouchy, +who claims to have been present, and in a manuscript coming from +Baluze, whose anonymous author might also have been an eye-witness. Of +the various versions, that of La Marche seems to be the most original. +One record shows that "a clerk living at Dijon, called Dion du Cret, +received, in 1455, a sum of five francs and a half for having, at the +order of the accountants, copied and written in parchment the history +of the banquet of my said seigneur, held at Lille, February 17, 1453, +containing fifty-six leaves of parchment" (La Marche, ii., 340 note). +It is possible that all the authors refreshed their memory with this +account, which seems to have been merely a copy.] + +[Footnote 5: Laborde, i., 127.] + +[Footnote 6: II., 361.] + +[Footnote 7: The text says in the Burgundian or recluse fashion. +_Béguine_ is probably the right reading.] + +[Footnote 8: Mathieu d'Escouchy (ii., 222) gives all the vows as +though made then, and differs in many unessential points from La +Marche's account. + +[Footnote 9: Du Clerq, ii., 203.] + +[Footnote 10:'"Michel dit que le gigot de la cour était rompu."--La +Marche, i., ch. xiv.] + +[Footnote 11: Chastellain, iii., 20, note.] + +[Footnote 12: "Toute fois que ce ne soit pas sans moy."] + +[Footnote 13: The original, signed, is in the _Archives de la +Côte-d'Or,_ B. 200. _See_ Du Fresne de Beaucourt, _Histoire de Charles +VII_., v. 470.] + +[Footnote 14: Chastellain, iii., 23, etc.] + +[Footnote 15: Chastellain, iii., 24] + + +[Footnote 16: The chroniclers differ as to this date. Chastellain +(iii., 25) says the first Sunday in Lent. D'Escouchy (ii., 270, ch. +cxxii) the night of St. Martin. Alienor de Poictiers, Hallowe'en _(Les +Honneurs de la Cour_, p. 187). The last was one of Isabella's ladies +in waiting.] + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +BURGUNDY AND FRANCE + +1455-1456. + + +The duke's journey failed in accomplishing its object, but it proved +an important factor in the development of the character of Charles of +Burgundy. The opportunity to administer the government in his father's +absence changed him from a youth to a man, and the manner of man he +was, was plain to see. + +His character was built on singularly simple lines. Vigorous of +body, intense of purpose, inclined to melancholy, he was profoundly +convinced of his own importance as heir to the greatest duke in +Christendom, as future successor to an uncrowned potentate, who could +afford to treat lightly the authority of both king and emperor whose +nominal vassal he was. + +The Ghent episode, too, undoubtedly had an immense effect in enhancing +the count's belief in his father's power, in causing him to forget +that the communes of Flanders did not owe their existence to their +overlord. As yet, Charles of Burgundy had not met a single check to +his self-esteem, to his family pride. As a governor, he probably +exercised his brief authority with the rigour of one new to the helm. + + "And the Count of Charolais bore himself so well and so virtuously + in the task, that nothing deteriorated under his hand, and when + the good duke returned from his journey, he found his lands as + intact as before." + +Such, is La Marche's testimony.[1] Intact undoubtedly, but possibly +the satisfaction was not quite perfect. Du Clercq[2] declares that +Count Charles acquitted himself honourably of his charge and made +himself respected as a magistrate. Above all, he insisted that justice +should be dealt out to all alike. The only danger in his methods was +that he acted on impulse without sufficiently informing himself of the +matter in hand, or hearing both sides of a controversy. As a result, +his decisions were not always impartial and the father was preferred +to the strenuous and impetuous son. "Not that Philip was often +inclined to recognise other law than his own will, but he was more +tranquil, more gentle than his son, and more guided by reason," adds +a later author.[2] There was an evident dread as to what might be the +outcome of the count's untrained, youthful ardour. + +The duke's chief measures after his return in February, 1455, seemed +hardly calculated to arouse any great personal devotion to himself or +a profound trust that his first consideration was for the advantage of +his Netherland subjects. His thoughts were still turned to the East, +and his main interest in the individual countships was as sources of +supply for his Holy War. Considerable sums flowed into his exchequer +that were never used for their destined purpose, but the duke cannot +be justly accused of actual bad faith in amassing them. His intention +to make the Eastern campaign remained firm for some years. + +[Illustration: STATUE OF CHARLES THE BOLD AT INNSBRUCK] + +In another matter, his despotic exercise of personal authority, far +without the pale of his jurisdiction inherited or acquired, shows no +shadow of excuse. + +In the bishropic of Utrecht the ecclesiastical head was also lay +lord. Here the counts of Holland possessed no voice. They were near +neighbours, that was all. Philip ardently desired to be more in this +tiny independent state in the midst of territories acknowledging his +sway. + +In 1455, the see of Utrecht became vacant and Philip was most anxious +to have it filled by his son David, whom he had already made Bishop of +Thérouanne by somewhat questionable methods. The Duke of Guelders +also had a neighbourly interest in Utrecht and he, too, had a pet +candidate, Stephen of Bavaria, whose election he urged. The chapter +resolutely ignored the wishes of both dukes and the canons were almost +unanimous in their choice of Gijsbrecht of Brederode.[4] + +A very few votes were cast for Stephen of Bavaria, but not a single +one for David of Burgundy. + +Brederode was already archdeacon of the cathedral and an eminently +worthy choice, both for his attainments and for his character. He was +proclaimed in the cathedral, installed in the palace, and confirmed, +as regarded his temporal power, by the emperor. + +Philip, however, refused to accept the returns, although not a single +suffrage had been cast by the qualified electors for his son. He +despatched the Bishop of Arras to Rome to petition the new pope, +Calixtus III., to refuse to ratify the late election and to confer +the see upon David, out of hand. Philip's tender conscience found +Gijsbrecht ineligible to an episcopal office because he had +participated in the war against Ghent, certainly a weak plea in an age +of militant bishops! + +The pope was afraid to offend the one man in Europe upon whose +immediate aid he counted in the Turkish campaign. He accepted the gift +of four thousand ducats offered by Gijsbrecht's envoys, the customary +gift in asking papal confirmation for a bishop-elect, but secretly +he delivered to Philip's ambassador letters patent creating David of +Burgundy Bishop of Utrecht.[5] + +The Burgundian La Marche states euphemistically that David was elected +to the see, and the Deventer people would not obey him, therefore +Philip had to levy an army and come in person to support the new +bishop.[6] Du Clercq puts a different colour on the story and +d'Escouchy[7] implies that the whole trouble arose from party strife +which had to be quelled in the interests of law and order. + +Apart from any question of insult to the Utrechters by imposing upon +them a spiritual director of acknowledged base birth, the right of +choice lay with them and the emperor had confirmed their choice as far +as the lay office was concerned. While the issue was undecided, the +Estates of Utrecht appointed Gijsbrecht guardian and defender of the +see to assure him a legal status pending the papal ratification. The +people were prepared to support their candidate with arms, a game that +Philip did not refuse, and the force of thirty thousand men with which +he invaded the bishopric proved the stronger argument of the two and +able to carry David of Burgundy to the episcopal throne, upon which he +was seated in his father's presence, October 16, 1455. + +Some of Philip's allies reaped certain advantages from the situation. +Alkmaar and Kennemerland redeemed certain forfeited privileges by +means of their contributions to the duke's army. The city of Utrecht +preferred a compromise to the risk of war. The bishop-elect, +Gijsbrecht, consented to withdraw his claim, being permitted to retain +the humbler office of provost of Utrecht and an annuity of four +thousand guilders out of the episcopal revenues. + +Deventer was the only place which was obstinate enough to persist in +her rebellion and Philip was engaged in bringing her citizens to terms +by a siege when news was brought to him that a visitor had arrived at +Brussels under circumstances which imperatively demanded his personal +attention. + +In the twenty years that had elapsed since the Treaty of Arras, there +had been great changes in France in the character both of the realm +and of the ruler. Little by little the latter had proved himself to +be a very different person from the inert king of Bourges.[8] Old at +twenty, Charles VII. seemed young and vigorous at forty. Bad advisers +were replaced by others better chosen and his administration gradually +became effective. Fortune favoured him in depriving England of the +Duke of Bedford (1435), the one man who might have maintained English +prestige abroad and peace at home during the youth of Henry VI. It was +at a time of civil dissensions in England, that Charles VII. succeeded +in assuming the offensive on the Continent and in wresting Normandy +and Guienne from the late invader. + +But this territorial advantage was not all. Distinct progress had been +made towards a national existence in France. The establishment of +the nucleus of a regular army was an immense aid in curbing the +depredations of the "_écorcheurs_," the devastating, marauding +bands which had harassed the provinces. There was new activity in +agriculture and industry and commerce.[9] The revival of letters and +art, never completely stifled, proved the real vitality of France in +spite of the depression of the Hundred Years' War. Royal justice was +reorganised, public finance was better administered. By 1456, misery +had not, indeed, disappeared, but it was less dominant. + +The years of growing union between king and his kingdom were, however, +years of discord between Charles and his son. The dauphin Louis had +not enjoyed the pampered, petted life of his Burgundian cousin. Very +poor and forlorn was his father at the time of the birth of his heir +(1423).[10] There was nothing in the treasury to pay the chaplain who +baptised the child or the woman who nourished him. The latter received +no pension as was usual but a modest gratuity of fifteen pounds. +The first allowance settled on the heir to his unconsecrated royal +father's uncertain fortunes was ten crowns a month. Every feature of +his infancy was a marked contrast to the early life of the Count of +Charolais. + +From his seventeenth year Louis was in active opposition to the +king, heading organised rebellion against him in the war called +the _Praguerie_. Finally, Charles VII. entrusted to his charge the +administration of Dauphiné, thus practically banishing him honourably +from the court where he was, evidently, a disturbing element. The only +restrictions placed upon him in his provincial government were such +as were necessary to preserve the ultimate authority of the crown. To +these restrictions, however, Louis paid not the slightest heed. He +assumed all the airs of an independent sovereign. He made wars and +treaties with his neighbours and at last proceeded to arrange his own +marriage. + +At this time Louis was already a widower, having been married at the +age of thirteen to Margaret of Scotland, who led a mournful existence +at the French court, where she felt herself a desolate alien. Her +death at the age of twenty was possibly due to slander. "Fie upon +life," she said on her deathbed, when urged to rouse herself to resist +the languor into which she was sinking. "Talk to me no more of it." + +Her husband cared less for her life than did Margaret herself. He took +no interest in the inquiry set on foot to ascertain the truth of the +charges against the princess, and was more than ready to turn to a new +alliance. At the date of his widowerhood he was in Dauphiné and his +own choice for a wife was Charlotte, daughter of the Duke of Savoy. +After negotiations in his own behalf he informed his father of his +matrimonial project. It did not meet the views of Charles VII., who +ordered his son to abandon the idea immediately. + +A messenger was despatched post haste to Chambéry to stop the +dauphin's nuptials.[11] The duke evaded an interview and the envoy was +forced to deliver his letter to the chancellor of Savoy. On the morrow +of his arrival, he was taken to church, where the wedding ceremony was +performed (March 10, 1451), but his seat was in such a remote place +that he could barely catch a glimpse of the bridal procession, though +he saw that Louis was clad in crimson velvet trimmed with ermine. Two +days later the envoy carried a pleasant letter to the king, expressing +regrets on the part of the Duke of Savoy that the alliance was made +before the paternal prohibition arrived. + +Nine years were spent by Louis in Dauphiné. He introduced many +administrative and judicial reforms, excellent in themselves but not +popular. There were various protests and when he dared to impose taxes +without the consent of the Estates, an appeal was made to the king +begging him to check his son in his illegal assumptions. Charles +summoned his son to his presence. Instead of obeying this order in +person, Louis sent envoys who were dismissed by his father with a curt +response: "Let my son return to his duty and he shall be treated as a +son. As to his fears, security to his person is pledged by my word, +which my foes have never refused to accept."[12] + +Louis showed himself less compliant than his father's foes. As Charles +approached Dauphiné, and made his preparations to enforce obedience, +Louis appealed to the mediation of the pope, of the Duke of Burgundy, +and of the King of Castile, beside sending offerings to all the chief +shrines in Christendom, imploring aid against parental wrath. Then +his thoughts took a less peaceful turn. He called the nobles of his +principality to arms and bade the fortified towns prepare for siege, +while he loftily declared that he would not trouble his father to seek +him. He would meet him at Lyons. + +Meanwhile, the Count of Dammartin was directed by the king to take +military possession of Dauphiné and to put the dauphin under arrest. +As he was _en route_ to fulfil these orders, the count heard that +a day had been set by Louis for a great hunt. That an excellent +opportunity might be afforded for securing his quarry in the course +of the chase, was the immediate thought of the king's lieutenant. So +there might have been had not the wily hunter received timely warning +of the project for making _him_ the game. + +At the hour appointed for the meet, the dauphin's suite rode to the +rendezvous, but the prince turned his horse in the opposite direction +and galloped away at full speed, attended by a few trusty followers. +He hardly stopped even to take breath until he was out of his father's +domain, and made no pause until he reached St. Claude, a small town +in the Franche-Comté, where he threw himself on the kindness of the +Prince of Orange. + +How gossip about this strange departure of the French heir fluttered +here and there! Du Clercq[13] tells the story with some variation from +the above outline, laying more stress on the popular appeal to the +king for relief from Louis's transgressions as governor of Dauphiné, +and enlarging on the accusation that Louis was responsible for the +death of _La belle Agnès_, "the first lady of the land possessing the +king's perfect love." He adds that the dauphin was further displeased +because the niece of this same Agnes, the Demoiselle de Villeclerc, +was kept at court after her aunt's death. Wherever the king went he +was followed by this lady, accompanied by a train of beauties. It was +this conduct of his father that had forced the son to absent himself +from court life for twelve years and more, during which time he +received no allowance as was his rightful due, and thus he had been +obliged to make his own requisitions from his seigniory. + +There were other reports that the king was quite ready to accord his +son his full state; others, again, that Charles drove Louis into exile +from mere dislike and intended to make his second son his heir and +successor. At this point Du Clercq's manuscript is broken off abruptly +and the remainder of his conjectures are lost to posterity. Where the +text begins again, the author dismisses all this contradictory hearsay +and says in his own character as veracious chronicler, "I concern +myself only with what actually occurred. The dauphin gave a feast +in the forest and then departed secretly to avoid being arrested by +Dammartin." + +This flight was the not unnatural termination of a long series of +misunderstandings between a father whose private conduct was not above +criticism, and a son, clever, unscrupulous, destitute of respect for +any person or thing except for the superstitious side of his religion. + +Charles VII. was a curious instance of a man whose mental development +occurred during the later years of his life. When his son was under +his personal influence his character was not one to instil filial +deference, and Louis certainly cherished neither respect nor affection +for the father whose inert years he remembered vividly. + +Whether, indeed, the dauphin had any part in Agnes Sorel's death which +gave him especial reason to dread the king's anger, is uncertain, but +of his action there is no doubt. To St. Claude he travelled as rapidly +as his steed could go, and from that spot on Burgundian soil he +despatched the following exemplary letter to his father: + + "MY VERY REDOUBTABLE LORD: + + "To your good grace I recommend myself as humbly as I can. Be + pleased to know, my very redoubtable lord, that because, as you + know, my uncle of Burgundy intends shortly to go on a crusade + against the Turk in defence of the Catholic Faith and because my + desire is to go, your good pleasure permitting, considering that + our Holy Father the Pope bade me so to do, and that I am standard + bearer of the Church, and that I took the oath by your command, I + am now on my way to join my uncle to learn his plans so that I can + take steps for the defence of the Catholic Faith. + + "Also, I wish to implore him to find means of reinstating me in + your good grace, which is something that I desire most in the + world. My very redoubtable lord, I pray God to give you good life + and long. + + "Written at St. Claude the last day of August. + + "Your very humble and obedient son, + + "LOYS."[14] + + +This letter hardly succeeded in carrying conviction to the king. +He characterised the projected expedition to Turkey as a farce, a +pretence, and a frivolous excuse.[15] Probably, too, he did not +contradict his courtiers when they declared that the project had +been in the wind a long time, and that the Duke of Burgundy would +be prouder than ever to have the heir to France dependent on his +protection. + +The epistle despatched, Louis continued his journey under the escort +of the Seigneur de Blaumont, Marshal of Burgundy, at the head of +thirty horse. Their pace was rapid to elude the pursuit of Tristan +l'Hermite. The prince needed no spurs to make him flee. Even if his +father did not intend to have him drowned in a sack his immediate +liberty was certainly in jeopardy. "In truth this thing was a +marvellous business. The Prince of Orange and the Marshal of Burgundy +were the two men whom the dauphin hated more than any one else, +but necessity, which knows no law, overcame the distaste of the +dauphin."[16] + +Louvain was the next place where Louis felt safe enough to rest. Here +he wrote to the Duke of Burgundy to announce his arrival within his +territory. The letter found Philip in camp before Deventer. It is +evident that he was entirely taken by surprise, and was prepared to be +very cautious in his correspondence with the French king. He assured +him that he was willing to receive and honour Louis as his suzerain's +heir, but he implored that suzerain not to blame him, the duke, for +that heir's flight to his protection. + +His envoy, Perrenet, was charged with many reassuring messages in +addition to the epistle. Before he reached the French court, his +news was no novelty. Rumour had preceded him. The messenger was very +eloquent in his assurances to the king that Philip was wholly innocent +in the affair and a good peer and true. Perrenet + + "stayed at the French court until Epiphany and I do not know what + they discussed, but during that time news came that the king had + garrisoned Compiègne, Lyons, and places where his lands touched + the duke's territories. When the envoy returned to the duke, he + published a manifesto ordering all who could bear arms to be in + readiness."[17] + +Philip sent messages of welcome to Louis with apologies for his +own inevitable absence, and the visitor was profuse in his return +assurances to his uncle that he understood the delay and would not +disturb his business for the world. "I have leisure enough to wait and +it does not weary me. I am safe in a pleasant land and in a fine town +which I have long wished to see." He showed his courtesy when the +Count d'Étampes, Philip's nephew-in-law, presented his suite, by +pronouncing each individual name and assuring its bearer that he had +heard about him.[18] + +The count was commissioned to conduct the dauphin to Brussels and we +have the story of an eye-witness of his reception by the ladies of the +ducal family: + + "I saw the King of France, father of the present King Charles, + chased away by his father Charles for some difference of which + they say that the fair Agnes was the cause, and on account of + which he took refuge with Duke Philip, for he had no means of + subsistence.[19] + + "The said King Louis, being dauphin, came to Brussels accompanied + by about ten cavaliers and by the Marshal of Burgundy. At this + time Duke Philip was at Utrecht in war and there was no one to + receive the visitor but Madame the Duchess Isabella and Madame + de Charolais, her daughter-in-law, pregnant with Madame Mary of + Burgundy, since then Duchess of Austria. + + "Monsieur the dauphin arrived at Brussels, where were the ladies, + at eight o'clock in the evening, about St. Martin's Day.[20] When + the ladies heard that he was in the city they hastened down to the + courtyard to await him. As soon as he saw them he dismounted and + saluted Madame the Duchess and Mme. de Charolais and Mme. de + Ravestein. All kneeled and then he kissed the other ladies of the + court." + +Alienor goes on to describe how a whole quarter of an hour was +consumed by a friendly altercation between Isabella and her guest as +to the exact way in which they should enter the door, the dauphin +resolute in his refusal to take precedence and Isabella equally +resolute not even to walk by the side of the future king. "Monsieur, +it seems to me you desire to make me a laughing stock, for you wish +me to do what befits me not." To this the dauphin replied that it was +incumbent upon him to pay honour for there was none in the realm of +France so poor as he, and that he would not have known whither to flee +if not to his uncle Philip and to her. + +Louis prevailed in his argument, and hostess and guest finally +proceeded hand in hand to the chamber prepared for the latter and +Isabella then took leave on bended knee. + +When the duke returned to Brussels this contention as to the proper +etiquette was renewed. Isabella tried to retain the dauphin in his own +apartment so that the duke should greet him there as befitted their +relative rank. She was greatly chagrined, therefore, when Louis +rushed down to the courtyard on hearing the signs of arrival. This +punctilious hostess actually held the prince back by his coat to +prevent his advancing towards the duke. + +Throughout the visit the minor points of etiquette were observed with +the utmost care. Both duchess and countess refrained from employing +their train-bearers when they entered the dauphin's presence. When he +insisted that his hostess should walk by his side, she managed her own +train if possible. If she accepted any aid from her gentlemen she was +very careful to keep her hand upon the dress, so that technically she +was still her own train-bearer. Then, too, when the duchess ate in the +dauphin's presence, there was no cover to her dish and nothing was +tasted in her behalf. + +The Duke of Burgundy had to supply Louis with every requisite, but he, +too, never forgot for a moment that this dependent visitor was future +monarch of France. Without doors as within, every minor detail of +etiquette was observed. The duke never so far forgot himself in the +ardour of the chase as to permit his horse's head to advance beyond +the tail of the prince's steed. + +In February, 1457, on St. Valentine's Eve, Mary of Burgundy was born. +Our observant court lady describes in detail the ceremonial observed +in the chamber of the Countess of Charolais and at the baptism. +Brussels rang with joyful bells and blazed with torches, four hundred +supplied by the city ahd two hundred by the young father. Each torch +weighed four or five pounds. + +The Count of Charolais was his own messenger to announce the birth of +his daughter to the dauphin and to ask him to stand god-father. Joyful +was Louis to accept the invitation and to bestow his mother's name on +the baby-girl. Ste. Gudule was so far from the palace that the Church +of the Caudenberg was selected for the ceremony and richly adorned +with Holland linen, velvet, and cloth of gold. The duchess carried her +grandchild to the font,--a font draped with cramoisy velvet. + + "Monsieur the dauphin stood on the right and I heard it said that + there was no one on the left because there was none his equal. On + that day, the duchess wore a round skirt _à la Portuguaise_, edged + with fur. There was no train of cloth nor of silk, so I cannot + state who carried it," + +sagely remarks Alienor with incontrovertible logic. + +Later events made later chroniclers less enthusiastic about the honour +paid to Mademoiselle[21] Mary by the dauphin. In a manuscript of La +Marche's _Mémoires_ at The Hague, the words "Lord! what a god-father!" +appear in the margin of the page describing the baptism.[22] But in +these early days of his five years' sojourn, Louis seems to have been +a pleasant person and to have posed as the ruined poor relation, +entirely free from pride at his high birth and delighted to repay +hospitality by his general complaisance. + +Charles VII. received all the reports with somewhat cynical amusement. +He had no great trust in his son. "Louis is fickle and changeable and +I do not doubt that he will return here before long. I am not at all +pleased with those who influence him," are his words as quoted by +d'Escouchy.[23] + +[Illustration: LOUIS XI FROM THE ENGRAVING BY A. BOILLY, AFTER THE +DRAWING BY J. BOILLY] + +Undoubtedly, though, the king was much surprised at his son's action. +He had rather expected him to take refuge somewhere but he never +thought that the Duke of Burgundy would be his protector--a strange +choice to his mind. "My cousin of Burgundy nourishes a fox who will +eat his chickens" is reported as another comment of this impartial +father.[24] Like many a phrase, possibly the fruit of later harvests, +this is an excellent epitome of the situation. + + +[Footnote 1: I.,ch. xxxi.] + +[Footnote 2:II.,204.] + +[Footnote 3: Barante, vi.,50.] + +[Footnote 4: Some of the canons wrote their reasons after their +recorded vote: "Because Duke Philip had made the candidate member +of his council of Holland, Zealand, and Friesland, in which office +Gijsbrecht had acquitted himself well." "Because all the Sticht nobles +were his relations," etc.--(Wagenaar, _Vaderlandsche Historie,_ iv., +50.)] + +[Footnote 5: Du Clercq, ii., 210.] + +[Footnote 6: _Mémoires_, i., ch. xxxiii.] + +[Footnote 7: II., 315.] + +[Footnote 8: See Lavisse, iv^{ii}., 317.] + +[Footnote 9: For the effects of operations on a large scale see +_Jacques Coeur and Charles VII_., by Pierre Clémart.] + +[Footnote 10: _Duclos_, "Hist. de Louis XI.," _OEuvres Complètes_ v., +8.] + +[Footnote 11: Duclos, iii., 78.] + +[Footnote 12: See Lavisse, iv^{ii}., 292.] + +[Footnote 13: II.,223.] + +[Footnote 14: _Lettres de Louis XI_., i., 77. + +According to the editor, Vaesen, the original of this letter shows +that _September 2nd_ was written first and erased.] + +[Footnote 15: Chastellain, iii., 185.] + +[Footnote 16: Du Clercq, ii., 228.] + +[Footnote 17: Chastellain iii., 197.] + +[Footnote 18: See _Séjour de Louis XI. aux Pays-Bas;_ Reiffenberg: +Nouveaux mem. de l'Acad. Royale, 1829.] + +[Footnote 19: Alienor de Poictiers, _Les Honneurs de la Cour_, ii., +208. It was early in October.] + +[Footnote 20: This date, November 11th, does not agree with the +others.] + +[Footnote 21: "At that time they did not say Madame, for Monsieur was +not the son of a sovereign."--La Marche, ii., 410, note.] + +[Footnote 22: La Marche, ii., 410: "Dieu quel parrain!"] + +[Footnote 23: II., 343.] + +[Footnote 24: Chastellain, iii., 185; Lavisse iv^{ii}., 299.] + + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +THE COUNT AND THE DAUPHIN + +1456-1461 + + +The picture of the Burgundian court rejoicing in happy unison over the +advent of an heiress to carry on the Burgundian traditions, with the +dauphin participating in the family joy, shows the tranquil side of +the first months of the long visit. Before Mary's birth, however, an +incident had occurred, betraying the fact that the dauphin and Charles +VII. were not the only father and son between whom relations were +strained, and that a moment had arrived when the attitude of the Count +of Charolais to the duke was no longer characterised by unquestioning +filial obedience. + +Charles was on his way to Nuremberg[1] to fulfil a mission with +certain German princes when the dauphin alighted in Brabant, like "a +bird of ill omen," as he designated himself on one occasion. The count +did not return to Brussels until January 12, 1457. Thus he took no +part in the hearty welcome accorded to the visitor. It is more than +possible that the heir of Burgundy was not wholly pleased with the +state of affairs placidly existing by mid-winter. + +Instead of resuming the first position which he had enjoyed during his +brief regency, or the honoured second that had been his after Philip +came back, Charles was now relegated to a third place. Further, +without having been consulted as to the policy, he found that he +was forced into following his father's lead in treating a penniless +refugee like an invited guest, whose visit was an honour and a joy. It +is more than probable that Charles was already feeling somewhat hurt +at the duke's warmth towards Louis when a serious breach occurred +between father and son about another matter. + +It chanced that a chamberlain's post fell vacant in his own household, +and the count assumed that the appointment of a successor was +something that lay wholly within his jurisdiction. When the duke +interfered in a peremptory fashion and insisted that the appointment +should be made at his instance, the son refused to accept his +authority, especially as his father's nominee was Philip de Croy, one +of a family already over-dominant in the Burgundian court. At least, +that was Charles's opinion. Therefore, when he obeyed his father's +commands to bring his _ordonnance_, or household list, to the duke's +oratory, he unhesitatingly carried the document which contained the +name of Antoine Raulin, Sire d'Émeries, in place of Philip de Croy. + +The duke was very angry at this apparent contempt for his expressed +wishes. Indignantly he threw the lists into the fire with the words, +"Now look to your _ordonnances_ for you will need new ones[2]." + +There was evidently a succession of violent scenes in which the +duchess tried to stand between her husband and son. But Philip was +beside himself with wrath and refused to listen to a word from her or +from the dauphin, who also endeavoured to mediate[2]. + +Finally, the irate duke lost all control of himself, ordered a horse, +and rode out alone into the forest of Soignies. When he became calmer +it was dark and he found himself far from the beaten tracks, in the +midst of underbrush through which he could not ride. He dismounted and +wandered on foot for hours in the January night until smoke guided him +to a charcoal burner, who conducted him to the more friendly shelter +of a forester's hut. In the morning he made his way to Genappe. + +Meantime, in the palace, consternation reigned. Search parties seeking +their sovereign were out all night. No one, however, was in such a +state of dismay as the dauphin, who declared that he would be counted +at fault when family dissensions followed so soon on his arrival. +Delighted he was, therefore, to act as mediator between father and +son after the duke was in a sufficiently pacified state to listen to +reason. Charles betook himself to Dendermonde for a time until the +duke was ready to see him[4]. His young wife made the most of her +expectations to soften her father-in-law's resentment, and between +her entreaties and those of the guest, proud to show his tact and his +gratitude, the quarrel was at last smoothed over. + +There was one marked difference between this family dispute and the +breach between the French king and the dauphin. In the latter case no +feeling was involved. In the former, the son was really deeply wounded +by what he deemed lack of parental affection for his interests. At the +same time he was shocked by the bitter words and was, for the moment, +so filled with contrition that he was eager to make any concession +agreeable to the duke. He dismissed two of his servants[5], suspected +by his father of fomenting trouble between them, and he showed himself +in general very willing to placate paternal displeasure. + +Reconciliation between duke and duchess was more difficult. Isabella +resented Philip's reproaches for her sympathy with Charles. She said +she had stepped between the two men because she had feared lest the +duke might injure his son in his wrath[6]. This was in answer to the +Marshal of Burgundy when he was telling her of Philip's displeasure. +She concluded her dignified defence with an expression of her utter +loneliness. Stranger in a strange land she had no one belonging to her +but her son. + +She was certainly present at the baptism of her grandchild, but +shortly afterwards she retired to a convent of the Grey Sisters, +founded by herself, and rarely returned to the world or took part in +its ceremonies during the remainder of her life. + +The quarrel, too, left its scar upon Charles. It is not probable that +he had much personal liking for the guest upon whom his father heaped +courtesies and solicitous care. On one occasion, when the two young +men were hunting they were separated by chance. When Charles returned +alone to the palace, the duke was full of reproaches at his son's +careless desertion of the guest in his charge. Again the court was +organised into search parties and there was no rest until the dauphin +was discovered some leagues from Brussels[7]. Here, also, it is an +easy presumption that the Count of Charolais was a trifle sulky over +his father's preoccupation in regard to the prince. + +The transient character of the dauphin's sojourn in his cousin's +domains soon changed. In the summer of 1457, when news came that +Dauphiné had submitted to Charles VII., when the successive embassies +despatched by Philip to the king had all proved fruitless in their +conciliatory efforts, Philip proceeded to make more permanent +arrangements for the fugitive's comfort. + + "Now, Monseigneur, since the king has been pleased to deprive you + of Dauphiné ... you are to-day lord and prince without land. But, + nevertheless, you shall not be without a country, for all that I + have is yours and I place it within your hand without reserving + aught except my life and that of my wife. Pray take heart. If God + does not abandon me I will never abandon you[8]." + +The duke made good his words by giving his guest the estate of +Genappe, of which Louis took possession at the end of July. Then as a +further step to make things pleasant for the exile, Philip sent for +Charlotte of Savoy who had remained under her father's care ever since +the formal marriage in 1451. She was now eighteen. + +It was an agreeable spot, this estate at Genappe. Louis's favourite +amusement of the chase was easy of access. "The court is at present +at Louvain," wrote a courtier[9] on July 1st, "and Monseigneur the +Dauphin likes it very much, for there is good hunting and falconry and +a great number of rabbits within and without the city." With killing +of every kind at his service, what greater solace could a homeless +prince expect? + +From Louvain to Genappe is no great distance, and the sum of 1200 +livres, furnished by Philip for the dauphin's journey to his new +abode, seemed a large provision. The pension then settled on him was +36,000 livres, and when the dauphiness arrived 1000 livres a month +were provided for her private purse[10]. + +Pleasant was existence in this château. There was no dearth of company +to throng around the prince in exile, and the dauphin allowed no +prejudice of mere likes and dislikes, no consideration of duty towards +his host to hamper him in making useful friends. A word here and +a word there, aptly thrown in at a time when Philip's anger had +exasperated, when Charles had failed to conciliate, were very potent +in intimating to many a Burgundian servant that there might come a +time when a new king across the border might better appreciate their +real value than their present or future sovereign. + +Hunting was a favourite amusement, but the dauphin did not confine his +invitations to sportsmen. The easy accessibility of the little court +attracted men of science and of letters as well as others capable of +making the time pass agreeably. When there was nothing else on foot, +it is said that the company amused themselves by telling stories, +each in turn, and out of their tales grew the collection of the _Cent +Nouvelles Nouvelles_[11], named in imitation of Boccaccio's _Cento +Novelle_. + +The first printed edition of this collection was issued in Paris, in +1486, by Antoine Verard, who thus admonishes the gentle reader: "Note +that whenever _Monseigneur_ is referred to, Monseigneur the Dauphin +must be understood, who has since succeeded to the crown and is King +Louis. Then he was in the land of the Duke of Burgundy." Another +editor asserts that _Monseigneur_ is evidently the Duke of Burgundy +and not Louis, and later authorities decide that Anthony de la Sale +wrote the whole collection in imitation of Boccaccio, and that the +names of the narrators were as imaginative or rather as editorial as +the rest of the volume. + +If this be true, it maybe inferred that the author would have given an +appearance of verisimilitude to his fiction by mentioning the actual +habitués of the dauphin's court. The name of the Count of Charolais +does not appear at all. The duke tells three or more stories according +to the interpretation given to _Monseigneur_. With three exceptions +the tales are very coarse, nor does their wit atone for their +licentiousness. Possibly Charles held himself aloof from the kind of +talk they suggest. All reports make him rigid in standards of morality +not observed by his fellows. That he had little to do with the court +is certain, whatever his reason. + +Louis did not confine himself to the estate assigned him. There were +various court visits to the Flemish towns where he was afforded +excellent opportunities for seeing the wealth of the burghers and +their status in the world of commerce. + +Ghent was very anxious to have the duke bring his guest within her +gates and give her an opportunity of displaying her regret for the +past unpleasantness. "In his goodness," Philip at last yielded to +their entreaties to make them a visit himself, but he decided not to +take the prince or the count with him.[12] He was either afraid for +their safety or else he did not care to bring a future French king +into relation with citizens who might find it convenient to remember +his suzerainty in order to ignore the wishes of their sovereign +duke.[13] + +Eastertide, 1458, was finally appointed for this state visit of +reconciliation. The duke took the precaution to send scouts ahead to +ascertain that the late rebels were sincere in their contrition, and +that there was no danger of anarchist agitations. The report was +brought back that all was calm and that joyful preparations were +making to show appreciation of Philip's kindness. + +On April 22d, the duke slept at l'Écluse, and on the 23d he was gaily +escorted into the city by knights and gentlemen summoned from Holland, +Hainaut, and Flanders, "but neither clerks nor priests were in his +train." As a further assurance to him of their peaceful intention, +the citizens actually lifted the city gates off their hinges so as to +leave open exits. + +Once within the walls, the duke found the whole community, who had +shown intelligent and sturdy determination not to endure arbitrary +tyranny, ready to weave themselves into a frenzy of biblical and +classical parable whose one purpose was to prove how evil had been +their ways. A pompous procession sang _Te Deum_ as the duke rode in, +and the first "mystery" that met his eyes within the gates was a +wonderful representation of Abraham sacrificing Isaac, while the +legend "All that the Lord commanded we will do," was meant not to +refer to the Hebrew's fidelity to Jehovah, but to the Ghenters' +perfect submission to Philip. A young girl stood ready to greet him +with the words of Solomon, "I have found one my soul loves."[14] + +All the legends were in Latin. _Inveni quem diligit anima mea._] + +Farther on there were various emblems all designed to compare +Philip now to Cæsar, now to Pompey, now to Nebuchadnezzar. The most +humiliating spectacle was that of a man dressed in a lion's skin, +thus personifying the Lion of Flanders, leading Philip's horse by the +bridle. "_Vive Bourgogne_ is now our cry," was symbolised in every +vehicle which the rhetoricians could invent. + +Not altogether explicable is this extreme self-abnegation. Civic +prosperity must have returned in four years or there would have been +no money for the outlay. Apparently, Philip's countenance was worth +more to them than their pride. + +The birth and death of two children at Genappe gave the duke new +reasons for showering ostentatious favours on his guest, and furnished +the dauphin with suitable occasion for addressing his own father, who +answered him in kind. + +The following is one of the fair-phrased epistles[l5]: + + _The King to the Dauphin_, 1459. + "VERY DEAR AND MUCH LOVED SON: + + "We have received the letters that you wrote us making mention + that on July 27 our dear and much loved daughter, the dauphiness, + was delivered of a fine boy, for which we have been and are very + joyous, and it seems to me that the more God our Creator grants + you favour, by so much the more you ought to praise and thank + Him and refrain from angering Him, and in all things fulfil His + commandments. + + "Given at Compiègne, Aug.7th. + + "CHARLES. + + +During these five years, Charles was more or less aloof from the +courts of his father and of their guest. He spent part of the time in +Holland and part at Le Quesnoy with his young wife. The Count of St. +Pol was one of his intimate friends, and a friend who managed to +make many insinuations about the duke's treatment of his son and +infatuation about the Croys whom Charles hated with increasing +fervency. + +There is a story that Charles went from Le Quesnoy to his father's +court to demand a formal audience from the duke in order to lodge his +protest against the Croys. Evidently relations were strained when such +a degree of ceremony was needed between father and son. + +Gerard Ourré was commissioned to set forth the count's grievances, and +he was in the midst of his carefully prepared statement when the duke +interrupted him with the curt observation: "Have a care to say nothing +but the truth and understand, it will be necessary to prove every +assertion." The orator was discomfited, stammered on for a few +moments, and then excused himself from completing his harangue. +There were only a few nobles present and all were surprised at this +embarrassment, as Gerard passed for a clever man. Then, seeing that +his deputy was too much frightened to proceed, Charles took up the +thread of his discourse. In a firm voice he continued the list of +accusations against the Croys, only to be cut short in his turn. +Peremptory was the duke in his command to his son to be silent and +never again to refer to the subject. Then, turning to Croy, Philip +added "see to it that my son is satisfied with you," and withdrew from +the audience chamber. + +Croy addressed Charles and endeavoured to be conciliatory. "When you +have repaired the ill you have wrought I will remember the good you +have done," was the count's only reply. He took leave of his father +with an outward show of love and respect and returned to his wife at +Le Quesnoy, escorted, indeed, by Croy out of the gates of Brussels, +but with no better understanding between them. + +St. Pol found good ground to work on. He inflamed the count's +discontent and his distrust of the duke's favourite until Charles +despatched him to Bourges on a confidential mission to ascertain what +Charles VII. would do for the heir of Burgundy should he decide to +take refuge in the French court.[16] + +At the first interview "I was not present," states the unknown +reporter, but on succeeding occasions this man heard for himself that +the king was ready to show hospitality to the Count of Charolais who +"has no ill intentions against his father. All he wants to do is to +separate him from the people who govern him badly." + +The conferences were held in the lodgings of Odet d'Aydie. Among those +present was Dammartin and the matter was discussed in its various +aspects. Jehan Bureau and the anonymous witness were charged with +drawing up a report of the discussion. When this was presented to the +king it did not seem to him good. He doubted the good faith of the +count's message. He had been assured that it was all a fiction +especially designed by the Sieur de Burgundy. + +Certain general promises were made in spite of this royal distrust, +quite natural under the circumstances. If he decided to espouse the +cause of Henry VI., the Count of Charolais should be given a command. +It was evident that the count was by no means ready to go to all +lengths, for St. Pol states in one of his conferences with the "late +king" that Charles of Burgundy had assured him that for two realms +such as his he would not do a deed of villainy. + +Nothing came of this talk. It would have been a singular state of +affairs had the heirs of France and Burgundy thus changed places in +their fathers' courts. Spying and counterspying there were between +the courts to a great extent and rumours in number. A certain Italian +writes to the Duke of Milan as follows, on March 23, 1461, after he +had been at Genappe and at Brussels:[17] + + "M. de Croy has given me clearly to understand that the + reconciliation of the dauphin with the King of France would not be + with the approval of the Duke of Burgundy. Nevertheless the prince + laments that since he received the dauphin into his states, + and treated him as his future sovereign, he has incurred the + implacable hatred of the king added to his ancient grievances. On + the other hand, the affairs of England, on whose issue depends war + or peace for the duke, being still in suspense, it did not seem to + him honest to make advances to the king at this moment. + + "M. de Croy thinks that the dauphin does not seem to have carried + into this affair the circumspection and reflection befitting a + prince of his quality. He has maintained towards the duke the + most complete silence on the affair of Genoa, and the proposition + concerning Italy. Croy does not think there is anything in it, + but if the thing were so it ought not to be secret. He does not + believe that peace will be made between the dauphin and his + father, and mentioned that his brother was on the embassy from + duke to king, in order, I suppose, to probe the matter to the + bottom. + + "The dauphin it seems has been out of humour with the Duke of + Burgundy on account of the luke-warmness shown for his interests + by the ambassador sent by this prince to the Duke of Savoy. + + "The silent agreement which reigns between the dauphin and Monsg. + de Charolais is one of the causes which has chilled this great + love between the dauphin and the duke which existed at the + beginning. + + "Moreover, the dauphin having spent largely, especially in + almsgiving without considering his purse finds himself very hard + pressed. He has only two thousand ducats a month from the Duke of + Burgundy and that seems to force him into peace with the king. The + duke expects nothing during the king's lifetime. + + "Everything makes me want to wait here for the arrival of news + from England. It is expected daily, good or bad the last play must + be made. The duke fears a descent on Calais, and for this reason + is going to a town called St. Omer. Under pretext of celebrating + there the fête of the Toison d'Or he has ordered all his escort to + be armed." + +[Illustration: PHILIP THE GOOD AND CHARLES THE BOLD. FROM A +CONTEMPORARY SKETCH IN MS.] + +For a long time before his final illness the death of Charles VII. was +anticipated. When it came it was a dolorous end.[18] At Genappe, the +dauphin had been making his preparations for the wished-for event in +many ways, all in exact opposition to his father's policy. In Italy +and in Spain he sided with the opponents of Charles VII. In England, +his sympathies were all for the House of York because his father was +favourable to Henry of Lancaster and Margaret of Anjou. He learned +with satisfaction of the success of Edward IV., and was more than +willing to see him invade France. With certain princes of Germany he +entertained relations shrouded in mystery, while his father's own +agents disclosed secrets to him from time to time. + +In his exile he kept reminding official bodies at Paris that he was +heir to the throne. As dauphin he claimed the right to give orders to +the _parlement_ at Grenoble. There is no actual proof that he had a +hand in the conspiracies which troubled the last year of his father's +reign, but it is certain that he managed to win to himself a party +within the royal circle. + +Certain councillors, fearful of their own fate, did not hesitate to +suggest that Louis should be disinherited and his brother Charles put +in his stead, but this Charles VII. would not accept. He kept hoping +for Louis's submission. The latter, however, had no idea of this. He +was sure that his father would not live to grow old. A trouble in his +leg threatened to be cancerous. In July, there was a growth in his +mouth. He died July 22nd, convinced that his son had poisoned him. + +After July 17th constant bulletins from the king's bedside came to +Louis. Genappe was too far and the anxious son moved to Avesnes +in order to receive his messages more speedily. Our chronicler +Chastellain[19] begins his story of Louis's accession as follows: + + "Since I am not English but French, I who am neither Spanish nor + Italian but French, I have written of two Frenchmen, the one king, + the other duke. I have written of their works and their quarrels + and of the favour and glories which God has given them in their + time. + + * * * * * + + "Kings die, reigns vanish but virtue alone and meritorious works + serve man on his bier and gain him eternal glory. O you Frenchmen, + see the cause and the end in my labours!" + +The guest who had displayed so much humility and thankfulness when he +arrived, who had deprecated honours to his high birth and desired to +offer all the courtesies, departed from the residence so generously +given him for five years in a very cavalier manner. + + "Now the king left the duke's territories without having taken + leave nor said adieu to the Countess of Charolais,[20] although he + was in her neighbourhood, and he left behind him the queen, his + wife. The said queen had neither hackneys nor vehicles with which + to follow her husband. Therefore, the king ordered her to borrow + the hackneys of the countess and chariots, too. Heartily did the + countess accede to this request in spite of the fact that the + thing seemed to her rather strange that a noble king, and one who + had received so much honour and service from the House of Burgundy + and had promised to recognise it when the hour came, should thus + depart thence without saying a word. However, in spite of all, the + countess would gladly have given the queen the hackneys as a gift + if they had been asked, and she sent them to her by one of her + equerries named Corneille de la Barre, together with chariots and + waggons. And thus the queen left the country just as her husband + had done without saying a word either to the duke or the countess, + and Corneille went with her on foot to bring back the hackneys + when the queen had arrived at the place of her desire." + +Philip had difficulty in persuading his quondam guest to show outward +respect to his father's memory. The duke clad himself and his suite +in deep mourning before setting out to join Louis at Avesnes, whither +representatives from the University of Paris and from all parts of the +realm had flocked to greet their new sovereign. + +It was a great concourse that marched from Avesnes as escort to the +uncrowned king. Philip was magnificent in his appointments as he +entered Rheims, and behind him came his son, + + "the Count of Charolais who, equally with his noble company of + knights and squires, attracted hearts and eyes in admiration of + his rich array wherein cloth of gold and jewelry, velvet and + embroidery were lavishly displayed. And the count had ten pages + and twenty-six archers, and this whole company numbered three + hundred horse."[21] + +This was a Thursday after dinner. Louis had waited at St. Thierry. On +the actual day of the coronation, preliminaries absorbed so much time +that the long cavalcade did not enter Rheims until seven o'clock. The +king passed his night in a very pious and prayerful manner, taking no +repose until 5 A.M. While his suite were occupied at their toilets he +slipped off alone to church. + +Finally all was ready for the grand ceremony. Very magnificent were +the duke's robes and ermine when, as chief among the peers, he +escorted his late guest to be consecrated king, and very devout and +simple was Louis. After the consecration, the king and his friends +listened to an address from the Bishop of Tournay, in which he +described in Latin the dauphin's sojourn in the Netherlands. + +The Duke of Burgundy was the hero of the occasion. He felt that all +future power was in his hands and that Louis XI. could never do enough +to repay him for his wonderful hospitality. And for a time Louis was +quite ready to foster this belief. When they entered Paris, the peer +so far outshone the sovereign that there was general astonishment.[22] +Moreover, whatever the latter did have was a gift. The very plate used +on the royal table was a ducal present.[23] + +Louis took great pains to preserve an attitude of grateful humility. +When he met the _parlement_ of Paris, he asked the duke's advice about +its reformation. It was to Philip that all the petitioners flocked. +But Louis was conscious, too, that there would be a morrow in +Burgundy, and he took care to be friendly with the count even while he +was flattering the duke. For this purpose he found Guillaume de Biche +a very useful go-between.[24] This was one of the retainers dismissed +in 1457 by Charles at his father's request. He had then passed into +Louis's service. This man quickly insinuated himself into the king's +graces, was admitted to his chamber at all hours, and walked arm in +arm with the returned exile through Paris. + +The Burgundian exile had learned the mysteries of the city well in +his four years' residence. Louis found him an amusing companion and +skilfully managed to flatter the count by his favour towards the man +whom he had liked. + +For six weeks Philip remained in the capital and astonished the +Parisians with the fêtes he offered. Equally astonished were they +with their new monarch. Louis was thirty-eight and not attractive in +person. His eyes were piercing but his visage was made plain by a +disproportionate nose. His legs were thin and misshapen, his gait +uncertain. He dressed very simply, wearing an old pilgrim's hat, +ornamented by a leaden saint. As he rode into Abbeville in company +with Philip, the simple folk who had never seen the king were greatly +amazed at his appearance and said quite loud, "Benedicite! Is that a +king of France, the greatest king in the world? All together his horse +and dress are not worth twenty francs."[25] + +From the beginning of his reign, Louis XI. never lived very long in +any one place. He did not like the Louvre as a dwelling and had +the palace of the Tournelles arranged for him. Touraine became by +preference his residence, where he lived alternately at Amboise and +in his new château at Plessis-lès-Tours. But his sojourns were always +brief. He wanted to know everything, and he wandered everywhere to +see France and to seek knowledge. His letters, his accounts, the +chroniclers, the despatches of the Italian ambassador, show him on a +perpetual journey. + +He would set out at break of day with five or six intimates dressed in +grey cloth like pilgrims; archers and baggage followed at a distance. +He would forbid any one to follow him, and often ordered the gates of +the city he had left to be closed, or a bridge to be broken behind +him. Ambassadors ordered to see him without fail, sometimes had to +cross France to obtain an interview, at least if their object was +something in which he was not much interested. Then he would often +grant them an audience in some miserable little peasant hut. + +In the cities where he stopped he would lodge with a burgomaster or +some functionary. To avoid harangues and receptions he would often +arrive unannounced through a little alley. If forced to accept an +_entrée_ he stipulated that it should not be marked with magnificence. +There never was a prince who so disliked ceremonies, balls, banquets, +and tourneys. At his court young people were bored to death. He never +ordered festivals except for some visitor; his pleasures were those +of a simple private gentleman. He liked to dine out of his palace. +Cagnola relates with surprise that he had seen the king dine after +mass in a tavern on the market-place at Tours. He invited small nobles +and bourgeois to dine with him. He was intimate, too, with bourgeois +women, and indulged in gross pleasantries, speaking to and of women +without reserve, sparing neither sister, mother, nor queen. + +Yet it was a sombre court. "Farewell dames, citizens, demoiselles, +feasts, dances, jousts, and tournaments; farewell fair and gracious +maids, mundane pleasures, joys, and games," says Martial d'Auvergne. +Pompous magnificence may have reminded Louis unpleasantly of his visit +to Burgundy. + + +[Footnote 1: He had departed with Adolph de la Marck on November +19th.--_Archives du Nord_. See Du Fresne de Beaucourt, vi., 113. No +mention of this seems to appear elsewhere.] + +[Footnote 2: Chastellain (iii., 233) says that he heard the story from +the clerk of the chapel, sole witness of this family quarrel. The duke +was so angry that it was hideous to see him.] + +[Footnote 3: La Marche, ii., 418; Du Clercq, ii., 237; Chastellain, +iii., 230, etc. In the last the narrative is more elaborate. The +author dwells much on the danger to the young countess in her delicate +state of health.] + +[Footnote 4: "Thus there was much coming and going: and it was ordered +by Monseigneur le Dauphin that Monseigneur de Ravestein and the +king-at-arms of the Toison d'Or should go to Dendermonde to learn the +wishes of the Count of Charolais and his intentions, of which I am +entitled to speak for I was despatched several times to Brussels in +behalf of my said Seigneur of Charolais, to ask the advice of the +Chancellor Raulin as to the best method of conducting the present +affair"--(La Marche, ii., 419.)] + +[Footnote 5: La Marche, ii., 420. One of these, Guillaume Biche, went +to France and La Marche says that he himself often went to him to +obtain valuable information.] + +[Footnote 6: La Marche, ii., 418.] + +[Footnote 7: Du Clercq, ii., 239.] + +[Footnote 8: Chastellain, iii., 308.] + +[Footnote 9: Du Fresne de Beaucourt, vi., 123. Thierry de Vébry to the +Count de Vaudemart.] + +[Footnote 10: Du Fresne de Beaucourt, vi., 123.] + +[Footnote 11: _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_, ed. A.J.V. Le Roux. The +stories are, as a rule, only retold tales.] + +[Footnote 12: "The spectacle was not witnessed by Count Charolais +nor by Louis the Dauphin, nor by the Lord of Croy, whom for certain +reasons he was unwilling to take with him." (Meyer, P.322.)] + +[Footnote 13: Kervyn, _Hist. de Flandre_, v., 23. At this time Philip +was ignoring a peremptory summons to appear before the Parliament of +Paris.] + +[Footnote 14: Meyer, p. 321. + +[Footnote 15: Du Fresne de Beaucourt, vi., 267.] + +[Footnote 16: Report of an eye-witness. (Duclos, v., 195.)] + +[Footnote 17: Du Fresne de Beaucourt. vi., 326.] + +[Footnote 18: Lavisse, iv^{ii}, 321.] + +[Footnote 19: IV., 21.] + +[Footnote 20: Chastellain, iv., 45.] + +[Footnote 21: Chastellain was not present, but he says of Philip's +suite (iv., 47): "From what I have been told and what I have seen in +writing, it was a wonderful thing and its like had never been seen in +this kingdom."] + +[Footnote 22: "And I, myself, assert this for I was there and saw all +the nobles" (Chastellain, iv., 52).] + +[Footnote 23: When return presents were distributed to the nobles +Philip received a lion, Charles a pelican.] + +[Footnote 24: Chastellain, iv., 115.] + +[Footnote 25: Lavisse, iv^{ii}, 325.] + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +THE WAR OF PUBLIC WEAL + +1464-1465 + + +The era of good feeling between Louis XI. and his Burgundian kinsmen +was of short duration, and no wonder. The rich rewards confidently +expected as fitting recompense for five years' kindness more than +cousinly, towards a penniless refugee were not forthcoming. + +The king was lavish in fine words, and not chary in certain +ostentatious recognition towards his late host, but the fairly +munificent pension, together with the charge of Normandy settled upon +the Count of Charolais, proved only a periodical reminder of promises +as regularly unfulfilled on each recurring quarter day, while the post +of confidential adviser to the inexperienced monarch, which Philip had +intended to occupy, remained empty. + +Louis put perfect trust in no one but turned now to one counsellor, +now to another, and used such fragments of advice as pleased his whim +and paid no further heed to the giver. + +Not long after Louis's coronation there occurred that change in +Philip's bodily constitution that comes to all active men sooner or +later. His health began to give way, his energies relaxed, and matters +that had been of paramount importance throughout his career were +allowed to slip into the background of his desires. In the famous +treaty of 1435, no article was rated at greater importance than that +which placed the towns on the Somme in Philip's hands, subject to a +redemption of two hundred thousand gold crowns. Whether Charles VII. +had actually pledged himself that the mortgage should hold at least +during Philip's life does not seem assured, but that any sum would be +insufficient to induce the duke to release them unless his intellect +were somewhat deadened, is clear. + +In 1462, when he recovered from a sharp attack, possibly the result +of his indulgence in the pleasures of the table during the prolonged +festivities at Paris, he did not regain his previous vigour. This was +the time, by the way, when opportunity was afforded his courtiers to +prove that devotion to their seigneur outweighed personal vanity. When +his head was shaved by order of the court physician, more than five +hundred nobles sacrificed their own locks so that their becoming curls +might not remind their chief of his own bald head. The sacrifice was +not always voluntary, adds an informant.[1] Philip forced compliance +with this new fashion upon all who seemed reluctant to be +unnecessarily shorn of what beauty was theirs by nature's gift. This +servility may have consoled Philip for the deprivation of his hair. In +his depressed condition any solace was acceptable. + +It was just when the duke was in this enfeebled state that Louis, +through the mediation of the Croys, pushed forward his proposition to +redeem the towns and Philip agreed, possibly relying upon the chance +that it would be no easy matter for the French king to wring the +required sum from his impoverished land. Philip's assent was, however, +promptly clinched by a cash payment of half the amount[2]; the +remainder followed. + +Amiens, Abbeville, and the other towns, valuable bulwarks for the +Netherland provinces, fine nurseries for the human material requisite +for Burgundian armies, rich tax payers as they were, all tumbled into +the outstretched hands of the duke's wily rival. + +The transaction was hurried through and completed before a rumour of +its progress came to the ear of the interested heir. Charles was in +Holland sulking and indignant. He had expected good results from his +tender devotion during his father's acute illness, a devotion shared +by Isabella of Portugal who hastened to her husband's bedside from her +convent seclusion when Philip was in need of her ministrations. But, +in his convalescence, Philip renewed his friendship for the Croys +whom Charles continued to distrust with bitterness that varied in its +intensity, but which never vanished from his consciousness. The young +man felt misjudged, misused, and ever suspicious that personal danger +to himself lurked in the air of his father's court. + +The various rumours of plots against his life may not all have been +baseless. At last, one of own cousins, the Count of Nevers, was +accused of having recourse to diabolic means of doing away with the +duke's legitimate heir.[2] Three little waxen images were found in his +house, and it was alleged that he practised various magic arts withal +in order to win the favour of the duke and of the French king, and +still worse to cause Charles to waste away with a mysterious sickness. +The accusations were sufficient to make Nevers resign all his offices +in his kinsman's court and retire, post-haste, to France. Had he been +wholly innocent he would have demanded trial at the hands of his peers +of the Golden Fleece as behooved one of the order. But he withdrew +undefended, and left his tattered reputation fluttering raggedly in +the breeze of gossip. + +Charles stayed in Holland aloof from the ducal court until a fresh +incident drove him thither to give vent to his indignation. Only three +days had Philip de Commines been page to Duke Philip, then resident at +Lille, when an embassy headed by Morvilliers, Chancellor of France, +was given audience in the presence of the Burgundian court, including +the Count of Charolais. The future historian,[4] then nineteen years +old, was keenly alive to all that passed on that November fifth, 1464. +Morvilliers used very bitter terms in his assertion that Charles had +illegally stopped a little French ship of war and arrested a certain +bastard of Rubempré on the false charge that his errand in Holland, +where the incident occurred, was to seize and carry off Charles +himself. Moreover, one knight of Burgundy, Sir Olivier de La Marche +had caused this tale to be bruited everywhere, + + "especially at Bruges whither strangers of all nations resort. + This had hurt Louis deeply, and he now demanded through his + chancellor that Duke Philip should send this same Sir Olivier de + La Marche prisoner to Paris, there to be punished as the case + required. Whereupon, Duke Philip answered that the said Sir + Olivier was steward of his house, born in the County of Burgundy + and in no respect subject to the Crown of France." + +Philip added that if his servant had wrought ill to the king's honour +he, the duke, would see to his punishment. As to the bastard of +Rubempré, true it was that he had been apprehended in Holland,[5] but +there was adequate ground for his arrest as his behaviour had been +strange, at least so thought the Count of Charolais. Philip added that +if his son were suspicious + + "he took it not of him for he was never so, but of his mother + who had been the most jealous lady that ever lived. But + notwithstanding" [quoth he] "that myself never were supicious, yet + if I had been in my son's place at the same time that this bastard + of Rubempré haunted those coasts I would surely have caused him to + be apprehended as my son did." + +In conclusion, Philip promised to deliver up Rubempré to the king were +his innocence satisfactorily proven. + +Morvilliers then resumed his discourse, enlarging upon the treacherous +designs of Francis, Duke of Brittany, with whom Charles had lately +sworn brotherhood at the very moment when he was the honoured guest +of King Louis at Tours. During this discussion the Count of Charolais +became very restive. Finally he could no longer endure Morvilliers's +indirect slurs, and + + "made offer eftsoon to answer, being marvellously out of patience + to hear such reproachful speeches used of his friend and + confederate. But Morvilliers cut him off, saying: 'My Lord of + Charolais, I am not come of ambassage to you, but to my Lord your + father.' The said earl besought his father divers times to give + him leave to answer, who in the end said unto him: 'I have + answered for thee as methinketh the father should answer for the + son, notwithstanding if thou have so great desire to speak bethink + thyself to-day and to-morrow speak and spare not.'" + +Then Morvilliers to his former speech added that he could not imagine +what had moved the earl to enter into the league with the Duke of +Brittany unless it were because of a pension the king had once given +him together with the government of Normandy and afterwards taken from +him. + +In regard to Rubempré, Commines adds to his story Charles's own +statement given on the morrow: + +"Notwithstanding, I think nothing was ever proved against him, though +I confess the presumption to have been great. Five years after I +myself saw him delivered out of prison." This from Commines. La Marche +is less detailed in his record[6] of the Rubempré incident: + + "The bastard was put in prison and the Count of Charolais sent me + to Hesdin to the duke to inform him of the arrest and its cause. + The good duke heard my report kindly like a wise prince. In truth + he at once suspected that the craft of the King of France lurked + at the bottom of the affair. Shortly afterwards the duke left + Hesdin and returned to his own land, which did not please the King + of France who despatched thither a great embassy with the Count + d'Eu at the head. Demands were made that I should be delivered to + him to be punished as he would, because he claimed that I had been + the cause of the arrest of the bastard of Rubempré and also of the + duke's departure from Hesdin without saying adieu to the King of + France, but the good duke, moderate in all his actions, replied + that I was his subject and his servitor, and that if the king or + any one else had a grievance against me he would investigate it. + The matter was finally smoothed over [adds La Marche], and Louis + evinced a readiness to conciliate his offended cousin." + +In spite of La Marche, the matter proved to be one not easily disposed +of by soft phrases flung into the breach. Charles obeyed his father +and prepared in advance his defence to the chancellor. When he had +finished his own statement about Rubempré, he proceeded to the point +of his friendship with the Duke of Brittany, declaring that it was +right and proper and that if King Louis knew what was to the advantage +of the French sovereign, he would be glad to see his nobles welded +together as a bulwark to his throne. As to his pension, he had never +received but one quarter, nine thousand francs. He had made no suit +for the remainder nor for the government of Normandy. So long as he +enjoyed the favour and good will of his father he had no need to crave +favour of any man. + +"I think verily had it not been for the reverence he bore to his said +father who was there present" continues the observant page, "and to +whom he addressed his speech that he would have used much bitterer +terms. In the end, Duke Philip very wisely and humbly besought the +king not lightly to conceive an evil opinion of him or his son but to +continue his favour towards them. Then the banquet was brought in and +the ambassadors took their leave. As they passed out Charles stood +apart from his father and said to the archbishop of Narbonne, who +brought up the rear of the little company: + +"'Recommend me very humbly to the good grace of the king. Tell him he +has had me scolded here by the chancellor but that he shall repent it +before a year is past.'" His message was duly delivered and to this +incident Commines attributes momentous results. + +Exasperated at the nonchalant manner in which Louis's ambassadors +treated him, indignant at the injury to his heritage by the redemption +of the towns on the Somme, and further, already alienated from his +royal cousin through the long series of petty occasions where the +different natures of the two young men clashed, in this year 1464, +Charles was certainly more than ready to enter into an open contest +with the French monarch. It was not long before the opportunity came +for him to do so with a certain éclat. + +In the early years of his own freedom, before he learned wisdom, Louis +XI. had planted many seeds of enmity which brought forth a plentiful +crop, and the fruit was an open conspiracy among the nobles of the +land. + +One of the causes of loosening feudal ties was the gradual growth of +the body of standing troops instituted in 1439 by Charles VII. These, +in the regular pay of the crown, gave the king a guarantee of support +without the aid of his nobles. By the date of Louis's accession, +certain ducal houses besides that of Burgundy had grown very +independent within their own boundaries: Orleans, Anjou, Bourbon, not +to speak of Brittany.[7] Now the efforts to curtail the prerogatives +of these petty sovereigns, begun by Charles VII., were steady and +persistent in the new reign. They had no longer the power of coining +money, of levying troops, or of imposing taxes, while the judicial +authority of the crown had been extended little by little over France. +Then their privileges were further attacked by Louis's restrictions of +the chase. + +It was the accumulation of these invasions of local authority, added +to a real disbelief in the king's ability, that led to a formation of +a league among the nobles, designed to check the centralisation policy +of the monarch, a League of Public Weal to form a bulwark against the +tyrannical encroachments of their liege lord. + +Not to follow the steps of the growth of this coalition, it is +sufficient for the thread of this narrative to say that it comprised +all the great French nobles, the princes of the blood as well as +others. Men whom Louis had flattered as well as those whom he had +slighted alike fell from his standards, distrustful of his ability to +withstand organised opposition, and they threw in their lot with the +protestors so as not to miss their share of the spoil. + +The Count of Charolais, as already mentioned, was in a mood when +his ears were eagerly open to overtures from Louis's critics. The +redemption of the towns on the Somme he was unable to prevent, but the +affair left him very sore. Shortly after its completion, the count +did, indeed, succeed in depriving the Croys of their ascendency over +the Duke of Burgundy, but when that long desired victory was attained, +the towns had one and all accepted their transfer and were under +French sovereignty. When the count joined the league, the hope of +ultimate restoration was undoubtedly prominent among the motives for +his own course of action, though his intimacy with the chief leader of +the revolt, the Duke of Brittany, might easily have led to the same +result. + +Towards Francis of Brittany, Louis XI. had been especially wanting in +tact during the first months of his reign. The king treated him as a +vassal of France, while the duke held that he and his forbears owed +simple homage to the crown, not dependence. Therefore, in order to +resist being subordinated, the Duke of Brittany resolved not to leave +his estates except in a suitable manner. His messages to the king +were sent in all ceremony, he rendered proper homage, declared his +readiness to serve him as a kinsman and as a vassal for certain +territories, but demanded freedom to exercise his hereditary rights +and to enjoy his hereditary dignities.[8] + +"Rude and strange" were the terms employed by the king in response to +these statements, and then he proceeded to encroach still farther on +the duke's seigniorial rights by attempts to dispose of the hands of +Breton heiresses in unequal marriages, and to arrogate to himself +other rights--all sufficient provocation to justify Francis of +Brittany in becoming one of the chiefs in the league. Very delightful +is Chastellain's colloquy with himself[9] as to the difficulty of +maintaining perfect impartiality in discussing the cause of this +Franco-Burgundian war, but unfortunately the result of his patient +efforts is lost. + +Olivier de La Marche and Philip de Commines, however, were both +present in the Burgundian army and their stories are preserved. La +Marche had reason to remember the first actual engagement between the +royal and invading forces at Montl'héry, "because on that day I was +made knight." He does not say, as does Commines, that this battle was +against the king's desire. Louis had hoped to avoid any use of arms +and to coerce his rebellious nobles into quiescence by other methods. +Not that they characterised themselves as rebellious, far from it. +Clear and definite was their statement that in their obligation + + "to give order to the estate, the police and the government of the + kingdom, the princes of the blood as chief supports of the crown, + by whose advice and not by that of others, the business of the + king and of the state ought to be directed, are ready to risk + their persons and their property, and in this laudable endeavour + all virtuous citizens ought to aid."[10] + +Thus wrote Charles to the citizens of Amiens, and the words were +typical of similar appeals made in every quarter of the realm by the +various feudal chiefs to their respective subjects. In truth this war, +ostentatiously called that of the Public Weal, was but a struggle on +the part of the great nobles for local sovereignty. The weal demanded +was home rule for the feudal chiefs. The War of Public Weal was a +fierce protest against monarchical authority, against concentration. A +king indeed, but a king in leading strings was the ideal of the peers. + +Thus matters stood in June, 1465. Louis almost alone, deserted by his +brother the Duke of Berry, and his nobles banded together in apparent +unity, hedged in by their pompous and self-righteous assertions that +all their thoughts were for the poor oppressed people whose burdens +needed lightening. Of all the great vassals, Gaston de Foix was the +single one loyal to the king. + +The part of the great duke fell entirely to the share of the Count of +Charolais. A small force was levied for him within the Netherlands, +and he started for Paris where he hoped to meet contingents from the +two Burgundies and his brother peers of France with their own troops. +His men were good individually but they had not been trained to act as +one, and there was no coherence between the different companies. + +July, 1465, found Charles at St. Denis, the appointed rendezvous. He +was first in the field. While he awaited his allies, his little army +became restive at the situation in which they found themselves, fifty +leagues from Burgundian territory with no stronghold as their base. It +was urged again and again upon the count that his first consideration +ought to be his men's safety. His allies had failed him. He should +retreat. "I have crossed the Oise and the Marne and I will cross the +Seine if I have but a single page to follow me," was the leader's firm +reply to these demands. + +The leaguers were slow to keep their pledges, and Charles decided that +it was his mission to prevent Louis from entering his capital, to +which he was advancing with great rapidity from the south. To carry +out this purpose Charles disregarded all protests, crossed the Seine +at St. Cloud, and made his way to the little village of Longjumeau, +whither he was preceded by the Count of St. Pol, commanding one +division of the Burgundian army. Montl'héry was a village still +farther to the south, and here it was that La Marche and other +gentlemen were knighted. This ceremony was evidently part of the +count's endeavour to encourage his followers--all unwilling to risk an +engagement before the arrival of the allies. + +To the king it was of infinite advantage that no delay should occur. +Nevertheless, it was Charles who opened active hostilities on July +15th, with soldiers who had not broken their fast that day. Armed +since early dawn, wearied by a forced march with a July sun beating +down upon their heads, their movements hampered by standing wheat and +rye, the men were at a tremendous disadvantage when they were led to +the attack. It was a hot assault. No quarter was given, many fled. +At length, Louis found himself abandoned by all save his body-guard. +Pressed against the hill that bounded the grain fields, the king at +last retreated up its slope into a castle on its summit. + +Charles rode impetuously after the retreating royalists. Separated +from his men, he fell among the royal guard at the gate of the castle. +There was a vehement assault resisted as vehemently by his meagre +escort. Several fell and Charles himself received a sword wound on his +neck where his armour had slipped. Recognised by the French, he might +have been taken or slain in his resistance, when the Bastard of +Burgundy rode in and rescued him. Very desperate seemed the count's +condition. When night fell, no one knew where lay the advantage. The +fugitives spread rumours that the king was dead and that Charles was +in possession, others carried the reverse statements as they rode +headlong to the nearest safety. It was a rout on both sides with no +credit to either leader. But in the darkness of the night, the king +managed to slip out of his retreat and march quietly towards the +greater security of Paris. + +It was a very shadowy victory that Charles proudly claimed. All +through the night of July 15th, the Burgundians were discussing +whether to flee or to risk further fighting against the odds all +recognised. Daybreak found the council in session when a peasant +brought tidings that the foe had departed. The fires in sight only +covered their retreat. To be sure that same foe had taken Burgundian +baggage with them to Paris. But what of that? The Burgundians held the +battlefield and they made the best of it. + +On July 16th, Louis supped with the military governor of Paris and +"moved the company, nobles and ladies, to sympathetic tears by his +touching description of the perils he had met and escaped." Charles, +meanwhile, effected a junction with his belated allies, Francis of +Brittany and Charles of France, the Duke of Berry, at Étampes. Thither +too, came the dukes of Bourbon and of Lorraine, but none of these +leaguers could claim any share in the battle of Montl'héry. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF MONTL'HÉRY, JULY 16, 1465 (COMINES, ED. +LENGLET DU FRESNOY, 1.)] + +While these peers perfected their plans to force their chief into +redressing the wrongs of the poor people, the king was showing a very +pleasant side of his character to the Parisian citizens. In response +to a petition that he should take advice on the conduct of his +administration, he declared his perfect willingness to add to his +council six burgesses, six members of _parlement_, and the same number +from the university. Besides this concession, he relieved the weight +of the imposts and hastened to restore certain financial franchises to +the Church, to the university, and to various individuals. Three weeks +were consumed in establishing friendly relations in this all important +city, and then the king departed for Normandy to levy troops and to +collect provisions for a siege.[11] There was need for this last for +the allies had moved up to the immediate vicinity of Paris. + +Before the king's return to his capital on August 28th, a formidable +array was encamped at Charenton and its neighbourhood. More +formidable, however, they were in numbers than in strength. Like all +confederated bodies there was inherent weakness, for there was no +leader whom all would be willing to obey. The Duke of Berry, heir +presumptive to the throne, was the only one among the peers whose +birth might have commanded the needful authority, but he had not +sufficient personal character to assert his position. So the +confederates remained a loose aggregation of small armies. The longer +they remained in camp the weaker they grew, the more disintegrated. +A pitched battle might have been a great advantage to these gallant +defenders of the Public Weal of France and that was the last desire of +their antagonist. + +Many skirmishes took place between the Parisians and the leaguers, but +no engagement. Once, indeed, there were hurried preparations on the +part of the Burgundians to repulse an attack, of whose imminence they +were warned by a page before break of day, one misty morning. Yes, +there was no doubt. The pickets could see the erect spears and furled +banners of the enemy all ready to advance upon the unwary camp. Quick +were the preparations. There were no laggards. The Duke of Calabria +was more quickly armed than even the Count of Charolais. He came to a +spot where a number of Burgundians, the count's own household stood, +by the standard. Among them was Commines[l2] and he heard the duke +say: "We now have our desire, for the king is issued forth with his +whole force and marches towards us as our scouts report. Wherefore let +us determine to play the men. So soon as they be out of the town we +will enter and measure with the long ell." By these words he meant +that the soldiers would speedily have a chance to use their pikes as +yard sticks to measure out their share of the booty. False prophet +was the duke that time! When the daylight grew stronger, the upright +spears and furled banners of the advancing foe proved to be a mass of +thistles looming large in the magnifying morning mist! The princes +took their disappointment philosophically, enjoyed early mass, and +then had their breakfast. + +The young Commines is surprised that Paris and her environs were rich +enough to feed so many men. Gradually the aspect of affairs changed. +Negotiating back and forth became more frequent. The disintegration of +the allies became more and more evident. Louis XI. bided his time and +then took the extraordinary resolution to go in person to the camp at +Charenton to visit his cousin of Burgundy. With a very few attendants, +practically unguarded, he went down the Seine. His coming had been +heralded and the Count of Charolais stood ready to receive him, with +the Count of St. Pol at his side. "Brother, do you pledge me safety?" +(for the count's first wife was sister of Louis) to which the count +responded: "Yes, as one brother to another."[13] + +Nothing could have been more genial than was the king. He assured +Charles that he loved a man who kept his word beyond anything. + +Veracity was his passion. Charles had kept the promise he had sent by +the archbishop of Narbonne, and now he knew in very truth that he was +a gentleman and true to the blood of France. Further, he disavowed the +insolence of his chancellor towards Charles, and repeated that his +cousin had been justified in resenting it. "You have kept your promise +and that long before the day."[14] + +Then in a friendly promenade, Louis gave an opportunity to Charles and +St. Pol to state, informally, the terms on which they would withdraw +from their hostile footing, and count the weal restored to the +oppressed public whose sorrows had moved them to a confederation. + +Distasteful as was every item to Louis, he accepted the requisition of +those who felt that they were in a position to dictate, and after a +little more parleying at later dates, the treaty of Conflans was duly +arranged. It was none too soon for the allies. They could hardly have +held together many days longer in the midst of the jealousies rife in +their camps. + +The king paused at nothing. To his brother he gave Normandy, to +Charles of Burgundy the towns on the Somme with guarantee of +possession for his lifetime, while the Count of St. Pol was made +Constable of France. + +[Illustration: LOUIS XI. WITH THE PRINCES AND SEIGNEURS OF THE WAR +OF PUBLIC WEAL TAKEN FROM CONTEMPORANEOUS MINIATURE IN ABBEY OF ST. +GERMAIN DES PRÉS (COMINES-LENGLET, II., FRONTISPIECE)] + +Boulogne and Guienne, too, were ceded to Charles, lesser places and +pensions to the other confederates. The contest ended with complete +victory for the allies who were left with the proud consciousness +that they had set a definite limit to royal pretensions, at least, on +paper. + +After the treaty was signed, the king showed no resentment at his +defeat but urged his cousin to amuse himself a while in Paris before +returning home. Charles was rash, but he had not the temerity to trust +himself so far. Pleading a promise to his father to enter no city gate +until on paternal soil, he declined the invitation and soon returned +to the Netherlands, where his own household had suffered change. +During his absence, the Countess of Charolais had died and been buried +at Antwerp. Charles is repeatedly lauded for his perfect faithfulness +to his wife, but her death seems to have made singularly little ripple +on the surface of his life. The chroniclers touch on the event very +casually, laying more stress on the opportunity it gave Louis XI. +to offer his daughter Anne as her successor, than on the event +itself.[15] + + +[Footnote 1: La Marche, ii., 227. Peter von Hagenbach was the +chamberlain to enforce this.] + +[Footnote 2: The receipt for this half payment was signed October +8, 1462. (Comines, _Mémoires_, Lenglet du Fresnoy edition, ii., +392-403.)] + +[Footnote 3: Du Clercq, iii., 236; Comines-Lenglet, ii., 393.] + +[Footnote 4: Commines, _Mêmoires_ I., ch. i. In the above passages +Dannett's translation is followed for the racy English.] + +[Footnote 5: Commines says at The Hague; Meyer makes it Gorcum.] + +[Footnote 6: III., 3.] + +[Footnote 7: Lavisse iv^{ii}., 336.] + +[Footnote 8: Chastellain, v., i, etc.] + +[Footnote 9: V., II.] + +[Footnote 10: Letter of the Count of Charolais to the citizens of +Amiens. (_Collection de Documents inédits sur l'histoire de France_.) +"Mélanges," ii., 317. In this collection taken from MS. in the Bibl. +Nat. there are many letters private and public about these events.] + +[Footnote 11: Since its recovery from the English, there had been no +duke in Normandy. It was thus the one province open to the king.] + +[Footnote 12: I., ch. xi. His vivacious story of the siege should be +read in detail.] + +[Footnote 13: I., ch. xii.] + +[Footnote 14: Commines, I., ch. xii.] + +[Footnote 15: La Marche, iii., p. 27.] + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +LIEGE AND ITS FATE + +1465-1467 + + +"When we have finished here we shall make a fine beginning against +those villains the Liegeois." Thus wrote the count's secretary on +October 18th.[1] Charles had no desire to rest on the laurels won +before Paris. To another city he now turned his attention, to Liege +which owed nothing whatsoever to Burgundy. + +Before the days when the buried treasures of the soil filled the +air with smoke, the valley where Liege lies was a lovely spot.[2] +Tradition tells how, in the sixth century, Monulphe, Bishop of +Tongres, as he made a progress through his diocese was attracted by +the beauties of the site where a few hovels then clustered near the +Meuse. After looking down from the heights to the river's banks for +a brief space, the bishop turned to his followers and said, as if +uttering a prophecy: + +"Here is a place created by God for the salvation of many faithful +souls. One day a prosperous city shall flourish here. Here I will +build a chapel." Dedicated to Cosmo and Damian, the promised chapel +became a shrine which attracted many pilgrims who returned to their +various homes with glowing tales of the beautiful and fertile valley. +Little by little others came who did not leave, and by the seventh +century when Bishop Lambert sat in the see of Tongres, Liege was a +small town. + +An active and loving shepherd was this Lambert. He gave himself no +rest but travelled continually from one church to another in his +diocese to look after the needs of his flock. He was a fearless +prelate, too, and his words of well-deserved rebuke to the Frankish +Pepin for a lawless deed excited the wrath of a certain noble, +accessory to the act. Trouble ensued and Lambert was slain as he knelt +before the altar in Monulphe's chapel at Liege. Absorbed in prayer +the pious man did not hear the servants' calls, "Holy Lambert, Holy +Lambert come to our aid," words that later became a war-cry when the +bishop was exalted into the patron saint of the town. + +Not until the thirteenth century, however, when the episcopal see was +finally established at Liege, was Lambert's successor virtual lay +overlord of the region as well as Bishop of Liege. Monulphe's little +chapel had given way to a mighty church dedicated to the canonised +Bishop Lambert. The ecclesiastical state became almost autonomous, the +episcopal authority being restricted without the walls only by the +distant emperor and still more distant pope. Within the walls, the +same authority had by no means a perfectly free hand. There were +certain features in the constitution of Liege which differentiated it +from its sister towns in the Netherlands. + +Municipal affairs were conducted in a singularly democratic manner. +There was no distinction between the greater and lesser gilds, and, +within these organisations, the franchise was given to the most +ignorant apprentice had he only fulfilled the simple condition of +attaining his fifteenth year. Moreover, the naturalisation laws were +very easy. Newcomers were speedily transformed into citizens and +enjoyed eligibility to office as well as the franchise. The tenure of +office being for one year only, there was opportunity for frequent +participation in public affairs, an opportunity not neglected by the +community.[2] + +The bishop was, of course, not one of the civic officers chosen by +this liberal franchise. He was elected by the chapter of St. Lambert, +subject to papal and imperial ratification for the two spheres of his +jurisdiction. But in the exercise of his function there were many +restrictions to his free administration, which papal and imperial +sanction together were unable to remove. + +A bishop-prince of Liege could make no change in the laws without the +consent of the estates, and he could administer justice only by means +of the regular tribunals. Every edict had to be countersigned. When +there was an issue between overlord and people, the question was +submitted to the _schepens_ or superior judges who, before they gave +their opinion, consulted the various charters which had been granted +from time to time, and which were not allowed to become dead letters. +A permanent committee of the three orders supervised the executive and +the administration of the laws. These "twenty-two" received an appeal +from the meanest citizen, and the Liege proverb "In his own home the +poor man is king," was very near the possible truth. + +Yet the wheels of government were by no means perfect in their +running. Many were the conflicts between the different members of the +state, and broils, with the character of civil war in miniature, were +of frequent occurrence. The submergence of the aristocratic element, +the nobles, destroyed a natural balance of power between the +bishop-prince and the people. The commons exerted power beyond their +intelligence. Annual elections, party contests headed by rival +demagogues kept the capital, and, to a lesser extent, the smaller +towns of the little state in continuous commotion[4]. + +The ecclesiastical origin of the community was evident at all points +of daily life. The cathedral of St. Lambert was the pride of the city. +Its chapter, consisting of sixty canons, took the place held by the +aristocratic element in the other towns. + +In the cathedral, the holy standard of St. Lambert was suspended. At +the outbreak of war this was taken down and carried to the door by the +clergy in solemn procession. There it was unfurled and delivered to +the commander of the civic militia mounted on a snow-white steed. When +he received the precious charge he swore to defend it with his life. + +One object of popular veneration was this standard, another was the +_perron_, an emblem of the civic organisation. This was a pillar of +gilded bronze, its top representing a pineapple surmounted by a cross. +This stood on a pedestal in the centre of the square where was the +_violet_ or city hall. In front of the perron were proclaimed all the +ordinances issued by the magistrates, or the decrees adopted by the +people in general assembly. On these occasions the tocsin was rung, +the deans of the gilds would hasten out with their banners and plant +them near the perron as rallying points for the various gild members +who poured out from forge, work-shop, and factory until the square was +filled. + +There were two powerful weapons whereby the bishop-prince might +enforce his will in opposition to that of his subjects did the latter +become too obstreperous. He could suspend the court of the _schepens_, +and he could pronounce an interdict of the Church which caused the +cessation of all priestly functions. When this interdict was in +action, civil suits between burghers could be adjudged by the +municipal magistrates, but no criminals could be arrested or tried. +The elementary principles of an organised society were thrown into +confusion. Still worse confusion resulted from the bishop's last +resort as prince of the Church. An interdict caused the church bells +to be silent, the church doors to be closed. The celebration of the +rites of baptism, of marriage, of burial ceased.[5] The fear of such +cessation was potent in its restraint, unless the populace were too +far enraged to be moved by any consideration. + +While the Burgundian dukes extended their sway over one portion of +Netherland territory after another, this little dominion maintained +its complete independence of them. The fact that its princes were +elective protected it from lapsing through heritage to the duke who +had been so neatly proven heir to his divers childless kinsfolk. It +was a rich little vineyard without his pale. + +They were clever people those Liegeois. Their Walloon language is +a species of French with many peculiarities showing Frankish +admixture.[6] The race was probably a mixed one too, but its acquired +characteristics made a very different person from a Hollander, a +Frisian, or a Fleming, though there was a certain resemblance to the +latter. + +In 1465, not yet exploited were the wonderful resources of coal and +minerals which now glow above and below the furnace fires until, from +a distance, Liege looks like a very Inferno. But the people were +industrious and energetic in their crafts. It was a country of skilled +workmen. The city of Liege is accredited with one hundred thousand +inhabitants at this epoch, and the numbers reported slain in +the various battles in which the town was involved run into the +thousands.[7] + +In 1456, Philip of Burgundy, encouraged by his success in the diocese +of Utrecht, obtained a certain ascendency over the affairs of Liege by +interfering in the election of a bishop. There was no natural vacancy +at the moment. John of Heinsberg was the incumbent, a very pleasant +prelate with conciliatory ways. He loved amusement and gay society, +pleasures more easily obtainable in Philip's court than in his own, +and his agreeable host found means of persuading him to resign all the +cares of his see. Then the enterprising duke proceeded to place his +own nephew, Louis of Bourbon, upon the vacant episcopal throne. + +This nephew was an eighteen-year-old student at the University of +Louvain, destitute of a single qualification for the office proposed. +Nevertheless, all difficulties, technical and general were ignored, +and a papal dispensation enabled the candidate even to dispense with +the formality of taking orders. Attired in scarlet with a feathered +Burgundian cap on his head, Louis made his entry into his future +capital and was duly enthroned as bishop-prince in spite of his +manifest unfitness for the place. + +Nor did he prove a pleasant surprise to his people, better than the +promise of his youth, as some reckless princes have done. On the +contrary, ignorant, sensuous, extortionate, he was soon at drawn +swords with his subjects. After a time he withdrew to Huy where he +indulged in gross pleasures while he attempted to check the rebellious +citizens of his capital by trying some of the measures of coercion +used by his predecessors as a last resort. + +Liege was lashed into a state of fury. Matters dragged on for a long +time. The people appealed to Cologne, to the papal legate, to the +pope, and to the "pope better informed," but no redress was given. +Philip continued to protect the bishop, and none dared put themselves +in opposition to him. Finally, the people turned to Louis XI. for aid. +Their appeal was heard and the king's agent arrived in the city +just as one of the bishop's interdicts was about to be enforced, +an interdict, too, endorsed by a papal bull, threatening the usual +anathema if the provisions were not obeyed. + +It was the moment for a demagogue and one appeared in the person of +Raes de la Rivière, lord of Heers. On July 5, 1465, there was to be +unbroken silence in all sacred edifices. Heers and his followers +proclaimed that every priest who refused to chant should be thrown +into the river. Mass was said under those unpeaceful and unspiritual +conditions, and the presence of the French envoys gave new heart to +the bishop's opponents. A treaty was signed between the Liegeois +and Louis; wherein mutual pledges were made that no peace should be +concluded with Burgundy in which both parties were not included. It +was a solemn pledge but it did not hamper Louis when he signed the +treaty of Conflans whose articles contained not a single reference to +the Liegeois. + +Meanwhile, it chanced that the first report of the battle of +Montl'héry reaching Liege gave the victory to Louis, a report that +spurred on the Liegeois to carry their acts of open hostility to their +neighbour, still farther afield. The other towns of the Church state +were infected by an anti-Burgundian sentiment. In Dinant this feeling +was high, and there was, moreover, a manifestation of special +animosity against the Count of Charolais. A rabble marched out of the +city to the walls of Bouvignes, a town of Namur, loyal to Burgundy, +carrying a stuffed figure with a cow-bell round its neck. Certain +well-known emblems of Burgundy on a tattered mantle showed that this +represented Charles of Burgundy. With rude words the crowd declared +that they were going to hang the effigy as his master, the King of +France, had already hanged Count Charles in reality. Further, they +said that he was no count at all, but the son of their old bishop, +Heinsberg. They went so far as to suspend the effigy on a gallows and +then riddled it with arrows and left it dangling like a scarecrow in +sight of the citizens of Bouvignes.[8] + +The actual contents of the treaty made at Conflans did not reach Liege +until messages from Louis had assured them that he had been mindful of +their interests in making his own terms, assurances, however, coupled +with advice to make peace with their good friend the duke. But there +speedily came later information that the only mention of Liege in the +new treaty was an apology that Louis had ever made friends in that +city! + +The rebels lost heart at once. Without the king, they had no +confidence in their own efforts. Envoys were despatched to Philip who +refused to answer their humble requests for pardon until his son could +decide what punishment the principality deserved. Nor was much delay +to be anticipated before an answer would be forthcoming. Charles +hastened to Liege direct from Paris, not pausing even to greet his +father. By the third week of January, he was encamped between St. +Trond and Tongres, where a fresh deputation from Liege found him. +These envoys, between eighty and a hundred, were well armed chiefly +because they feared attacks from their anti-peace fellow-citizens.[9] + +They found Charles flushed by his recent achievement of bringing King +Louis to his way of thinking. His army, too, was a stronger body than +when it left the Netherlands. The troops were more skilled from +their experience and elated at what they counted their success; more +capable, too, of acting as one body under the guidance of a resolute +leader, now inclined to despise councils with free discussion. The +count's quick temper had gained him weight but it had made him feared. +The slightest breach of discipline brought a thunder-cloud on his +face. If we may believe one authority,[10] he himself was often so +lacking in discipline that he would strike an officer with a baton, +and once at least, he killed a soldier with his own hand. + +His audience with the envoys resulted in a treaty, of which certain +articles were so harsh that the messengers were insulted when the +report was made in Liege. Only eleven out of thirty-two gilds voted to +accept all the articles. A certain noble on pleasant terms with the +count offered to carry the unpopular document back to him to ask for a +modification of the harsh terms. + +By this time the weather was severe. Charles's troops were in need of +repose, and it seemed prudent to avoid hostility if possible. Charles +revoked the objectionable clauses in consideration of an increase of +the war indemnity. With this change the treaty was accepted, and a +Piteous Peace it was indeed for the proud folk of Liege. Instead +of owing allegiance to emperor and to pope alone as free imperial +citizens, they agreed to recognise the Burgundian dukes as hereditary +protectors of Liege. + +When it was desired, Burgundian troops could march freely across the +territory. Burgundian coins were declared valid at Burgundian values. +No Liege fortresses were to menace Burgundian marches, and unqualified +obedience was pledged to the new overlords. The same terms were +conceded to all the rebel towns alike except to Dinant. The story of +the personal insult to himself and his mother had reached the count's +ears and he was not inclined to ignore the circumstance. His further +action was, however, deferred. + +January 24, 1466, is the final date of the treaty[11] and, after its +conclusion, Charles ordered a review of his forces, a review that +almost culminated in a pitched battle between army and citizens of St. +Trond, and then on January 31st, the count returned to Brussels where +there was a great display of Burgundian etiquette before the duke +embraced his victorious son. + +Piteous as was the peace for Liege and the province at large, still +more piteous was the lot of Dinant which alone was excluded from the +participation in the treaty. Her fate remained uncertain for months. +Other affairs occupied the Count of Charolais until late in the summer +of 1466. Time had quickly proven that Louis, well freed from the +allies pressing up to the gates of Paris, was in very different temper +from Louis ill at ease under their strenuous demands. Not only had +he withdrawn his promises in regard to the duchy conferred on his +brother, but he had begun taking other measures, ostensibly to prepare +against a possible English invasion, which alarmed his cousin of +Burgundy for the undisturbed possession of his recently recovered +towns on the Somme. + +Excited by the rumours of Louis's purposes, Charles despatched the +following letter from Namur:[12] + + "MONSEIGNEUR: + + "I recommend myself very humbly to your good grace and beg to + inform you, Monseigneur, that recently I have been advised of + something very surprising to me, Moreover, I am now put beyond + doubt considering the source of my information. It is with much + regret that I communicate it to you when I remember all the good + words you have given to me this year, orally and in writing. + Monseigneur, it is evident that there has been some agreement + between your people and the English, and that the matter has been + so well worked that you have consented, as I have heard, to yield + them the land of Caux, Rouen, and the connecting villages, and to + aid them in withholding Abbeville and the county of Ponthieu, and + further, to cement with them certain alliances against me and my + country in making them large offers greatly to my prejudice and, + in order to complete the whole, they are to come to Dieppe. + + "Monseigneur, you may dispose of your own as you wish: but, + Monseigneur, in regard to what concerns me, it seems to me that + you would do better to leave my property in my hand than to be the + instrument of putting it into the hands of the English or of any + foreign nation. For this reason I entreat you, Monseigneur, that + if such overtures or greater ones have been opened by your people + that you will not commit yourself to them in any manner but will + insist on their cessation, and that you will do this in a way that + I may always have cause to remain your very humble servant as I + desire to do with all my heart. Above all, write to me your good + pleasure, and I implore you, Monseigneur, if there be any service + that I can render you, I am the one who would wish to employ all + that God has given me [to do it]. Written at Namur, August 16th. + + "Your very humble and obedient subject, + + "CHARLES." + +Then the count proceeded to Dinant to inflict the punishment that the +culprits had, to his mind, too long escaped. + +Commines calls this a strong and rich town, superior even to +Liege.[13] A comparison of the two sites shows, however, that this +statement could hardly have been true at any time. Dinant lies in a +narrow space between the Meuse and high land. A lofty rock at one +end of the town dominating the river is crowned by a fortress most +picturesque in appearance. It is difficult to estimate how many +inhabitants there actually were in the place in 1466, but there is +no doubt as to their energy and character. As mentioned before, the +artisans had acquired a high degree of skill in their specialty, and +their brass work was renowned far and wide. Pots and pans and other +utensils were known as _Dinanderies_. + +The traffic in them was so important that Dinant had had her own +commercial relations with England for a long period. Her merchants +enjoyed the same privileges in London as the members of the Hanseatic +League, and an English company was held in high respect at Dinant.[14] +The brass-founders' gild ranked at Dinant as the drapers at Louvain, +and the weavers at Ghent. As a "great gild they formed a middle class +between the lower gilds and the _bourgeois_," the merchants and richer +folk.[15] In municipal matters each of these three classes had a +separate vote. + +As it happened, Dinant had not been very ready to open hostilities +against the House of Burgundy though she was equally critical of Louis +of Bourbon in his episcopal misrule. It was undoubtedly her rivalry +with Bouvignes of Namur that brought her into the strife. That +neighbour had taunted her rival to exasperation, and the fact that +it was safe under the Duke of Burgundy and backed by him as Count of +Namur, had brought a Burgundian element into the local contest. + +The incidents of the insult to Charles and the aspersion on his +mother's reputation undoubtedly were due to an irresponsible rabble +rather than to any action that could properly be attributed to the +leading men. Further, it really seems probable that the weight +attached to the insulting act never occurred to the respectable +burghers until they heard of it from others, so insignificant were the +participants in it. + +As soon as it was realised that serious consequences might result +from reckless folly, the authorities were quite ready to separate +themselves from the event, and to arrest the culprits as common +malefactors. Once, indeed, the prisoners were temporarily rescued by +their friends, and it seemed to Burgundian sympathisers a suspicious +circumstance that this happened just at a moment when there was +renewed hope for help from Louis XI. When convinced that such hopes +were vain, the magistrates became seriously alarmed and ready to go +to any lengths to avert Burgundian vengeance. Finally the following +letter was despatched to the Duke of Burgundy:[16] + + "The poor, humble and obedient servants and subjects of the most + reverend father in God, Louis of Bourbon, Bishop of Liege; and + your petty neighbours and borderers, the burgomaster's council and + folk of Dinant, humbly declare that it has come to their knowledge + that the wrath of your grace has been aroused against the town on + account of certain ill words spoken by some of the inhabitants + thereof, in contempt of your honourable person. The city is as + displeased about these words as it is possible to be, and far from + wishing to excuse the culprits has arrested as many as could be + found and now holds them in durance awaiting any punishment your + _grace_ may decree. As heartily and as lovingly as possible do + your petitioners beseech your grace to permit your anger to be + appeased, holding the people of Dinant exonerated, and resting + satisfied with the punishment of the guilty, inasmuch as the + people are bitterly grieved on account of the insults and have, as + before stated, arrested the culprits." + +With further apologies for any failure of duty towards the Duke of +Burgundy, the petitioners humbly begged to be granted the same terms +that Liege and the other towns had received. March 31st is the date +of this humble document. Months of doubt followed before the terrible +experience of August proved the futility of their pleas, to which the +ducal family refused to listen, so deep was their sense of personal +aggrievement. Long as it was since the duchess had taken part in +public affairs, she, too, had a word to say here. And she, too, was +implacable against the town where any citizen had dared accuse her of +infidelity to her husband and to the Church whose interests were more +to her than anything in the world except her son.[17] + +The petition was as unheeded as were all the representations of the +would-be mediators. Again Dinant turned in desperation to Louis XI. +and with assurances that after God his royal majesty was their only +hope, besought him from mere charity and pity to persuade his cousin +of Burgundy to forgive them. Apparently Louis took no notice of this +appeal. Dinant's last hope was that her fellow-communes of Liege would +refuse to ratify the treaty unless she, too, were included. The sole +concession, obtained by their envoys to Charles in the winter, had +been a short truce afterwards extended to May, 1466. + +During that summer the critical position of the little town was well +known. Some sympathisers offered aid but it was aid that there was +possible danger in accepting. Many of the outlaws from Liege, who had +been expressly excluded from the terms of the peace, had joined the +ranks of a certain free lance company called "The Companions of the +Green Tent," as their only shelter was the interlaced branches of the +forest. To Dinant came this band to aid in her defence.[18] At one +time it seemed as though a peaceful accommodation might be reached but +it fell through. Not yet were the citizens ready to surrender their +charters--"Franchises,--to the rescue," was a frequent cry and no +treaty was made. + +Philip, long inactive, resolved to assist at the reduction of this +place in person. Too feeble to ride, he was carried to the Meuse in a +litter, and arrived at Namur on August 14th. Then attended by a small +escort only, he proceeded to Bouvignes, a splendid vantage point +whence he could command a view of the scene of his son's intended +operations. As the crisis became imminent there were a few further +efforts to effect a reconciliation. When these failed, the town +prepared to meet the worst.[19] Stories gravely related by Du +Clercq[20] represent the people of Dinant goaded to actual fury of +resistance. + +By August 7th, the Burgundian troops made their appearance, winding +down to the river. Conspicuous among the standards--and nobles from +all Philip's dominions were in evidence--was the banner of the Count +of Charolais, displaying St. George slaying the dragon. + +On Tuesday, August 19th, Dinant was invested and the siege began. +Within the walls the most turbulent element had gained complete +control of affairs. All thought of prudence was thrown to the winds. +From the walls they hurled words at the foe: + +"Is your old doll of a duke tired of life that you have brought him +here to perish?[21] Your Count Charlotel is a green sprout. Bid him +go fight the King of France at Montl'hêry. If he waits for the noble +Louis or the Liegeois he will have to take to his heels," etc. + +It was a heavy siege and the town was riddled with cannon-balls but +there was no assault. By the sixth day the magistrates determined +to send their keys to the Count of Charolais and beg for mercy. The +captain of the great gild of coppersmiths, Jean de Guérin, tried to +encourage the faint-hearted to protest openly against this procedure. +Seizing the city colours he declared: "I will trust to no humane +sentiment. I am ready to carry this flag to the breach and to live or +die with you. If you surrender, I will quit the town before the foe +enter it." It was too late, the capitulation was made. + +When the keys were brought to Charles he remembered that he was not +yet duke and ordered them presented to his father in his stead, and to +his half-brother Anthony was entrusted the task of formally accepting +the surrender. + +It was late in the evening when the Bastard of Burgundy marched in. At +first he held the incoming troops well under control, but the stores +of wine were easy to reach, and by the morning there were wild scenes +of disorder. When Charles arrived, however, on the morrow, Tuesday, +just a week after the beginning of the siege, lawlessness was checked +with a strong hand. Any ill treatment of women was peculiarly +repugnant to him, and he did not hesitate to execute the sternest +justice upon offenders.[22] + +[Illustration: ANTHONY OF BURGUNDY AFTER HANS MEMLING. DRESDEN +GALLERY] + +His entry into the fallen town was made with all the wonted Burgundian +pomp. Nothing in the proceedings occurred in a headlong or passionate +manner. A council of war was held and the proceedings decided upon. +The cruelty that was exercised was used in deliberate punishment, +not in savage lawlessness. The personal insults to his mother and to +himself rankled in the count's mind. As one author remarks[23] with +undoubted reason, it is not likely that any of those responsible for +the insult were among those punished. After the siege, "pitiable it +was to see, for the innocent suffered and the guilty escaped." + +Certain rich citizens bought their lives with large sums, others _were +sold as slaves,_[24] or were hanged or beheaded, or were thrown into +the Meuse.[25] In the monasteries, life was conceded to the inmates +but that was all. All their property was confiscated. The Count of St. +Pol, now Constable of France, tried to intercede for the citizens with +Philip who remained at Bouvignes, but to no result. It might have been +chance or it might have been intentional that at last flames completed +the work of destruction. The abode of Adolph of Cleves, at the corner +of Nôtre Dame, was found to be on fire at about one o'clock in the +morning of Thursday, August 28th. + +That Charles was responsible for this conflagration Du Clercq thinks +is incredible.[26] He would certainly have saved all ecclesiastical +property which was almost completely consumed. Indeed, Charles gave +orders to extinguish the flames as soon as they were discovered, but +every one was so occupied with saving his own portion of booty that +nothing was accomplished and the town-hall caught fire and the church +of Nôtre Dame. From the latter some ornaments and treasures were saved +and the bones of Ste. Perpète, with other holy relics, were rescued by +Charles himself at risk to his own life. + + "It was never known how the fire originated. Some say it was + due to a defective flue. To my mind," [concludes the pious + historian],[27] "it was the Divine Will that Dinant should be + destroyed on account of the pride and ill deeds of the people. I + trust to God who knows all. The duke's people alone lost more than + a hundred thousand crowns' value." + +_Cy fust Dinant_, "Dinant was," is the sum of his description, four +days after the conflagration.[28] + +On September 1st, Philip, who had remained at Bouvignes while all this +passed under the direction of Charles, took boat and sailed down to +Namur. It was almost a triumph,--that trip that proved one of the last +ever made by the proud duke--and the procession on the river and the +entry into Namur were closed by a humble embassy from Liege in regard +to certain points of their peace. + +Du Clercq gravely relates, by the way, that the Count of St. Pol's men +had had no part in the plunder of Dinant. This was hard on the +poor fellows. Therefore, Philip turned over to their mercies, as a +compensation for this deprivation, the little town of Tuin, which had +been rebellious and then submitted. Tuin accepted its fate, submitted +to St. Pol, and then compounded the right of pillage for a round sum +of money. Moreover, they promised to lay low their gates and their +walls and those of St. Trond. In this way, it is said that the +constable made ten thousand Rhenish florins. Still both he and his men +felt ill-compensated for the loss of the booty of Dinant. + +Charles continued a kind of harassing warfare on the various towns of +Liege territory. The people of Liege themselves seem to have varied +in their humour towards Charles, sometimes being very humble in their +petitions for peace and again very insolent. As a rule, this conduct +seems to be traceable to their hope of Louis's support. On September +7th, there was one pitched battle where victory decided the final +terms of the general peace, and after various skirmishes and +submissions, Charles disbanded his troops for the winter and joined +his father at Brussels. + + +[Footnote 1: _Doc. inédits sur l'hist. de France_. "Mélanges," ii., +398.] + +[Footnote 2: Polain, _Récits historiques sur l'ancien pays de Liège_, +I, etc.] + +[Footnote 3: See Kirk, _Charles the Bold_, i., 329.] + +[Footnote 4: Jacques de Hemricourt suggested four chief points of +difficulty in Liege government: + +1. The size of the council--two hundred, where twenty would do. + +2. The equal voice granted to all gilds without regard to size, when +all were assembled by the council to vote on a matter. + +3. Extension of franchise to youths of fifteen. + +4. Facile naturalisation laws. (_See_ Kirk, i., 325.)] + +[Footnote 5: In many cases when the interdict was imposed, it is +probable that it was only partially operative.] + +[Footnote 6: See Victor Hugo, _Le Rhin_, i. The Walloon dialect varies +greatly between the towns. Here are a few words of the "Prodigal Son" +as they are written in Liege, Huy, and Lille: + +LIEGE. Jésus lizi d'ha co: In homme aveut deux fis. Li pus jone dérit +à s'père: père dinnez-m'con qui m'dent riv' ni di vosse bin; et l'père +lezi partagea s'bin. + +HUY. Jésus l'zi d'ha co: Eun homme avut deux fis. Li peus jone dérit a +s'père etc. + +LILLE. Jesus leu dit incore: un homme avot deux garchens. L'pus jeune +dit à sin père-mon père donez me ch que j'dor recouvre d'vo bien; et +l'père leu-z-a doné a chacun leu parchen. + +See also _Doc. inédits concernant l'hist. de la Belgique_, ii., 238, +for comment on Scott's treatment of the language.] + +[Footnote 7: The numbers are probably exaggerated. To-day it contains +about two hundred thousand.] + +[Footnote 8: Du Clercq, iv., 203.] + +[Footnote 9: Du Clercq, iv., 249.] + +[Footnote 10: Du Clercq, iv., 239-262.] + +[Footnote 11: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., ii., 285, 322. For letters and +negotiations anterior to this peace see p. 197 _et seq_.] + +[Footnote 12: Duclos, v., 236.] + +[Footnote 13: Book ii., ch. i. To-day there are only about eight +thousand inhabitants.] + +[Footnote 14: In addition to Commines and Du Clercq _see also_ Kirk, +i., 385, for quotations from Borgnet and others.] + +[Footnote 15: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., i., 213, _et passim_.] + +[Footnote 16: Gachard, _Doc. inéd.,_ ii., 350.] + +[Footnote 17: Est falme commune que tres haute princesse la ducesse +de Bourgogne, à cause desdictes injures at conclut telle hayne sur +cestedite ville de Dinant qu'elle a juré comme on dist que s'il li +devoit couster tout son vaellant, fera ruynner cestedite ville en +mettant toutes personnes à l'espée. (Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., ii., +222.)] + +[Footnote 18: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., ii., 337, _et passim_.] + +[Footnote 19: Du Clercq, iv., 273.] + +[Footnote 20: He says messengers were put to death without regard to +their sacred office, even a little child being torn limb from limb. +Priests were thrown into the river for refusing to say mass, and the +situation was strained to the last degree.] + +[Footnote 21: _Qui a mandé ce vieil monnart vostre duc_, etc.] + +[Footnote 22: Du Clercq, iv., 278.] + +[Footnote 23: De Ram, _Documents relatifs aux troubles du pays de +Liége,_ "Henricus de Merica," p. 159.] + +[Footnote 24: Vel vendebantur in servos. See De Ram _et passim_ for +documents.] + +[Footnote 25: It seems to be well attested that the prisoners were +tied together and drowned.] + +[Footnote 26: Du Clercq, iv., 280.] + +[Footnote 27: _Ibid._, 281.] + +[Footnote 28: In 1472, a new church was erected "on the spot formerly +called Dinant" and after that, little by little, the town came to +life. (Gachard, _Analectes Belgiques_, 318, etc.).] + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +THE NEW DUKE + +1467 + + +The Good Duke's journey to Bouvignes where he witnessed the manner in +which his authority was vindicated was his last effort. In the early +summer following, on Friday, June 10th, Philip, then at Bruges, was +taken ill and died on the following Monday, June 13th, between nine +and ten in the evening.[1] Charles was summoned on the Sunday, and it +seemed as though his horse's hoofs hardly struck the pavement as he +rode, so swift was his course on the way to Bruges. + +When he reached the house where his father lay dying, he was told that +speech had already ceased, but that there was still life. The count +threw himself on his knees by the bedside, weeping in all tenderness, +and implored a paternal benediction and pardon for all wherein he had +offended his father. Near the duke stood his confessor who begged the +dying man to make a sign if he could still understand what was said +to him. On this admonition and in reply to his son's prayers, Philip +turned his eyes to Charles, looked at him and pressed the hand which +was laid upon his own, but further token was beyond his strength. The +count stayed by his side until he breathed his last. + +Thus ended the life of a man who had been a striking figure in Europe +for forty years. His most fervent dream, indeed, had never been +fulfilled. All his pompous vows to wrest the Holy Land from the +invading Turks had proved vain. Many years had passed since he had +had military success of any kind, and even in his earlier life his +successes had been owing to diplomacy and to a happy conjunction +of circumstances rather than to skilful generalship. He possessed +pre-eminently the power of personality. + +When Duke John of Burgundy fell on the bridge at Montereau and Philip +came into his heritage, Henry V. of England was in the full flush of +his prosperity, standing triumphant over England and France, and in a +position to make good his claim with three stalwart brothers to back +him. All these young men had died prematurely. Their only descendant +was Henry VI., and that meagre and wretched representative of the +ambitious Henry V. had had no spark of the character of his father and +uncles. The one vigorous element in his life was his wife, Margaret +of Anjou, who diligently exerted herself to keep her husband on his +throne. In vain were her efforts. By 1467, Edward of York was on that +throne. Gone, too, was Charles VII., whose father's acts had clouded +his early, whose son darkened his latter years. + +Out of his group of contemporaries, Duke Philip alone had marched +steadily to every desired goal. His epitaph gave a fairly accurate +list of his achievements in doggerel verses: + + "John was born of Philip, child of good King John. + To that John, I, Philip, was born his eldest son. + Flanders, Artois, and Burgundy his will bequeathed to me + Therein to follow him and rule them legally. + With Holland, Zealand, Hainaut, my own realm greater grew. + Luxemburg, Brabant, Namur soon were added too. + The Liegeois and the German my lawful rights defied, + By force of right and arms they have been pacified. + At one single time against me were maintained + French, English, German forces,--nothing have they gained. + Against King Charles the Seventh, I warred in great array. + From me he begged a peace and king was from that day! + The mighty conflicts that I fought in all are numbered seven. + Not once was I defeated. To God the praise be given. + Time and time again Liege and Ghent revolted, + But I put them down. I would not be insulted. + In Barrois and Lorraine, King René warred upon me. + Of Sicily erst king, captivity soon won he. + Louis, son of Charles, depressed and refugee, + From me received his crown. Five years my guest was he. + Edward, Duke of York, fled, wretched, to my land; + That now he's England's king is due my aid and hand. + To defend the Church, which is the House Divine, + The Golden Fleece was founded, that great order mine. + Christian faith to succour in vigour and in strength, + My galleys sailed the sea in all its dreary length. + In later days I planned and most sincerely meant + To take the field myself, but Death did that prevent. + When Eugene the Pope by the council was disdained, + Through my control alone as Pope was he retained. + In 1467, Time my goal has set. + When I am seventy-one, I pay Dame Nature's debt. + With father and grandfather, I now lie buried here. + As in life I ever was their equal and their peer. + Good Jesu was my guide in every word and deed, + Beseech him every one that Heaven be my meed!" + +The territories thus named, that passed to the new duke, covered +a goodly space of earth. Had Philip not slacked his ambition at a +critical time, undoubtedly he could have left a royal rather than a +ducal crown to his son. He did not so will it, and, moreover, in a +way he had receded from his independence as he had accepted feudal +obligations towards Louis XI. which he never had towards Charles VII. + +Lured by the hope of becoming prime adviser of the French king, he had +emphasised his position as first peer of France. Thus it was as Duke +of Burgundy _par excellence_ that Philip died, as the typical peer +whose luxury and magnificence far surpassed the state possible to his +acknowledged liege. To his son was bequeathed the task of attempting +to turn that ducal state into state royal, and of establishing a realm +which should hold the balance of power between France and Germany. + +There was no doubt in Charles's mind as to which was the greater, the +cleverer, the more powerful of the two, Louis the king and Charles the +duke. Had not the former been a beggarly suppliant at his father's +gates, as dauphin? As king, had he not been forced to yield at the +gates of his own capital to every demand made by Charles, standing as +the conscientious representative of the public welfare of France? + +Had not Louis befriended the contumelious neighbour of Charles, only +to learn that his Burgundian cousin could and would deal summarily +with all protests against his authority among the lesser folk on +Netherland territory? + +The Croys made an attempt to gain the new duke's friendship, as +appears from this letter to Duke Charles: + + "Our very excellent lord, we have heard that it has pleased Our + Lord to take to Himself and to withdraw from the world the good + Duke Philip, our beloved lord and father, prince of glorious + memory, august duke, most Christian champion of the faith, patron + and pattern of the virtues and honours of Christianity, and the + dread of infidel lands. By his valorous deeds, he has won an + immortal name among living men, and deserves to our mind to find + grace before the merciful bounty of God whom we implore to pardon + his faults. + + "Alas! our most doughty seigneur, thus dolorous death shows what + is to be expected by all mortals. How many lands, how many nobles, + how many peoples, how many treasures, and how many powers would + have been ready to prevent what has come to pass, and how many + prayers would have risen to God could He have prevented this + death!... + + "Death is inevitable, and the death of the good is the end of all + evils and the beginning of all benefits, but still your loss + and ours cannot pass without affliction. Nevertheless, our most + puissant lord, when we consider that we are not left orphans, and + that you, his only son, remain to fill his place, this is a cause + for comfort. + + * * * * * + + "We implore you to be pleased to count us your loyal subjects + and very humble servitors and to permit us to go to you, to thus + declare ourselves, etc. + + "A. DE CROY, "J. DE CROY." + +At the time of the duke's death, Olivier de La Marche was in England, +whither he had accompanied the Bastard of Burgundy on a mission to +King Edward.[2] Right royally had the latter received the embassy. + + "Clad in purple, the garter on his leg and a great baton in his + hand, he seemed, indeed, a personage worthy of being king, for he + was a fine prince with a grand manner. A count held the sword + in front of him, and around his throne were from twenty to + twenty-five old councillors, white-haired and looking like + senators gathered together to advise their master." + +Thus appeared Edward on the occasion of a tourney given in honour +of the embassy which La Marche proceeds to describe in detail. The +Bastard of Burgundy, wearing the Burgundian coat-of-arms with a bar +sinister, made a fine record for himself. + +After the tournament he invited the ladies to a Sunday dinner, + + "especially the Queen and her sisters and made great preparations + therefor and then we departed, Thomas de Loreille, Bailiff of + Caux, and I to go to Brittany to accomplish our embassy. We + arrived at Pleume and were obliged to await wind and boats to + go into Brittany. While there, came the news that the Duke of + Burgundy was dead. You may believe how great was the bastard's + mourning when he heard of his father's death, and how the nobility + who were with him mourned too. Their pleasures were melted into + tears and lamentations for he died like a prince in all valour. + + "In his life he accomplished two things to the full. One was he + died as the richest prince of his time, for he left four hundred + thousand crowns of gold cash, seventy-two thousand marks of silver + plate, without counting rich tapestries, rings, gold dishes + garnished with precious stones, a large and well equipped library, + and rich furniture. For the second, he died as the most liberal + duke of his time. He married his nieces at his own expense; he + bore the whole cost of great wars several times. At his own + expense, he refitted the church and chapel at Jerusalem. He gave + ten thousand crowns to build the tower of Burgundy at Rhodes; ... + No one went from him who was not well recompensed. The state + he maintained was almost royal. For five years he supported + Monseigneur the Dauphin, and was a prince so renowned that all the + world spoke well of him." + +The Bastard of Burgundy took leave of the English court and hastened +to Bruges to join his brother, the Count of Charolais, who received +him warmly. "Henceforth," explains Olivier, "when I mention the said +count I will call him the Duke of Burgundy as is reasonable." + +Solemnly was the prince's body carried into the church of St. Donat +in Bruges, there to repose until it could be taken to Burgundy to be +buried at Dijon with his ancestors. La Marche dismisses the funeral +with a brief phrase as he was not himself present at Bruges, being +busied in Brittany. There was a memorial service there, the finest +he ever saw. The arms of Burgundy were inserted in the chapel +decorations, not merely pinned on,[2] a fact that impressed the +chronicler. No nobles, not even those from Flanders, were permitted to +put on mourning. The Duke of Brittany declared that none but him was +worthy of the honour for so high a prince. + + "So he alone wore mourning. At the end of the service I went to + thank him for the reverence he had shown the House of Burgundy, + and he responded that he had only done his duty. Then I finished + my business as quickly as I could and crossed the sea again and + returned to my new master." + +In his treatise on the eminent deeds of the Duke of Burgundy,[4] +Chastellain recounts, more at length than La Marche, all that his +great master had accomplished. Then he proceeds to describe the duke +as he knew him. + + He was medium in height, rather slight but straight as a rush, + strong in hip and in arm, his figure well-knit. His neck was + admirably proportioned to his body, his hand and foot were + slender, he had more bone than flesh, but his veins were + full-blooded. Like all his ancestors, his face was long, as was + his nose, his forehead high. His complexion was brunette, his hair + brownish, soft, and straight, his beard and eye-brows the same + colour, but the former curly, the latter were bushy and inclined + to stand up like horns when he was angry. His mouth was + well-proportioned, his lips full and high-coloured; his eyes were + grey, sometimes arrogant but usually amiable in expression. + His personality corresponded perfectly to his appearance. His + countenance showed his character, and his character was a witness + to the truth of his physiognomy. Nothing was contradictory, + perfect was the harmony between the inner and the outer man, + between the nobility of thought and the simple dignity, + well-poised and graceful. Among the great ones of this earth, he + was like a star in heaven. Every line proclaimed "I am a prince + and a man unique." + + It was for his bearing rather than his beauty that he commanded + universal admiration. In a stable he would have looked like an + image in a temple. In a hall he was the decoration. Whereever his + body was, there, too, was his spirit, ready for the demands of the + hour. He was singularly joyous and nicely tempered in speech with + so much personal magnetism that he could mollify any enemy if he + could only meet him face to face. His dress was always rich and + appropriate. He was skilful in horsemanship, in archery, and in + tennis, but his chief amusement was the chase. He liked to linger + at the table and demanded good serving but was really moderate in + his tastes, as often he neglected pheasant for a bit of Mayence + ham or salted beef. Oaths and abuse were never heard from him. To + all alike his speech was courteous even when there was nothing to + be gained. + + "Never, I assert, did falsehood pass his lips, his mouth was equal + to his seal and his spoken word to his written. Loyal as fine gold + and whole as an egg." Chastellain repeats himself somewhat in + the profusion of his eulogy, but such are the main points of his + characterisation. Then he proceeds to some qualifications: + + "In order to avoid the charge of flattery, I acknowledge that he + had faults. None is perfect except God. Often he was very careless + in administration, and he neglected questions of justice, of + finance, and of commerce in a way that may redound to the injury + of his house. The excuse urged is that it was his deputies who + were at fault. The answer to that is that he trusted too much to + deputies and should not be excused for his confidence. A ruler + ought to understand his business himself. + + "Also he had the vices of the flesh. He pleased his heart at the + desire of his eyes. At the desire of his heart he multiplied his + pleasures. His wishes were easy to attain. What he wanted was + offered freely. He neglected the virtuous and holy lady his wife, + a Christian saint, chaste and charitable. For this I offer no + excuse. To God I leave the cause. + + "Another fault was that he was not wise in his treatment of his + nobles. Especially in his old age he often preferred the less + worthy, the less capable advisers. The answer to this charge is + that, as his health failed, whoever was by his side obtained + ascendency over him and succeeded in keeping the others at a + distance. Ergo, theirs is the malice and the excuse is to the + princely invalid. In his solitude even valets used their power, as + is not wonderful. + + "He went late to mass and often out of hours. Sometimes he had + it celebrated at two o'clock or even three, and in so doing he + exceeded all Christian observance. For this there is no excuse + that I dare allege. I leave it to the judgment of God. He had, + indeed, obtained dispensation from the pope for causes which he + explained, _and he only_ is responsible. God alone can judge about + him. + + "It would be a dreadful shame if his soul suffered for this + neglect in lifetime. Earth would not suffice to deplore, nor the + nature of man to lament the perdition of such a soul and of such a + prince. Hell is not worthy of him nor good enough to lodge him. 0 + God, who rescued Trajan from Hades for a single virtuous act, do + not suffer this man to descend therein!" + +Having thus tried his best to give a vivid description of the father's +personality, while acknowledging that he is not sure of the fate of +his soul, the chronicler decides that it would be an excellent moment +to paint the son, too, for all time, in view of his mortality. "I will +use the past tense so that my words may be good for always." + +Duke Charles was shorter and stouter than Duke Philip, but well +formed, strong in arm and thigh. His shoulders were rather thick-set +and a trifle stooping, but his body was well adapted to activity. +The contour of his face was rounder than that of his father, his +complexion brunette. His eyes were black and laughing, angelically +clear. When he was sunk in thought it seemed as though his father +looked out of them. Like his father's mouth was his, full and red. His +nose was pronounced, his beard brown, and his hair black. His forehead +was fine, his neck white and well set, though always bent as he +walked. He certainly was not as straight as Philip, but nevertheless +he was a fine prince with a fair outer man. + +When he began to speak he often found difficulty in expressing +himself, but once started his speech became fluent, even eloquent. +His voice was fine and clear, but he could not sing, although he had +studied the technique and was fond of music. In conversation he was +more logical than his father, but very tenacious of his own opinion +and vehement in its expression, although, at the bottom, he was just +to all men. + +In council he was keen, subtle, and ready. He listened to others' +arguments judicially and gave them due weight before his own concluded +the discussion. He was attentive to his own business to a fault, for +he was rather more industrious than became a prince. Economical of his +own time, he demanded conscience of his subordinates and worked them +very hard. He was fond of his servants and fairly affable, though +occasionally sharp in his words. His memory was long and his anger +dangerous. As a rule, good sense swayed him, but being naturally +impetuous there was often a struggle between impulse and reason. + +He was a God-fearing prince, was devoted to the Virgin Mary, rigid in +his fasts, lavish in charity. He was determined to avoid death and +to hold on to his own, tooth and nail, and was his father's peer in +valour. Like his father, he dressed richly; unlike him, he cared more +for silver than for jewels. He lived more chastely than is usual to +princes and was always master of himself. He drank little wine, though +he liked it, because he found that it engendered fever in him. His +only beverage was water just coloured with wine. He was inclined to no +indulgence or wantonness. "At the hour in which I write his taste for +hard labour is excessive, but in other respects his good sense has +dominated him, at least thus far. It is to be hoped that as his reign +grows older he will curb his over-strenuous industry." + +As to the duke's sympathies, Chastellain regrets that circumstances +have turned him towards England. Naturally he belonged to the French, +and it was a pity that the machinations of the king, "whose crooked +ways are well known to God, have forced him into self-defence. Yet on +his forehead he wears the fleur-de-lys." + +Chastellain acknowledges that Charles is accused of avarice, but +defends him on the ground that he has been driven into collecting +a large army. "A penny in the chest is worth three in the purse of +another." "To take precautions in advance is a way to save honour and +property," prudently adds the historian, who evidently flourishes +his maxims to strengthen his own appreciation of the duke's economy, +which, quite as evidently, is not pleasing to him. "I have seen him +the very opposite of miserly, open-handed and liberal, rejoicing in +largesse. When he came into his seigniory his nature did not change." +It was simply the exigencies of his critical position that forced him +to restrain his natural propensities and thus to gain the undeserved +reputation for parsimony. + +It was also said that he was a very hard taskmaster, but as a matter +of fact he demanded nothing of his soldiers that he was not ready to +undertake himself. Like a true duke, he was his own commander, drew up +his own troops himself in battle array, and then passed from one end +of the line to the other, encouraging the men individually with cheery +words, promising them glory and profit, and pledging himself to share +their dangers. In victory he was restrained and showed more mercy than +cruelty. + +After expatiating on the points where Charles was like his +father--conventional princely qualities --Chastellain adds: "In some +respects they differed. The one was cold and the other boiling with +ardour; the one slow and prone to delay, the other strenuous in his +promptness; the elder negligent of his own concerns, the younger +diligent and alert. They differed in the amount of time consumed at +meals and in the number of guests whom they entertained. They differed +more or less in their voluptuousness and in their expenditures and in +the way in which they took solace and amusement." But in all other +respects, "in life they marched side by side as equals and if it +please God He will be their conductor in glory everlasting" is the +final assurance of their eulogist. + +Yet, lavish as the Burgundian poet is in his adjectives about his +patron, there is considerable discrimination between his summaries of +the two dukes. It is very evident that from his accession Charles +was less of a favourite than his father. While endeavouring to be +as complimentary as possible, distrust of his capacities creeps out +between the lines. Chastellain died in 1475, and thus never saw +Charles's final disaster. But the violence of his character had +inspired lack of confidence in his power of achievement, a violence +that made people dislike him as Philip with all his faults was never +disliked. + + + +[Footnote 1: Du Clercq, iv., 302 _et seq_. Erasmus was born in this +year, 1467.] + +[Footnote 2: II., 49.] + +[Footnote 3: "Non par armes attachées à espingles."] + +[Footnote 4: _Oeuvres_, vii., 213.] + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +THE UNJOYOUS ENTRY + +1467 + + +After the dauphin was crowned at Rheims, he was monarch over all his +domains. Charles of Burgundy, on the other hand, had a series of +ceremonies to perform before he was properly invested with the various +titles worn by his father. Each duchy, countship, seigniory had to be +taken in turn. Ghent was the first capital visited. Then he had +to exchange pledges of fidelity with his Flemish subjects before +receiving recognition as Count of Flanders. + +According to the custom of his predecessors, Charles stayed at the +little village of Swynaerde, near Ghent, the night before he made his +"joyous entry" into that city. It had chanced that the day selected by +Charles for the event was St. Lievin's Day and a favourite holiday of +the workers of Ghent. The saint's bones, enclosed conveniently in a +portable shrine, rested in the cathedral church, whence they were +carried once a year by the fifty-two gilds in solemn procession to +the little village of Houthem, where the blessed saint had suffered +martyrdom in the seventh century. All day and all night the saint's +devotees, the Fools of St. Lievin, as they were called, remained at +this spot. Merry did the festival become as the hours wore on, for +good cheer was carried thither as well as the sacred shrine. + +Now the magistrates were a little apprehensive about the rival claims +of the new count of Flanders and the old saint of Ghent. They knew +that they could not cut short the time-honoured celebration for the +sake of the sovereign's inauguration, so they decided to prolong the +former, and directed that the saint should leave town on Saturday and +not return until Monday. This left Sunday free for the young count's +entry. It probably seemed a very convenient conjunction of events to +the city fathers, because the more turbulent portion of the citizens +was sure to follow the saint. + +Accordingly, Charles made a very quiet and dignified entrance,[1] +having paused at the gates to listen to the fair words of Master +Mathys de Groothuse as he extolled the virtues of the late Count of +Flanders, and requested God to receive the present one, when he, too, +was forced to leave earth, as graciously as Ghent was receiving him +that day. All passed well; oaths of fealty were duly taken and given +at the church of St. John the Baptist. Charles himself pulled the +bell rope according to the ancient Flemish custom, and the Count of +Flanders was in possession. This all took place in the morning of June +28th. At the close of the ceremonies Charles withdrew to his hotel and +the magistrates to their dwellings. + +The devotees of St. Lievin prolonged their holiday until Monday +afternoon. It was five o'clock[2] when the revellers returned to +Ghent. Many of the saint's followers were, by that time, more or less +under the influence of the contents of the casks which had formed part +of the outward-bound burden. The protracted holiday-making had its +natural sequence. There was, however, too much method in the next +proceedings for it to be attributed wholly to emotional inebriety. + +The procession passed through the city gate and entered a narrow +street near the corn market, where stood a little house used as +headquarters for the collection of the _cueillotte_, a tax on every +article brought into the city for sale, and one particularly obnoxious +to the people. Suddenly a cry was raised and echoed from rank to rank +of St. Lievin's escort, "Down with the _cueillotte_." + +Then with the ingenious humour of a Celtic crowd, quick to take a +fantastic advantage of a situation, a second cry was heard: "St. +Lievin must go through the house. Lievin is a saint who never turns +aside from his route." + +Delightful thought, followed by speedy action. Axes were produced and +wielded to good effect. + +Down came the miniature customs-house in a flash. Little pieces of +the ruin were elevated on sticks and carried by some of the rabble as +standards with the cry "I have it--I have it." As they marched +the procession was constantly augmented and the cries become more +decidedly revolutionary: "Kill, kill these craven spoilers of God and +of the world.[2] Where are they? Let us seek them out and slay them in +their houses, those who have flourished at our pitiable expense." + +This was rank rebellion. Even under cover of St. Lievin's mantle, +resistance to regularly instituted customs could hardly be described +by any other name. Excited by their own temerity, the crowd now surged +on to the great market-place in front of the Hôtel de Ville, where the +Friday market is held, instead of returning the saint promptly to his +safe abiding-place as was meet. + +There the lawless deeds--lawless to the duke's mind certainly--became +more audacious. Counterparts of the very banners whose prohibition +had been part of the sentence in 1453 were unfurled,[4] and their +possession alone proved insurrectionary premeditation on the part of +the gild leaders. Ghent was in open revolt, and the young duke in +their midst felt it was an open insult to him as sovereign count. + +His messenger failed to return from the market-place. His master +became impatient and followed him to the scene of action with a small +escort. As they drew near, the crowd thickened and hedged them in. The +nobles became alarmed and urged the duke to return, but cries from +the crowd promised safety to his person. To the steps of the Hôtel de +Ville rode the duke, his face dark, menacing with suppressed wrath.[5] + +As he dismounted, he turned towards a man whom he thought he saw +egging on a disturbance and struck him with his riding whip, saying, +"I know you." The man was quick enough to realise the value of the +duke's violence at that moment and cried, "Strike again," but the +Seigneur Groothuse, who had already tried to check Charles's anger and +to curb the popular turbulence, exclaimed, "For the love of God do +not strike again!" The wiser burgher at once understood the unstable +temper of the mob, which had been fairly civil to the duke up to this +moment. There were ugly murmurs to be heard that the blow would cost +him dear. + + "Indeed," says the courtly Chastellain, "the mischief was so + imminent that God alone averted it, and there was not an archer + or noble or man so full of assurance that he did not tremble with + fear, nor one who would not have preferred to be in India for his + own safety. Especially were they in terror for their young prince, + who, they thought, was exposed to a dolorous death." + +It was Groothuse alone who averted disaster: + + "Do you not see that your life and ours hang on a silken thread? + Do you think you can coerce a rabble like this by threats and hard + words--a rabble who at this moment do not value you more than the + least of us? They are beside themselves, they have neither reason + nor understanding.[6]... If you are ready to die, I am not, except + in spite of myself. You must try quite a different method--appease + them by sweetness and save your house and your life. + + "What could you do alone? How the gods would laugh! Your courage + is out of place here unless it enables you to calm yourself and + give an example to those poor sheep, wretched misled people whom + you must soothe. Go down in God's name. [They were within the town + hall.] Show yourself and you will make an impression by your good + sense and all will go well." + +To this eminently sound advice the young duke yielded. He appeared on +a balcony or on the upper steps of the town hall and stood ready to +harangue his unruly and turbulent subjects. A moment sufficed to still +the turmoil and the silence showed a readiness to hear him speak. + +Charles was not perfectly at ease in Flemish, but he was wise enough +to use that tongue. One trait of the Ghenters was respect for the +person of their overlord. When that overlord showed any disposition to +meet them half-way the response was usually immediate. So it was now. +The crowd which had been attending to St. Lievin, and not to the +duke's joyous entry, suddenly remembered that his welcome had been +strangely ignored. Their grumblings changed to greetings. "Take heart, +Monseigneur. Have no fear. For you we will live and die and none shall +be so audacious as to harm you. If there be evil fellows with no bump +of reverence, endure it for the moment. Later you shall be avenged. No +time now for fear." + +This sounded better. Charles was sufficiently appeased to address the +crowd as "My children," and to assure them that if they would but meet +him in peaceful conference, their grievances should be redressed. +"Welcome, welcome! we are indeed your children and recognise your +goodness." + +Then Groothuse followed with a longer speech than was possible either +to Charles's Flemish or to his mood. This address was equally +well received, and matters were in train for the appointment of a +conference between popular representatives and the new Count of +Flanders, when suddenly a tall, rude fellow climbed up to the balcony +from the square. Using an iron gauntlet as a gavel to strike on +the wall, he commanded attention and turned gravely to address the +audience as though he were on the accredited list of speakers: + +"My brothers, down there assembled to set your complaints before your +prince, your first wish--is it not?--is to punish the ill governors of +this town and those who have defrauded you and him alike." + +"Yes, yes," was the quick answer of the fickle crowd.--"You desire the +suppression of the _cueillotte_, do you not?"--"Yes, yes."--"You +want all your gates opened again, your banners restored, and your +privileges reinforced as of yore?"--"Yes, yes." The self-appointed +envoy turned calmly to Charles and said: + +"Monseigneur, this is what the citizens have come together to ask you. +This is your task. I have said it in their behalf, and, as you hear, +they make my words their own." + +Noteworthy is Chastellain's pious and horrified ejaculation over the +extraordinary insolence of this big villain, who thus audaciously +associated himself with his betters: "O glorious Majesty of God, +think of such an outrageous and intolerable piece of villainy being +committed before the eyes of a prince! For a low man to venture to +come and stand side by side with such a gentleman as our seigneur, and +to proffer words inimical to his authority--words the poorest noble in +the world would hardly have endured! And yet it was necessary for this +noble prince to endure and to tolerate it for the moment, and needful +that he should let pass as a pleasantry what was enough to kill him +with grief." + +Groothuse's answer to the man was mild. Evidently he did not think it +was a safe moment to exasperate the mob: "'My friend, there was no +necessity of your intruding up here, a place reserved for the prince +and his nobles. From below, you could have been heard and Monseigneur +could have answered you as well there as here. He requires no advocate +to make him content his people. You are a strange master. Get down. Go +down below and keep to your mates. Monseigneur will do right by every +one.' + +"Off went the rascal and I do not know what became of him. The duke +and his nobles were simply struck dumb by the scamp's outrage and his +impudent daring." + +The sober report[7] is less detailed and elaborate, but the thread is +the same. Monseigneur, having returned to his hotel, sent Monseigneur +de la Groothuse, Jean Petitpas, and Richard Utenhove back to the +market to invite the people to put their grievances in writing. A +draft was made and carried to the duke. After he had examined it and +discussed it with his council, he sent Monseigneur de la Groothuse +back to the market-place to tell the people that he wanted to sleep +on the proposition and would give his answer at an early hour on the +morrow. All through the night the people remained in arms on the +market-place. At about eight o'clock on June 30th Groothuse returned, +thanked the people in the count's name for having kept such good +watch, and was answered by cries of "_À bas la cueillotte_." + +Then he assured them that all was pardoned and that they should obtain +what they had asked in the draft. Only he requested them to appoint a +committee of six to present their demands to Monseigneur and then to +go home. This they did. St. Lievin was restored to the church and his +followers betook themselves to the gates specified in the treaty of +Gaveren. These they broke down, and also destroyed another house where +was a tax collector's office. + +"The report of these events carried to Monseigneur did not have a good +effect upon his spirit. On the morrow Monseigneur quitted the city." +The members of the corporation with the two deans and the popular +committee of six having obtained audience before his departure, +Groothuse acted as spokesman: "We implore you in all humility to +pardon us for the insult you have suffered, and to sign the paper +presented. The bad have had more authority than the good, which could +not be prevented, but we know truly that if the draft is not signed +they will kill us." + +It is evident in all this story that the municipal authorities were +frightened to death and that Charles allowed himself to be restrained +to an extraordinary extent considering the undoubted provocation. His +reasons for conciliatory measures were two, and literally were his +ducats and his daughter. He had with him all the portable treasure and +ready money that his father had had at Bruges, a large treasure +and one on which he counted for his immediate military +operations--operations very important to the position as a European +power which he ardently desired to attain. + +Still more important was the fact that his young daughter, Mary, now +eleven years old, was living in Ghent, to a certain degree the ward of +the city. If the unruly majority should realise their strength what +easier for them than to seize the treasure and hold the daughter as +hostage, until her father had acceded to every demand, and until +democracy was triumphant not only in Ghent but in the neighbouring +cities? + +Charles simply did not dare attempt further coercion of the democratic +spirit until he was beyond the walls. It is evident that he was +completely taken by surprise at Ghent's attitude towards him, as the +city had always professed great personal attachment to him. But there +was a difference between being heir and sovereign. The agreement was +signed, with a mental reservation on the part of the Duke of Burgundy. +He only intended to keep his pledge until he could see his way clear +to make terms better to his liking. + +On Tuesday, June 30th, Charles left Ghent, taking his daughter and his +treasure away, but a safe shelter for both was not easy to find. +The duke's anticipations of the effect of Ghent's actions upon her +neighbours were quickly proved to be no idle fears. There were revolts +of more or less importance at Mechlin, at Antwerp, at Brussels, and +other places. Moreover, there was serious discussion in the estates +assembled at Louvain as to whether Charles should be acknowledged as +Duke of Brabant, or whether the claims of his cousin, the Count of +Nevers, should be considered as heir to Philip's predecessor, for the +late duke's title had never been considered perfect. + +Louis XI. seized the opportunity to urge the pretensions of the +latter, and there were many reasons to recommend him, in the +estimation of the Brabanters, who saw advantage in having a sovereign +exclusively their own, instead of one with the widespread geographical +interests of the Burgundian family. The final decision was, however, +for Charles; a notice of the resolution of the deputies was sent to +him at Mechlin, and he made his formal "entry" into Louvain, where he +received homage from the nobles, the good cities, and the university. + +The various insurgent manifestations were promptly quelled one after +another, but, with a nature that neither forgot nor forgave, the duke +was strongly impressed by them as personal insults. He blamed Ghent +for their occurrence and deeply resented every one. Throughout +Philip's whole career he remembered the localised tenure of his titles +and the fact that they were not perfectly incontestable. For his own +advantage he often found a conciliatory attitude the best policy. +Charles considered all his rights heaven-born. Questioning his +authority was rank rebellion. That he had accepted advice in regard +to Ghent, and had been ruled by expediency for the nonce, did not +mitigate his intense bitterness. + +In another town that gave him serious trouble at this time, nothing +led him to curb the severity of his measures. Though only a +"protector," not an overlord, when he suppressed a rebellion in Liege +he rigorously exacted the most complete and humiliating penalties. The +city charters were abrogated, all privileges were forfeited. As +an unprotected village must Liege stand henceforth, walls and +fortifications rased to the ground. + + "The perron on the market-place of the said town shall be taken + down, and then Monseigneur the duke shall treat it according to + his pleasure. The city may not remake the said perron, nor replace + another like it in the market-place or elsewhere in the city. Nor + shall the said perron appear in the coat-of-arms of Liege."[8] + +This was a terrible indignity for the city and a clear proof of their +fear of their bishop's friend. + +The episode impressed the citizens of Ghent with the duke's power, and +made the more timorous anxious to erase the event of 1467 from his +mind. The peace party finally prevailed in their arguments, but the +scene of abnegation and self-humiliation crowning their apology was +not enacted until eighteen months after the events apologised for, +when the new duke had still further proven his metal. + + + +[Footnote 1: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., i., 210, etc.] + +[Footnote 2: Some authorities make this five A.M., but the _Rapport_ +is probably correct.] + +[Footnote 3: Chastellain, v., 260 _et passim_.] + +[Footnote 4: So say some historians. But it seems probable that the +drapery of St. Lievin's shrine was hastily used as a flag.] + +[Footnote 5: Chastellain, v., ch. 7, etc.] + +[Footnote 6: These are Chastellain's words to be sure, but the sober +_Rapport_ is similar in purport.] + +[Footnote 7: Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 212. ] + +[Footnote 8: Gachard. _Doc. inéd_., ii., 462, "_Instrument notarié_."] + + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +THE DUKE'S MARRIAGE + +1468 + + +For many months before Philip's death there had been negotiations +concerning Charles's marriage with Margaret of York. Always feeling a +closer bond with his mother than with his father, Charles's sympathy +had ever been towards the Lancastrian party in England, the family to +whom Isabella of Portugal was closely related. Only the necessity for +making a strong alliance against Louis XI. turned him to seek a bride +from the House of York. It was on this business that La Marche and +the great Bastard were engaged when Philip's death interrupted the +discussion, which Charles did not immediately resume on his own +behalf. + +Pending the final decision in regard to this important indication of +his international policy, the duke busied himself with the adjustment +of his court, there being many points in which he did not intend to +follow his father's usage.[1] Philip's lavishness, without too close +a query as to the disposition of every penny, was naturally very +agreeable to his courtiers. There was a liberal air about his +households. It was easy to come and go, and it was pleasant to have +the handling of money and the giving of orders--orders which were +fulfilled and richly paid without haggling. Charles had other notions. +He was willing to pay, but he wanted to be sure of an adequate +return. How he started in on his administration with reform ideas is +delightfully told by Chastellain.[2] + +One of his first measures when he was finally established at Brussels +was to secure more speedy execution of justice. He appointed a new +provost, "a dangerous varlet of low estate, but excellently fitted to +carry out perilous work." Then he determined to settle petty civil +suits himself, as there were many which had dragged on for a long +time. In order to do this and to receive complaints from poor people, +he arranged to give audience three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, +and Friday, after dinner. On these occasions he required the +attendance of all his nobles, seated before him on benches, each +according to his rank. Excuses were not pleasantly accepted, so that +few places were empty. Charles himself was elevated on a high throne +covered with cloth of gold, whence he pompously pronounced judgments +and heard and answered petitions, a process that sometimes lasted two +or three hours and was exceedingly tiresome to the onlookers. + + "In outer appearance it seemed a magnificent course of action and + very praiseworthy. But in my time I have never heard of nor seen + like action taken by prince or king, nor any proceedings in the + least similar. + + "When the duke went through the city from place to place and from + church to church, it was wonderful how much state and order was + maintained and what a grand escort he had. Never a knight so old + or so young who dared absent himself and never a squire was bold + enough to squeeze himself into the knights' places." + +At the levee, the same rigid ceremony was observed. Every one had +to wait his turn in his proper room--the squires in the first, the +knights in the second, and so on. All left the palace together to go +to mass. As soon as the offering was made all the nobles were free +to dine, but they were obliged to report themselves to the duke +immediately after his repast. Any failure caused the forfeiture of the +fee for the day. It was all very orderly and very dull. + +Thus Charles of Burgundy felt that he was law-giver, paternal guide, +philosopher, and friend to his people. From time to time he delivered +harangues to his court, veritable sermons. He obtained hearing, but +certainly did not win popularity. The adulatory phrases used as mere +conventionalities seemed to have actually turned his head. And those +stock phrases were very grandiloquent. There is no doubt that such +comparisons were used as Chastellain puts into the mouths of the first +deputation from Ghent to ask pardon for the sins committed at the +dolorous unjoyous entry into the Flemish capital.[2] + + "My very excellent seigneur, when you who hold double place, place + of God and place of man, and have in yourself the double nature + by office and commission in divine estate, and as your noble + discretion knows and is cognisant, like God the Father, Creator, + of all offences committed against you, and who may be appeased + by tears and by weeping as He permits Himself to be softened by + contrition, entreaties, etc., and resumes His natural benignity by + forgetting things past [etc.].... Alas, what kindness did He use + toward Adam, His first offender, upon whom through his son Seth He + poured the oil of pity in five thousand future years, and then to + Cain the first born of mother He postponed vengeance for his crime + for ten generations etc. What did he do in Abraham's time, when He + sent word to Lot that if there were ten righteous men in Sodom and + Gomorrah He would remit the judgment on the two cities? In Ghent," + etc.[4] + +In the chancellor's answer to this plea, the duke's consent to grant +forgiveness to Ghent is again compared to God's own mercy. The divine +attributes were referred to again and again, not only on the pages +of contemporaneous chroniclers who may be accused of desiring ducal +patronage, but also in sober state papers. + +There was one antidote to this homage universally offered to Charles +wherever there was no rebellion against him. One of the rules of the +Order of the Golden Fleece was that all alike should be subject to +criticism by their fellows. In May, 1468, at Bruges, Charles held an +assembly of the Order, the first over which he had presided. It was a +fitting opportunity for the knights to express their sentiments. When +it came to his turn to be reviewed, Charles listened quietly to the +representations that his conduct fell short of the ideals of chivalry +because he was too economical, too industrious, too strenuous, and not +sufficiently cognisant of the merits of his faithful subjects of high +degrees.[5] + +In these plaints, respectful as they are, there is perhaps a note of +regret for the lavish and amusing good cheer of the late duke's times. +Charles was undoubtedly husbanding his resources at this period. The +vision of wide dominions was already in his dreams, and he was prudent +enough to begin his preparations. And prudence is not a popular +quality. Still his courtiers were not quite bereft of the gorgeous and +spectacular entertainments to which the "good duke" had accustomed +them. Soon after the assembly of the Order, the alliance between Duke +Charles and Margaret of York was celebrated at Bruges. Our Burgundian +Chastellain is not pleased with this marriage. That Charles inclined +towards England at all was due to the French king, whom both he and +his father had found untrustworthy. Again, had there been any other +eligible _partie_ in England Charles would never have allied himself +with King Edward when all his sympathies were with the blood of +Lancaster. But when King Louis forsook his cousin Margaret of Anjou, +whose woes should have commanded pity, simply for the purpose of +undermining the Duke of Burgundy, the latter felt it wise to make +Edward his friend. + + "That it was sore against his inclination he confessed to one who + later revealed it to me, but he decided that it was better to + injure another rather than be down-trodden and injured himself.[6] + + "For a long time there had been little love lost between him and + the king. The monarch feared the pride and haughtiness of his + subject, and the subject feared the strength and profound subtilty + of the king who wanted, he thought, to get him under the whip. And + all this, alas, was the result of that cursed War of Public Weal + cooked up by the French against their own king. When Charles was + deeply involved in it he was deserted by the others and the whole + weight of the burden fell on his shoulders, so that he alone was + blamed by the king, and he alone was forced to look to his own + safety and comfort. It is a pity when such things occur in a realm + and among kinsfolk." + +[Illustration: CHARLES, DUKE OF BURGUNDY, PRESIDING OVER A CHAPTER OF +THE GOLDEN FLEECE + +FROM CONTEMPORANEOUS MINIATURE REPRODUCED IN LENGLET DU FRESNOY +EDITION OF COMINES] + + +Louis was busied with his own affairs in Touraine when news came to +him that the marriage was to take place immediately. "If he mourned, +it is not marvellous when I myself mourn it for the future result. But +the king used all kinds of machinations to break off the alliance.... +God suffered two young proud princes to try their strength each at +his will, often in ways that would have been incompatible in common +affairs." + +The fullest account of the wedding is given by La Marche, an +eyewitness of the event[7]: + + "Gilles du Mas, maître d'hôtel du Duc de Bretagne--to you I + recommend myself. I have collected here roughly according to my + stupid understanding what I saw of the said festival, to send it + to you, beseeching you as earnestly as I can to advise me of the + noble states and high deeds in your quarter ... as becomes two + friends of one rank and calling in two fraternal, allied and + friendly houses. + + "My lady and her company arrived at l'Écluse on a Saturday, June + 25th, and on the morrow Madame the Duchess of Burgundy, mother + of the duke, Mlle. of Burgundy and various other ladies and + demoiselles visited Madame Margaret[8] and only + +stayed till dinner. The duchess was greatly pleased with her +prospective daughter-in-law and could not say enough of her character +and her virtues. There remained with Dame Margaret, on the part of +the duchess, the Charnys, Messire Jehan de Rubempré and various other +ladies and gentlemen to act the hosts to the strange ladies and +gentlemen who had crossed from England with the bride. The Count and +Countess de Charny met Madame as she disembarked and never budged from +her side until she had arrived at Bruges. + +"The day after the duchess's visit, Monseigneur of Burgundy made his +way to l'Écluse with a small escort and entered the chateau at the +rear. After supper, accompanied only by six or seven knights of the +Order, he went very secretly to the hôtel of Dame Margaret, who had +been warned of his intention, and was attended by the most important +members of her suite, such as the Seigneur d'Escalles, the king's +brother. + + "At his arrival when they saw each other the greetings were very + ceremonious and then the two sat down on one bench and chatted + comfortably together for some time. After some conversation, the + Bishop of Salisbury, according to a prearranged plan of his own, + kneeled before the two and made complimentary speeches. He was + followed by M. de Charny, who spoke as follows: + + "'Monseigneur, you have found what you desired and since God has + brought this noble lady to port in safety and to your desire, it + seems to me that you should not depart without proving the + affection you bear her, and that you ought to be betrothed now + at this moment and give her your troth.' + + "Monseigneur answered that it did not depend upon him. Then the + bishop spoke to Margaret and asked her what she thought. She + answered that it was just for this and nothing else that the king + of England had sent her over and she was quite ready to fulfil + the king's command. Whereupon the bishop took their hands and + betrothed them. Then Monseigneur departed and returned on the + morrow to Bruges. + + "Dame Margaret remained at l'Écluse until the following Saturday + and was again visited by Monseigneur. On Saturday the boats were + richly decorated to conduct my lady to Damme, where she was + received very honourably according to the capacity of that little + town. On the morrow, the 3rd of July, Monseigneur the duke set out + with a small escort between four and five o'clock in the morning, + and went to Damme, where he found Madame quite ready to receive + him as all had been prearranged, and Monseigneur wedded her as was + suitable, and the nuptial benediction was duly pronounced by the + Bishop of Salisbury. After the mass, Charles returned to his hotel + at Bruges, and you may believe that during the progress of the + other ceremonies he slept as if he were to be on watch on the + following night. + + "Immediately after, Adolph of Cleves, John of Luxemburg, John of + Nassau, and others returned to Damme and paid their homage to the + new duchess, and then my lady entered a horse litter, beautifully + draped with cloth of gold. She was clad in white cloth of gold made + like a wedding garment as was proper. On her hair rested a crown + and her other jewels were appropriate and sumptuous. Her English + ladies followed her on thirteen hackneys, two close by her litter + and the others behind. Five chariots followed the thirteen + hackneys, the Duchess of Norfolk, the most beautiful woman in + England, being in the first. In this array Madame proceeded to + Bruges and entered at the gate called Ste. Croix." + +There were too many names to be enumerated, but La Marche cannot +forbear mentioning a noble Zealander, Adrian of Borselen, Seigneur of +Breda, who had six horses covered with cloth of gold, jewelry, and +silk. + + "I mention him for two reasons [he explains[9]]: first, that he + was the most brilliant in the procession, and the second is that + by the will of God he died on the Wednesday from a trouble in his + leg, which was a pity and much regretted by the nobility. + + "The procession from Ste. Croix to the palace was magnificent, + with all the dignitaries in their order. So costly were the + dresses of the ducal household that Charles expended more than + forty thousand francs for cloth of silk and of wool alone. + + "Prominent in this stately procession were the nations or foreign + merchants in this order: Venetians, Florentines--at the head of + the latter marched Thomas Portinari, banker and councillor of + the duke at the same time that he was chief of their nation and + therefore dressed in their garb; Spaniards; Genoese--these latter + showed a mystery, a beautiful girl on horseback guarded by + St. George from the dragon.--Then came the Osterlings, 108 on + horseback, followed by six pages, all clad in violet. + + "Gay, too, was Bruges and the streets were all decorated with + cloth of gold and silk and tapestries. As to the theatrical + representations I can remember at least ten. There were Adam and + Eve, Cleopatra married to King Alexander, and various others. + + "The reception at the palace was very formal. The dowager duchess + herself received her daughter-in-law from the litter and escorted + her by the hand to her chamber, and for the present we will leave + the ladies and the knighthood and turn to the arrangement of the + hôtel. + + "In regard to the service, Mme. the new duchess was served + _d'eschançon et d'escuyer tranchant et de pannetier_. All English, + all knights and gentlemen of great houses, and the chief steward + cried 'Knights to table,' and then they went to the buffet to get + the food, and around the buffet marched all the relations of + Monseigneur, all the knights of the Order and of great houses. And + for that day Mme. the duchess the mother declined to be served _à + couvert_ but left the honour to her daughter-in-law as was right. + + "After dinner the ladies retired to their rooms for a little rest + and there were some changes of dress. Then they all mounted their + chariots and hackneys and issued forth on the streets in great + triumph and wonderful were the jousts of the Tree of Gold. Several + days of festivity followed when the usual pantomimes and shows were + in evidence. + + "Tuesday, the tenth and last day of the fête, the grand _salle_ was + arranged in the same state as on the wedding day itself, except the + grand buffet which stood in the middle of the hall. This banquet, + too, was a grand affair and concluded the festivities. + + On the morrow, Wednesday, July 15th, Monseigneur departed for + Holland on a pressing piece of business, and he took leave of the + Duchess of Norfolk and the other lords and ladies of quality and + gave them gifts each according to his rank. Thus ends the story + of this noble festival, and for the present I know nothing worth + writing you except that I am yours." + +To this may be added the letter of one of the Paston family who was in +Margaret's train.[10] + + "John Paston the younger to Margaret Paston: + + "To my ryght reverend and worchepfull Modyr Margaret Paston + dwelling at Caster, be thys delyveryed in hast. + + "Ryth reverend & worchepfull Modyr, I recommend me on to you as + humbylly as I can thynk, desyryng most hertly to her of your + welfare & hertsese whyche I pray God send you as hastyly as my + hert can thynk. Ples yt you to wete that at the makyng of thys + byll my brodyr & I & all our felawshep wer in good helle, blyssyd + be God. + + "As for the gydyn her in thys countre it is as worchepfull as all + the world can devyse it, & ther wer never Englyshe men had so good + cher owt of Inglong that ever I herd of. + + "As for tydyngs her but if it be of the fest I can non send yow; + savyng my Lady Margaret was maryed on Sonday last past at a town + that is called Dame IIj myle owt of Brugge at v of the clok in the + morning; & sche was browt the same day to Bruggys to hyr dener; + & ther sche was receyvyd as worchepfully as all the world cowd + devyse as with presession with ladys and lordys best beseyn of eny + pepell that ever I sye or herd of. Many pagentys were pleyed in + hyr way to Brugys to hyr welcoming, the best that ever I sye. + And the same Sonday my Lord the Bastard took upon hym to answere + xxiiij knyts & gentylmen within viij dayis at jostys of pese & + when that they wer answered, they xxiiij & hymselve shold torney + with other xxv the next day after, whyche is on Monday next + comyng; & they that have jostyd with hym into thys day have been + as rychly beseyn, & hymselfe also, as clothe of gold & sylk & + sylvyr & goldsmith's werk might mak hem; for of syche ger & gold + & perle & stonys they of the dukys coort neyther gentylmen nor + gentylwomen they want non; for with owt that they have it by + wyshys, by my trowthe, I herd nevyr of so gret plente as ther is. + + * * * * * + + And as for the Dwkys coort, as of lords & ladys & gentylwomen + knyts, sqwyers & gentylmen I hert never of non lyek to it + save King Artourys cort. And by my trowthe I have no wyt nor + remembrance to wryte to you half the worchep that is her; but that + lakyth as it comyth to mynd I shall tell you when I come home + whyche I trust to God shal not be long to; for we depart owt of + Brygge homward on Twysday next comyng & all folk that cam with my + lady of Burgoyn out of Ingland, except syche as shall abyd her + styll with hyr whyche I wot well shall be but fewe. + + "We depart the sooner for the Dwk hathe word that the Frenshe king + is purposyd to mak wer upon hym hastyly & that he is with in IIIj + or v dayis jorney of Brugys & the Dwk rydeth on Twysday next + comyng forward to met with hym. God geve hym good sped & all hys; + for by my trowthe they are the goodlyest felawshep that ever I cam + among & best can behave themselves & most like gentlemen. + + "Other tydyngs have we non her; but that the Duke of Somerset & + all hys band departyd well beseyn out of Brugys a day befor that + my Lady the Duchess cam thedyr & they sey her that he is to Queen + Margaret that was & shal no more come her agen nor be holpyn by + the Duke. No more; but I beseche you of your blessyng as lowly as + I can, wyche I beseche you forget not to geve me everday onys. + And, Modyr, I beseche you that ye wol be good mastras to my lytyll + man & to se that he go to scole. + + * * * * * + + Wreten at Bruggys the Friday next after Seynt Thomas. + + "Your sone & humbyll servaunt, + + "J. PASTON THE YOUNGER." + + +[Footnote 1: Chastellain, v., 570.] + +[Footnote 2: V., 576.] + +[Footnote 3: This deputation was composed of representatives from "all +the city in its entirety in three chief members--the bourgeois and +nobles, the fifty-two _métiers_, and the weavers who possess twelve +different places in the city entirely for themselves and in their +control." The formal apology was made later. (Chastellain, v., 291.)] + +[Footnote 4: _Ibid_ 306. By letters patent given on July 28, 1467, +Duke Charles pardoned the Ghenters and confirmed the privileges which +he had conceded to them, but he exacted that a deputation from the +three members [_Trois membres_] of the city should come to Brussels to +beg pardon on their knees, bareheaded, ungirded, for all the disorder +of St. Lievin. This act of submission took place probably not until +January, 1469, though August 8, 1468, is also mentioned as the date.] + +[Footnote 5: _Hist, de l'Ordre_, etc., p. 511.] + +[Footnote 6: Chastellain, V., 342.] + +[Footnote 7: III., 101. Evidently this was composed for a separate +work and then incorporated into the memoirs.] + +[Footnote 8: There is a beautiful portrait of her in MS. 9275 in the +Bibliothèque de Burgogne. _See_ also Wavrin, _Anchiennes Croniques +d'Engleterre_, ii., 368.] + +[Footnote 9: III., 108.] + +[Footnote 10: _The Paston Letters_, ii., 317.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +THE MEETING AT PERONNE + +1468 + + + "My brother, I beseech you in the name of our affection and of + our alliance, come to my aid, come as speedily as you can, come + without delay. Written by the own hand of your brother. + + "FRANCIS." + +Such were the concluding sentences of a fervent appeal from the +Duke of Brittany that followed Charles into Holland, whither he had +hastened after the completion of the nuptial festivities. + +The titular Duke of Normandy found that his royal brother was in no +wise inclined to fulfil the solemn pledges made at Conflans. His ally, +Francis, Duke of Brittany, was plunged into terror lest the king +should invade his duchy and punish him for his share in the +proceedings that had led up to that compact. + +It is in this year that Louis XI. begins to show his real astuteness. +Very clever are his methods of freeing himself from the distasteful +obligations assumed towards his brother. They had been easy to make +when a hostile army was encamped at the gates of Paris. Then Normandy +weighed lightly when balanced by the desire to separate the allies. +That separation accomplished, the point of view changed. Relinquish +Normandy, restored by the hand of heaven to its natural liege lord +after its long retention by the English kings? Louis's intention +gradually became plain and he proved that he was no longer in the +isolated position in which the War for Public Weal had found him. He +had won to himself many adherents, while the general tone towards +Charles of Burgundy had changed.[1] + +In April, 1468, the States-General of France assembled at Tours in +response to royal writs issued in the preceding February.[2] The +chancellor, Jouvençal, opened the session with a tedious, long-winded +harangue calculated to weary rather than to illuminate the assembly. +Then the king took the floor and delivered a telling speech. With +trenchant and well chosen phrases he set forth the reasons why +Normandy ought to be an intrinsic part of the French realm. The +advantages of centralisation, the weakness of decentralisation, were +skilfully drawn. The matter was one affecting the kingdom as a whole, +in perpetuity; it was not for the temporal interests of the present +incumbent of regal authority, who had only part therein for the brief +space of his mortal journey. Louis's words are pathetic indeed, as +he calls himself a sojourner in France, _en voyage_ through life, +as though the fact itself of his likeness to the rest of ephemeral +mankind was novel to his audience. He reiterated the statement that +the interests involved were theirs, not his. + +It was a goodly body which listened to Louis. The greatest feudal +lords, indeed, were not present, but many of the lesser nobility were, +while sixty-four towns sent, all told, about 128 deputies. These +hearers gave willing attention to the thesis that it was a burning +shame for the French people to pay heavy taxes simply to restrain the +insolent peers from rebelling against their sovereign--those noble +scions of the royal stock whose bounden duty it was to protect the +state and the head of the royal house. + +What was the reason for their selfish insubordination? The root of the +evil lay in the past, when extensive territories had been carelessly +alienated, and their petty over-lords permitted to acquire too much +independence of the crown, so that the monarchy was threatened with +disruption. There was more to the same purpose and then the deputies +deliberated on the answer to make to this speech from the throne. It +was an answer to Louis's mind, an answer that showed the value of +suggestion. Charles the Wise had thought that an estate yielding an +income of twelve thousand livres was all-sufficient for a prince of +the blood. Louis XI. was more generous. He was ready to allow his +brother Charles a pension of sixty thousand livres. But as to the +government of Normandy--why! no king, either from fraternal affection +or from fear of war, was justified in committing that province to +other hands than his own. + +The States-General dissolved in perfect accord with the monarch, and a +definite order was left in the king's hands, declaring that it was +the judgment of the towns represented that concentration of power was +necessary for the common welfare of France. Public opinion declared +that national weakness would be inevitable if the feudatories were +unbridled in their centrifugal tendencies. Above all, Normandy must be +retained by the king. On no consideration should Louis leave it to his +brother.[2] + +Before the dissolution of the assembly there was some discussion as to +the probable attitude of the great nobles in regard to this platform +of centralisation. Very timid were the comments on Charles of +Burgundy. Would he not perhaps be an excellent mediator between the +lesser dukes and the king? Would it not be better to suspend action +until his opinion was known, etc? But at large there was less reserve. +The statements were emphatic. Naught but mischief had ever come to +France from Burgundy. The present duke's father and grandfather had +wrought all the ill that lay in their power. As for Charles, his +illimitable greed was notorious. Let him rest content with his +paternal heritage. Ghent and Bruges were his. Did he want Paris too? +Let the king recover the towns on the Somme. Rightfully they were +French. Louis made no scruple in pleading the invalidity of the treaty +of Conflans, because it had been wrested from him by undue influence. +And this royal sentiment was repeated here and there with growing +conviction of its justice. + +While Charles was occupied with the preparation for his wedding, Louis +was engaged in levying troops and mobilising his forces, and these +preparations continued throughout the summer of 1468. Naturally, news +of this zeal directed against the dukes of Normandy and of Brittany +followed the traveller in Holland. + +Charles was in high dudgeon and wrote at once to the king, reminding +him that these seigneurs were his allies, and demanding that nothing +should be wrought to their detriment. Conscious that his remonstrance +might be futile, and urged on by appeals from the dukes, Charles +hastened to cut short his stay in Holland so that he might move nearer +to the scene of Louis's activities. His purpose in going to the north +had been twofold--to receive homage as Count of Holland and Zealand, +and to use his new dignity to obtain large sums of money for which he +saw immediate need if he were to hold Louis to the terms wrested from +him. + +In early July, Charles had crossed from Sluis in Flanders to +Middelburg, and thence made his progress through the cities of +Zealand, receiving homage as he went. Next he passed to The Hague, +where the nobles and civic deputies of Holland met him and gave +him their oaths of fealty on July 21st. Fifty-six towns[4] were +represented and there were also deputies from eight bailiwicks and the +islands of Texel and Wieringen. "It is noteworthy," comments a Dutch +historian, "that the people's oath was given first. The older custom +was that the count should give the first pledge while the people +followed suit." + +As soon as he was thus legally invested with sovereign power, Charles +demanded a large _aide_ from Holland and Zealand--480,000 crowns of +fifteen stivers for himself; 32,000 crowns as pin money for his new +consort; 16,000 crowns as donations for various servants, and 4800 +crowns towards his travelling expenses. The total sum was 532,800 +crowns. The share of Holland and West Friesland was 372,800 crowns, +and of Zealand 16,000 crowns, to be paid within seven and a half +years. In Holland, Haarlem paid the heaviest quota, 3549 crowns, and +Schiedam the smallest, 350 crowns, while Dordrecht and the South +Holland villages were assessed at 39,200 crowns, and the remainder was +divided among the other cities and villages. + +There was considerable opposition to the assessments. In many cases +the new imposts upon provisions pressed very heavily on the poor +villagers. Having obtained promise of the grant, however, Charles left +all further details in its regard to the local officials and returned +to Brussels at the beginning of August to make his own preparation. +For, by that time, Louis's intentions of evading the treaty of +Conflans were plain, though there still fluttered a thin veil of +friendship between the cousins. Gathering what forces he could +mobilise, ordering them to meet him later, Charles moved westward and +took up his quarters at Peronne on the river Somme. + +Louis had been bold in his utterance to the States-General as to his +perfect right to ignore the treaty of Conflans, to dispossess his +brother, and to bring the great feudatories to terms. In the summer +of 1468 he made advances towards accomplishing the last-named +desideratum. Brittany was invaded by royal troops, but his victory was +diplomatic rather than military, as Duke Francis peaceably consented +to renounce his close alliances with Burgundy and England, nominally +at least. Further, he agreed to urge Charles of France to submit his +claims to Normandy to the arbitration of Nicholas of Calabria and the +Constable St. Pol.[5] + +Charles of Burgundy remained to be settled with on some different +basis. And in regard to him Louis XI. took a resolve which terrified +his friends and caused the world to wonder as to his sanity. All +previous attempts at mediation having failed--St. Pol was among the +many who tried--the king determined to be his own messenger to parley +with his Burgundian cousin. It is curious how small was his measure +of personal pride. He had been negligent of his personal safety at +Conflans, but even then Charles had better reason to respect and +protect him than in 1468, after Louis had manoeuvred for three years +in every direction to harass and undermine the young duke's power, +and when, too, the latter was aware of half of the machinations and +suspicious of more. + +Yet Louis's famous visit to Peronne was no sudden hare-brained +enterprise. There is much evidence that he nursed the project for many +weeks without giving any intimation of his intentions. Nor was the +situation as strange as it appears, looking backward. + +Charles had doubtless made all preparations to combat Louis if need +were, and had chosen Peronne for his headquarters with the express +purpose of being able to watch France, and, at the same time, he had +published abroad that his military preparations were solely for +the purpose of keeping his obligations to his allies. Now these +obligations were momentarily removed by the action of those same +allies. Francis of Brittany had entered into amicable relations with +his sovereign, young Charles of France had accepted arbitration to +settle the fraternal relations of the royal brothers, while the +correspondence between Louis and Liege, was still unknown to the Duke +of Burgundy. For the moment, the latter, therefore, had no definite +quarrel with the French king. But he was not in the least anxious for +an interview with him. Charles was as far as ever from understanding +his cousin. Even without definite knowledge of Louis's efforts to +make friends in the Netherlands, Charles suspected enough to turn his +youthful distrust of the man's character into mature conviction that +friendship between them was impossible. But he could not refuse the +royal overtures. His letter of safe-conduct to his self-invited +visitor bears the date of October 8th, and runs as follows:[6] + + "MONSEIGNEUR: + + "I commend myself to your good graces. Sire, if it be your + desire to come to this city of Peronne in order that we may talk + together, I swear and I promise you by my faith and on my honour + that you may come, remain and return in safety to Chauny or Noyon, + according to your pleasure and as often as it shall please you, + freely and openly without any hindrance offered either to you or + to any of your people by me or by any other for any cause that now + exists or _that may hereafter arise_." + +Guillaume de Biche acted as confidential messenger between duke and +king. He it was whom Charles had dismissed from his own service in +1456 at his father's instance. From that time on the man had been in +Louis's household, deep in his secrets it was said, and certainly +admitted to his privacy to an extraordinary degree. This letter was +written by Charles in the presence of Biche, through whose hand it +passed directly to the king. + +By October, Louis was at Ham, prepared to move as soon as the +safe-conduct arrived. No time was lost after its receipt. On Sunday, +October 9th, the king started out, accompanied by the Bishop of +Avranches, his confessor, by the Duke of Bourbon, Cardinal Balue, +St. Pol, a few more nobles, and about eighty archers of the Scottish +guard. As he rode towards Peronne, Philip of Crèvecoeur, with two +hundred lances, met him on the way to act as his escort to the +presence of the duke, who awaited his guest on the banks of a stream a +short distance out of Peronne. + +St. Pol was the first of the royal party to meet the duke as herald of +Louis's approach. Then Charles rode forward to greet the traveller. As +he came within sight of his cousin, he bowed low to his saddle and was +about to dismount when Louis, his head bared, prevented his action. +Fervent were the kisses pressed by the kingly lips upon the duke's +cheeks, while Louis's arm rested lovingly about the latter's neck. +Then he turned graciously to the by-standing nobles and greeted them +by name. But his cousinly affection was not yet satisfied. Again he +embraced Charles and held him half as long as before in his arms. How +pleasant he was and how full of confidence towards this trusted cousin +of his! + +The cavalcade fell into line again, with the two princes in the +middle, and made a stately entry into Peronne at a little after +mid-day.[7] The chief building then and the natural place to lodge +a royal visitor was the castle. But it was in sorry repair, ill +furnished, and affording less comfort than a neighbouring house +belonging to a city official. Here rooms had been prepared for the +king and a few of his suite, the others being quartered through the +town. At the door Charles took his leave and Louis entered alone with +Cardinal Balue and the attendants he had chosen to keep near him. +These latter were nearly all of inferior birth, and were treated +by their master with a familiarity very astonishing to the stately +Burgundians. + +Louis entered the room assigned for his use, walked to the window, +and looked out into the street. The sight that met his view was most +disquieting. A party of cavaliers were on the point of entering the +castle. They were gentlemen just arrived from Burgundy with their +lances, in response to a summons issued long before the present visit +was anticipated. As he looked down on the troops, Louis recognised +several men who had no cause to love him or to cherish his memory. +There was, for instance, the queen's brother Philip de Bresse[8] who +had led a party against Louis's own sister Yolande of Savoy. At a +time of parley this Philip had trusted the sincerity of his +brother-in-law's profession and had visited him to obtain his +mediation. The king had violated both the specified safe-conduct and +ambassadorial equity alike, and had thrown De Bresse into the citadel +of Loches, where he suffered a long confinement before he succeeded in +making his escape. He was a Burgundian in sympathy as well as in race. +But with him on that October day Louis noticed various Frenchmen who +had fallen under royal displeasure from one cause or another and had +saved their liberty by flight, renouncing their allegiance to him +for ever. Four there were in all who wore the cross of St. Andrew. +Approaching Peronne as they had from the south, these new-comers had +ridden in at the southern gates without intimation of this royal +visitation extraordinary until they were almost face to face with +guest and host. Their arrival was "a half of a quarter of an hour +later than that of the king." + +When Philip de Bresse and his friends learned what was going on, they +hastened to the duke's chambers "to give him reverence." Monseigneur +de Bresse was the spokesman in begging the duke that the three above +named should be assured of their security notwithstanding the king's +presence at Peronne,--of security such as he had pledged them in +Burgundy and promised for the hour when they should arrive at his +court. On their part they were ready to serve him towards all and +against all. Which petition the duke granted orally. "The force +conducted by the Marshal of Burgundy was encamped without the gates, +and the said marshal spoke no ill of the king, nor did the others I +have mentioned."[9] + +It was, however, a situation in which apprehension was not confined +to the men of lower station. To Louis, looking down from his window, +there seemed dire menace in the mere presence of these persons who had +heavy grievances against him, and the unfortified private house seemed +slight protection against their possible vengeance. Here, Charles +might disavow injury to him as something happening quite without his +knowledge. On ducal soil the safest place was assuredly under shelter +patently ducal. There, there would be no doubt of responsibility did +misfortune happen. + +Straightway the king sent a messenger to Charles asking for quarters +within the castle. The request was granted and the uneasy guest passed +through the massive portals between a double line of Burgundian +men-at-arms. It was no cheerful, pleasant, palatial dwelling-place +this little old castle of Peronne. So thick were the walls that vain +had been all assaults against it.[10] Designed for a fortress rather +than a residence, it had been repeatedly used as a prison, and the air +of the whole was tainted by the dungeons under its walls, dungeons +which had seen many unwilling lodgers. Five centuries earlier than +this date, Charles the Simple had languished to death in one of the +towers. + +This change of arrangement, or rather the disquieting reason for the +change, undoubtedly clouded the peacefulness of the occasion. Yet +outward calm was preserved. Commines asserts that the two princes +directed their people to behave amicably to each other and that the +commands were scrupulously obeyed. For two or three days the desired +conferences took place between Charles and Louis. The king's wishes +were perfectly plain. He wanted Charles to forsake all other alliances +and to pledge himself to support his feudal chief, first and foremost, +from all attacks of his enemies. The Duke of Brittany had submitted +to his liege. If the Duke of Burgundy would only accept terms equally +satisfactory in their way, the pernicious alliance between the two +would vanish, to the weal of French unity. + +[Illustration: PHILIP DE COMMINES.] + +Apparently the first discussion was heard by none except the Cardinal +Balue and Guillaume de Biche. Charles was willing to pledge allegiance +and to promise aid to his feudal chief, but under limitations that +weakened the value of his words. Nothing could induce him to renounce +alliance with other princes for mutual aid, did they need it. There +was a second interview on the following day. Charles held tenaciously +to his position. Then there came a sudden alteration in the situation, +a strange dramatic shifting of the duke's point of view. + +The city of Liege had submitted perforce to the behests of her +imperious neighbour, but the citizens had never ceased to hope that +his unwelcome "protection" might be dispensed with; that, by the aid +of French troops, they might eventually wrest themselves free from +the Burgundian incubus. In spite of all promises to Charles, secret +negotiations between the anti-Burgundian party and Louis XI. had never +ceased. The latter never refused to admit the importunate embassies to +his presence. He was glad to keep in touch with the city even in +its ruined condition. He sent envoys as well as received them, and +Commines states definitely that, in making his plan to visit Peronne, +the fact of a confidential commission recently despatched to Liege had +wholly slipped the king's mind. + +In that town the duke's lieutenant, Humbercourt, had been left to +supervise the humiliating changes ordered. And the work of demolition +was the only industry. Other ordinary business was at a standstill. +For a period there was a sullen silence in the streets and the church +bells were at rest. In April, a special legate from the pope arrived +to see whether ecclesiastical affairs could not be put on a better +footing. + +It was about the same time that the States-General were meeting +at Tours that, under the direction of this legate, Onofrio de +Santa-Croce, the cathedral was purified with holy water, and Louis of +Bourbon celebrated his very first mass, though he had been seated on +the episcopal throne for twelve years. Then Onofrio tried to mediate +between the city and the Duke of Burgundy. To Bruges he went to +see Charles, and obtained permission to draft a project for the +re-establishment of the civic government, to be submitted to the duke +for approval. + +If Onofrio thought he had reformed the bishop by forcing him into +performing his priestly rites he soon learned his mistake. That +ecclesiastic speedily disgusted his flock by his ill-timed +festivities, and then forsook the city and sailed away to Maestricht +in a gaily painted barge, with gay companions to pass the summer in +frivolous amusements suited to his dissolute tastes. Such was the +state of affairs when the report of Louis's extensive military +preparations encouraged the Liegeois to hope that he was to take the +field openly against the duke. + +About the beginning of September, troops of forlorn and desperate +exiles began to return to the city. They came, to be sure, with shouts +of _Vive le Roi!_ but, as a matter of fact, they seemed willing to +make any accommodation for the sake of being permitted to remain. +"Better any fate at home than to live like wild beasts with the +recollection that we had once been men." + +To make a long story short, Onofrio again endeavoured to rouse the +bishop to a sense of his duty. Again he tried to make terms for the +exiles and to re-establish a tenable condition. It was useless. Louis +of Bourbon refused to approach nearer to Liege than Tongres, and +declined to meet the advances of his despairing subjects. It was just +at this moment that fresh emissaries arrived from Louis, despatched, +as already stated, _before_ Charles had consented to prolong the +truce. + +Excited by their presence the Liegeois once more roused themselves to +action. A force of two thousand was gathered at Liege, and advanced by +night upon Tongres--also without walls--surrounded the house where lay +their bishop, and forced him to return to Liege. Violence there was +and loss of life, but, as a matter of fact, the mob respected the +person of their bishop and of Humbercourt the chief Burgundian +official. This event happened on October 9th, the very day that Louis +rode recklessly into Peronne. + +On Wednesday, October 11th, the news of the fray reached Peronne, +but news greatly exaggerated by rumour. Bishop, papal legate, and +Burgundian lieutenant all had been ruthlessly murdered in the very +presence of Louis's own envoys, who had aided and abetted the hideous +crime! To follow the story of an eyewitness:[11] + + "Some said that everyone was dead, others asserted the contrary, + for such advertisments are never reported after one sort. At + length others came who had seen certain canons slain and supposed + the bishop[12] to be of the number, as well as the said seigneur + de Humbercourt and all the rest. Further, they said that they had + seen the king's ambassadors in the attacking company and mentioned + them by name. All this was repeated to the duke, who forthwith + believed it and fell into an extreme fury, saying that the king + had come thither to abuse him, and gave commands to shut the gates + of the castle and of the town, alleging a poor enough excuse, + namely, that he did this on account of the disappearance of a + little casket containing some good rings and money. + + "The king finding himself confined in the castle, a small one at + that, and having seen a force of archers standing before the gate, + was terrified for his person--the more so that he was lodged in + the neighbourhood of a tower where a certain Count de Vermandois + had caused the death of one of his predecessors as king of + France.[13] At that time, I was still with the duke and served him + as chamberlain, and had free access to his chamber when I + would, for such was the usage in this household. + + "The said duke, as soon as he saw the gates closed, ordered all to + leave his presence and said to a few of us that stayed with him + that the king had come on purpose to betray him, and that he + himself had tried to avoid his coming with all his strength, and + that the meeting had been against his taste. Then he proceeded to + recount the news from Liege, how the king had pulled all the wires + through his ambassadors, and how his people had been slain. He was + fearfully excited against the king. I veritably believe that if + at that hour he had found those to whom he could appeal ready to + sympathise with him and to advise him to work the king some + mischief, he would have done so, at the least he would have + imprisoned him in the great tower. + + "None were present when the words fell from the duke but myself + and two grooms of the chamber, one of whom was named Charles de + Visen, a native of Dijon, an honest fellow, in good credit with + his master. We aggravated nothing, but sought to appease the duke + as much as in us lay. Soon he tried the same phrases on others, + and a report of them ran through the city and penetrated to the + very apartment of the king, who was greatly terrified, as was + everyone, because of the danger that they saw imminent, and + because of the great difficulty in soothing a quarrel when it + has commenced between such great princes. Assuredly they were + blameworthy in failing to notify their absent servants of this + projected meeting. Great inconveniences were bound to arise from + this negligence." + +Such is Commines's narrative. Eyewitness though he was, it must be +remembered that when he wrote the account of this famous interview it +was long after the event, and when his point of view was necessarily +coloured by his service with Louis. Delightful, however, are the +historian's own reflections that he intersperses with his plain +narrative. To his mind the only period when it is safe for princes to +meet is + + "in their youth when their minds are bent on pleasure. Then they + may amuse themselves together. But after they are come to man's + estate and are desirous each of over-reaching the other, such + interviews do but increase their mutual hatred, even if they incur + no personal peril (which is well-nigh impossible). Far wiser is + it for them to adjust their differences through sage and good + servants as I have said at length elsewhere in these memoirs." + +Then our chronicler proceeds to give numerous instances of disastrous +royal interviews before returning to his subject and to Peronne: + + "I was moved [he adds again at the beginning of his new chapter] + to tell the princes my opinion of such meetings.[14] Thus the + gates were closed and guarded and two or three days passed by. + However, the Duke of Burgundy would not see the king, nor had + Louis's servants entry to the castle except a few, and those only + through the wicket. Nor did the duke see any of his people who had + influence over him. + + "The first day there was consternation throughout the city. By the + second day the duke was a little calmed down. He held a council + meeting all day and the greater part of the night. The king + appealed to every one who could possibly aid him. He was lavish in + his promises and ordered fifteen thousand crowns to be given where + it might count, but the officer in charge of the disbursement of + this sum acquitted himself ill and retained a part, as the king + learned later. + + "The king was especially afraid of his former servants who had + come with the army from Burgundy, as I mentioned above, men who + were now in the service of the Duke of Normandy. + + "Diverse were the opinions in the above-mentioned council-meeting. + Some held that the safe-conduct accorded to the king protected + him, seeing that he fairly observed the peace as it had been + stated in writing. Others rudely urged his capture without further + ceremony, while others again advised sending for his brother, the + Duke of Normandy, and concluding with him a peace to the advantage + of all the princes of France. They who gave this advice thought + that in case it was adopted, the king should be restrained of his + liberty. Further, it was against all precedent to free so great a + seigneur when he had committed so grave an offence. + + "This last argument so nearly prevailed that I saw a man booted + and spurred ready to depart with a packet of letters addressed to + Monseigneur of Normandy, being in Brittany, and stayed only for + the Duke of Burgundy's letter. However, this came to naught. The + king made overtures to leave as hostages the Duke of Bourbon, the + cardinal, his brother, and the constable with a dozen others while + he should be permitted to return to Compiegne after peace was + concluded. He promised that the Liegeois should repair their + mischief or he would declare himself their foe. The appointed + hostages were profuse in their offers to immolate themselves, at + least they were in public. I do not know whether they would have + said the same things in private. I rather suspect not. And in + truth, I believe that those who were left would never have + returned. + + "On the third night after the arrival of the news, the duke never + undressed, but lay down two or three times on his bed, and + then rose and walked up and down. Such was his way when he was + troubled. I lay that night in his chamber and talked with him from + time to time. In the morning his fury was greater than ever, his + tone very menacing, and he seemed ready to go to any extreme. + + "However, he finally brought himself to say that if the king would + swear the peace and would accompany him to Liege to help avenge + Monsgn. of Liege, his own kinsman, he would be satisfied. Then + he suddenly betook himself to the king's chamber and expressed + himself to that effect. The king had a friend[15] who warned him, + assuring him that he should suffer no ill if he would concede + these two points. Did he do otherwise he ran grave risk, graver + than he would ever incur again." + + When the duke entered the royal presence his voice trembled, so + agitated was he and on the verge of breaking into a passion. He + assumed a reverential attitude, but rough were mien and word as he + demanded whether the king would keep the treaty of peace as it had + been drafted, and whether he was ready to swear to it. "Yes" was + the king's response. In truth, nothing had been added to the + agreement made before Paris, or at least little as far as the Duke + of Burgundy was concerned. As regarded the Duke of Normandy, it + was stipulated that if he would renounce that province he should + have Champagne and Brie besides other neighbouring territories for + his share. + + Then the duke asked if the king would accompany him to avenge the + outrage committed upon his cousin the bishop. + + "To which demand the king gave assent as soon as the peace was + sworn. He was quite satisfied to go to Liege and with a small or + large escort, just as the duke preferred. This answer pleased + the duke immensely. In was brought the treaty, out of the king's + coffer was taken the piece of the true cross, the very one carried + by Saint Charlemagne, called the Cross of Victory, and thereupon + the two swore the peace. + + "This was now October 14th. In a minute the bells pealed out their + joy throughout Peronne and all men were glad. It hath pleased the + king since to attribute the credit of this pacification to me." + +There was undoubtedly an immense sense of relief in Peronne when this +degree of accommodation was reached. The duke was unwilling, however, +to have too much rejoicing in his domains until he had ascertained for +himself the state of Liege. Among the letters despatched from Peronne +this October 14th, was the following to the magistrates of Ypres:[16] + + "Dear and well beloved friends, considering that we have to-day + made peace and convention with Monseigneur the king, and that for + this reason you might be inclined to let off fire-works and make + other manifestations of joy, we hasten to advise you that ... our + pleasure is you shall not permit fireworks or assemblies in our + town of Ypres on account of the said peace until we have subdued + the people of Liege, and avenged the said outrage [described + above]. This with God's aid we intend to do. We are on the point + of departure with all our forces for Liege. Beloved, may our Lord + protect you. + + "Written in our castle of Peronne, October 14, 1468." + +A certain G. Ruple conveyed his own impressions to the magistrates of +Ypres, possibly managing to slip them under the same cover.[17] + + "To-day, at about 10 o'clock, peace was concluded between the king + and Monseigneur, and also between the king and the Duke of Berry. + Here, bells are ringing and the _Te Deum_ is sung. It is generally + believed that Monseigneur will depart to-morrow. God deserves + thanks for the result, for I assure you that last night the + outlook was not clear."[18] + +The king wrote as follows to his confidential lieutenant: + + "PERONNE, October 14th. + + "Monseigneur the grand master, you are already informed how there + has been discussion in my council and that of my brother-in-law of + Burgundy, as to the best manner of adjusting certain differences + between him and me. It went so far that in order to arrive at a + conclusion I came to this town of Peronne. Here we have busied + ourselves with the requisitions passing between us, so that to-day + we have, thanks to our Lord, in the presence of all the nobles + of the blood, prelates and other great and notable personages in + great numbers, both from my suite and from his, sworn peace + solemnly on the true cross, and promised to aid, defend and + succour each other for ever. Also on the same cross we have + ratified the treaty of Arras with its corrections and other points + which seemed productive of peace and amity. + + "Immediately after this the Duke of Burgundy ordered thanksgivings + in the churches of his lands, and in this town he has already had + great solemnity. And because my brother of Burgundy has heard that + the Liegeois have taken prisoner my cousin the bishop of Liege, + whom he is determined to deliver as quickly as possible, he has + besought me as a favour to him, and also because the bishop is my + kinsman whom I ought to aid, to accompany him to Liege, not far + from here. This I have agreed to, and have chosen as my escort + a portion of the troops under monseigneur the constable, in the + hopes of a speedy return by the aid of God. + + "And because it is for my weal and that of my subjects I write to + you at once, because _I am sure_ you will be pleased, and that + you will order like solemnities. Moreover, monseigneur the grand + master, as I lately wrote to you, pray as quickly as possible + disband my _arriere ban_ together with the free lances, and + do every possible thing for the mass of poor folks; appoint + well-to-do men as leaders in every bailiwick and district. Above + all, see to it that they do not indulge in any new and startling + conduct. That done, if you wish to come to Bohan, to be nearer + me, I would be glad, so as to be able to provide for any further + action that may arise. Written at Peronne October 14th. + + "Loys MEURIN. + + "To our dear and beloved cousin the Count of Dammartin, grand + master of France."[19] + +Dammartin thought that this letter was phrased for the purpose of +passing Charles's censorship. He took the liberty of disregarding his +master's orders; the troops were not disbanded, and he held himself +in readiness to go to fetch the errant monarch if he did not return +speedily from the enemy's country. His letter to the king and the +unwritten additions delivered by his confidential messengers terrified +his liege lest too much zeal on his behalf in France might work him +ill in Liege. A week later Louis writes again: + + NAMUR, Oct. 22nd. + + "MONSEIGNEUR THE GRAND MASTER: + + "I have received your letter by Sire du Bouchage. _Be assured that + I make this journey to Liege under no constraint, and that I never + took any journey with such good heart as I do this._ Since God and + Our Lady have given me grace to be friends with Monseigneur of + Burgundy, be sure that never shall our rabble over there take arms + against me. Monseigneur the grand master, my friend, you have + proved that you love me, and you have done me the greatest service + that you can, and there is another service that you can do. The + people of Monseigneur of Burgundy think that I mean to deceive + them, and people there [in France] think that I am a prisoner. + Distrust between the two would be my ruin. + + "Monseigneur, as to the quarters of your men, you know what we + planned, you and I, touching the action of Armagnac. It seems + to me that you ought to send your people straight ahead in that + direction and I will furnish you four or five captains as soon as + I am out of this, and you can make what choice you will. M. the + grand master, my friend, come, I beg you, to Laon and await me + there. Send me a messenger the minute you arrive and I will let + you have frequent news. Be assured that as soon as the Liegeois + are subdued, on the morrow I will depart, for Monsg. of Burgundy + is resolved to urge me to go as soon as he has finished his work + at Liege, and he desires my return more than I do. Francois Dunois + will tell you what good cheer we are making. Adieu, monseigneur, + etc. + + "Writ at Namur, Oct. 22nd. + + "LOUIS "TOUSSAINT. + + "To our dear and beloved cousin the Count of Dammartin, grand + master of France."[20] + +Letters of the same date to Rochefoucauld and others also declare that +Louis goes most gladly with his dear brother of Burgundy and that the +affair will not require much time. To Cardinal Balue he writes only a +few words, telling him that the messenger will be more communicative. + +Between Peronne and Namur did the party turn aside to visit the +young Duchess of Burgundy, either at Hesdin or at Aire? Such is the +conjecture of a learned Belgian editor, and he carries his surmise +further in suggesting that in this brief sojourn was performed +Chastellain's mystery of "The Peace of Peronne."[21] Perhaps these +verses, if put in the mouths of Louis and Charles, may have pleased +the princely spectators of the dramatic poem. Mutual admiration was +the key-note of these flowery speeches while the other _dramatis +personæ_ expressed unstinted admiration for the wonderful deed +accomplished by these two pure souls who have sworn peace when they +might have brought dire war on their innocent subjects. + + "Never did David, nor Ogier, nor Roland, that proud knight, + nor the great Charlemagne, nor the proud Duke of Mayence, nor + Mongleive, the heir, from whom issued noble fruit, nor King + Arthur, nor Oliver, nor Rossillon, nor Charbonnier in their dozens + of victories approach or touch with hand or foot the work I treat + of." + + * * * * * + + [The king speaks.] + + "Charles, be assured that Louis will be the re-establisher and + provider of all that touches your honour and peace between you + and him. That he will ever be appreciator of you and avenger, a + nourisher of joy and love in repairing all that my predecessor + did. + + [The duke speaks.] + + "And Charles, who loves his honour as much as his soul, wishes + nothing better than to serve you and this realm and to extol + your house. For I know that is the reason why I have glory and + reputation. Then if it please God and Our Lady, my body will keep + from blame." + +One stanza, indeed, uttered by Louis strikes a note of doubt: +"Charles, so many debates may occur, so many incidents and accidents +in our various actions, that a rupture may be dreaded." + +Vehemently did the duke repudiate the bare possibility of a new breach +between him and his liege. The whole is a pæan at a love feast. If the +two together heard their counterfeits express such perfect fidelity, +how Louis XI. must have laughed to himself behind his mask of forced +courtesy! Charles, on the other hand, was quite capable of taking it +all seriously, wholly unconscious that he had not cut the lion's claws +for once and all. + + +[Footnote 1: _See_ Lavisse iv^{ii}.,356.] + +[Footnote 2: The letters of convocation bear the date February 26, +1467, o.s. Tournay elected four deputies. By April 30th, they had +returned home, and on May 2d they made a report. The items of +expenditure are very exact. So hard had they ridden that a fine horse +costing eleven crowns was used up and was sold for four crowns. M. Van +der Broeck, archivist of Tournay, extracted various items from the +register of the Council. _See_ Kervyn's note. Chastellain, v., 387.] + +[Footnote 3: _See_ Lavisse iv^[ii]., 356.] + +[Footnote 4: Dordrecht was not among them. Her deputies held that +it was illegal for them to go to The Hague. Some time later Charles +received the oaths at Dordrecht. (Wagenaar, _Vaderlandsche Hist._, +iv., 101.] + +[Footnote 5: Treaty of Ancenis, September 10, 1468. _See_ Lavisse, +iv^[ii].] One of the results of the War of Public Weal was that St. +Pol was appointed constable of France.] + +[Footnote 6: The original is in the Mss. de Baluze, Paris, Bibl. Nat.; +Lenglet, iii., 19.] + +[Footnote 7: Commines and a letter to the magistrates of Ypres are the +basis of this narrative. (Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 196.) There +is, however, a mass of additional material both contemporaneous and +commentating. _See also_ Michelet, Lavisse, Kirk, etc. Chastellain's +MS. is lost.] + +[Footnote 8: _See_ Lavisse, iv^[ii]., 397.] + +[Footnote 9: Ludwig v. Diesbach, (_See_ Kirk, i., 559.) The author +was a page in Louis's train, who afterwards played a part in Swiss +affairs.] + +[Footnote 10: It was never captured until Wellington took it in 1814.] + +[Footnote 11: Commines, ii., ch. vii.] + +[Footnote 12: The bishop did indeed meet his death at the hands of the +mob, but it was many years later.] + +[Footnote 13: _Le roi ... se voyait logé, rasibus d'une grosse tour ou +un Comte de Vermandois fit mourir un sien prédécesseur Roy de France_. +(Commines, ii., ch. vii.)] + +[Footnote 14: _Memoires_, ii., ch. ix.] + +[Footnote 15: Undoubtedly Commines wishes it to be inferred that this +was he. The main narrative followed here is Commines, whose memoirs +remain, as Ste.-Beuve says, the definitive history of the times. There +are the errors inevitable to any contemporary statement. Meyer, to be +sure, says, apropos of an incident incorrectly reported, _Falsus in +hoc ut in pluribus historicus_. Kervyn de Lettenhove three centuries +later is also severe. _See_, too, "L'autorité historique de Ph. de +Commynes," Mandrot, _Rev. Hist_., 73.] + +[Footnote 16: Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 199.] + +[Footnote 17: _Ibid._, 200.] + +[Footnote 18: _Waer ic certiffiere dat het dezen nacht niet wel claer +ghestaen heeft._] + +[Footnote 19: _Lettres de Louis XI_, iii., 289. The king apparently +never resented the part played by Dammartin when he was dauphin. His +letters to him are very intimate.] + +[Footnote 20: _Lettres_, iii., 295. (Toussaint is probably Toustain.)] + +[Footnote 21: Kervyn ed., _Oeuvres de Chastellain_, vii., xviii. _See_ +poem, _ibid._, 423. The MS. in the Laurentian Library at Florence +bears this line: "Here follows a mystery made because of the said +peace of good intention in the thought that it would be observed by +the parties." Hesdin is, however, a long way out of the route between +Peronne and Namur, where the party was on October 14th. It would +hardly seem possible for journey and visit in so brief a time.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +AN EASY VICTORY + +1468 + + +It was in the midst of heavy rains that the journey was made to Namur +and then on to the environs of Liege. Grim was the weather, befitting, +in all probability, Charles's own mood. The king's escort was confined +to very few besides the Scottish guard, but a body of three hundred +troopers was permitted to follow him at a distance, while the faithful +Dammartin across the border kept himself closely informed of every +incident connected with the march that his scouts could gather, and +in readiness to fall upon Burgundian possessions at a word of alarm, +while he restrained his ardour for the moment in obedience to Louis's +anxious command. + +By the fourth week of October the Franco-Burgundian party were settled +close to Liege in straggling camps, separated from each other by hills +and uneven ground. Long was the discussion in council meeting as to +the best mode of procedure. Liege was absolutely helpless in the face +of this coalition. Wide breaches made her walls useless. Moats she had +never possessed, for digging was well-nigh impossible on her rocky +site covered by mud and slime from the overflow of the Meuse. On +account of this evident weakness, the king advised dismissing half the +army as needless, advice that was not only rejected immediately but +which excited Charles's doubts of the king's good faith. Over a week +passed and feeble Liege continued obstinate, while each division of +the army manoeuvred to be first in the assault for the sake of the +plunder. But advance was very difficult, for the soldiers were +impeded in their movements by the slime. Wild were some of the night +skirmishes over the uneven, slippery ground and amidst the little +sheltering hills. + +On one occasion, "a great many were hurt and among the rest the Prince +of Orange (whom I had forgotten to name before), who behaved that day +like a courageous gentleman, for he never moved foot off the place he +first possessed. + +The duke, too, did not lack in courage but he failed sometimes +in order giving, and to say the truth, he behaved himself not so +advisedly as many wished because of the king's presence."[1] + +There is no doubt that Charles entertained increasingly sinister +suspicions of his guest. He thought the king might either try to enter +the city ahead of him and manage to placate his ancient allies by a +specious explanation, or else he might succeed in effecting his escape +without fulfilling his compact. At last Charles appointed Sunday, +October 30th, for an assault. On the 29th, his own quarters were in +a little suburb of mean, low houses, with rough ground and vineyards +separating his camp from the city. Between his house and that of the +king, both humble dwellings, was an old granary, occupied by a picked +Burgundian force of three hundred men under special injunctions to +keep close watch over the royal guest and see that he played no sudden +trick. To further this purpose of espionage, they had made a breach in +the walls with heavy blows of their picks. + +The men were wearied with all their marching and skirmishing, and in +order to have them in fighting trim on the morrow, Charles had ordered +all alike to turn in and refresh themselves. The exhausted troops +gladly obeyed this injunction. Charles was disarmed and sleeping, so, +too, were Philip de Commines and the few attendants that lay within +the narrow ducal chamber. Only a dozen pickets mounted guard in the +room over Charles's little apartment, and kept their tired eyes open +by playing at dice. + +On that Saturday night when Charles was thus prudently gathering +strength for the final tussle, the people of Liege also indulged in +repose, counting on Sunday being a day of rest, that is, the major +part of the burgher folk did within city limits. But another plan was +on foot among some of the inhabitants of an outlying region. An attack +on the Burgundian camp was planned by a band from Franchimont, a wild +and wooded district, south of the episcopal see. The natives there had +all the characteristics of mountaineers, although the heights of their +rugged country reached only modest altitudes.[2] + +These invaders were fortunate in obtaining as guides the owners of +the very houses requisitioned for the lodgings of the two princes. +Straight to their goal they progressed through paths quite unknown to +the foe, and therefore unwatched. The highlanders made a mistake +in not rushing headlong to the royal lodgings, where in the first +confusion they might have accomplished their design upon the lives of +Louis and of Charles or at least have taken the two prisoners. But a +pause at a French nobleman's tent created a disturbance which roused +the archers in the granary. The latter sallied out, to meet with a +fierce counter-attack. In order to confuse them the mountaineers +echoed the Burgundian cries, _Vive Bourgogne, vive le roy et tuez, +tuez_, and they were not always immediately identified by their harsh +Liege accent. + +The highlanders were far outnumbered by the Burgundians, and it was +only by dint of their desperate courage and by reason of the pitchy +darkness and of the locality with its unknown roughness that the +former inflicted the damage that they did. + +Commines and his fellows helped the duke into his cuirass, and stood +by his person, while the king's bodyguard of Scottish archers "proved +themselves good fellows, who never budged from their master's feet and +shot arrow upon arrow out into the darkness, wounding more Burgundians +than Liegeois." The first to fall was Charles's own host, the guide of +the marauders to his own cottage door. There were many more victims +and no mercy. It was, indeed, an encounter characterised by the +passions of war and the conditions of a mere burglarious attack on +private houses. + +Quaking with fear was the king. He thought that if the duke should now +fail to make a complete conquest of Liege, his own fate would hang in +the balance. At a hasty council meeting held that night, Charles +was very doubtful as to the expediency of carrying out his proposed +assault upon the city. Very distrustful of each other were the allies, +a fact that caused Philip de Commines to comment,[3] "scarcely fifteen +days had elapsed since these two had sworn a definitive peace and +solemnly promised to support each other loyally. But confidence could +not enter in any way." + +Charles gave Louis permission to retire to Namur and wait until the +duke had reduced the recalcitrant burghers once for all. Louis thought +it wiser to keep close to Charles's own person until they parted +company for ever, and the morrow found him in the duke's company as he +marched on to Liege. + + "My opinion is, [says Commines], that he would have been wise to + depart that night. He could have done it for he had a hundred + archers of his guard, various gentlemen of his household, and, + near at hand, three hundred men-at-arms. Doubtless he was stayed + by considerations of honour. He did not wish to be accused of + cowardice." + +Olivier de la Marche, also present as the princely pair entered Liege, +heard the king say: "March on, my brother, for you are the luckiest +prince alive." As they entered the gates, Louis shouted lustily, +"_Vive Bourgogne_," to the infinite dismay of his former friends, the +burghers of Liege. + +The remainder of the history of that dire Sunday morning differs from +that of other assaults only in harrowing details, and the extremity of +the pitilessness and ferocity manifested by the conquerors. Charles +had previously spared churches, and protected the helpless. Above +all he had severely punished all ill treatment of respectable women. +Little trace of this former restraint was to be seen on this occasion. +The inhabitants were destroyed and banished by dozens. Those who fled +from their homes leaving their untasted breakfasts to be eaten by the +intruding soldiers, those who were scattered through the numerous +churches, those who attempted to defend the breaches in the walls--all +alike were treated without mercy. + +The Cathedral of St. Lambert, Charles did endeavour to protect. "The +duke himself went thither, and one man I saw him kill with his own +hand, whereupon all the company departed and that particular church +was not pillaged, but at the end the men who had taken refuge there +were captured as well as the wealth of the church." + +[Illustration: OLIVIER DE LA MARCHE + +(FROM MS. REPRODUCED IN MÉM. COURONNÉS, ETC., PAR L'ACAD, + +ROYALE DE BELGIQUE VOL. XLIX.)] + +At about midday Charles joined Louis at the episcopal palace, where +the latter had found apartments better suited to his rank than the +rude huts that had sheltered him for the past few days. The king was +in good spirits and enjoyed his dinner in spite of the unsavoury +scenes that were still in progress about him. He manifested great joy +in the successful assault, and was lavish in his praises of the duke's +courage, taking care that his admiring phrases should be promptly +reported to his cousin.[4] His one great preoccupation, however, was +to return to his own realm. + +After dinner the duke and he made good cheer together. "If the king +had praised his works behind his back, still more loud was he in +his open admiration. And the duke was pleased." No telling sign of +friendship for Charles had Louis spared that day, so terrified was he +lest some testimony from his ancient protégés might prove his ruin. +"Let the word be Burgundy," he had cried to his followers when the +attack began. "_Tuez, tuez, vive Bourgogne_." + +There is another contemporaneous historian who somewhat apologetically +relates the following incident of this interview.[5] In this friendly +Sabbath day chat, Charles asked Louis how he ought to treat Liege when +his soldiers had finished their work. No trace of kindliness towards +his old friends was there in the king's answer. + +"Once my father had a high tree near his house, inhabited by crows +who had built their nests thereon and disturbed his repose by their +chatter. He had the nests removed but the crows returned and built +anew. Several times was this repeated. Then he had the tree cut down +at the roots. After that my father slept quietly." + +Four or five days passed before Louis dared press the question of his +return home. The following note written in Italian, dated on the day +of the assault, is significant of his state of mind: + + + LOUIS XI. TO THE COUNT DE FOIX + + "Monseigneur the Prince: + + "To-day my brother of Burgundy and I entered in great multitude + and with force into this city of Liege, and because I have great + desire to return, I advise you that on next Tuesday morning I will + depart hence, and I will not cease riding without making any stops + until I reach there.[6] I pray you to let me know what is to be + done. + + "Writ at Liege, October 30th. + + "LOYS + + "DE LA LOERE." + + +Punctilious was Louis in his assurances to his host that if he could +be of any further aid he hoped his cousin would command him. If there +were, indeed, nothing, he thought his best plan would be to go to +Paris and have the late treaty duly recorded and published to insure +its validity. Charles grumbled a little, but finally agreed to speed +his parting guest after the treaty had been again read aloud to the +king so that he might dissent from any one of its articles or ever +after hold his peace. + +Quite ready was Louis to re-confirm everything sworn to at Peronne. +Just as he was departing he put one more query: "'If perchance my +brother now in Brittany should be dissatisfied with the share I accord +him out of love to you, what do you want me to do?' The duke answered +abruptly and without thought: 'If he does not wish to take it, but +if you content him otherwise, I will trust to you two.' From this +question and answer arose great things as you shall hear later. So +the king departed at his pleasure, and Mons. de Cordes and d'Émeries, +Grand Bailiff of Hainaut escorted him out of ducal territory."[7] + + "O wonderful and memorable crime of this king of the French + [declares a contemporaneous Liege sympathiser.][8] Scarcely + anything so bad can be found in ancient annals or in modern + history. What could be more stupid or more perfidious, or a better + instance of infamy than for a king who had incited a people to + arms against the Burgundians to act thus for the sake of his own + safety? Not once but many times had he pledged them his faith, + offering them defence and assistance against the same Burgundians. + And now when they are overwhelmed and confounded by this + Burgundian duke, this king actually co-operates with their foe, to + their damage, wears that foe's insignia and dares to hide himself + behind those emblems, and assist to destroy those to whom he + himself had furnished aid and subsidies with pledges of good + faith! I am ashamed to commit this to writing, and to hand it down + to posterity, knowing that it will seem incredible to many. But + it is so notorious throughout France and is confirmed by so many + adequate witnesses who have seen and heard these things that no + room is left for doubt of their veracity except to one desiring to + ignore the truth."[9] + +November 2d is the date of Louis's departure. It needs no stretch +of the imagination to believe the words of his little Swiss page, +Diesbach, when he says that on reaching French soil Louis dismounted +and kissed the ground in a paroxysm of joy that he was his own man +again.[10] Devoutly, too, he gave thanks to God for helping him in his +need. Still this joy was concealed under euphemistic phrases in his +correspondence. On November 5th, he wrote again to the Duke of Milan +from Beaumont: + + "We went in person with the duke against the Liegeois, on account + of their rebellion and offence, and the city being reduced by + force to the power of the duke, we have left him in some part of + Liege as we were anxious to return to our kingdom of France." + +In January, 1469, Guillaume Toustain, the brother of the faithful +secretary Aloysius Toustain, who had written several of Louis's +letters from Liege, goes to Pavia to finish his studies, and Louis +writes to the Duke of Milan asking him to assure his protégé a +pleasant reception in the university. + +The ratification of the treaty took place duly at Paris on Saturday, +November 19th, and the king also sternly forbade the circulation of +any "paintings, rondels, ballads, songs, or defamatory pamphlets" +about Charles.[11] The same informant tells us that loquacious birds +were put under a ban. + + "And on the same day in behalf of the king, and by virtue of his + commission addressed to a young man of Paris named Henry Perdriel, + all the magpies, jays, and _chouettes_, caged or otherwise, were + taken in charge, and a record was made of all the places where the + said birds were taken and also all that they knew how to say, like + _larron, paillart_, etc., _va hors, va! Perrette donnes moi à + boire_, and various other phrases that they had been taught." + +Abbé le Grand thinks that "Perrette" was meant for Peronne instead of +a mistress of Louis of that name. But this conjecture seems the only +basis for the very deep-rooted tradition that _Peronne_ was a word +Louis could not bear to have uttered. + +"In the way of justice there is nothing going on here, [wrote one +Anthony de Loisey from Liege to the president of Burgundy], except +every day they hang and draw such Liegeois as are found or have been +taken prisoners and have no money to ransom themselves. The city is +well plundered, nothing remains but rubbish. For example I have not +been able to find a sheet of paper fit for writing to you, but with +all my pains could get nothing but some leaves from an old book."[12] + +Charles decided that nothing should be left standing except churches +and ecclesiastical buildings. On November 9th, before the final fires +were lit, he departed from the wretched town and went down the left +bank of the Meuse to an abbey on the river, where he paused for the +night. Four leagues distant from the city was this place, and from it +were plainly visible the flames of the burning buildings on that grim +St. Hubert's Day--a day when Liege had been wont to give vent to +merriment. + +"From all the dangers that had encompassed him, Charles escaped with +his life, simply because his hour had not yet struck, and because +he was God's chosen instrument to punish the sinning city," is the +verdict of one chronicler who does not spare his fellow-Liegeois for +their follies while he profoundly pities their fate.[13] + +Out of the many contemporaneous accounts a portion of a private letter +from the duke's cup-bearer to his sister is added:[14] + + "Very dear sister, with a very good heart I recommend myself to + you and to all my good friends, men and women in our parts, not + forgetting my _beaux-pères,_ Martin Stephen and Dan Gauthier. Pray + know that, thanks to God, I and all my people are safe and sound. + As to my horses, one was wounded and another is sick in the hands + of the marshals at Namur, and the others are thin enough and have + no grain to eat except hay. The weather, has, indeed, been enough + to strike a chill to the hearts of men and horses. Since we left + Burgundy there have not been three fine days in succession and we + are in a worse state than wolves. + + "You already know how we passed through Lorraine and Ratellois + without troubling about Salesart or other French captains, nor the + other Lorrainers either, although they were under orders to + attack us, and were no more afraid of us than we of them. As we + approached the territory of Hainaut, M. the duke sent Messire + Pierre de Harquantbault[15] to us to show us what road to take. + He told us that the duke had made a treaty with the king, who had + visited him, news that filled us with astonishment.... + + After skirmishing for several days we reached the faubourgs of + Liege and remained there three of four days under arms, with no + sleep and little food, and our horses standing in the rain with no + shelter but the trees. While we were thus lodged, the king and + the duke with a fair escort arrived and took up their quarters in + certain houses near the faubourg. [... Constant firing was + interchanged for several days. Sallies were essayed and men were + slain.] + + "Finally a direct attack was made on the king and Monseigneur + and there were more of their people than ours and that night + Monseigneur was in great danger. The following Sunday at 9 A.M. we + began the assault in three separate quarters. It was a fine thing + to see the men-at-arms march on the walls of the said city, some + climbing and others scaling them with ladders. The standards + of monseigneur the marshal and monsgn. de Renty who had been + stationed together in the faubourgs, were the first within the + said city which contained at that moment sixteen to eighteen + thousand combatants, who were surprised when they saw their walls + scaled. + + "In a moment we entered crying 'Burgundy' and 'city gained.' Ever + so many of their people were slain and drowned in their flight. We + flew to reach the market-place and the church of St. Lambert where + a number of prisoners were taken and thrown into the water. Our + ensign stood in the midst of the fray on the market-place, in the + hopes that they would rally for a combat but they rallied only + to flee. While we held our position on the square several were + created knights.... All the churches--more than four hundred--were + pillaged and plundered. It is rumoured that they will be burnt + together with the rest of the city. Piteous it is to see what ill + is wrought.... [The king] stayed in the city with Monseigneur two + or three days. Then he departed, it is said for Brussels to await + my said lord. It is a great thing to have seen the puissance of my + master, _which is great enough to defeat an emperor_. I believe + the Burgundians will shortly return to Burgundy. + + "I paid my respects to my said lord, who received me very well. At + present I am listed[16] among those whose term is almost expired + and I am ready to follow him wherever he wishes until my service + is out, which will be soon. I would have written before had I had + any one to send it by. Pray write me about yourself by the first + comer. Praying our Lord, beloved sister, to keep you. Written in + Liege, November 8, 1468. + + "JEHAN DE MAZILLES." + + +This sober letter and other accounts by reliable witnesses agree as to +the terrible havoc wrought in the city by the assault on October 30th +and by determined and systematic measures of destruction, both during +Charles's ten days' sojourn for the express purpose of completing the +punishment and after his departure. Yet the result assuredly fell +short of the intention. The destruction was not complete as was that +of Dinant. Vitality remained, apart from the ecclesiastical nucleus +intentionally preserved by the duke. + +Having watched the tongues of flame lap the unfortunate city, Charles +turned with his army towards Franchimont, that rugged hill country +which had proved a nest of hardy and persistent antagonists to +Burgundian pretensions. Jehan de Mazilles is in close attendance and +gives further details of the pitiless fashion in which Charles carried +out his purpose of leaving no seed of resistance to germinate. Four +nights and three days they sojourned in a certain little village while +there was a hard frost and where, without unarming, they "slept under +the trees and drank water." Meantime a small party was despatched +by the duke to attack the stronghold of Franchimont. The despairing +Liegeois who had taken refuge there abandoned it, and it was taken by +assault. A few more days and the duke was assured that Liege and her +people were shorn of their strength. When the remnant of survivors +began to creep back to the city and tried to recover what was left +of their property, many were the questions to be settled. Lawsuits +succeeded to turmoils and lingered on for years. + +In the lordly manner of conquerors Charles, too, demanded +reimbursement for his trouble in bending these free citizens to +his illegal will. The reinstated bishop wanted his rents and legal +perquisites, all difficult to collect, and many were the ponderous +documents that passed on the subject. How justly pained sounds +Charles's remonstrance on the default of payment of taxes to his +friend, the city's lord! + +"Therefore [he writes,] in consideration of these things, taking into +account the terror of our departure to Brussels last January, we +decide, my brother and I, that the payment of both _gabelle_ and poll +tax must be forced, and that we cannot permit the retarding of such +taxes under any colour or pretence. At the request of our brother and +cousin we order the inhabitants of the said territories to pay both +_gabelle_ and poll tax, all that is due from the time it was imposed +and for the time to come, under penalty of the confiscation of their +goods and their persons." + +It was the old story of bricks without straw--taxes and rents for +property ruthlessly destroyed were so easy. To this extent of tyranny +had Duke Philip never gone, and undoubtedly the treatment of Liege was +a step towards Charles's final disaster. So much hatred was excited +against him that his adherents fell off one by one when his luck began +to fail him. + +No omen of misfortune was to be seen at this time, however. That month +of November saw him master absolute wherever he was and he used his +power autocratically. At Huy, he had a number of prisoners executed. +At Louvain, at Brussels, he gave fresh examples of his relentlessness +as an overlord. + + +[Footnote 1: Commines, ii., ch. xi. It was not far from the place +where another Prince of Orange tried to cross the Meuse exactly a +hundred years later.] + +[Footnote 2: The story of the "men of Franchimont" is questioned. +Commines is the only authority for it.] + +[Footnote 3: II., ch. xiii.] + +[Footnote 4: Commines, ii., ch. xiii.] + +[Footnote 5: Oudenbosch, _Veterum scriptorum, etc. Amplissima +Collectio_, ed. E. Martene, iv. Rerum Leodiensim. Opus Adriani de +Veteri Busco, p. 1343. The writer acknowledges that the story is +hearsay.] + +[Footnote 6: "_Non cessero di cavalchare senza fare demoia alcuna. +Lettres,iii_., 300.] + +[Footnote 7: Commines, ii., ch. xiv.] + +[Footnote 8: "_O proeclarum et memorabile facinus hujus regis +Francorum_."] + +[Footnote 9: Basin, _Histoire des règnes de Charles VII. et de Louis +XI_., Quicherat ed., ii., 204. This also appears in _Excerpta ex +Amelgardi. De gestis Ludovici XI_., cap. xxiii. Martene's _Amplissima +Collectio,_ iv., 740 _et seq_.] + +[Footnote 10: Quoted in Kirk, i., 606, note.] + +[Footnote 11: Jean de Roye, _Chronique Scandaleuse_, ed. Mandrot, i., +220.] + +[Footnote 12: Comines-Lenglet, iii., 83.] + +[Footnote 13: Johannes de Los, _Chronicon_, p. 60. _Quia hora nendum +venerat._ De Ram, "Troubles du pays de Liége."] + +[Footnote 14: Commynes-Dupont, _Preuves_, iii., 242. Letter of Jehan +de Mazilles to his sister.] + +[Footnote 15: Hagenbach, later Governor of Alsace.] + +[Footnote 16: _Conte aux escros_. This word strictly applies to the +prisoners on a jailer's list--evidently used in jest.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +A NEW ACQUISITION + +1469-1473 + + +This successful expedition against Liege carried Charles of Burgundy +to the very crest of his prosperity. His self-esteem was moreover +gratified by the regard shown to him at home and abroad. A man who +could force a royal neighbour into playing the pitiful rôle enacted by +Louis XI. at Peronne was assuredly a man to be respected if not loved. +And messages of admiration and respect couched in various terms +were despatched from many quarters to the duke as soon as he was at +Brussels to receive them. + +Ghent had long since made apologies for the sorry reception accorded +to their incoming Count of Flanders in 1467, but Charles had postponed +the formal _amende_ until a convenient moment of leisure. January 15, +1469, was finally appointed for this ceremony and the occasion was +utilised to show the duke's grandeur, the city's humiliation, to as +many people as possible who might spread the report far and wide. + +It was a Sunday. Out in the courtyard of the palace the snow was thick +on the ground where a group of Ghent burghers cooled their heels for +an hour and a half, awaiting a summons to the ducal presence. There, +too, where every one could see those emblems of the artisans' +corporate strength, fluttered fifty-two banners unfurled before the +deans of the Ghentish _métiers_.[1] + +Within, the great hall of the palace showed a splendid setting for a +brilliant assembly. The most famous Burgundian tapestries hung on the +walls. Episodes from the careers of Alexander, of Hannibal, and of +other notable ancients formed the background for the duke and his +nobles, knights of the Golden Fleece, in festal array. As spectators, +too, there were all the envoys and ambassadors then present in +Brussels from "France, England, Hungary, Bohemia, Naples, Aragon, +Sicily, Cyprus, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Russia, Livornia, Prussia, +Austria, Milan, Lombardy, and other places." + +Charles himself was installed grandly on a kind of throne, and to his +feet Olivier de la Marche conducted the civic procession of penitents. +Before this pompous gathering, after a statement of the city's sin and +sorrow, the precious charter called the Grand Privilege of Ghent +was solemnly read aloud, and then cut up into little pieces with a +pen-knife. Next followed a recitation of the penalties imposed upon, +and accepted by, the citizens (closing of the gates, etc)., and then +the paternal Count of Flanders, duly mollified, pronounced the fault +forgiven with the benediction, "By virtue of this submission and by +keeping your promises and being good children, you shall enjoy our +grace and we will be a good prince." "May our Saviour Jesus Christ +confirm and preserve this peace to the end of this century," is the +pious ejaculation with which the _Relation_ closes. + +Among the witnesses of the above scene, when the independent citizens +of Ghent meekly posed as the duke's children, were envoys from George +Podiebrad, ex-king of Bohemia. Lately deposed by the pope, he was +seeking some favourable ally who might help him to recover his realm. +He had conceived a plan for a coalition between Bohemia, Poland, +Austria, and Hungary to present a solid rampart against the Turks, +and strong enough to dictate to emperor and pope. He was ready for +intrigue with any power and had approached Louis XI. and Matthias +Corvinus, King of Hungary, before turning to Charles of Burgundy.[2] + +Meantime, the Emperor Frederic tried to knit links with this same +Matthias by suggesting that he might be the next emperor, assuring +him that he could count on the support of the electors of Mayence, of +Trèves, and of Saxony. He himself was world-weary and was anxious to +exchange his imperial cares for the repose of the Church could he +only find a safe guardian for his son, Maximilian, and a desirable +successor for himself. Would not Matthias consider the two offices? + +Potent arguments like these induced Matthias not only to turn his back +on Podiebrad, but to accept that deposed monarch's crown which the +Bohemian nobles offered him May 3, 1469. Then he proceeded to ally +himself with Frederic, elector palatine, and with the elector of +Bavaria. This was the moment when the ex-king of Bohemia made renewed +offers of friendly alliance to Charles of Burgundy. In his name the +Sire de Stein brought the draft of a treaty of amity to Charles which +contained the provision that Podiebrad should support the election +of Charles as King of the Romans, in consideration of the sum of two +hundred thousand florins (Rhenish).[2] + +This modest sum was to secure not only Podiebrad's own vote but his +"influence" with the Archbishop of Mayence, the Elector of Saxony +and the Margrave of Brandenburg.[4] While Podiebrad thus dangled +the ultimate hopes of the imperial crown before the duke's eyes, he +over-estimated his credulity. As a matter of fact the royal exile had +no "influence" at all with the first named elector, and the last, too, +showed no disposition whatsoever to serve his unstable policy. Both +were content to advise Emperor Frederic. The sole result of the empty +overtures was to increase Charles's own sense of importance. + +Another negotiation which sought him unasked had, however, a material +influence on the course of events, and must be touched on in some +detail. Sigismund of Austria--first duke then archduke,--Count of +Tyrol, cousin of the Emperor Frederic, was a member of the House of +Habsburg. In 1449, he had married Eleanor of Scotland, and became +brother-in-law of Louis during the term of the dauphin's first +marriage. An indolent, extravagant prince, he was greatly dominated +by his courtiers. His heritage as Count of Tyrol included certain +territories lying far from his capital, Innsbruck. Certain portions +of Upper Alsace, lands on both sides of the Rhine, Thurgau, Argau in +Switzerland, Breisgau, and some other seigniories in the Black Forest +were under his sway. + +These particular domains were so remote from Innsbruck that the +authority of the hereditary overlord had long been eluded. The nobles +pillaged the land near their castles very much at their own sweet +will. The harassed burghers appealed to the Alsatian Décapole,[5] and +again to the free Swiss cantons for protection, and sometimes obtained +more than they wanted. + +Mulhouse was seriously affected by these lawless depredations. To her, +Berne promised aid in a twenty-five years' alliance signed in 1466, +and at Berne's insistance the cowardly nobles restrained their +license. But when the city attempted to extend its authority Sigismund +interfered. Having no army, however, he could not recover Waldshut, +which the Swiss claimed a right to annex, except by offering ten +thousand florins for the town's ransom. Poor in cash as he was in men, +he had, however, no means to pay this ransom and begged aid in every +direction. Moreover, he feared further aggressions from the cantons, +which were growing more daring. What man in Europe was better able to +teach them a lesson than Charles, the destroyer of Liege, the stern +curber of undue liberty in Flanders? Was he not the very person to +tame insolent Swiss cowherds? + +In the course of the year 1468, Sigismund made known to Charles his +desire for a bargain, intimating that in case of the duke's refusal, +he would carry his wares to Louis XI. At that moment, Charles was +busied with Liege and showed no interest in Sigismund's proposition. +The latter tried to see Louis XI. personally in accordance with his +imperial cousin's advice that an interview might be more effective +than a letter. + +It did not prove a propitious time, however; Louis was deeply engaged +with Burgundy and he was not disposed to take any steps that might +estrange the Swiss--and any espousal of Sigismund's interests might +alienate them. He did not even permit an opening to be made, but +stopped Sigismund's approach to him by a message that he would not for +a moment entertain a suggestion inimical to those dear friends of his +in the cantons--a sentiment that quickly found its way to Switzerland. + +Thus stayed in his effort to win Louis's ear, Sigismund decided that +he would make another essay towards a Burgundian alliance, this time +face to face with the duke. On to Flanders he journeyed and found +Charles in the midst of the ostentatious magnificence already +described. Ordinary affairs of life were conducted with a splendour +hardly attained by the emperor in the most pompous functions of his +court. Sigismund was absolutely dazzled by the evidence of easy +prosperity. The fact that a maiden was the duke's sole heiress led +the Austrian to conceive the not unnatural idea that this attractive +Burgundian wealth might be turned into the impoverished imperial +coffers by a marriage between Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian, the +emperor's son. + +[Illustration: MARY OF BURGUNDY FROM CONTEMPORANEOUS MINIATURE +REPRODUCED IN BARANTE, "LES DUCS DE BOURGOGNE"] + +The visitor not only thought of this possibility, but he immediately +broached it to Charles. The bait was swallowed. As to the main +proposition which Sigismund had come expressly to make, that, too, +was not rejected. The duke perceived that the transfer of the Rhenish +lands to his jurisdiction might militate to his advantage. A passage +would be opened towards the south for his troops without the need of +demanding permission from any reluctant neighbour. The risk of trouble +with the Swiss did not affect him when weighing the advantages of +Sigismund's proffer, a proffer which he finally decided to accept. +Probably he found his guest a pleasant party to a bargain, for not +only did he broach the tempting alliance between Mary and Maximilian, +but he, too, seems to have hinted that the title of "King of the +Romans" might be added to the long list of appellations already signed +by Charles.[6] As Sigismund was richer in kin, if not in coin, than +the feeble Podiebrad, Charles gave serious heed to the suggestion +which fell incidentally from his guest's lips, in the course of the +long conversations held at Bruges. + +Certain precautions were taken to protect Charles from being dragged +into Swiss complications against his will, and then in May, 1469, +the treaty of St. Omer was signed,[7] wherein the Duke of Burgundy +accorded his protection to Sigismund of Austria and received from him +all his seigniorial rights within certain specified territories. + +The most important part of this cession comprised Upper Alsace and +the county of Ferrette, but there were also many other fragments of +territory and rights of seigniory involved, besides lordship over +various Rhenish cities, such as Rheinfelden, Saeckingen, Lauffenburg, +Waldshut and Brisac. This last named town commanded the route +eastward, as Waldshut that to the southeast, and Thann the highway +through the Vosges region. + +Fifty thousand florins was the price for the property and the claims +transferred from Sigismund to Charles. Ten thousand were to be paid at +once, in order to ransom Waldshut from the Swiss. The remainder was +due on September 24th. On his part, Sigismund specifically recognised +the duke's right to redeem all domains nominally his but mortgaged for +the time being, certain estates or seignorial rights having been thus +alienated for 150 years. + +This territorial transfer was not a sale. It was a mortgage, but a +mortgage with possession to the mortgagee and further restricted by +the provision that there could be no redemption unless the mortgager +could repay at Besançon the whole loan plus all the outlay made by the +mortgagee up to that date. Instalment payments were expressly ruled +out. The entire sum intact was made obligatory. Therefore the danger +of speedy redemption did not disquiet Charles. He knew the man he had +to deal with. Sigismund's lack of foresight and his prodigality were +notorious. There was faint chance that he could ever command the +amount in question. Accordingly, Charles was fairly justified in +counting the mortgaged territory as annexed to Burgundy in perpetuity. + +Sigismund pocketed his florins eagerly. Nothing could have been more +welcome to him. But this relief from the pressure of his pecuniary +embarrassment did not inspire him with love for the man who held his +lost lands. His sentiments towards Charles were very similar to those +of an heir towards a usurer who has helped him in a temporary strait +by mulcting him of his natural rights. + +As for the emperor, when this transfer of territory was an +accomplished fact, he began to take fright at the consequences. He did +not like this intrusion of a powerful French peer into the imperial +circle.[8] At the same time he was ready to make him share +responsibility in any further difficulties that might arise between +Sigismund and the Swiss. + +The least skilful of prophets could have foreseen difficulties for +Charles on his own account, both foreign and domestic. His own +relations with the Swiss had always been friendly enough, but he had +never before been so near a neighbour, while, within the Rhine lands, +it was an open question whether the bartered inhabitants were to +enjoy or regret their new tie with Burgundy. The importance of their +sentiments was a matter of as supreme indifference to Charles as was +danger from the Confederation. Neither conciliation nor diplomacy +was in his thoughts. He had no conception of the intricacies of the +situation. He counted the landgraviate as definitely his by the treaty +of St. Omer as Brabant by heritage or Liege by conquest. + +The need of a kindly policy towards the little valley towns--a policy +that might have won their allegiance--never occurred to him. They were +his property and Peter von Hagenbach was, in course of time, made +lieutenant-governor in his behalf. + +Apart from all personal considerations of enmity and amity of natives +and neighbours, the territory of Upper Alsace and the county of +Ferrette, delivered from needy Austria to rich Burgundy, like a coat +pawned by a poor student, was held under very complex and singular +conditions.[9] The status of the bargain between Sigismund and Charles +was in point of fact something between pawn and sale, according to the +point of view. Sigismund fully intended to redeem it, while Charles +did not admit that possibility as remotely contingent. Nor was that +the only peculiarity. The itemised list of the ceded territories as +given in the treaty was far from telling the facts of the possessions +passing to Sigismund's proxy. + +In the first place the Austrian seigniories were not compact. They +were scattered here and there in the midst of lands ruled by others, +as the Bishop of Strasburg, the Abbé of St. Blaise in the Black +Forest, the count Palatine, the citizens of Basel and of Mulhouse, and +others. + +The existent variety in the extent and nature of Austrian title was +extraordinary. Nearly every possible combination of dismembered +prerogative and actual tenure had resulted from the long series of +ducal compositions. In some localities a toll or a quit-rent was the +sole cession, and again a toll or a prerogative was almost the only +residue remaining to the ostensible overlord, while all his former +property or transferable birthright privileges were lodged in +various hands on divers tenures. There were cases in which the +mortgagee--noble, burgher, or municipal corporation--had taken the +exact place of the Austrian duke and in so doing had become the vassal +of his debtor, stripped of all vested interest but his sovereignty. +For in these bargains wherein elements of the Roman contract and +feudal customs were curiously blended, two classes of rights had been +invariably reserved by the ducal mortgagers: + + (1) Monopolies, regal in nature, such as assured free circulation on +the highways, the old Roman roads, all jurisdiction of passports and +travellers' protection. + + (2) The suzerainty. This comprised the power to confer fiefs, of +requisition of military service, of requesting _aids_ and admission to +strongholds, cities, or castles, _le droit de forteresse jurable et +rendable_. + +In these regards the compact between Charles and Sigismund differed +from all previous covenants not only in degree, but in kind. The Duke +of Burgundy entered into the _sovereign_ as well as into the mangled, +maimed, and curtailed proprietary rights of the hereditary over-lord. + +In his assumption of this involved and doubtful property, Charles laid +heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. The actual price of fifty +thousand gold florins paid to Sigismund was a mere fraction of the +pecuniary obligations incurred, while the weight of care was difficult +to gauge. He succeeded to princes weak, frivolous, prodigal, whose +misrule had long been a curse to the land. The incursions of +the Swiss, the repeated descents of the Rhine nobles from their +crag-lodged strongholds to pillage and destroy, terrified merchants +and plunged peaceful labourers into misery. + +Through hatred of the absentee Austrians, the neighbouring cities +repeatedly became the accomplices of these brigands, affording them +asylums for refitting and free passage when they were laden with +evident booty. + +In all departments of finance and administration disorder prevailed. +The chief officials, castellans and councillors, enjoyed high salaries +for neglected duties. The castles were in wretched repair and there +were insufficient troops to guard the roads. There was no dependence +upon the receipts nominally to be expected. In the sub-mortgaged +lands, the lords simply levied what they could, without the slightest +responsibility for the order of the domain; they did not hesitate to +charge their suzerain for repairs never made, confident that no one +would verify their declaration. + +In the territories of the immediate domain, the Austrian dukes and +their officials had no notion of the rigid system maintained in +Burgundy. Only here and there can little memoranda be found and these +are confused and obscure. There is a dearth of accurate records like +those voluminous registers of outlays kept by Burgundian receivers, +registers so rich in detail that they are more valuable for the +historian than any chronicle. + +Exact appraisal of the resources of these _pays de par de là_ was very +difficult. Between 1469 and 1473 there were three efforts to obtain +reliable information by means of as many successive commissions +despatched to the Rhine valley by the Duke of Burgundy. + +Envoys drew up minutes of their observations in addition to their +official reports and all were preserved in the archives. As these were +written from testimony gathered on the spot, such as the accounts of +the receivers now lost, etc., there is real value in the documents. + +The first commission in behalf of Burgundy was composed of two Germans +and three Walloons. One of the former was Peter von Hagenbach, who +won no enviable reputation in the later exercise of his office as +lieutenant-governor of the annexed region, to which he was shortly +afterwards appointed. This first commission entered into formal +possession in Charles's name and instituted some desired reforms +immediately, such as policing the highways, etc. + +The second commission made its visit in 1471. It consisted of Jean +Pellet, treasurer of Vesoul, and Jean Poinsot, procureur-general of +Amont. + +The third commission (1473) was under the auspices of Monseigneur +Coutault, master of accounts at Dijon. He carried with him the report +of his predecessors and made his additions thereto. + +Charles's directions to Poinsot and Pellet (June 13, 1471) were vague +and general. They were "to see the conduct of his affairs" _(voir la +conduite de ses affaires_). The important point was to find out how +much revenue could be obtained. As the duke's plan of expansion grew +larger he had need of all his resources. + +The reports were eminently discouraging. Outlay was needed +everywhere--income was small. As the chances of peculation diminished, +the castellans deserted their posts and left the castles to decay. +The Burgundian commission of 1471 found the difficulties of their +exploration increased by two items. Charles had not advanced an +allowance for their expenses and they were anxious to be back at +Vesoul by Michaelmas, the date of the change in municipal offices and +of appropriations for the year. It was in hopes of receiving advance +moneys that they delayed in starting, but the approaching election and +coming winter finally decided them to set out, pay their own expenses, +and complete the business as rapidly as they could in a fortnight. + +The summary of this report of 1471 was that there was little present +prospect that Charles would be able to reimburse himself for his +necessary expenses. An undue portion of authority and of revenue was +legally lodged in alien hands. Charles was possessed of germs of +rights rather than of actual rights. The earlier creditors of Austria +held all the best mortgages with their attendant emoluments. The +immediate profits accruing to the Duke of Burgundy fell far short +of the minimum necessary to disburse to keep his government, his +strongholds, his highways in repair. Very disturbed were the good +treasurer of Vesoul and the procureur-general of Amont at this state +of affairs, and distressed at the prospect of the ampler receipts from +Burgundy being required to relieve the pressing necessities of the +poor territories _de par de là_. + +To avoid this contingency, the commissioners recommended the duke +to redeem all the existing mortgages great and small. It would cost +140,000 florins, but the revenue would at once increase with the new +security which would immediately follow under firm Burgundian rule. +Sole master, Charles could then enforce obedience from nobles and +cities and better conditions would be inaugurated. + +Evidently this rational advice was not taken, for it is repeated by +Coutault in 1473. Redemption of the mortgages, "if your affairs can +afford it," is the counsel given by the chamber of accounts at Dijon, +though this sage board adds that they were well aware that in the +previous month Monseigneur could not put his hands on a hundred +florins to redeem one wretched little _gagerie._ The native coffers of +the region did not suffice to settle the salaries of the officers in +charge. + +Such then was the new acquisition of Charles after four years of his +administration. Peter von Hagenbach, his deputy in charge of this +unremunerative territory, is a character painted in the darkest +colours by all historians. It is more than probable that his unpopular +efforts to make bricks without straw were largely responsible for his +unenviable reputation. Ground between the upper and lower millstones +of Charles's clamours for revenues and popular clamours that the +people had nothing wherewith to pay, Hagenbach developed into a +taskmaster of the hardest and most unpitying type, who made himself +thoroughly hated by the people he was set to rule. + +It must be remembered that there was no cleft in nationality or in +language between governor and governed. He was not a foreigner set +over them. He was one of them raised to a high position. There was +then no French element in Lower Alsace. It was then German pure and +simple. + +[Illustration: UPPER ALSACE AND ADJACENT TERRITORY BY PERMISSION OF +HACHETTE, 1902] + + +[Footnote 1: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., i., 204-209. "Relation de +l'assemblée solennelle tenue à Bruxelles le 15 Jan., 1469."] + +[Footnote 2: See Toutey, _Charles le Téméraire et la ligue de +Constance_, p. 7.] + +[Footnote 3: See the text given in Comines-Lenglet, iii., 116. Charles +is characterised as _ducem strenuum in armis ac justitiæ præcipium +zelatorem_.] + +[Footnote 4: See Toutey, p. 8; also Lavisse, iv^{ii}., 371.] + +[Footnote 5: Thus was named the assembly of ten Alsatian towns from +Strasburg to Basel, organised into a half independent confederation by +the Emperor Charles IV.] + +[Footnote 6: Toutey, p. 11.] + +[Footnote 7: See "Fontes Rerum Austriacarum" Chmel, J., _Urkunden zur +Geschichte von Osterreich_, etc., II^2, 223 _et passim_. One document, +p. 229, has _Marz_ as a misprint for _Mai_.] + +[Footnote 8: Charles was, to be sure, already within that circle for +some of his Netherland provinces, but his feudal obligations there +were very shadowy.] + +[Footnote 9: See Toutey, Lavisse, etc., and above all a valuable +article by L. Stouff, entitled "Les Possessions Bourguignonnes dans la +vallée du Rhin sous Charles le Téméraire," _Annales de l'Est,_ vol. +18. This article, is the result of a careful examination of the +reports made by Poinsot and Pellet, Charles's commissioners.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +ENGLISH AFFAIRS + +1470-1471 + + +In order to follow out the extension of Burgundian jurisdiction in +one direction, the course of events in the duke's life has been +anticipated a little. The thread of the story now returns to 1469, +when Charles and Sigismund separated at St. Omer both well pleased +with their bargain. Charles tarried for a time at Ghent and Bruges +and then proceeded to Zealand and Holland, where his sojourn had been +interrupted in 1468 by his alarm about French duplicity. In the glow +caused by his past achievements, his present reputation, and future +prospects, Charles of Burgundy was in a mood to prove to his subjects +his excellence as a paternal ruler. Wherever he paused on his journey +easy access was permitted to his presence and he was lavish in the +time given to receiving petitions from the humblest plaintiff. The +following gruesome incident is an illustration of the summary methods +attributed to him.[1] + +Shortly before the ducal visit to Middelburg, the governor, a man +of noble birth, a knight, fell in love with a married woman who +indignantly repudiated his advances. In revenge the governor had the +husband arrested on a charge of high treason. The wife, left without a +protector, continued obdurate to the knight until the alternative of +her husband's release or his death was offered her as the reward for +accepting the governor's base suit or as the penalty of her refusal. +She chose to redeem the prisoner. Having paid the price she went to +the prison and was led to her husband truly, but he lay dead and in +his coffin! + +When the Duke of Burgundy was once within the Zealand capital, this +injured woman hastened to throw herself at his feet, a petitioner +for justice. He heard her complaint and straightway summoned the +ex-governor to his presence. The accused confessed that he had been +carried away by his adoration for the woman, reminded Charles of +his long and faithful devotion to the late duke and to himself, and +offered any possible reparation for his crime. The duke ordered him to +marry his victim. The widow was horrified at the suggestion, but was +forced by her family to accept it. After the nuptial benediction, the +knight again appeared before Charles to assure him that the plaintiff +was satisfied. "She, yes," replied the duke coldly, "but not I." He +remanded the bridegroom to prison, had him shriven and executed all +within an hour. Then the bride was summoned and shown her second +husband in his coffin as she had seen her first, and on the same spot. +"It was a penalty that hit the innocent as well as the guilty, for the +plaintiff died from the double shock." + +The duke, satisfied with his rigour, went on to Holland. Everywhere he +evinced himself equally uncompromising towards the nobles, amiable and +considerate towards the lower classes and humble folk. Various other +stories related about him at this epoch are difficult to accept as +authentic, for the main detail has appeared at other times under +different guises. Wandering tales seem to alight, like birds of +passage, on successive people in lands and epochs widely apart, mere +hallmarks of certain characteristics re-embodied. + +The Hague was the duke's headquarters during two months, and there +also he held open court and gave audience to many embassies in the +midst of his administrative work pertaining to Holland and its nearest +neighbours. He took measures to recover what he claimed had been +usurped by Utrecht, and he initiated proceedings to make good the +title of Lord of Friesland, that will-o'-the wisp to successive Counts +of Holland and never acknowledged by the Frisians. In efforts to weld +together the various provinces the months passed, until a new turn of +foreign events began to absorb the duke's whole attention. + +The details of English politics with all the reasons for revolution +and counter-revolution involved in the complicated civil disorders, +the Wars of the Roses, affected Charles's policy but they can only +be suggested in his biography. It must be remembered that the modern +impression of English stability and French fickleness in political +institutions, an impression casting reflections direct and indirect +upon literature as well as history, is based on the changes in France +from 1789 down to the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century. Quite +the reverse is the earlier tradition based on the kaleidoscopic +shifts familiar to several generations of observers in the fifteenth +century[2]; stable and firm felt the French as they heard the tidings +of the brief triumphs of belligerent factions across the Channel. + +Since 1461, Henry VI. of the House of Lancaster had been a passive +prisoner, while Margaret of Anjou had exhausted herself in efforts +to win adherents at home and abroad for her captive husband and her +exiled son.[3] In 1463, she had received some aid, some encouragement +from Philip of Burgundy, although he had recognised Edward IV. as king +and although, too, his personal sympathies were Yorkish rather than +Lancastrian. + +It was Charles who escorted the errant lady into Lille, but later the +duke himself entertained her munificently. The poverty-stricken exile +probably found the accompanying ducal gifts more to the immediate +purpose than the ducal feasts. Two thousand gold crowns were bestowed +upon herself, a hundred upon each of her ladies, while various +Lancastrian nobles were tided over hard times by useful sums of money. + +Pleasant though the recognition was, however, the pecuniary assistance +was quite insufficient to accomplish Margaret's purpose. For nine +years Edward IV. sat on his throne and no serious efforts were made to +dislodge him. As he never forgot his mother's lineage, the sympathies +of Charles of Burgundy were with the exiles, and Queen Margaret may +have counted confidently on that sympathy proving valuable for her son +as soon as Charles himself had a free hand. But when he came into his +heritage, his marriage with Margaret of York put a definite end to +those hopes. The new duke thereby declared his acceptance of the king +whom the Earl of Warwick had seated upon the English throne. Then +came clashing of wills between that king and his too powerful +subject-adviser.[4] To punish his unruly royal protégé, Warwick turned +his attention to the Duke of Clarence, brother and heir presumptive to +Edward IV. A marriage was planned between this possible future monarch +and the earl's eldest daughter and then quickly celebrated at Calais +without the king's knowledge (July, 1469). + +In the same summer occurred a rising in Yorkshire, possibly instigated +by Warwick.[5] The malcontents, sixty thousand strong, declared that +the king was giving ear to base counsellors and must be coerced into +better ways. An attempt to suppress this revolt by the royal troops +resulted in a pitched battle where Earl Rivers, the father of +Elizabeth Woodville, the young queen, was taken prisoner and beheaded. + +Edward, baffled, finally turned for aid to Warwick. Over the Channel +hastened the earl and his new son-in-law, levied troops, met the king +at Olney, and--Edward found himself if not exactly a prisoner, at +least under restraint. Two sovereigns--both without power even over +their own actions,--such was the situation in England at the end of +1469, when Charles of Burgundy was self-complacently regarding Louis +XI. as a foe convinced of his own inferiority. + +A menacing letter from this redoubtable ducal brother-in-law was +probably the reason why Edward IV. was set at liberty, and why a +reconciliation was patched up between him and his councillor, with +full pardon for Warwick's adherents. But it was short-lived. A fresh +outbreak in March, 1470, made another change. Warwick and Clarence +sided with the rebels, the king was victorious, and his unfaithful +friend and brother were again forced to flee under a shower of menaces +hurled after them. + + "But, and He [Clarence] or Richart Erle of Warrewyk our Rebell and + Traytour come into oure seid Land we woll ... that ye doo Hym + and Theym to be arrested ... He that Taketh and Bryngeth unto Us + either of theym, he shal have for his Reward C._l_ of Land in + Yerely Value to Hym and to his Heyres or Mil. _Lib_ in Redy money + at his election."[6] + +Such was the proclamation issued on March 22d by the king himself at +York. + +Between Edward and Charles a new link had just been forged in the +chain of friendship. The Order of the Garter is thus acknowledged by +the duke: + + "We have to-day received from our much honoured seigneur and + brother, the king of England, his Order of the Garter together + with the mantle and other ornaments and things appertaining to the + said Order and have ... taken the oath according to the statutes + of the Order. + + "Done in our city of Ghent under our Grand Seal, February 4, 1469 + [O.S.]."[7] + +Now it was in consideration of needs that might arise in the near +future, following on the trail of these wide-reaching English +convulsions, that Charles felt it necessary to make preparations for +a strong military defence calculated to suit any emergency. Louis XI. +had a permanent force at his command. He had made the beginning of the +French standing army, the nucleus of one of those bodies that have +ever since urged each other on to expensive growth from opposite sides +of European frontiers. What one monarch possessed that must his near +neighbour have. + +Feudal service, volunteer militia, paid mercenaries, were all alike +unstable bulwarks for a nation. Nation as yet Charles had not, but +he wanted to be betimes with his bulwarks. This was why he issued +an ordinance for the levy of a thousand lances, amounting to five +thousand combatants, to be paid with regular wages and kept ready at +call under officers of his own appointment. The ducal treasury could +not stand the whole expense. To meet the deficit, Charles asked from +his Netherland Estates an annual subsidy of 120,000 crowns for three +years. Power to impose taxes he had none. A request to each individual +province was all the requisition that he could make. + +In this case, most of the provinces approached had acceded to the +demand, when the Estates of Flanders convened at Lille. Here the +Chancellor of Burgundy expounded to them the grounds of the demand, +and then the session was changed to Bruges, where they debated on the +merits of the request, urged on further by explanatory letters from +Charles. Finally, a deputation was appointed by the Estates to go over +to Ghent and present a _Remonstrance_ to their impatient sovereign +beggar. + +Three points were set forth. The deputies objected to this grant being +asked only from the lands _de par de ça_--the Netherlands and not from +the Burgundies. Secondly, they wished a definite assessment imposed on +each province. Thirdly, they desired a declaration that the fiefs and +arrière-fiefs already bound to furnish troops should be exempt from +share in this tax. The remonstrance was courtly in tone. Written +in French, the concluding phrases were in Latin and suggested that +nothing was more becoming a prince than clemency, especially towards +his subjects.[8] + +Vigorous and emphatic was the prince's response.[9] How could Burgundy +furnish money? It is a poor land. It takes after France.[10] But its +men make a third of the army. They are the Burgundian contribution. As +to an assessment, what is the use unless the tax is surely to be paid? +Only out of malice is this idle point suggested. + + "You act as you have always done--you Flemings. Neither to my + father nor to me have you ever been liberal. What you have + granted--sometimes more than our request--has always been given so + tardily as to prove the lack of good will. Your Flemish skulls + are hard and thick and you cling to your stubborn and perverse + opinions.... I am half of France and half of Portugal and I know + how to meet such heads as yours, ay and _will_ do it. You have + always either hated or despised your prince--if powerful you + hated, if weak you despised. I prefer your hatred to your + contempt. Not for your privileges or anything else will I permit + myself to be trampled on--and I have the power to prevent such + trampling." + + Laying stress on the extreme modesty of his demand, whose purpose + mainly was for defence of Flanders, the duke proceeded to berate + his visitors soundly for their presumptuous haggling, declaring + that as to the fiefs and arrière-fiefs he would see to it that no + double burdens were borne. + + "And when you shall have determined to accord my request,--which + you will assuredly do (and I do not mean to burden you further + unless I am forced to it),--send some of your deputies after me to + Lille or St. Omer, and there, with my chancellor and my council, I + will determine the apportionment and we will speak also of other + matters touching my province of Flanders." + +It was this vehement oratory--and this vehemence was repeated on many +occasions--that did more to alienate Charles from his hereditary +subjects than his actual demands. There is little doubt that his +period of residence in their midst brought with it hatred rather +than liking. No political error of his serves to explain the Flemish +attitude towards the duke as does his method of address, the +gratuitous contempt displayed towards burghers whose purses were +needed for his game. The _aide_ was granted, indeed, but it was levied +with sullen reluctance. + +What cause Charles had to make his preparations, what were the +proceedings of the English exiles may be seen from the following +letters to his mother and to the town of Ypres. The first is probably +in answer to her questionings; the second is a specimen of the +epistles showered upon the border towns. + + "TO MY VERY REDOUBTABLE LADY AND MOTHER, + + MADAME THE DUCHESS, AT AIRE: + + "May it please you to know that in regard to what the Sgr. de + Crèvecoeur has written you about the king's proclamations that he + intends to maintain his treaties and promises to me, etc., and has + no desire to sustain the Earl of Warwick, and wishes my subjects + to be reimbursed for the damages inflicted by him and his, + assuredly, my Lady and Mother, the contrary has been and is well + known before the said publications and after. The Earl of Warwick + is my foe and could not, according to the treaty existing between + the king and me, be received in Normandy or elsewhere in the realm + ... [complaints about the procedure have been sent to king and + parliament and councillors, without redress, etc.] What is more, + the Admiral of France has sent thither a spy under pretext of + carrying a letter to Sgr. de la Groothuse, which man was charged + to spy upon my ships and by means of a caravel named the + _Brunette_, sent for this purpose by the admiral, to cut the + cables to set them adrift and founder--or to capture certain ships + with such captains, knights, and gentlemen as he could find, and + myself, too, if they were able. + + "Furthermore, the said spy was charged to spy on my towns, etc., + and those of the caravel called the _Brunette_ were charged, if + they failed in taking my ships, or in cutting their cables, to + set fire to them--all in direct conflict with the terms of the + treaties, and procedures that the king would never have tolerated + had he had the slightest intention of maintaining his word ... + [Charles does not consider Groothuse to blame at all, etc.][11] + + +_Letter from Charles of Burgundy to the Magistrates of Ypres, June 10, +1470_ + + "DEAR FRIENDS: + + "It has come to your knowledge how after the Duke of Clarence and + the Earl of Warwick were expelled from England on account of their + sedition and their ill deeds, they have declared themselves both + by words and deeds of aggression our enemies, and on _Vendredi + absolut_[12] went so far as to capture by fraud ships and property + belonging to our subjects, and have further done damage whenever + opportunity presented itself. + + "In order to repel them we have ordered them to be attacked on + the sea. Moreover, at the same time we were advised that the same + Clarence and Warwick and their people, after they were routed at + sea by the troops of my honoured lord and brother, Edward, King of + England, retreated to the marches of Normandy and were honourably + received at Honfleur by the Admiral of France with all which they + had saved from the raid on our subjects after the defeat. + + "All this was direct infringement of the treaties lately made + between Monseigneur the king and myself. Therefore, we wrote at + once to Monsgr. the king begging him not to favour or aid the said + Clarence and Warwick in his land of Normandy or elsewhere in his + realm, nor to permit them to sell or distribute the property of + our subjects, and to show his will by publishing such prohibitions + throughout Normandy and elsewhere where need is. + + "Also we wrote to the court of parliament at Paris, and to the + council of my said seigneur at Rouen. The answer was that the king + meant to keep the treaty between him and us and had ordered his + subjects in Normandy not to retain the property belonging to our + subjects ... but we have since learned that, notwithstanding, + this same property has been distributed and ransoms have been + negotiated in the sight and knowledge of the Admiral of France and + his officers. + + "Moreover, it is perfectly evident that by means of the aid + furnished by the king to the said Clarence and Warwick, the latter + are enabled to continue the war on our subjects and not on the + English, it being understood that they who were banished from + England are not strong enough to return by the force of arms but + must do so by friendship and favour.... On account of the above + and other depredations, we shall attack the said Warwick and + Clarence on the sea as pirates, and all who aid them as is needful + for the protection of our lands and subjects. + + "Written at Middelburg in Zealand, June 20, 1470."[13] + + "Tell Monsieur de Warwick that the king will assist him to recover + England either with the help of Queen Margaret or by whatever + other means he may propose.... Only let him communicate his + desires in this respect as speedily as possible and the king will + lay aside all other affairs for the purpose of accomplishing it," + +wrote the complaisant King of France in his directions to the +confidential messenger sent to discuss matters with the English +earl.[14] + + +But that was not his language towards his cousin of Burgundy, whom he +assured that there should be no infringement of their treaty, and that +it was greatly to his royal displeasure that Flemish property +captured at sea in defiance of that treaty should be sold in French +market-places. There is a hot correspondence,[15] that is, it is hot +on the side of Charles, while Louis's phrases are smoothly surprised +at there being any cause for dissatisfaction. The circumstances shall +be investigated, his cousin satisfied, etc. One letter from the duke +to two of Louis's council is emphatic in its expressions of doubt as +to the good faith of these royal statements: + + "ARCHBISHOP AND YOU ADMIRAL: + + "The vessels which you assure me are destined by the king for + an attack on England have attempted nothing except against my + subjects; but, by St. George, if some redress be not seen to, I + will take the matter into my own hands without waiting for your + motions, tardy and dilatory as they are."[16] + + +Reprisals were made accordingly, and the innocent French merchants, +coming peaceably to the fair at Antwerp, suffered confiscation of +their private property, while the duke felt fully justified in +stationing his fleet off the coast of Normandy to guard the Channel. +Philip de Commines was one of the company who went at the duke's +behest to Calais to urge the governor, Wenlock, to be faithful to King +Edward, and to give no shelter to the rebellious earl and his protégé +Clarence.[17] + +Louis feared an outbreak of hostilities at an inconvenient moment. He +temporised. To Warwick, he denied a personal interview, but at the +same time he sent him a confidential emissary, Sr. du Plessis, to whom +he wrote as follows: + + "Monsieur du Plessis, you know the desire I have for Warwick's + return to England, as well because I wish to see him get the + better of his enemies--or that at least through him the realm of + England may be embroiled--as to avoid the questions which have + arisen out of his sojourn here.... For you know that these Bretons + and Burgundians have no other aim than to find a pretext for + rupturing peace and reopening the war, which I do not wish to see + commenced under this colour.... Wherefore I pray you take pains, + you and others there, to induce Mons. de Warwick to depart by all + arguments possible. Pray use the sweetest methods that you can, so + that he shall not suspect that we are thinking of anything else + but his personal advantage."[18] + + +To gain time was Louis's ardent wish at that moment. The envoys +sent by Louis to placate the duke's resentment at the incidents in +connection with the Warwick affair, and to assure him that Louis meant +well by him and his subjects, found Charles holding high state at St. +Omer. When they were admitted to audience, the duke was discovered +sitting on a lofty throne, five feet above floor level, "higher than +was the wont of king or emperor to sit." His hat remained on his head +as the representatives of his feudal overlord bowed to him and he +acknowledged their obeisance by a slight nod and a gesture permitting +them to rise. + +Hugonet, a member of the ducal council, answered their address with +a prosy speech. Burgundian officials revelled in grandiloquent +phrases--which this time bored Charles, He cut short the harangue +impatiently, took the floor himself, and made a statement of the +injuries he had suffered. Louis had promised to be his friend, but he +was aiding the foe of the duke's brother. The envoys repeated their +sovereign's offers of redress. Charles declared that redress was +impossible. Pained, very pained were the French envoys to think that +a petty dispute could not be settled amicably. "The king desires to +avoid friction. He offers you friendship, peace, and redress for every +wrong. It will not be his fault if trouble ensue. Monseigneur, the +king and you have a judge who is above you both." + +The insinuation that it was he who was ready to break the peace +infuriated Charles. He started to his feet, his eyes flashing with +fire. "Among us Portuguese there is a custom that when our friends +become friends to our foes we send them to the hundred thousand devils +of hell."[19] "A piece of bad taste to send by implication a king of +France to a hundred thousand devils," comments the suave Chastellain, +aghast at this impolite, emphatic, though indirect reference to Louis +XI. + +Equally aghast were the Burgundian courtiers present at this occasion. +After all, they, too, were French by nature. To wreck the new-made +peace for the sake of the English alliance, which had never been +really popular among them, that seemed an act of rash unwisdom. + + "A murmur went the rounds of the ducal suite because their chief + thus implied contempt for the name of France to which the duke + belonged. Not going quite so far as to call himself English, + though that was what his heart was, he boasted of his mother, + ancient friend of England and enemy of France." + + +There were, indeed, times when the duke was more emphatic in asserting +his English blood. Plancher cites a scrap of writing in his own hands +which probably belonged to a letter to the magistrates and citizens of +Calais, whom he addresses, "O you my friends."[20] While reiterating +that he simply must defend his own state he adds, "By St. George who +knows me to be a better Englishman and more anxious for the weal of +England than you other English ... [you] shall recognise that I am +sprung from the blood of Lancaster," etc. His claims of kinship varied +with the circumstances. + +While he was so conscious of his own greatness, present and future, +and of his own laudable intentions to do well by his subjects, it is +quite possible, too, that Charles was puzzled more or less consciously +by his failure to win popularity. For he was quite as unpopular with +his courtiers as with his subjects. The former did not like the rigid +court rules. There was no pleasure in sitting through audiences silent +and stiff "as at a sermon," and exposed to personal reprimands from +their chief if there were the slightest lapses from his standard of +conduct. They did not know on what meat the duke was feeding his +imagination, an imagination that already saw him as Cæsar. Had he +actually attained the loftier rank that he dreamed of, his premature +arrogance might have been forgotten, but his pride of glory invisible +to the world about him was undoubtedly a bar to his popularity during +the years 1470-73. + +Before this pompous scene passed at St. Omer, Louis had been relieved +of anxiety in regard to the stability of his kingdom, and the dangers +of an heir like his brother who might easily be used as a tool by some +clever faction opposed to the ruling monarch. On June 10th, a son was +born to him, afterwards Charles VIII. of France. Complaisant still +were his words to his Burgundian cousin, but the moment was drawing +near when his efforts to circumvent him were no longer secret. + +The embassy returned home. Possibly their report of the duke's +passionate words goaded the king into discarding his mask of +friendship. At any rate, his next steps were unequivocal in showing +which side of the fresh English quarrel he meant to espouse. Margaret +of Anjou hated the Earl of Warwick, not only because he had unseated +her husband but because he had doubted her fidelity to that husband. +Nevertheless, under Louis's persuasions, she consented to forget her +past wrongs and to stake her future hopes on fraternising with him on +a basis of common hate for Edward IV. The alliance was to be sealed +by the marriage of young Edward of Lancaster, the prince whose very +legitimacy Warwick had questioned, with the earl's younger daughter. +It was a singular union to be accepted by the parents, separated as +they had been by the wall of insults interchanged during more than a +decade of bitter enmity. + +Louis brought his cousin to this step of concession. She saw her +seventeen-year-old son betrothed to the sixteen-year-old Anne Neville, +and later she herself swore reconciliation to Warwick on a piece of +the true cross in St. Mary's Church at Angers (August 4, 1470). + + "Monsieur du Plessis [wrote Louis XI. on July 25th], I have sent + you Messire Ivon du Fou, to put the affairs of Monsieur de Warwick + in surety, and I order him to make such arrangements that the + people of the said M. de Warwick will suffer no necessity until he + is there. To-day we have made the marriage of the Queen of England + and of him, and hope to-morrow to have all in readiness to + depart."[21] + + +[Illustration: MEDAL OF CHARLES, DUKE OF BURGUNDY (FROM BARANTE)] + +Meanwhile, the king kept agents in all the Somme towns, insinuating +opposition to the duke, and reminding the citizens that they were +French at heart. His ambassadors passed in and out of the Burgundian +court, saying many things in secret besides those they said in public. +Plenty there were that wished for war, remarks the observant Commines. +Nobles like St. Pol and others could not maintain the same state in +peace as in war, and state they loved. In time of war four hundred +lances attended the constable, and he had a large allowance to +maintain them from which he reaped many a profitable commission +besides the fees of his office and his other emoluments. "Moreover," +adds Commines, "the nobles were accustomed to say among themselves +that if there were no battles without, there would be quarrels within +the realm." + +The matter of the grants to Charles of France had been settled to his +royal brother's liking, not to that of his Burgundian ally. Champagne +and Brie, so cheerfully promised at Peronne, were withdrawn and +Guienne substituted. When Normandy had been exchanged for Champagne +and Brie, as it was arranged at Peronne, Charles of Burgundy approved +the change as he thought it assured him an obedient friend as +neighbour.[22] The second change, Guienne instead of Champagne and +Brie, was quite a different thing. + +Guienne bordered the Bay of Biscay far away from Burgundy. Naturally, +Charles was not content. Then, too, it looked as though he had lost a +useful friend as well as a neighbour, for the new Duke of Guienne was +formally reconciled to his brother and took oath that his fraternal +devotion to his monarch should never again waver. + +Long before Charles was completely convinced that Louis was not going +to maintain the humble attitude assumed at Peronne and Liege, he +became very suspicious that intrigues were on foot against him. "He +hastened to Hesdin where he entered into jealousy of his servants" +says Commines. That he was assured that there were reasons for his +apprehensions appears in an epistle circulated as an open letter,[23] +to various cities, wherein he makes a detailed statement of the plots +against his life by one Jehan d'Arson and Baldwin, son of Duke Philip. + +Sorry return was this from one recognised as Bastard of Burgundy and +brought up in the ducal household. Further, one Jehan de Chassa, +Charles's own chamberlain, had taken French leave of the duke's +service and made his way to the king in his castle of Amboise, where +he had been pleasantly received and promised rich reward when he had +"executed his damnable designs against our person." + +Messengers sent by this Chassa to Baldwin in Charles's court at St. +Omer were arrested as suspicious, and that circumstance frightened +Baldwin and caused him to take to his heels, leaving his retinue, his +horses, and his baggage behind. He dreaded lest he might be attainted +and convicted of treason, and therefore he took shelter with the king. + + "Saved from this conspiracy by the goodness and clemency of God, + we inform you of the events so that you may render thanks + by public processions, solemn masses, sermons, and prayers, + beseeching Him devoutly and from the heart that He will always + guard and defend our person, our lands, seigniories, and subjects + from such plots. + + "May God protect you, dear subjects. Written in our castle of + Hesdin, December 13, 1470. + + "CHARLES. + + "LE GROS." + + +It was not long before Charles had less reason to fear French +"subtleties." At an assembly of notables[24] convened at Tours at the +end of 1470, Louis dropped the mask of friendship worn uneasily for +just two years, and made an open brief of his grievances against the +duke. + +His case was cited with a luxury of detail more or less authentic. The +interview at Peronne was a simple trap conceived by Balue and the Duke +of Burgundy. The treaties of 1465 and 1468, both obtained by undue +pressure, had not been respected by Charles, etc. The assembly was +obedient to suggestion. It was a packed house. + +Even Commines shows that it is not surprising that there was +unanimity[25] in the declaration that according to God and his +conscience in all honour and justice the king was released from those +treaties, and the way was paved for an invasion into Picardy as soon +as possible. + +Charles's public accusations of plots against him did not go +unanswered. Jehan de Chassa promptly issued a rejoinder: + + "As Charles, soi-disant Duke of Burgundy, has sent to divers + places letters signed by himself and his secretary, Jehan le + Gros, written at Hesdin, December 13th, falsely charging me with + plotting against his life with Baldwin, Bastard of Burgundy, + and Jehan d'Arson, I, considering that it is matter touching my + honour, feel bound to reply.... By God and by my soul I declare + that these charges against me made by Charles of Burgundy are + false and disloyal lies"[26] + +Baldwin, too, expressed righteous indignation at the slur on his +character, but he remained in the French court as did many others who +had formerly served Charles. + +Meanwhile, the Earl of Warwick, having left his daughter in the hands +of Margaret of Anjou, openly aided by Louis, sailed back to England in +September But there had been one further change of base of which the +earl was still unconscious. His elder son-in-law had not rejoiced in +the Warwick-Lancaster alliance. It brought young Prince Edward to the +fore, and bereft the Duke of Clarence--long ready to replace Edward of +York--of any immediate prospects. Therefore he was inclined to accept +offers of a reconciliation tendered him by King Edward. + +Despite his secret change of heart, Clarence sailed with Warwick and +joined with him in the proclamations scattered over England, declaring +that the exiles were returning to "set right and justice to their +places, and to reduce and redeem for ever the realm from its +thraldom." Never a mention of either Edward IV. or Henry VI. Perhaps +it was as convenient to see which way the wind blew and to put in a +name accordingly. + +On landing, however, "King Henry VI." was raised as a cry. In +Nottinghamshire, where Edward lay, not a word was heard for York. +There was no conflict. Edward felt that Fate had turned against him +and off he rode to Lyme with a small following, took ship, and made +for Holland. It was stormy, pirates from the Hanseatic towns gave +chase, and glad was Edward to take shelter at Alkmaar where De la +Groothuse, Governor of Holland, welcomed him in the name of the +duke.[27] Edward was quite destitute. He had nothing with which to pay +his fare across the Channel but a gown lined with marten's fur, and as +for his train, never so poor a company was seen. + +Eleven days later, Warwick was master of all England and official +business was transacted in the name of Henry VI., "limp and helpless +on his throne as a sack of wool." He was a mere shadow and pretence +and what was done in his name was done without his will or knowledge. + +Charles of Burgundy did not hasten to greet his unbidden guest. He +would rather have heard that his brother-in-law were dead, but he bade +Groothuse show him every courtesy and supply him with necessaries and +five hundred crowns a month for luxuries. After a time, and perhaps +informed by weather prophets that the Lancastrian wind blowing over in +England was but a fickle breeze, he consented to forget his hereditary +sympathies. + + "The same day that the duke received news of the king's arrival in + Holland, I was come from Calais to Boulogne (where the duke then + lay) ignorant of the event and of the king's flight.[28] The duke + was first advised that he was dead, which did not trouble him much + for he loved the Lancaster line far better than that of York. + Besides he had with him the Dukes of Exeter and of Somerset and + divers others of King Henry's faction, by which means he thought + himself assured of peace with the line of Lancaster. But he feared + the Earl of Warwick, neither knew he how to content him that was + to come to him, I mean King Edward, whose sister he had married + and who was also brother-in-arms, for the king wore the Golden + Fleece and the duke the Garter. + + "Straightway then the duke sent me back to Calais accompanied by + a gentleman or two of this new faction of Henry, and gave me + instructions how to deal with this new world, urging me to + go because it was important for him to be well served in the + matter.[29] I went as far as Tournehem, a castle near to Guisnes, + and then dared not proceed because I found people fleeing for fear + of the English who were devastating the country.... Never before + had I needed a safe-conduct for the English are very honourable. + All this seemed very strange to me for I had never seen these + mutations in the world." + +Commines was uncertain as to what he had better do and wanted +instructions. "The duke sent me a ring from his finger, bidding me go +forward with the promise that if I were taken prisoner he would redeem +me." New surprises met the envoy at Calais. None of the well-known +faces were to be seen. "Further, upon the gate of my lodgings and +the very door of my chamber were a hundred white crosses and rhymes +signifying that the King of France and Earl of Warwick were one--all +of which seemed strange to me." Well received was Commines and +entertained at dinner. It was told at table how within a quarter of an +hour after the arrival of news from England every man wore this livery +(the ragged staff of Warwick), so speedy and sudden was the change. +"This is the first time that I ever knew how little stable are these +mundane affairs." + + "In all communications that passed between them and me, I repeated + that King Edward was dead, of which fact I said I was well + assured, notwithstanding that I knew the contrary, adding further + that though it were not so, yet was the league between the Duke of + Burgundy and the king and realm of England such that this accident + could not infringe it--whomever they would acknowledge as king him + would we recognise.... Thus it was agreed that the league should + remain firm and inviolate between us and the king and realm of + England save that for Edward we named Henry." + +Commines explains further that the wool trade was what made amity with +England necessary to Flanders and Holland, "which is the principal +cause that moved the merchants to labour earnestly for peace." + +Charles made vague promises to his uninvited guest, declaring +ostentatiously that his blood was Lancastrian. Nevertheless he +finally consented to an interview with him of York, in spite of the +remonstrances of the Lancastrians, Somerset and Exeter. "The duke +could not tell whom to please and either party he feared to displease. +But in the end, because sharp war was upon him face to face, he +inclined to the English dukes, accepting their promises against the +Earl of Warwick, their ancient enemy." King Edward, "who was on the +spot and very ill at ease," was quieted by secret assurances that the +duke was obliged to dissimulate. "Seeing that he could not keep the +king but that he was bound to return to England and fearing for divers +considerations altogether to discontent him, Charles pretended that he +could not aid the king and forbade his subjects to enter his service." +Privately, however, he gave him fifty thousand florins of St. Andrew's +cross, and had two or three ships fitted out at Vere in Zealand, a +harbour where all nations were received. Besides this he secretly +hired fourteen well appointed "ships of the Easterlings, which +promised to serve him till he landed in England and for fifteen days +after, "great aid considering the times." + +King Edward departed out of Flanders in the year 1471, when the +Duke of Burgundy went to wrest Amiens and St. Quentin back from the +king.[30] "The said duke thought now howsoever the world went in +England he could not speed amiss because he had friends on both +sides."[31] + +Edward's adventures in England proved that he had not lost his hold +there. Warwick's extraordinary brief success was but a flash in the +pan. London opened her gates and then the pitched battle at Barnet +gave a final verdict between the rival Houses which England accepted. +This battle was fought on April 14th, when the thick fog and the like +speech of the two bodies caused hopeless confusion. Many friends slew +each other unwittingly, and among the slain was the indefatigable, +energetic Warwick who had hoped to play with his royal puppets. Only +forty-four was he and worthy of a better and more statesmanlike +career. + +On that same day Margaret of Anjou and her son landed at Weymouth. +Hearing of Warwick's death, they tried to reach Wales but were +intercepted and forced to fight at Tewkesbury. Here the young prince, +too, met his death. To Edward's direct command is attributed the +murder of the unfortunate Henry VI. in the Tower, which happened at +about the same time. The desolated Margaret of Anjou lingered five +years under restraint in England before she was ransomed by King +Louis. + + "Sir John Paston to Margaret Paston. Wreten at London the + Thorysdaye in Esterne weke, 1471. + + "God hathe schewyd Hym selffe marvelouslye lyke Hym that made all + and can undoo agayn whare Hym lyst."[32] + +Charles of Burgundy could now pride himself on his foresight. His +brother of the two Orders was himself again. + + "The very day on which this fight happened [says Commines] the + Duke of Burgundy, being before Amiens, received letters from + the duchess his wife, that the King of England was not at all + satisfied with him, that he had given his aid grudgingly and as if + for very little cause he would have deserted him. To speak plainly + there never was great friendship between them afterwards. Yet the + Duke of Burgundy seemed to be extremely pleased at this news and + published it everywhere." + +A transaction of his own of this time, the duke did not publish. It +was a procedure perhaps justified by these wonderful "mutations in the +world" which impressed Commines as strange and terrible. The Duke of +Burgundy caused a legal document to be drawn up attesting his own +heirship to Henry VI. of England, and filed the same in the Abbey of +St. Bertin with all due formality. If there came more "mutations" +in the world whose very existence was a new experience to Philip de +Commines, Charles was ready to interpose his own plank in the new +structure. + +In the archives of the House of Croy in the château of Beaumont, rests +this document, which was duly signed by Charles on November 3, 1471, +in his own hand "so that greater faith" be given to the statement +that no one was truer heir to the Lancaster House than Charles of +Burgundy.[33] Two canons attested the instrument as notaries, and the +witnesses were Hugonet, Humbercourt, and Bladet. + +It was expressly stipulated that if there were any delay in the duke's +entering upon his English inheritance--which devolved to him +through his mother,--a delay caused by motives of public utility of +Christendom, and of the House of Burgundy, this should not prejudice +his rights or those of his successors. A mere deferring of assuring +the titles, etc., brought no prejudice to his rights. His delay ended +in his death and Edward IV. never had to combat this claim of the +brother-in-law who had helped him, though grudgingly, to regain his +throne. + + +[Footnote 1: Meyer is the earliest historian to tell this story and it +is vouched for by no existing contemporary evidence.] + +[Footnote 2: From Henry VI.-Henry VII. the English throne was twice +lost and twice regained by each of the rival Houses of York and +Lancaster. Thirteen pitched battles were fought between Englishmen on +English soil. Three out of four kings died by violence. Eighty persons +connected with the blood royal were executed or assassinated.] + +[Footnote 3: Ramsay, _Lancaster and York_, ii., 232 _et seq._; Oman, +_Hundred Years' War_ and _Warwick, the King-maker_, are followed here +in addition to Kirk, Lavisse, etc.] + +[Footnote 4: That the king chose his wife without the earl's knowledge +or consent has been accepted as the chief cause, and again denied by +various authorities.] + +[Footnote 5: See Oman's _Warwick_, p. 185.] + +[Footnote 6: Rymer, _Fædera_, xi., 654; negotiations had been going on +for about a year.] + +[Footnote 7: _Ibid._, 651.] + +[Footnote 8: "Quia nihil est quod ita relucet in principe sicut +clemencia et maxime circa domesticos et subditos."] + +[Footnote 9: Gachard, _Doc. inéd._, i., 216. The editor thinks that +the speech was preserved in the register of Ypres just as it was +delivered, untouched by chroniclers.] + +[Footnote 10: _Il sent la France_.] + +[Footnote 11: Middleburg, the 3d of June, 1470. "Madame's sign manual" +on the copy is dated June 6th. (Plancher, _Histoire générale et +particulière de Bourgogne_, etc., iv., cclxxi).] + +[Footnote 12: Good Friday, April 20th.] + +[Footnote 13: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., i., 226.] + +[Footnote 14: Comines-Lenglet., "Preuves," iii., 124. Written at +Amboise, May, 12, 1470.] + +[Footnote 15: Plancher, iv., cclxi., etc.] + +[Footnote 16: Duke Charles to the Council of the King at Rouen, May +29th. (Plancher, iv., cclxix.)] + +[Footnote 17: _Mémoires_, iii., ch. iv.] + +[Footnote 18: Duclos "Preuves," v., 296.] + +[Footnote 19: Chastellain, v., 453. These phrases are, to be sure, +those of our literary and imaginative chronicler, but the substance is +that of attested words from Charles. M, Petit-Dutaillis accepts it. +(Lavisse, iv^{ii}., 363.)] + +[Footnote 20: _See_ Plancher, iv., cclxxxix.] + +[Footnote 21: Aujourd'hui avons fait le mariage de la reine +d'Angleterre et de lui." Undoubtedly a half jocose way of stating the +alliance of the children. The following item occurs in the King's +accounts for December, 1470: "à maistre Jehan le prestre, la somme de +xxvii l. x.s.t pour vingt escus d'or à lui donnée par le roy, pour le +restituer de semblable somme que, par l'ordonnance d'icellui seigneur, +il avait baillée du sien au vicaire de Bayeux auquel icellui seigneur +en a fait don en faveur de ce qu' il estait venu espouser le prince de +Galles a la fille du Comte de Warwick." This was a betrothal, not the +actual marriage. In August, Louis was still asking for a dispensation. +(Wavrin, Dupont ed., iii., 4I, note. See also _Lettres de Louis XI_., +iv., 131.)] + +[Footnote 22: A group of smaller seigniories was also involved, +Quercy, Périgord, La Rochelle, etc. _See_ letter-patent, +(Comines-Lenglet, "Preuves," iii., 97.)] + +[Footnote 23: Duclos, "Preuves" v., 302.] + +[Footnote 24: Comines-Lenglet, "Preuves," iii., 68; Lavisse, iv^{ii}, +364.] + +[Footnote 25: _See_ Lavisse iv^{ii}, 364. He states that the king +named all the deputies that the towns were to appoint.] + +[Footnote 26: Duclos, "Preuves," v., 307.] + +[Footnote 27: Commines, iii., ch. v.] + +[Footnote 28: Commines, iii., ch. vi.] + +[Footnote 29: _See_ instructions given to him for this mission, +Wavrin-Dupont, iii., 271.] + +[Footnote 30: Commines, iii., ch. vii.] + +[Footnote 31: As soon as Edward and his English exiles sailed, Charles +published a proclamation forbidding his subjects to aid him.] + +[Footnote 32: _Letters_, iii., 4.] + +[Footnote 33: _See_ Gachard, _Études et Notices historiques concernant +l'histoire des Pays-Bas,_ ii., 343, en approuvant et emologant toutes +les choses deseurdittes et chascune d'icelles et a fin que plus grant +foy soit adjoustée à tout ce que cy desus est escript, avant signé ce +présent instrument de nostre propre main et le fait sceller de nostre +seau en signe de vérité, l'an et jour desusdit. [This in French, the +body in Latin.] + +"CHARLES."] + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + +NEGOTIATIONS AND TREACHERY + +1471 + + +All work had ceased at Paris for three days by the king's command, +while praise was chanted to God, to the Virgin, and to all saints male +and female, for the victory won by Henry of Lancaster, in 1470, over +the base usurper Edward de la Marche. From Amboise, Louis made a +special pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Celles at Poitiers to breathe in +pious solitude his own prayers of thanksgiving for the happy event. +The battle of Tewkesbury stemmed the course of this abundant stream of +gratitude, and there were other thanksgivings.[1] + +In the spring of 1471, Edward IV. was dating complacent letters from +Canterbury to his good friends at Bruges,[2] acknowledging their +valuable assistance to his brother Charles,[3] recognising his part in +restoring Britain's rightful sovereign to his throne. To his sister, +the Duchess of Burgundy, the returned exile gave substantial proof +of his gratitude in the shape of privileges in wool manufacture and +trade.[4] + +Like one of the alternating figures in a Swiss weather vane the King +of England had swung out into the open, pointing triumphantly to fair +weather over his head, while Louis was forced back into solitary +impotence. He seemed singularly isolated. His English friends were +gone, his nobles were again forming a hostile camp around Charles of +France, now Duke of Guienne, who had forgotten his late protestations +of fraternal devotion, and there were many indications that the +Anglo-Burgundian alliance might prove as serious a peril to France as +it had in times gone by but not wholly forgotten. + +The two most important of the disputed towns on the Somme were, +however, in Louis's possession, and Charles of Burgundy, ready to +reduce Amiens by siege on March 10, 1471, consented to stay his +proceedings by striking a truce which was renewed in July. This +afforded a valuable respite to the king, and he busied himself in +energetic efforts to detach his brother from the group of malcontents. +Various disquieting rumours about the prince's marriage projects +caused his royal brother deep anxiety, and induced him to despatch a +special envoy to Guienne. To that envoy Louis wrote as follows[5]: + + "MONSEIGNEUR DU BOUCHAGE: + + "Guiot du Chesney[6] has brought me despatches from Monsg. de + Guienne and Mons. de Lescun and has, further, mentioned three + points to me: First, in behalf of Mme. de Savoy,[7] ... second, in + regard to M. d'Ursé ... third, touching the mission of Mons. de + Lescun to marry Monsg. of Guienne to the daughter of Monsg. de + Foix.... The Ursé matter I will leave to you, and will agree to + what you determine upon. On the spot you will be a better judge of + what I ought to say and what would be advantageous to me, than I + can here. + + "In regard to the third point, the Foix marriage, you know what a + misfortune it would be to me. Use all your five senses to prevent + it. I am told that my brother does not really like the idea, and + it has occurred to me that Mons. de Lescun has brought him to + consent in order to further the marriage of the duchess,[8] so + that in taking the sister, the duke will be relieved of this sum, + a condition that would please him greatly because he has nothing + to pay it with. I would prefer to pay both it and all the + accompanying claims and then be through with it. In effect, I beg + you make him agree to another [bride] before you leave, and do not + be in any hurry to come to me. If this Aragon affair[9] can be + arranged you will place me in Paradise. + + "_Item._ I have thought that Monsg. de Foix would not approve this + Aragon girl, because he himself has some hopes of the kingdom of + Aragon through his wife. If Monsg. of Guienne were advised of + this, I believe it would help along our case. + + "_Item._ It seems to me that you have a splendid opportunity to be + very frank with my brother. For he has informed me through this + man that the duke [of Brittany] has paid no attention to the + representations made him in my behalf, through Corguilleray, + and since my brother himself confides this to me, you have an + opportunity to assure him that I thank him, and that I never + cherish him so highly as when he tells me the truth, and that I + now recognise that he does not desire to deceive me, since he + does not spare the duke [of Brittany] and that, since he sees him + opposed to me, he should return the seal that you know of and + refuse to take his sister [Eleanor de Foix, the sister of the + Duchess of Brittany], or to enter into any other league. + + "If he will choose a wife quite above suspicion, as long as I live + I will harbour no misgiving of him and he shall be as puissant in + all the realm of France as I myself, as long as I live. In short, + Mons. du Bouchage my friend, if you can gain this point, you will + place me in Paradise. Stay where you are until Monseigneur de + Lescun has arrived, and a good piece afterwards, even if you have + to play the invalid, and before you depart put our affair in + surety if you can, I implore you. And may God, Monseigneur du + Bouchage my friend, to whom I pray, and may Nostre Dame de Behuart + aid your negotiations. The women[10] of Mme. de Burgundy have + all been ill with the _mal chault,_ and it is reported that the + daughter is seriously afflicted and bloated. Some say that she is + already dead. I am not sure of the death but I am quite certain of + the malady. + + "Written at Lannoy, Aug. 18th. + + "LOYS. + + "TILHART." + +That the king's professed confidence in his brother did not remove all +suspicions of that young man's steadfastness from his mind is shown +by the following letter, written two days later than the above, to +Lorenzo de' Medici: + + "Dear and beloved cousin, we have learned that our brother of + Guienne has sent to Rome to ask a dispensation from the oath he + swore to us, of which we send you a duplicate. Since you are a + great favourite with our Holy Father pray use your influence with + his Holiness so that our brother may not obtain his dispensation, + and that his messenger may not be able to do any negotiating. In + this you will do us a singular and agreeable pleasure which we + will recognise in the future as we have in the past on fitting + occasion.... + + "Written at St. Michel sur Loire, August 20th. + + "LOYS." + +Louis does not seem to have taken his own doubts as to the very +existence of Mary of Burgundy very seriously. While he was infinitely +anxious to prevent her alliance with his brother, he made overtures to +betroth her to his baby son, while he reminded her father in touching +phrases that he, Louis, was Mary's loving godfather and hence exactly +the person to be her father-in-law. + +The winter of 1471-72 was filled with attempts to make terms between +the king and the duke before the termination of the truce. The king +was very hopeful of attaining this good result, and sweetly trustful +of the duke's pacific and friendly intentions. He sternly refused to +listen to suggestions that Charles meant to play him false and was +very definite in his expressions of confidence. The following epistle +to his envoys at the duke's court was an excellent document to fall by +chance into Burgundian hands[11]: + + "To MONSIEUR DE CRAON AND PIERRE D'ORIOLE: + + "My cousin and monseigneur the general, I received your letters + this evening at the hostelry of Montbazon where I came because I + have not yet dared to go to Amboise.[12] When I imparted to you + the doubts that I had heard, it was not with the purpose of + delaying you in completing your business but only to advise you of + the dangers that were in the air. And to free you from all doubts + I assure you, that if Monseigneur of Burgundy is willing to + confirm, by writing or verbally, the terms which we arranged at + Orleans[13], I wish you to accept it and to clinch the matter and + I am quite determined to trust to it. As to your suspicion that + he may wish to make the chief promises in private letters without + putting it in a formal shape, you know that I agreed to it by a + pronotary, and when I have once accepted a thing I never withdraw + my decision. + + "My cousin and you monseigneur the general, see to it that + Monseigneur of Burgundy gives you adequate assurance of the + letters that he is to issue. When I once have the letter such as + we agreed upon and he is bound, I do not doubt that he will keep + faith. If my life were at stake, I am resolved to trust him. Do + not send me any more of your suspicions for I assure you that my + greatest worldly desire is that the matter be finished, since he + has given verbal assurance that he wishes me well. You write that + the pronotary told you that I was negotiating in every direction. + By my faith, I have no ambassador but you, and by the words that + Monseigneur of Burgundy said to you you can easily solve the + question, for he has only offered you what he mentioned before + when the matters were discussed. It looks to me as though they + were not free from traitors since they have Abbé de Begars and + Master Ythier Marchant.[14] + + "A herald of the King of England came here on his way to Monsg. of + Burgundy, who asked for a safe conduct to send a messenger to me + for this truce. Since your departure the council thought I ought + not to give any pass for more than forty days except to merchants. + If it please God and Our Lady that you may conclude your mission, + I assure you that as long as I live I will have no embassy either + large or small without immediately informing Monsg. of Burgundy + and I will only answer as if through him. I assure you that until + I hear from you whether Monsg. of Burgundy decides to conclude + this treaty or not as we agreed together, I will make no agreement + with any creature in the world and of that you may assure him. + + "Written at Montbazon, December 11th (1471). + + "Loys." + +At the same time Louis did not neglect friendly intercourse with the +towns he proposed to cede. + + "To the inhabitants of Amiens in behalf of the king: "Dear and + beloved, we have heard reports at length from Amiens and we are + well content with you.... Give credence to all my messengers say. + We thank you heartily for all that you and your deputies have done + in our cause." + +At the Burgundian court the duke's friends thought that he would play +the part of wisdom did he keep an army within call, and refrain from +implicitly trusting the king's promises. There was, moreover, an +impression abroad that the latter was not in a position to be very +formidable. + + "Once [says Commines][15] I was present when the Seigneur d'Ursé + [envoy from the Duke of Guienne] was talking in this wise and + urging the duke to mobilise his forces with all diligence. The + duke called me to a window and said, 'Here is the Seigneur d'Ursé + urging me to make my army as big as possible, and tells me that we + would do well for the realm. Do you think that I should wage a war + of benefit if I should lead my troops thither?' Smiling I answered + that I thought not and he uttered these words: 'I love the welfare + of France more than Mons. d' Ursé imagines, for instead of the one + king that there is I would fain see six.'" + +The animus of this expression is clear. It implies a wish to see the +duke's friends, the French nobles, exalted, Burgundy at the head, +until the titular monarch had no more power than half a dozen of his +peers. Yet Commines states in unequivocal terms that Charles's next +moves were to disregard his friendship for the peers, to discard their +alliance, and to sign a treaty with Louis whose terms were wholly +to his own advantage and implied complete desertion of the allied +interest. + + "This peace did the Duke of Burgundy swear and I was present[16] + and to it swore the Seigneur de Craon and the Chancellor of + France[17] in behalf of the king. When they departed they advised + the duke not to disband his army but to increase it, so that the + king their master might be the more inclined to cede promptly the + two places mentioned above. They took with them Simon de Quingey + to witness the king's oath and confirmation of his ambassadors' + work. The king delayed this confirmation for several days. + Meanwhile occurred the death of his brother, the Duke of Guienne + ... shortly afterwards the said Simon returned, dismissed by the + king with very meagre phrases and without any oath being taken. + The duke felt mocked and insulted by this treatment and was very + indignant about it."[18] + +This story involves so serious a charge against Charles of Burgundy +that the fact of his setting his signature to the treaty has been +indignantly denied. Certain authorities impugn the historian's +truthfulness rather than accept the duke's betrayal of his friends. It +is true that only a few months later than this negotiation, Commines +himself forsook the duke's service for the king's, a change of base +that might well throw suspicion on his estimate of his deserted +master. + +Yet it must be remembered that he does not gloss over Louis's actions, +even though he had an admiration for the success of his political +methods, methods which Commines believed to be essential in dealing +with national affairs. In many respects he gives more credit to the +duke than to the king even while he prefers the cleverer chief. That +there is no documentary evidence of such a treaty is mere negative +evidence and of little importance. + +The fact seems fairly clear that Charles of Burgundy was at a parting +of the ways, in character as in action. His natural bent was to tell +the truth and to adhere strictly to his given word. He felt that he +owed it to his own dignity. He felt, too, that he was a person to +command obedience to a promise whether pledged to him by king or +commoner. In the years 1469-1472 several severe shocks had been dealt +him. He had lost all faith in Louis, a faith that had really been +founded on the duke's own self-esteem, on a conviction that the weak +king must respect the redoubtable cousin of Burgundy. + +The effect on Charles of his suspicions was to make him adopt the +tools used by his rival, or at least to attempt to do so. At the +moment of the negotiation of 1471-1472, the duke's preoccupation +was to regain the towns on the Somme. That accomplished, it is not +probable that he would have abandoned his friends, the French +peers, whom he desired to see become petty monarchs each in his own +territory. There seems no doubt that words were used with singular +disregard of their meaning. It is surprising that time was wasted in +concocting elaborate phrases that dropped into nothingness at the +slightest touch. In citing the above passage from Commines referring +to the treaty, the close of the negotiations has been anticipated. +Whether or not any draft of a treaty received the duke's signature, +the king's yearning for peace ceased abruptly when his brother's death +freed him from the dread of dangerous alliance between Charles of +France and Charles of Burgundy. As late as May 8th, he was still +uncertain as to the decree of fate and wrote as follows to the +Governor of Rousillon[19]: + + "Keep cool for the present I implore you. If the Duke of Burgundy + declares war against me, I will set out immediately for that + quarter [Brittany], and in a week we will finish the matter. On + the other hand, if peace be made we shall have everything without + a blow or without any risk of restoration. However, if you can get + hold of anything by negotiating and manoeuvring, why do it. As + to the artillery, it is close by you, and when it is time, and I + shall have heard from my ambassador, you shall have it at once." + +Ten days later he is more hopeful.[20] + + "Since my last letter to you I have had news that Monsieur de + Guienne is dying and that there is no remedy for his case. One + of the most confidential persons about him has advised me by a + special messenger that he does not believe he will be alive a + fortnight hence.... The person who gave me this information is + the monk who repeated his Hours with M. de G[uienne.] I am much + abashed at this and have crossed myself from head to foot. + + "Written at Moutils-lès-Tours, May 18th." + +This prognostic was correct. In less than a fortnight the Duke of +Guienne lay dead, and the heavy suspicion rested upon his royal +brother of having done more than acquiesce in the decree of fate. +Whether or not there was any truth in this charge the king was +certainly not heartbroken by the loss. Indeed, the event interested +him less than the question of making the best use of the remainder of +his truce with Charles. The following letters to Dammartin and the +Duke of Milan belong to this time. + + "Thank you for the pains you have taken but pray, as speedily as + you can, come here to draw up your ordinance for we only have + a fortnight more of the truce. I have sent the artillery and + soldiers to Angers. Monsg. the grand master, strengthen Odet's + forces, do not let one man go, and see to it that the seneschal of + Guienne enrols sufficient to fill his company. Then if there are + more at large, form them into a body and send them to me and I + will find them a captain and pay all those who are willing to + stay. + + "As to him,[21] make him talk on the way and learn whether he + would like to enter into an agreement in his brother's name, and + work it so that the duke will leave the Burgundian in the lurch at + all points for ever, and make a good treaty, as you will know how, + for I do not believe that the Seigneur de Lescun left here for any + other reason than to attempt to make an arrangement of some kind. + + "Now monseigneur the grand master, you are wiser than I and will + know how to act far better than I can instruct you, but, above + all, I implore you come in all haste for without you we cannot + make an ordinance. + + "Written at Xaintes, May 28th. + + "LOYS."[22] + + "AMBOISE, June 7th. + + "Loys, by the grace of God, King of France. Beloved brother and + cousin, we have received the letters you have written making + mention, as you have heard, that in the truce lately concluded + between us and the Duke of Burgundy up to April 1st next coming, + which will be the year 1473, the Duke of Burgundy has mentioned + you as his ally, which you do not like because you never asked the + Duke of Burgundy to do so, and you do not know whether he made + this statement on the advice of the Venetian ambassador who is + with him. + + "Therefore, and because you do not mean to enter into alliance or + understanding with the Duke of Burgundy but wish to remain + our confederate and ally and have sworn to that effect before + notaries, and sealed your oath with your seal ... that you are no + ally of the Duke of Burgundy and that you renounce and repudiate + his nomination as such ... also you may be certain that on our + part we are determined to maintain all friendship between us and + you ... and if we make any treaty in the future we will expressly + include you in it and never will do otherwise."[23] + + + "Monseigneur the grand master, I am advised how while the truce is + still in being, the Duke of Burgundy has taken Nesle and slain all + whom he found within. I must be avenged for this. I wished you to + know so that if you can find means to do him a like injury in his + country you will do it there and anywhere that you can without + sparing anything. I have good hopes that God will aid in avenging + us, considering the murders for which he is responsible within the + church and elsewhere, and because by virtue of the terms of their + surrender [they thought] they had saved their lives. + + "Done at Angers, June 19th. + + "P.S.--If the said place had been destroyed and rased as I ordered + this never would have happened. Therefore, see to it that all such + places be rased to the ground, for if this be not done the people + will be ruined and there will be an increase of dishonour and + damage to me."[24] + +One fact stated by Louis in this letter was true. Charles of Burgundy +broke the truce when it had but two weeks to run, and thus put +himself in the wrong. The death of Guienne made him wild with anger. +Apparently he had not believed in the imminence of the danger, +although he had been constantly informed of the progress of the +prince's illness. But to his mind, it was the hand of Louis, not the +judgment of God, that ended the life of the prince. + + "On the morrow, which was about May 15, 1472, so far as I remember + [says Commines] came letters from Simon de Quingey, the duke's + ambassador to the king, announcing the death of the Duke of + Guienne and that the king had recovered the majority of his + places. Messages from various localities followed headlong one on + the other, and every one had a different story of the death. + + "The duke being in despair at the death, at the instigation of + other people as much concerned as himself, wrote letters full of + bitter accusations against the king to several towns--an action + that profited little for nothing was done about it.[25]... In this + violent passion the duke proceeded towards Nesle in Vermandois, + and commenced a kind of warfare such as he had never used before, + burning and destroying wherever he passed." + +It is interesting to note how smoothly Commines sails by the capital +charges against the king. He neither accepts nor denies the king's +crime, while frankly admitting that Guienne's decease was an opportune +circumstance for Louis. He apologises for mentioning any evil report +of either king or duke, but urges his duty as historian to tell the +truth without palliation. + +Nesle was a little place on a tributary of the Somme which refused +the duke's summons to surrender, sent to it on June 10th. It seems +possible that there was a misunderstanding between the citizens +and the garrison which resulted in the slaughter of the Burgundian +heralds. Whereupon, the exasperated soldiers rushed headlong upon the +ill-defended burghers and wreaked a terrible vengeance on the town. + +When the duke arrived on the spot, the carnage was over, but he was +unreproving as he inspected the gruesome result. Into the great church +itself he rode, and his horse's hoofs sank through the blood lying +inches deep on the floor. The desecrated building was full of +dead--men, women, and children--but the duke's only comment as he +looked about was, "Here is a fine sight. Verily I have good butchers +with me," and he crossed himself piously. + + "Those who were taken alive were hanged, except some few suffered + to escape by the compassionate common soldiers. Quite a number had + their hands chopped off. I dislike to mention this cruelty but I + was on the spot and needs must give some account of it."[26] + +The story of the duke's treatment of the innocent little town of Nesle +is painted in colours quite as lurid as the king's murder of his +brother. There is some ground for the denunciations of Charles, +but the gravest accusation, that the duke promised clemency to the +citizens on surrender and then basely broke his word, does not deserve +credence. He was in a state of exasperation and the horrors were +committed in passion, not in cold blood.[27] + +[Illustration: BURGUNDIAN STANDARD PRESERVED AT BEAUVAIS] + +It is delightful to note the king's virtuous indignation at his +cousin's proceedings, coupled with his regrets that he himself had not +destroyed the town. + +With the terrible report of the events at Nesle flying before his +advance guard, Charles went on towards Normandy. Roye he gained +easily, and then, passing by Compiègne where "Monseigneur the grand +master" had intrenched himself, and Amiens with the good burghers whom +Louis delighted to honour, he marched on until he reached Beauvais, an +old town on the Thérain. Some of the garrison from the fallen Roye had +taken refuge there, but the place was weak in its defences, not even +having its usual garrison or cannon, as it happened. + +Disappointed in his first expectation of picking the town like a +cherry, Charles sat down before it. The siege that followed won +a reputation beyond the warrant of its real importance from the +extraordinary tenacity and energy of the people in their own defence. +Every missile that the ingenuity of man or woman could imagine was +used to drive back the besiegers when the town was finally invested. + +From June 27th to July 9th Charles waited, then an assault was +ordered. Charles laughed at the idea of any serious resistance. "He +asked some of his people whether they thought the citizens would wait +for the assault. It was answered yes, considering their number even if +they had nothing before them but a hedge."[28] He took this as a joke +and said, "To-morrow you will not find a person." He thought that +there would be a simple repetition of his experience at Dinant and +Liege, and that the garrison would simply succumb in terror. When the +Burgundians rushed at the walls their reception showed not only that +every point had a defender, but also that those same defenders were +provided with huge stones, pots of boiling water, burning torches--all +most unpleasant things when thrown in the faces of men trying to scale +a wall. Three hours were sufficient to prove to the assailants the +difficulty of the task. Twelve hundred were slain and maimed, and the +strength of the place was proven. + +Charles was not inclined to relinquish his scheme, but the weather +came to the aid of the besieged. Heavy rains forced the troops to +change camp. More men were lost in skirmishes and mimic assaults, +losses that Charles could ill afford at the moment. Finally at the end +of three fruitless weeks, the siege was raised and the Burgundians +marched on to try to redeem their reputation in Normandy. Had Beauvais +fallen, it would have been possible to relieve the Duke of Brittany, +against whom Louis had marched with all his forces and whom he had +enveloped as in a net. This reverse was the first serious rebuff that +had happened to Charles, and it marked a turn in his fortunes. + +Louis fully appreciated the enormous advantage to himself, and was not +stinting in his reward to the plucky little town. Privileges and a +reduction of taxes were bestowed on Beauvais. An annual procession +was inaugurated in which women were to have precedence as a special +recognition of their services with boiling water and other irregular +weapons, while a special gift was bestowed on one particular girl, +Jeanne Laisné, who had wrested a Burgundian standard from a soldier +just as he was about to plant it on the wall. Not only was she endowed +from the royal purse, but she and her husband and their descendants +were declared tax free for ever.[29] + +_Charles to the Duke of Brittany_ + + "My good brother, I recommend myself to you with good heart. I + rather hoped to be able to march through Rouen, but the whole + strength of the foe was on the frontier, where was the _grand + master, of whose loyalty I have not the least doubt_, so that the + project could not be effected. I do not know what will happen. + Realising this, I have given subject for thought elsewhere and + I have pitched my camp between Rouen and Neufchâtel, intending, + however, to return speedily. If not I will exploit the war in + another quarter more injurious to the enemy, and I will exert + myself to keep them from your route. My Burgundians and + Luxemburgers have done bravely in Champagne. I know, too, that you + have done well on your part, for which I rejoice. I have burned + the territory of Caux in a fashion so that it will not injure you, + nor us, nor others, and I will not lay down arms without you, as + I am certain you will not without me. I will pursue the work + commenced by your advice at the pleasure of Our Lord, may He give + you good and long life with a fruitful victory. + + "Written at my camp near Boscise, September 4th. + + "Your loyal brother, + + "CHARLES."[30] + +The duke's course was marked by waste and devastation from the +walls of Rouen to those of Dieppe, but nothing was gained from this +desolation. By September, keen anxiety about his territories led him +to fear staying so far from his own boundaries, and he decided to +return. Through Picardy he marched eastward burning and laying waste +as before. + +Hardly had he turned towards the Netherlands, when Louis marched into +Brittany against his weakest foe. There was no fighting, but Francis +found it wise to accept a truce. Odet d'Aydie, who had ridden in hot +haste to Brittany, scattering from his saddle dire accusations of +fratricide against Louis--this same Odet became silenced and took +service with the king.[31] When reconcilations were effected, most +kind to the returning ally or servant did Louis always show himself. + +On November 3d, a truce was struck between Louis and Charles, which, +later, was renewed for a year. But never again did the two men come +into actual conflict with each other, though they were on the eve of +doing so in 1475. + +The period of the great coalitions among the nobles was at an end. +Charles of France was dead and so, too, were others who were strong +enough to work the king ill. The Duke of Brittany showed no more +energy. When again within his own territories, Charles of Burgundy +became absorbed in other projects which he wished to perfect before he +again measured steel with Louis. + + "The Duke of Berry, he is dead, + Brittany doth nod his head, + Burgundy doth sulky sit, + While Louis works with every wit."[32] + +Such was the tenor of a doggerel verse sung in France, a verse that +probably never came to Charles's ears--though Louis might have +listened to it cheerfully. + +Infinitely disastrous were the events of that summer to Charles of +Burgundy. Not only had he lost in allies, not only had he squandered +life and money uselessly in his reckless expedition over the north of +France, but his own retinue was diminished and weakened by the men +whom Louis had succeeded in luring from his service. The loss that +Charles suffered was not only for the time but for posterity. Among +those convinced that there was more scope for men of talent in France +than in Burgundy was that clever observer of humanity who had been at +Charles's side for eight years. In August of 1472, Philip de Commines +took French leave of his master and betook himself to Louis, who +evidently was not surprised at his advent. + +The historian's own words in regard to this change of base are +laconic: "About this time I entered the king's service (and it was +the year 1472), who had received the majority of the servitors of his +brother the Duke of Guienne. And he was then at Pont de Cé."[33] This +passing from one lord to another happened on the night between the 7th +and 8th of August, when the Burgundian army lay near Eu. + +The suddenness of the departure was probably due to the duke's +discovery of his servant's intentions not yet wholly ripe, and those +intentions had undoubtedly been formed at Orleans, in 1471, when +Commines made a secret journey to the king. On his way back to +Burgundy, he deposited a large sum of money at Tours. Evidently he +did not dare put this under his own name, or claim it when it was +confiscated as the property of a notorious adherent of Louis's +foe.[34] + +When the fugitive reached the French court, however, he was amply +recompensed for all his losses.[35] For, naturally, at his flight, all +his Burgundian estates were abandoned.[36] It was at six o'clock on +the morning of August 8th that the deed was signed whereby the duke +transferred to the Seigneur de Quiévrain all the rights appertaining +to Philip de Commines, "which rights together with all the property of +whatever kind have escheated to us by virtue of confiscation because +he has to-day, the date of this document, departed from our obedience +and gone as a fugitive to the party opposed to us."[37] + +There are various surmises as to the cause of this precipitate +departure. Not improbable is the suggestion that Charles often +overstepped the bounds of courtesy towards his followers. Once, so +runs one story, he found the historian sleeping on his bed where he +had flung himself while awaiting his master. Charles pulled off one of +his boots "to give him more ease" and struck him in the face with it. +In derision the courtiers called Commines _tête bottée_, and their +mocking sank deep into his soul. + +Contemporary writers make little of the chronicler's defection. +These crossings from the peer's to the king's camp were accepted +occurrences. But by Charles they were not accepted. There is +a vindictive look about the hour when he disposes of his late +confidant's possessions, only explicable by intense indignation not +itemised in the deed approved by the court of Mons.[38] + +More loyal was that other chronicler, Olivier de la Marche, though to +him, also, came intimations that he would find a pleasant welcome at +the French court. He, too, had opportunities galore to make links with +Louis. The accounts teem with references to his secret missions +here and there, and with mention of the rewards paid, all carefully +itemised. So zealous was this messenger on his master's commissions, +that his hackneys were ruined by his fast riding and had to be sold +for petty sums. The keen eye of Louis XI. was not blind to the quality +of La Marche's services, and he thought that they, too, might be +diverted to his use.[39] + + "Monsieur du Bouchage, Guillaume de Thouars has told me that + Messire Olivier de la Marche is willing to enter my service and + I am afraid that there may be some deception. However, there is + nothing that I would like better than to have the said Sieur + de Cimay, as you know. Therefore, pray find out how the matter + stands, and if you see that it is in good earnest work for it with + all diligence. Whatever you pledge I will hold to. Advise me of + everything. + + "Written at Cléry, October 16th [1472]. + + "To our beloved and faithful councillor and chancellor, Sire du + Bouchage."[40] + +But La Marche was not tempted, and was rewarded for his fidelity +by high office in a duchy which, shortly after these events, was +"annexed" to his master's domain. + +[Footnote 1: _Journal de Jean de Roye_, i., 258.] + +[Footnote 2: Commynes-Dupont, iii., 202.] + +[Footnote 3: Plancher, iv., cccvi., May 28th.] + +[Footnote 4: Rymer, _Foedera_, xi., 735. _Pro Ducissa Burgundiæ super +Lana claccanda_.] + +[Footnote 5: _Lettres de Louis XI._, iv., 256.] + +[Footnote 6: One of Guienne's retinue who, later, passed to Louis's +service.] + +[Footnote 7: Louis's sister Yolande.] + +[Footnote 8: The Duke of Brittany had married the third daughter of +the Count de Foix.] + +[Footnote 9: This was an allusion to a proposed marriage between +Guienne and Jeanne, reputed daughter of Henry IV. of Castile. Vaesen +cannot explain the use of Aragon. Various documents relating to this +negotiation are given. (Comines-Lenglet, iii., 156.)] + +[Footnote 10: Vaesen gives _femmes_, Duclos _filles_. The king was +above all afraid that his brother might marry Mary of Burgundy.] + +[Footnote 11: Lettres de Louis XI._., iv., 286.] + +[Footnote 12: There was a pestilence raging at Amboise.] + +[Footnote 13: At Orleans, in the last days of October and the first of +November, there was a conference wherein the king apparently promised +to restore St. Quentin and Amiens to Charles, if he would renounce his +alliance with the dukes of Brittany and Guienne and would betroth his +daughter to the dauphin.] + +[Footnote 14: Ythier Marchant negotiated the proposed marriage between +Guienne and Mary of Burgundy. He had received "signed and sealed +blanks" from the two princes in order to enable him to hasten matters. +(_Lettres de Louis XI._, iv., 289.)] + +[Footnote 15: III., ch. viii.] + +[Footnote 16: "Cette paix jura le Due de Bourgogne et y estois +présent."] + +[Footnote 17: The king's envoys who had spent the winter in the +Burgundian court. _See_ letter to them in December.] + +[Footnote 18: _See_ Kervyn, _Bulletin de l'Academie royale de +Belgique_, p. 256. _Also_ Kirk, ii., 160; Commynes-Mandrot, i., 234.] + +[Footnote 19: Louis to the Vicomte de la Belliére, _Lettres_, etc., +iv., 319.] + +[Footnote 20: Louis to Dammartin, _Ibid_., 325. _Mars_ was written +first and then replaced by _Mai_.] + +[Footnote 21: Odet d'Aydie, younger brother of the Seigneur de +Lescun.] + +[Footnote 22: _Lettres, XI_., iv., 328. Louis to Dammartin, 1472.] + +[Footnote 23: _Lettres_, iv., 331. Louis to the Duke of Milan.] + +[Footnote 24: _Lettres_, etc., v., 4. Louis to Dammartin. _See also_ +Duclos, v., 331. There are slight discrepancies between the two texts, +but the differences do not affect the narrative.] + +[Footnote 25: Odet d'Aydie, whom Louis had hoped to have converted to +his cause, was the man to spread the charge against Louis broadcast +over the land. The truth of the death is not proven. Frequent mentions +of Guienne's condition occur through the letters of the winter '71-72. +The story was that the poison, administered subtly by the king's +orders, caused the illness of both the prince and his mistress, Mme. +de Thouan. She died after two months of suffering, December 14th, +while he resisted the poison longer, though his health was completely +shattered and his months of longer life were unutterably wretched and +painful, a constant torture until death mercifully released him in +May. Accusations of poisoning are often repeated in history. In this +case, there was certainly a wide-spread belief in Louis's guilt. In +his manifestos, (Lenglet, ii., 198) Charles declares that the king's +tools in compassing his brother's death were a friar, Jourdain Favre, +and Henri de la Roche, esquire of his kitchen. + +The story told by Brantôme _(OEuvres Complètes_ de Pierre de +Bourdeille, Seigneur de Brantôme, ii., 329. "Grands Capitaines +Francois." There is nothing too severe for Brantôme to say about Louis +XI.) is very detailed. A fool passed to Louis's service from that of +the dead prince. While this man was attending his new master in the +church of Notre Dame de Cléry, he heard him make this prayer to the +Virgin: "Ah! my good Lady, my little mistress, my great friend in whom +I have always put my trust, I pray thee be a suppliant to God in my +behalf, be my advocate with Him so that He may pardon me for the death +of my brother whom I had poisoned by this wicked Abbé of St. John. I +confess it to thee as to my good patron and mistress. But what was to +be done? He was a torment to my realm. Get me pardoned and I know well +what I will give thee." + +Brantôme tells further that the fool, using the privilege of free +speech accorded to his class, talked about Guienne's death at dinner +in public and after that day was never seen again. On the other hand, +the young duke's will was all to his brother's favour. Louis was +made executor and legatee, "and if we have ever offended our beloved +brother," dictated the dying man, "we implore him to pardon us as we +with _débonnaire_ affection pardon him." Mandrot, editor of Commynes +(1901), i., 230, considers the whole story a malicious fabrication of +Odet d'Aydie, and other authorities refer the cause to disease. The +very date of the death varies from May 12th to May 24th.] + +[Footnote 26: Commines, iii., ch. ix.] + +[Footnote 27: There is a curious document in existence (see _Bulletins +de L'Hist. de France_, 1833-34) dated fifty years after the event. It +is the deposition of several old people who had been just old enough +to remember that awful experience of their youth. Fifty years of +repetition gave time for the growth of the story.] + +[Footnote 28: Commines, iii., ch. x.] + +[Footnote 29: Legend makes it that Jeanne Laisné, called _Fouquet_, +chopped off the hands of the standard-bearer with a hatchet. Hence +her name was changed to _La Hachette_, and she is represented with a +hatchet.] + +[Footnote 30: Barante, vii., 333.] + +[Footnote 31: _See_ Lavisse, iv^{ii.}, 368.] + +[Footnote 32: + + "Berri est mort, + Bretagne dort, + Bourgogne hongne, + Le Roy besogne." + +Le Roux de Lincy, _Chants historiques et populaires du temps de Louis +XI_.] + +[Footnote 33: Commines also mentions here "the confessor of the Duke +of Guienne and a knight to whom is imputed the death of the Duke of +Guienne." (iii., ch. xi.)] + +[Footnote 34: Kirk (ii., 156) thinks that this confiscation was only +Louis's way of prodding him up to act.] + +[Footnote 35: Dupont (Commynes, iii., xxxvi). The fugitive did not +enter immediately into his new possessions. The king's gift of the +principality of Talmont, dated October, 1472, was not registered in +_Parlement_ until December 13, 1473, and in the court of records May +2, 1474. Prince of Talmont did Commines become at last, and as such he +married Helen de Chambes, January 27, 1473.] + +[Footnote 36: It is strange that La Marche does not mention this +defection.] + +[Footnote 37: See document quoted by Gachard, _Études et Notices_, +etc. ii., 344. The original is in the Croy family archives preserved +in the château of Beaumont.] + +[Footnote 38: _See also_ Comines-Lenglet, i., xcj., for discussion of +this event. He asserts that the court of Burgundy was too corrupt for +honest men to endure it.] + +[Footnote 39: _See_ Stein. _Étude_, etc., _sur Olivier de la _Marche_. +(Mém. Couronnés) xlix.] + +[Footnote 40: Letter of Louis XI. in Bibl. Nat.: _Ibid._, p. 179.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + +GUELDERS + +1473 + + +The affairs of the little duchy of Guelders were among the matters +urgently demanding the attention of the Duke of Burgundy at the close +of his campaign in France. The circumstances of the long-standing +quarrel between Duke Arnold and his unscrupulous son Adolf were a +scandal throughout Europe. In 1463, a seeming reconciliation of the +parties had not only been effected but celebrated in the town of Grave +by a pleasant family festival, from whose gaieties the elder duke, +fatigued, retired at an early hour. Scarcely was he in bed, when he +was aroused rudely, and carried off half clad to a dungeon in the +castle of Buren, by the order of his son, who superintended the +abduction in person and then became duke regnant. For over six years +the old man languished in prison, actually taunted, from time to time, +it is said, by Duke Adolf himself. + +Indignant remonstrances against this conduct were heard from various +quarters, and were all alike unheeded by the young duke until Charles +of Burgundy interfered and ordered him to bring his father to his +presence, and to submit the dispute to his arbitration. Charles was +too near and too powerful a neighbour to be disregarded, and his +peremptory invitation was accepted. Pending the decision, the +two dukes were forced to be guests in his court, under a strict +surveillance which amounted to an arrest. + +The first suggestion made by Charles was for a compromise between +father and son. "Let Duke Arnold retain the nominal sovereignty in +Guelders, actual possession of one town, and a fair income, while +to Adolf be ceded the full power of administration." The latter was +emphatic in his refusal to consider the proposition. "Rather would I +prefer to see my father thrown into a well and to follow him thither +than to agree to such terms. He has been sovereign duke for forty-four +years; it is my turn now to reign." Arnold thought it would be a +simple feat to fight out the dispute. "I saw them both several times +in the duke's apartment and in the council chamber when they pleaded, +each his own cause. I saw the old man offer a gage of battle to his +son."[1] The senior belonged to the disappearing age of chivalry. A +trial of arms seemed to him an easy and knightly fashion of ending his +differences with his importunate heir. + +No settlement was effected before the French expedition, but Charles +was not disposed to let the matter slip from his control, and when +he proceeded to Amiens, the two dukes, still under restraint, were +obliged to follow in his train. At a leisure moment Charles intended +to force them to accept his arbitration as final. Before that moment +arrived, the more agile of the two plaintiffs, Adolf, succeeded in +eluding surveillance and escaping from the camp at Wailly. He made his +way successfully to Namur disguised as a Franciscan monk. Then, at +the ferry, he gave a florin when a penny would have sufficed. The +liberality, inconsistent with his assumed rôle, aroused suspicion and +led to the detection of his rank and identity. He was stayed in his +flight and imprisoned in the castle of Namur to await a decision on +his case by his self-constituted judge. This was not pronounced until +the summer of 1473. + +By that time, Charles was resolved on another course of action than +that of adjusting a family dispute in the capacity of puissant, +impartial, and friendly neighbour. Adolf's behaviour towards his +father had been extraordinarily brutal and outrageous. Public comment +had been excited to a wide degree. It was not an affair to be dealt +with lightly by Duke Charles. The young Duchess of Guelders was +Catharine of Bourbon, sister to the late Duchess of Burgundy, and +Adolf himself was chevalier of the Golden Fleece. In consideration of +these links of family and knightly brotherhood, Charles desired that +the case should be tried with all formality. + +[Illustration: ARNOLD, DUKE OF GUELDERS (FROM THE ENGRAVING BY +PINSSIO, AFTER THE DRAWING BY J. ROBERT)] + +On May 3, 1473, an assembly of the Order was held at Valenciennes,[2] +and the knights were asked to pass upon the conduct of their +delinquent fellow, who was permitted to present his own brief through +an attorney, but was detained in his own person at Namur. The +innocence or guilt of his prisoner was no longer the chief point of +interest as far as the Duke of Burgundy was concerned. The latter had +made an excellent bargain on his own behalf with the moribund Duke of +Guelders, who had signed (December, 1472) a document wherein he sold +to Charles all his administrative rights in Guelders and Zutphen for +ninety-two thousand florins,[3] in consideration of Arnold's enjoying +a life interest in half of the revenue of his ancient duchy. That +clause soon lost its significance. The old man's life ceased in March, +1473, and, by virtue of the contract, Charles proposed to enter into +full possession of his estates, setting aside not only Adolf, whom he +was ready to pronounce an outlawed criminal, quite beyond the pale of +society, but that Adolf's innocent eight-year-old heir, Charles, whose +hereditary claims had also been ignored by his grandfather. + +Before the knights of the Order as a final court, were rehearsed all +the circumstances of the old family quarrel and of the late commercial +transaction. Their verdict was the one desired by their chief. It was +proven to their entire satisfaction that Arnold's sale of the duchy of +Guelders and Zutphen was a legitimate proceeding, and that the deed +executed by him was a perfect and valid instrument, whereby Charles of +Burgundy was duly empowered to enjoy all the revenues of, and to exert +authority in, his new duchy at his pleasure. As to Duke Adolf, he +was condemned by this tribunal of his peers to life imprisonment as +punishment for his unfilial and unjustifiable cruelty towards Arnold, +late Duke of Guelders. + +Adolf's protests were stifled by his prison bars, but the people of +Guelders were by no means disposed to accept unquestioned this deed +of transfer, made when the two parties to the conveyance were in +very unequal conditions of freedom. In order to convince them of the +justice of his pretensions, Charles levied a force almost as efficient +as his army of the preceding summer, and fell upon Guelders. A truce, +a triple compact with France and England, had recently been renewed, +so that for the moment his hands were free from complications, an +event commented upon by Sir John Paston, as follows: + + "April 16, 1473, CANTERBURY. + + "As for tydings ther was a truce taken at Brusslys about the xxvi + day off March last, betwyn the Duke of Burgoyn and the Frense + Kings inbassators and Master William Atclyff ffor the king heer, + whiche is a pese be londe and be water tyll the ffyrst daye off + Apryll nowe next comyng betweyn Fraunce and Ingeland, and also the + Dukys londes. God holde it ffor ever." + +The writer had recently been in Charles's court. Writing from Calais +in February, he says: + + "As ffor tydyngs heer ther bee but few saff that the Duke of + Burgoyen and my Lady hys wyffe fareth well. I was with them on + Thorysdaye last past at Gaunt."[4] + +The Duke of Burgundy was not the only pretender to the vacated +sovereignty of Guelders. The Duke of Juliers was also inclined to +urge his cause, were Adolf's family to be set aside. At the sight +of Burgundian puissance, however, he was ready to be convinced, and +accepted 24,000 florins for his acquiescence in the righteousness of +the accession. Several of the cities manifested opposition to Charles, +but yielded one after another. In Nimwegen--long hostile to Duke +Arnold--there was a determined effort to support little Charles of +Guelders who, with his sister, was in that city. The child made a +pretty show on his little pony, and there were many declarations of +devotion to his cause as he was put forward to excite sympathy. For +three weeks, the town held out in his name. The resistance to the +Burgundian troops was sturdy. When the gates gave way before their +attacks the burghers defended the broken walls. Six hundred English +archers were repulsed from an assault with such sudden energy that +they left their banners sticking in the very breaches they thought +they had won, fine prizes for the triumphant citizens. But the game +was unequal, and the combatants, convinced that discretion was the +better part of valour, at last accepted the Duke of Cleves as a +mediator with their would-be sovereign. + +On July 19th, a long civic procession headed by the burgomasters, +wearing neither hats nor shoes, marched to the Duke of Burgundy with a +prayer for pardon on their lips. The leaders of the opposition to his +accession were delivered over to the mercy of the victor. The garrison +were accorded their lives and a tax was imposed on the city to +indemnify the duke for his needless trouble, and Guelders was added +_de facto_ to the list of Burgundian ducal titles. In the various +state papers presently issued by the new ruler, the mention of the +circumstance of his accession to the sovereignty was simple and +straightforward, as in a certain document appointing Olivier de la +Marche to be treasurer. The patent bears the date of August 18th and +was one of the earliest issued by Charles in this new capacity. + + "As by the death of the late Messire Arnold, in his life Duke of + Guelderland, these counties and duchy have lapsed to me, and by + the same token the offices of the land have escheated to our + disposition, and among others the office of master of the moneys + of those countships ... using the rights, etc., escheated to me, + and in consideration of the good and agreeable services already + rendered and continually rendered by our knight, etc., Olivier de + la Marche, having full confidence in his sense, loyalty, probity, + and good diligence--for these causes and others we entrust the + office of master and overseer of moneys of the land of Guelders + to him, with all the rights, duties, and privileges thereto + pertaining. In testimony of this we have set our seal to these + papers. Done in our city of Nimwegen, August 18, 1473. Thus signed + by M. le duc." + +On the back of this document was written: + + "To-day, November 3, 1473, Messire Olivier de la Marche ... took + the oath of office of master and overseer of the land and duchy of + Guelders."[5] + +The charge of the ducal children, Charles and Philippa, was entrusted +to the duke who, in his turn, deputed Margaret of York to supervise +their education. In a comparatively brief time agitation in behalf +of the disinherited heir ceased, and imperial ratification alone was +required to stamp the territory as a legal fraction of the Burgundian +domains. Under the circumstances the minor heirs were the emperor's +wards, and it was his express duty to look to their interests, but +Frederic III. showed no disposition to assert himself as their +champion. On the contrary, the embassy that arrived from his court on +August 14th was charged with felicitations to his dear friend, Charles +of Burgundy, for his acquisition, and with assurances that the +requisite investiture into his dignities should be given by his +imperial hand at the duke's pleasure.[6] + +Communication between Frederic and Charles had been intermittently +frequent during the past three years, and one subject of their letters +was probably a reason why Charles had been willing to abandon a losing +game in France to give another bias to his thoughts. He was lured +on by the bait of certain prospects, varying in their definite form +indeed, but full of promise that he might be enabled, eventually, to +confer with Louis XI. from a better vantage ground than his position +as first peer of France. The story of these hopes now becomes the +story of Charles of Burgundy. + +When Sigismund of Austria completed his mortgage, in 1469, at St. +Omer, and returned home, as already stated, he was fired with zeal to +divert some of the dazzling Burgundian wealth into the empty imperial +coffers. An alliance between Mary of Burgundy and the young Archduke +Maximilian seemed to him the most advantageous matrimonial bargain +possible for the emperor's heir. He urged it upon his cousin with +all the eloquence he possessed, and was lavish in his offers to be +mediator between him and his new friend Charles. + +Frederic was impressed by Sigismund's enthusiastic exposition of the +advantages of the match, and little time elapsed before his ambassador +brought formal proposals to Charles for the alliance. The duke +received the advances complacently and returned propositions +significant of his personal ambitions. As early as May, 1470, his +instructions to certain envoys sent to the intermediary, Sigismund, +are plain. In unequivocal terms, his daughter's hand is made +contingent on his own election as King of the Romans, that shadowy +royalty which veiled the approach to the imperial throne. + + "_Item_--And in regard to the said marriage, the ambassadors shall + inform Monseigneur of Austria that, since his departure from + Hesdin, certain people have talked to Monseigneur about this + marriage and mentioned that, in return, the emperor would be + willing to grant to Monseigneur the crown and the government of + the Kingdom of the Romans, with the stipulation that Monseigneur, + _arrived at the empire by the good pleasure of the emperor_ or + by his death, would, in his turn, procure the said crown of the + Romans for his son-in-law. The result will be that the empire + will be continued in the person of the emperor's son and his + descendants. + + "_Item_--They shall tell him about a meeting between the imperial + and ducal ambassadors, at which meeting there was some talk of + making a kingdom out of certain lands of Monseigneur and + joining these to an _imperial_ vicariate of all the lands and + principalities lying along the Rhine." + +In the following paragraphs of this instruction,[7] Charles directs +his envoys to make it clear to Monseigneur of Austria (Sigismund) +that the duke's interest in the plan does not spring from avarice or +ambition. He is purely actuated by a yearning to employ his time and +his strength for God's service and for the defence of the Faith, while +still in his prime. + +Should the emperor refuse to approve the duke's nomination as King of +the Romans, the ambassadors are instructed to say that they are not +empowered to proceed with the marriage negotiations without first +referring to their chief. They must ask leave to return with their +report. If Sigismund should take it on himself to sound the emperor +again about his sentiments, the envoys might await the result of his +investigations. He was to be assured that while Charles was resolved +to hold back until he was fully satisfied on this point, if it were +once ceded, he would interpose no further delay in the celebration of +the nuptials. He must know, however, just what power and revenue the +emperor would attach to the proposed title. He was not willing to +accept it without emoluments. His present financial burdens were +already heavy, etc. The concluding items of the instructions had +reference to the marriage settlements. + +A kingdom of his own was not the duke's dream at this stage of +Burgundo-Austrian negotiations. The title that Charles desired +primarily was King of the Romans, one empty of substantial sovereign +power, but rich with promise of the all-embracing imperial dignity. +Significant is the intimation that after this preliminary title was +conferred, its wearer would be glad to have Frederic step aside +voluntarily. A resignation would be as efficient as death in making +room for his appointed successor. + +Frederic III. had, indeed, intimated occasionally that a life of +meditation would suit his tastes better than the imperial throne, but +he seems in no wise to have been tempted by the offer made by Charles +to relieve him of his onerous duties, and then to pass on the office +to his son. At any rate, the emperor rejected the opportunity to enjoy +an irresponsible ease. His answer to the duke was that he did not +exercise sufficient influence over his electors to ensure their +accepting his nominee as successor to the _imperium_. + +There was, however, one honour that lay wholly within his gift. If +Charles desired higher rank, the emperor would be quite willing to +erect his territories into a realm and to create him monarch of +his own agglomerated possessions, welded into a new unity. This +proposition wounded Charles keenly. He assured Sigismund[8] (January +15, 1471) that his nomination as King of the Romans would never have +occurred to him spontaneously. He had been assured that it was a +darling project of the emperor, and he had simply been willing +to please him, etc. As to a kingdom of his own, he refused the +proposition with actual disdain. + +Then various suitors for the hand of Mary of Burgundy appeared on +the scene successively. To Nicholas of Calabria, Duke of Lorraine, +grandson of old King René of Anjou, she was formally betrothed.[9] + +"My cousin, since it is the pleasure of my very redoubtable seigneur +and father, I promise you that, you being alive, I will take none +other than you and I promise to take you when God permits it." So +wrote Mary with her own hand on June 13, 1472, at Mons. On December +3d, she declared all such pledges revoked as though they never had +been made, and Nicholas, too, formally renounced his pretensions to +her hand. + +There were several moments when Charles of France had appeared to be +very near acceptance as Mary's husband, and several other princes +seemed eligible suitors. Doubtless her father found his daughter very +valuable as a means of attracting friendship. Doubtless, too, as +Commines says, he was not anxious to introduce any son-in-law into his +family. His fortieth year was only completed in 1473, and he was by no +means ready to range himself as an ancestor. + +At successive times the negotiations between Charles and Frederic were +ruptured only to be renewed on some slightly different basis. Threaded +together they made a story fraught with interest for Louis XI., and +one that, very probably, he had an opportunity to hear. Up to August, +1472, it is a safe inference that Philip de Commines was fully +cognisant of the propositions and counter-propositions, the +understandings and misunderstandings, the private letters of, as well +as the interviews with, the accredited Austrian envoys that appeared +at one Burgundian camp after another. Probably there was nothing more] +valuable in the store of learning carried by the astute historian from +his first patron to his second than all this fund of confidential +miscellany. + +It seems a fair surmise that Louis XI. enjoyed immensely the +delightful private view into his rival's dreams, the disappointments +and rehabilitation of his shattered visions. The relation would have +made him not only fully aware of the reasons why Charles was diverted +from his hot pursuit of the Somme towns, but thoroughly informed as to +the great obstacles lying in the path which the duke hoped to travel. +Naturally, the king was quite willing to rest assured that ruin was +inevitable. If his rival were disposed to wreck himself rashly on +German shoals, the king was equally disposed to be an acquiescent +onlooker and to spare his own powder. + +On his part, Charles was wholly unconscious of the extent of his loss +of prestige within the French realm in 1472. There had been other +periods when the king had appeared triumphant over his aspiring nobles +only to be again checked by their alliance. In the radical change +undergone by the feudatories after Guienne's death and Brittany's +reconciliation, there was, however, no opening left for the Duke +of Burgundy's re-entry as a French political leader. It was this +definitive cessation of his importance that Charles failed to +recognise. Confident that his star was rising in the east he did +not note the significance of its setting in the west. Thereupon the +situation was,--Charles, believing that his plans were his own +secret, _versus_ Louis, fully advised of those plans and alert to all +incidents of the past, present, and future in a fashion impossible to +the duke in his absorbed contemplation of his own prospects, blocking +the scope of his view. + +With the emperor's congratulations at the duke's accession to +Guelders, and his offers to invest him with the title, were coupled +intimations that it was an opportune moment to resume consideration of +an alliance between the Archduke Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy. The +duke accepted the new overtures, and Rudolf de Soulz and Peter +von Hagenbach proceeded to the Burgundian and Austrian courts +respectively, as confidential envoys to discuss the marriage.[10] + +Charles was far more gracious to De Soulz than he had been to the +last imperial messenger, the Abbé de Casanova, who had restricted his +proposals to Mary's fortunes and ignored her father's. The duke had no +intention of permitting any conference to proceed on that line. He was +explicit as to his requisitions. De Soulz was surprised by a gift of +ten thousand florins, explained by the phrase, "because Monseigneur +recognised the love and affection borne him by the said count." That +was a simple retainer. Other benefits, offices, and estates were +conferred, to take effect on the day when Monseigneur was named King +of the Romans. + +The instructions to Hagenbach were definite, covering the ground +of those previously mentioned, issued in 1470. He was, however, +especially enjoined to assure Frederic that the duke did not require +his abdication. He would be content to step into the shoes naturally +vacated by his death. + +The final suggestion resulting from these parleyings was that an +interview between the two principals would be far more satisfactory +than any further interchange of messages. It was not only a propitious +time for a conference, but it was necessary. The ceremony of +investiture of the duke into his latest acquired fief made it +evidently imperative that he should visit the emperor. And to +preparations for that event, Charles turned his attention, now +absolutely confident that the outcome must be to his satisfaction. He +had as little comprehension of the character of the man with whom he +was to deal as he had of Louis XI. The choice of a place caused some +difficulty, each prince preferring a locality near his own frontier. +Metz was selected and abandoned on account of an epidemic. Finally +Trèves was appointed for the important occasion, and Frederic sent +official invitations to the princes of the empire to follow him +thither in October. + +Illustration: MARY OF BURGUNDY (AFTER THE DESIGN BY C. LAPLANTE)] + +Before Charles arrived at the rendezvous, another event had occurred +that had an important bearing on his fortunes. Nicholas, Duke of +Lorraine, died (July 27th), leaving no direct heir. He had been +relinquished as a son-in-law, but the geographical position of his +duchy made the question of its sovereignty all important to Charles of +Burgundy. If it could be under his own control, how convenient for +the passage of his troops from Luxemburg to the south! The taste for +duchies like many another can grow by what it feeds upon. + +Prepared to set out for his journey to Trèves, Charles hastened his +movements and proceeded to Metz with an escort so large that it had a +formidable aspect to the city fathers. Whether they feared that their +free city was too tempting a base for attack on Lorraine or not, the +magistrates yet found it expedient to keep the Burgundian thousands +without their walls. The emperor, too, was on his way to Trèves. Many +of his suite were occupying quarters in Metz. Room might be found for +Charles and his immediate retainers, indeed, but the troops must make +themselves as comfortable as possible outside the gates. So said the +burgomaster, and Charles was forced to yield and he made a splendid +entry into the town under the prescribed conditions. + +His own paraphernalia had been forwarded from Antwerp, so that +there should be an abundance of plate, tapestry, etc., to grace his +temporary quarters, and the forests of Luxemburg had been scoured to +secure game for the banquets. + +It was all very fine, but Charles was not in a humour to be pleased. +He was annoyed about his troops; very probably he had intended leaving +a portion at Metz, ready to be available in Lorraine if occasion +offered. He cut short his stay in the town and marched on with his +imposing escort to Trèves, whence he hoped to march out again a +greater personage than any Duke of Burgundy had ever been.[11] + + +[Footnote 1: Commines, iv., ch. i.] + +[Footnote 2: _Hist. de l'Ordre,_ etc., p. 64. One of the places to be +filled at this session was that of Frank van Borselen, the widower +of Jacqueline, Countess of Holland. Thus the last faint trace of the +ancient family disappeared. It is expressly stated in the minutes of +the session that Adolf of Guelders was asked to nominate candidates +from his prison, but he would not do it. Striking is Charles's remark +on the nomination of the son of the King of Naples. Considering that +the Order was already decorated and honoured by four kings, very +excellent, he judged it more _à propos_ to distribute the five empty +collars within his own states. Nevertheless the infant was elected, as +was also Engelbert of Nassau. + +Various members are criticised as permitted by the rules of the Order. +There was reproach for Anthony the Bastard for taking a gift of 20,000 +crowns from Louis XI. Payable as it was in terms, it savoured of a +pension. Had Henry van Borselen done all he could to prevent Warwick's +landing in England? etc. + +Among the minor pieces of business discussed was the disposition of +the scarlet mantles now discarded by the chevaliers. It was decided +after deliberation that they should be sold and the proceeds applied +to the purchase of tapestries for the chapel of Dijon, and the +treasurer was deputed to see about it. Perhaps it was in this +connection that the discussion turned on the wide-spread use, or +rather abuse of gold and velvet. It tended to depreciate the Order and +the state of chivalry. But the sovereign thought it best to defer this +point until his return from his proposed journey to Guelders. Lengthy, +too, were the discussions upon the exact usage in respect to wearing +the collar and insignia of the Order.] + +[Footnote 3: The first sum named was three hundred thousand.] + +[Footnote 4: _The Paston Letters, iii., 79._.] + +[Footnote 5: See _Mémoires Couronnés_, xlix., 180.] + +[Footnote 6: Toutey, p. 42; Lenglet, ii., 207. August 14th the Duke +of Burgundy crossed the Rhine and made his way to Nimwegen where the +ambassador of the emperor visited him.] + +[Footnote 7: This instruction, printed by Lenglet (iii., 238) from the +Godefroy edition of Commines, has no date and has been referred to +1472. From internal evidence it seems fair to conclude that it belongs +rather to 1470. The question of the marriage comes in at the end of +the paper, the first part being devoted to Swiss affairs.] + +[Footnote 8: Toutey, p. 36.] + +[Footnote 9: Lenglet, iii., 192.] + +[Footnote 10: Toutey, p. 44; Chmel, _Monumenta Habsburgica, I, 3._] + +[Footnote 11: Toutey, p. 46.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + +THE MEETING AT TRÈVES + +1473 + + +On Wednesday, September 28th, Emperor Frederic made his entry into the +old Roman city on the dancing Moselle. Two days later, the Duke of +Burgundy arrived and was welcomed most pompously outside of Trèves, by +his suzerain. + +After the first greetings, ensued an argument about the etiquette +proper for the occasion, an argument similar to those which had +absorbed the punctilious in the Burgundian court, when the dauphin +made his famous visit to Duke Philip. For thirty minutes, the emperor +argued with his guest before feudal scruples were overcome and the +vassal was induced to ride by his chief's side into the city. + +The entry was a grand sight, and crowds thronged the streets, more +curious about the duke than about the emperor. Charles was then in the +very prime of life. His personality commanded attention, but there +were some among the onlookers who found it more striking than +attractive. One bystander thought that the very splendour of his +dress, wherein cloth of gold and pearls played a part, only brought +into high relief the severity of his features. His great black eyes, +his proud and determined air failed to cast into oblivion a certain +effect of insignificance given by his square figure, broad shoulders, +excessively stout limbs, and legs rather bowed from continuous +riding.[l] + +There is, however, another word portrait of the duke as he looked in +the year 1473, whose trend is more sympathetic.[2] "His stature was +small and nervous, his complexion pale, hair dark chestnut, eyes black +and brilliant, his presence majestic but stern. He was high-spirited, +magnanimous, courageous, intrepid, and impetuous. Capable of action, +he lacked nothing but prudence to attain success." + +From the two descriptions emerges a fairly clear picture of an +energetic man, somewhat undersized, and sometimes inclined to assert +his dignity in a fashion that did not quite comport with his physical +characteristics. The conviction that he was a very important personage +with greater importance awaiting him, and his total lack of a sense of +humour, combined with his inability to feel the pulse of a situation, +undoubtedly affected his bearing and made it seem more pompous. + +[Illustration: CHARLES THE BOLD IDEALISED BY RUBENS. IN THE IMPERIAL +GALLERY AT VIENNA BY PERMISSION OF J.J. LOWY, VIENNA] + +The emperor was not an heroic figure in appearance any more than he +was in the records of his reign, distinguished for being the feeblest +as well as the longest in the annals of the empire. He was indolent, +timid, irresolute, and incapable. His features and manners were +vulgar, his intellect sluggish. Peasant-like in his petty economies, +he was shrewder at a bargain than in wielding his imperial sceptre. +At Trèves he was accompanied by his son, the Archduke Maximilian, a +fairly intelligent youth of eighteen, very ready to be fascinated by +his proposed father-in-law, who was a striking contrast to his own +languid and irresolute father, in energy and strenuous love of action. + +As the two princes rode together into the city, Charles's +accoutrements attracted all eyes. The polished steel of his armour +shone like silver. Over it hung a short mantle actually embroidered +with diamonds and other precious stones to the value of two hundred +thousand gold crowns. His velvet hat, graciously held in his hand out +of compliment to the emperor, was ornamented with a diamond whose +price no man could tell. Before him walked a page carrying his helmet +studded with gems, while his magnificent black steed was heavily +weighted down with its rich caparisons. + +Frederic III., very simple in his ordinary dress, had exerted himself +to appear well to his great vassal. His robe of cloth of gold +was fine, though it may have looked something like a luxurious +dressing-gown, as it was made after the Turkish fashion and bordered +with pearls. The emperor was lame in one foot, injured, so ran the +tradition, by his habit of kicking, not his servants, but innocent +doors that chanced to impede his way. + +The Archduke Maximilian, gay in crimson and silver, walked by the side +of an Ottoman prince, prisoner of war, and converted to Christianity +by the pope himself. And then there was a host of nobles, great and +small. Among them were Engelbert of Nassau[3] and the representative +of the House of Orange-Châlons, whose titles were destined to be +united in one person within the next half-century. + +The magnificence remained unrivalled in the history of royal +conferences. The very troopers wore habits of cloth of gold over their +steel, while their embroidered saddle-cloths were fringed with silver +bells. Surpassing all others, were the heralds-at-arms of the various +individual states which acknowledged Charles as their sovereign, +seigneur, count, or duke as the case might be. They preceded their +liege lord, clad in their distinctive armorial coats, ablaze with +colour. Before them were the trumpeters in white and blue, their very +instruments silvered, while first of all rode one hundred golden +haired boys, "an angel throng." + +It was so difficult to decide as to the requisite etiquette of escort, +that the emperor and duke agreed to separate on the fairly neutral +ground of the market-place. Each proceeded with his own suite to his +lodgings, Frederic to the archbishop's palace, and Charles to +the abbey of St. Maximin, which had conferred on him, some years +previously, the honorary title of "Protector." His army was quartered +within and without the city. Two days for repose and then the first +official interview took place, which is described as follows, by an +unknown correspondent, evidently in the ducal suite:[4] + + "Yesterday, which was Sunday, Monseigneur waited upon the emperor + and escorted him to his own lodging which is in the abbey of St. + Maximin. My said lord was clad in ducal array except for his hat. + The emperor wore a rich robe of cloth of gold of cramoisy, and his + son was in a robe of green damask. As to their people, both suites + were very brave, jewelry and cloth of gold being as common as + satin or taffeta. Monseigneur received the emperor in a little + chamber decorated with hangings from Holland that many recognised. + + "The emperor made the Bishop of Mayence his mouthpiece to describe + the stress of Christianity and to urge Charles to lend his + assistance. Having listened to this address, Monseigneur requested + the emperor to please come into a larger place where more people + could hear his answer. Accordingly they entered a hall decorated + with the tapestry of Alexander, while the very ceiling was covered + with cloth of gold. There was a dais whereon stood a double row of + seats. Benches and steps were spread over with tapestry wrought + with my lord's arms. Thither came the emperor and mounted the dais + with difficulty.... Mons., the chancellor, clad in velvet over + velvet cramoisy, first pronounced a discourse in beautiful Latin + as a response to what had been said by the seigneur of Mayence. + Then, showing how the affairs of my said lord were affected by + the king, he began with an account of the king's reception by + Monseigneur, whom God absolve [evidently the late duke], in his + own residence, and he continued down to the present day, dilating + upon the great benefits, services, and honour by him [Louis] + received in the domains of Burgundy, and the extortions he had + made since and desires to make. Never a word was forgotten, but + all was well stated, especially the case of M. de Guienne.[5] + Finally, Monseigneur declared that if his lands were in security, + there was nothing he would like better than to give aid to + Christianity. + + "After this statement, which was marvellously honest, the emperor + arose from the throne, wine and spices were brought, and then + Monseigneur escorted the emperor to his quarters with grand + display of torches. This is the outline of what happened on + October 4th, in the said year lxxiii. And as to the future, next + Thursday the emperor will dine where Monseigneur lodges, _et là + fera les grants du roy_,[6] and there will be novelties. In regard + to the fashion of the said emperor and his estate, he is a very + fine prince and attractive, very robust, very human, and benign. + I do not know with whom to compare his figure better than + Monseigneur de Croy, as he was eight or ten years ago, except that + his flesh is whiter than that of the Sr. de Croy. The emperor has + seven or eight hundred horse as an escort, but the major part + of the nobles present come from this locality. In regard to + Monseigneur's departure, there is no news, and they make great + cheer--this is all for this time." + + The German scholars in the imperial party listened most + attentively to the style of the Netherlander's speech as well as + to his subject-matter. "More abundant in vocabulary than elegant + in Latinity," was their comment, a fault they considered marking + all French Latin. The audience found time to note the style for + the subject of the address did not interest them greatly. The + least observant onlooker knew that the main purpose of this + interview was not the plan of a Turkish campaign, though Frederic + appointed a committee to discuss that, whose members, Burgundian + and German in equal numbers, were instructed to study the Eastern + question while emperor and duke were absorbed in other matters.[7] + In their very first session, this committee decided that the + chief obstacle to a Turkish expedition was the Franco-Burgundian + quarrel. This point was also raised by Charles in his first + conference with Frederic. No campaign was feasible until the + European powers were ready to act in concert. Louis XI. was aiding + and abetting the heathen by being a disturbing element which + rendered this desired unity impossible. So Frederic appointed a + fresh commission to discuss European peace. And this insolvable + problem was a convenient blind for other discussions. + + On October 5th, a Burgundian fête gave new occasion for a display + of wealth; "vulgar ostentation," sneered the less opulent German + nobles who tried to show that their pride was not wounded by the + sharp contrasts between imperial habits and those of a mere duke. + On their side, the Burgundians remarked that it was a pity to + waste good things on boors so little accustomed to elegantly + equipped apartments that they used silken bedspreads to polish up + their boots! + + A running commentary of international criticism, fine feasts, + ostensible negotiations about projects that probably no one + expected would come to pass, and an undercurrent, persistent + and mandatory, of demands emphatically made on one side, feebly + accepted by the other while the two principals were together, and + petulantly disliked by the emperor as soon as he was alone again + --such was the course of the conference. + + Frederic III. had one simple desire--to marry his son to the + Burgundian heiress. Charles desired many things, some of which are + clear and others obscure. The very fact that the emperor did not + at once refuse his demands, gave him confidence that all were + obtainable. Very probably he hoped to overawe his feudal chief + by a display of his resources, and by showing the high esteem in + which he was held by all nations. There at Trèves, embassies came + to him from England, from various Italian and German states, and + from Hungary. + + On October 15th, a treaty was signed that made the new Duke of + Lorraine virtually a vassal to Charles, an important step towards + Burgundian expansion. There was time and to spare for these many + comings and goings during the eight weeks of the sojourn at + Trèves, and the duke was not idle. That his own business hung + fire, he thought was due to the machinations of Louis XI. He had + no desire to prolong his visit, for he was well aware of the + risk involved in keeping his troops in Trèves.[8] At first the + magnificence of his equipage had amused the quiet old town, but + little by little, in spite of the duke's strict discipline, the + presence of idle soldiers became very onerous. Charles did not + hesitate to hang on the nearest tree a man caught in an illicit + act, but much lawlessness passed without his knowledge. Provisions + became very dear; there was some danger of an epidemic due to the + unsanitary conditions of the place, ill fitted to harbour so many + strangers. The precautions instituted by the Roman founders in + regard to their water supply had long since fallen into disuse. + + Weary of delays, the duke demanded a definite answer from the + emperor as to the proposed kingdom, the matrimonial alliance, and + his own status. Frederic appeared about to acquiesce, and then + substituted vague promises for present assent to the demands. But + when Charles, indignant, broke off negotiations on October 31st, + and began to prepare for immediate departure, Frederic became + anxious, renewed his overtures, and a new conference took place, + in which he consented to fulfil the duke's wishes, with the + proviso the sanction of his election should be obtained. + + Charles promised to go against the Turk in person, and to place + a thousand men at Frederic's disposal, so soon as all points at + issue between him and Louis XI. were settled, and provided that + his estates were erected into a kingdom, which should also + comprise the bishoprics of Liege, Utrecht, Toul, Verdun, and the + duchies of Lorraine, Savoy, and Cleves. This realm was to be + a fief of the empire like Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland, and + transmissible by heredity in the male and female line--a necessary + recognition of a woman's right, approved by both parties, for Mary + of Burgundy was to marry Maximilian. + + Electoral confirmation alone was wanting, and in regard to that + there was much voluminous correspondence and much shuffling of + responsibility. The electors of Mayence and of Trèves were the + only ones present to speak for themselves, and they declared + that the matter ought to be referred to a full conclave of the + electoral college.[9] Let the candidate for royalty await the + decision of the next diet, appointed for November at Augsburg. + + Never loth to delay, the emperor proposed this solution to + Charles, who replied haughtily that if his request were not + complied with he would join Louis XI. in a league hostile to the + empire. This was on November 6th. The Archbishop of Trèves then + suggested that if the question could not wait for a diet, at + least the electors should be summoned, especially the elector of + Brandenburg, whom he knew to be influential with the emperor, and + who was a leader in the anti-Burgundian and anti-Bohemian German + party. This seemed fair, but the emperor suddenly put on a show of + authority and declared, with an injured air, that he was perfectly + free to act on his own initiative without confirmation. In the + interests of Christianity and of the empire he would appoint + Charles of Burgundy chief of the crusade, and he would crown him + king. + + The organised opposition to his plan came to the duke's ears and + made him very angry. Yet, at the same time, he had no desire + to dispense with electoral consent. Possibly he felt that the + imperial staff alone was too feeble to conjure his kingdom into + permanent existence. It was finally decided that Frederic III. + should display his power to the extent of investing Charles + at once with the duchy of Guelders, while the more important + investiture should be postponed. + + Very imposing was the ceremony enacted in the market-place. + Frederic was exalted upon a high platform ascended by a flight + of steps. Charles, clad in complete steel but bareheaded and + unattended, rode slowly around the platform three times, "which + they say was the custom in such solemnities of investiture," adds + an eyewitness,[10] as though he considered the ceremony somewhat + archaic. Then the candidate dismounted, received the mantle of the + empire from an attendant, and slowly ascended the steps to the + emperor's feet, while a new escutcheon, displaying the insignia of + the freshly acquired fiefs, quartered on the Burgundian arms, was + carried before him. Kneeling at the emperor's feet, the duke laid + two fingers on his sword hilt and repeated the oath of fealty and + service in low but distinct tones. Other rites followed, and then + Charles was proclaimed Duke of Guelders. + + [Illustration: MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA, MEDAL] + + Thus one object of the conference was attained, and all the + world thought it was only a question of time when the greater + investiture would be celebrated. Charles's star was in the + ascendant. There seemed no limit to the power he had acquired + over his suzerain, who apparently graciously nodded assent to his + requests, while the duke, too, withdrawing from his alliance with + the King of Hungary, appeared very conciliatory in all doubtful + issues. At the same time, his confidence in Frederic was by no + means perfect. + + "The emperor is acting with perfect imperial authority and thinks + that no one has a right to dispute it, nevertheless the duke + yearns for the sanction of the electors and is set upon obtaining + it."[11] The tone taken by Charles was that of humble ignorance. + "Little instructed as I am in imperial German law, I am anxious to + have your opinion on the legal ability of the emperor to erect a + kingdom." On November 8th, in the evening, the electors present in + Trèves declared that they were not exactly sure about the imperial + authority, but they were sure that it was not their duty to + discuss the legal attributes of imperial puissance. + + Under these circumstances what remained to hinder the attainment + of Charles's desire? The emperor consented, and the only people + who could have stayed his consent expressly stated that his was + the final word, not theirs. It was easy for onlookers to conclude + not only that the coronation was certain but that it was done. + + "Know that our lord the emperor has made the Duke of Burgundy a + king of the lands hereafter mentioned and has assured the royal + title to him and his heirs, male and female; all the territories + that he holds from the empire together with Guelderland lately + conquered, and the land of Lorraine, lately lapsed to the empire + in fief, besides the duchy of Burgundy that formerly was held from + the crown of France; also the bishoprics of Liege, Utrecht, Dolen, + and others belonging to the empire, besides a few seigniories, + also imperial fiefs. All this, royalty and principalities, he + receives from a Roman emperor." + +So wrote Albert of Brandenburg on November 13th, trusting to the +word of an envoy who had left matters in so advanced a state when he +departed from Trèves that he felt safe in concluding that achievement +had been reached.[12] + +Various letters from the citizens of Berne, too, were filled with +rumours from Trèves. Most extraordinary is one of November 29th, +intended to go the rounds of the Swiss confederacy, containing _exact +details of the coronation of Charles as it had taken place five days +previously_. The boundaries of the new kingdom were specified.[13] +Venice, in hot haste to please the monarch, had instantly shown +exceptional honour to the Burgundian resident. How exact it all +sounded! Yet there was no truth in it. + +The vacillating emperor was affected by the attitude of his suite, and +by their varying representations. There is no actual proof of French +interference, but French agents had been seen in the city, and might +have had private audiences with the emperor. Gradually, relations +changed between Charles and Frederic. There was a cloud, not +dissipated by a three days' fête given by the duke (November +19th-22d), evidently in farewell. Was Charles too exigeant with his +demands, too chary of his daughter? Probably. + +On November 23d, instead of a definitive treaty a simple convention +was signed, postponing the coronation until February. Emperor and +regal candidate were to meet again at Besançon, Cologne, or Basel. In +the interval, Charles was to come to a satisfactory understanding with +the electors and obtain their official endorsement for the imperial +grant. + +November 25th was appointed, _not_ for the regal investiture, but for +Frederic's departure. On the evening of the 24th, he gave audience to +his councillors and princes. The electors present were urged by the +Burgundians to give their own conditional approval at least, and to +consent to a reduction of the military obligations to be incurred +by Charles. It was a crisis, however, where nobody wished to pledge +anything definitely. There was an evident disposition to await some +further issue before final action. + +The leave-taking between the bargain makers was expected to be as +pompous as had been the entry into Trèves. It was far into the night +of November 24th when the audience broke up. Little rest was there for +the imperial suite, for when the tardy November sun arose above the +eastern horizon, its rays met Frederic sailing down the Moselle. Not +only had no imperial adieux been uttered, but no imperial debts had +been settled. This was the news that was awaiting Charles when he +awoke. Baffled he was, but not in his hope of being a king that day. +No, only in his expectation of a stately pageant.[14] In all haste he +sent Peter von Hagenbach to ride more swiftly along the bank than the +boat could sail, so as to overtake the traveller and urge him to wait +for a few more words on divers topics. In one account it is reported +that Frederic, though annoyed at the interruption, still assented to +Hagenbach's request. No sooner was the latter away, however, than he +changed his mind and continued his course. + +Rumour was busy, in regard to this strange exit of the emperor from +the scene. The general belief among contemporaries was that it was on +the eve of the intended coronation that Frederic turned his back on +the scene. Take first the words of Thomas Basin, whose statement that +he was in the very midst of the events can hardly be doubted:[15] + + "But alas how easily and instantly human desires change, and how + fragile are the alliances and friendships of men, especially of + princes, which are not joined and confirmed by the glue of Christ + ... as the sacred Psalm sings, 'Put not your trust in princes + nor in the sons of men in whom there is no safety.' Suddenly, + forsooth, when they were thought to be harmonious in charity, + benevolence, and friendship, when they offered each other such + splendid entertainment, when they feasted together in regal luxury + in all unity and friendship, when all things, as has been said, + needed for the magnificence of such a great honour were made + ready and prepared, so that on the third day should occur the + celebration of that regal dignity _[fastigii],_ and the + _[provectio]_ promotion of a new king and the erection of a new + kingdom or the restoration and renovation of an ancient one, + now obsolete from antiquity, were expected by all with great + attention;--something occurred. I do not know what; hesitation or + suspicion, fancied or justified, unexpectedly affected the emperor + ... and embarking on his ship in the very early morning he sailed + down the river Moselle to the Rhine. And thus was frustrated the + hope of the duke and of all the Burgundians who believed that + he was to be elevated to a king. In a moment this hope was + extinguished like a candle. + + "We were present there in the city of Trèves, attached to the + suite of neither prince, not serving or pretending to serve either + of them. But we ascertained nothing either then or later, although + we made many inquiries, about the cause of this sudden departure + and we are still ignorant of the truth. When the day broke after + the emperor's departure, and the duke was informed of the fact, he + was also assured that the vessel in which the emperor sailed was + opposite the monastery of St. Mary Blessed to the Martyrs. So he + sent messengers hastily to beg the emperor to stay for a very + brief interview with the duke, assuring him that the very least + delay possible should occur if he did the favour. But no attention + was paid to the signals from the shore and the course was + continued." + +The bishop wrote these words some time after the event. There are +other accounts preserved, actual letters written within a few days or +weeks of November 25th, wherein is evinced similar ignorance of what +had actually passed. The following gives several suggestions of +difficulties not mentioned elsewhere. A certain Balthasar Cesner, +secretary, writes to Master Johannes Gelthauss and others in +Frankfort, from Cologne, on December 6th.[16] He was attached to +the imperial service, and possibly was one of the few attendants on +Frederic in the hasty journey from Trèves. After touching on Cologne +affairs he proceeds: + + "I must inform your excellencies how the Duke of Burgundy came + with all pomp for his coronation as king of the kingdom of + Burgundy and Friesland with twenty-six standards besides a + magnificent sceptre and crown. He also wished to take his duchy + and territories in Savoy[17] and Guelders and others in fief from + him [the emperor] and not from the empire.[18] This and other + extraordinary demands his imperial grace did not wish to grant, + and on that account he has broken off the interview and gone away. + Everything was prepared for the coronation, the chair for the + taking.[19] It is said that he is to be crowned in Aix. It may be + hoped not [_non speratur_]. You can understand me as well as your + faithful servant. + + "Dear Master Hans I hope that you will not laugh at me. I can + please my gracious lord and be worthy of praise if you will only + trust me. + + "Despatched from Cologne on St. Nicholas Day itself. + + "To the Jurisconsult Master Johannes Gelthauss, Distinguished + advocate, master, preceptor of the city of Frankfort." + +The two kingdoms are also mentioned by Snoy: + + "Two realms, namely Burgundy and Frisia; in the second, Holland, + Zealand, Guelders, Brabant, Limburg, Namur, Hainaut, and the + dioceses of Liege, Cambray, and Utrecht; in the first, Burgundy, + Luxemburg, Artois, Flanders, and three bishoprics." + +The chronicler adds that this plan was discussed in secret +conference.[20] + +Again the rumour that the final straw that broke the emperor's +resolution was the duke's desire to take Savoy and Guelders from +his hand alone, is suggestive. On the duke's part, this wish might +indicate an attempt to separate a portion of territory from the empire +in a way to deceive his contemporaries into thinking that his kingdom +was an imperial fief, while, in reality, it was an independent realm, +as he or his successors could declare at a convenient moment. But this +seems at variance with his attested desire for electoral support. + +It was a curious tangle and never fully unravelled. Yet, considering +the emperor's personal characteristics, his last action does not +seem inexplicable. As his visitor showed the intensity of his will, +Frederic became restive. Phlegmatic, obstinate, yet conscious of his +own weakness, personal conflicts with a nature equally obstinate and +much more vigorous were exceedingly unpleasant. The collision made him +writhe uneasily and prefer to slip out of his embarrassment as quietly +as he could. + +The proposed leave-taking was to be very magnificent, and the +magnificence again was significant of Burgundian wealth. Whether the +duke would surely keep his pledge of sharing that wealth with the +archduke if the emperor went so far that he could not draw back, was a +consideration that undoubtedly may have affected Frederic. Had Mary of +Burgundy accompanied her father, had the wedding of the daughter and +investiture of the new king been planned for the same day, had the +promises been exchanged simultaneously, the leave-taking might have +passed, indeed, as a third ceremonial in all stateliness. + +If Frederic doubted the surety of his bargain, it is not surprising. +It was notorious how the duke had played fast and loose with his +daughter's hand, withdrawing it from the grasp of a suitor as the +greater advantages of another alliance were presented to him, or as +the mere disadvantage of any marriage at all became unpleasantly near. +Vigorous man of forty that he was, Charles had no personal desire to +see a son-in-law, _in propria persona_, waiting for his shoes--a fact +perfectly patent to the emperor, as it was to the rest of the world. + +The task of making the imperial adieux was entrusted to the imperial +chamberlain, Ulrich von Montfort, who duly presented his master's +formal excuses to the duke, on the morning of November 25th. +"Important and urgent affairs had necessitated his presence elsewhere. +The arrangement discussed between them was not broken but simply +postponed until a more convenient occasion rendered its execution +possible," etc. + +The Strasburg chronicles report that Charles was in a towering rage on +receiving this communication. He clinched his fists, ground his teeth, +and kicked the furniture about the room in which he had locked himself +up.[21] But by the time these words were penned, these authors +were better informed than Charles about the ultimate result of the +emperor's intentions. The duke may have been angry, but he certainly +controlled himself sufficiently to give several audiences in the +course of the day--to envoys from Lorraine among others--and was ready +to take his own departure by evening, not doubting that the crown and +sceptre, carefully packed with the mountain of his valuable treasure, +would assuredly fulfil their destiny in the near future. Trèves was +left to its pristine repose, and Charles was the last man to realise +that in its silence were entombed for ever his chances of wearing the +prematurely prepared insignia. + + +[Footnote 1: This comment of the Strasburg chronicler, Trausch, is +quoted by De Bussière in his _Histoire de la Ligue contre Charles le +Téméraire_, p. 64. Kirk (ii., 222) points out that this contemporary +had a peculiar hostility towards Charles.] + +[Footnote 2: Guillaume Faret or Farrel. His _Hist. de René II._ is +lost. This citation from it is found in _La Guerre de René II. contre +Charles le Hardi_, by P. Aubert Roland.] + +[Footnote 3: He had been made knight of the Golden Fleece at the +May meeting. From this time on some member of the Nassau family was +prominent in Burgundian affairs.] + +[Footnote 4: Gachard, _Doc. inédits_, i., 232. Letter from Trèves, +October 4, 1473.] + +[Footnote 5: About this time Louis XI. made strenuous efforts to +unravel the mystery of his brother's death. (Letter to the chancellor +of Brittany, _Lettres de Louis XI_., v., 190.)] + +[Footnote 6: Gachard could not explain this phrase. It might easily +refer to the desired investiture.] + +[Footnote 7: Chmel, _Mon. Habs_., i., lxxvii., 50, 51: Toutey, p. 50.] + +[Footnote 8: Toutey, p. 53.] + +[Footnote 9: Toutey bases this statement on three letters (October +30, 31, and November 7, 1473) written by the envoys of the elector of +Brandenburg, Ludwig von Eyb and Hertnid von Stein.] + +[Footnote 10: Basin, _Histoire des règnes de Charles VII. et de Louis +XI._, ii., 323. Between Nov. 6th and this ceremony there had been +new ruptures. Hugonet had gone back and forth many times between the +chiefs and "all the world had wondered."] + +[Footnote 11: Albert of Brandenburg to the Duke of Saxony. (Muller, +_Reichstag Theatrum_, p. 598.] + +[Footnote 12: Toutey, p. 57.] + +[Footnote 13: Toutey, p. 60, note.] + +[Footnote 14: In this account, differing from the current +tradition, Toutey has followed Bachmann's conclusions (_Deutsche +Reichsgeschichte,_ ii., 435).] + +[Footnote 15: Basin, ii., 325.] + +[Footnote 16: Preserved in the municipal archives in Frankfort (nr. +5808 or ch. lit. clausa c. sig in verso impr.). This is published by +Karl Schellhass in _Deutsche Zeitschrift für Geschichtewissenschaft,_ +(1891) pp. 80-85. The language is a queer mixture of German and +Latin.] + +[Footnote 17: Charles asked on October 23d, through his chancellor, +for investiture into Savoy. (Note by Schellhass.)] + +[Footnote 18: Under this head is meant Lorraine, which he alleged had +lapsed to the emperor at the death of Nicholas of Calabria.] + +[Footnote 19: This means the throne from which Charles was to step +down to receive the fief.] + +[Footnote 20: "Loquitur etiam ferunt de regnis Frisiæ et Burgundiæ +sibi constituendes quæ audissimis auribus accepta visus non tam negare +imperator quam dissimulare. + +"Nam et ad eam [majestatem regiam] aspirare et ditiones suas velle +in duo regna partiri visue Burgundiæ et Frisiæ: in hoc Hollandia, +Zelandia, Gelria, Brabantia, Limburgum, Namureum, Hannonia et dioceses +Leodiensis, Cameracensis et Trajectina: altero Burgundia, Luxemburgum, +Arthesia, Flandria, ecclesæque cathedrales Sadunensis, Tullensis +Verdunensis essent." (P. 1131.) + +Renier Snoy was born the year of Charles's death, so that his +statement is tradition but founded on what he might have heard from +eye-witnesses.] + +[Footnote 21: Chmel, i., 49-51; Toutey, p. 59.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + +COLOGNE, LORRAINE, AND ALSACE + +1473-1474 + + +Late as it was in November, the weather was still very mild, and as +the emperor and duke travelled in opposite directions, neither the +former as he went down to Cologne, nor the latter as he passed up +the valley of the Moselle to that of the Ell, was hindered by autumn +storms. The summer of 1473 had been marked by unprecedented heat and +a prolonged drouth.[1] Forest fires raged unchecked on account of the +dearth of water and, for the same reason, the mills stood still. +The grape crops, indeed, were prodigious, but the vintage was not +profitable because the wine had a tendency to sour. Gentle rains +in September prepared the ground for an untimely fertility. Trees +blossomed and, though some fruits withered prematurely, cherries +actually ripened. Thus the Rhinelands presented a pleasant appearance +as Charles rode to Lorraine. + +His first pause was at Thionville in Luxemburg, where he stayed about +a fortnight and received ambassadors from Hungary, Poland, Venice, +England, Denmark, Brittany, Ferrara, the Palatinate, and Cologne.[2] +The result of his conference with the last named was a declaration +on the duke's part which seriously affected his later career. The +condition of Cologne must be touched on as an essential part of this +narrative. + +The late Duke of Burgundy had attempted to pursue a line of policy in +regard to the ecclesiastical elections in the diocese of Cologne that +had succeeded in Liege and in Utrecht. In 1463, he had tried to force +the chapter to elect his candidate. They had refused to follow +his leading, but their own choice, Robert, brother of the +elector-palatine, did not prove a congenial chief, and the new prelate +turned to Philip for aid when he found his chapter disposed to +restrict both his revenues and his temporal authority. Later, in 1467, +as the audacity of his opponents increased, the archbishop appealed to +his brother, the elector, and to Charles of Burgundy. The latter +was busy in France, but he wrote a sententious letter to Cologne, +exhorting both chapter and city to be obedient to their chosen +spiritual and lay lord. This intervention was resented. The breach +widened between Robert and his people, culminating in actual +hostilities. The chapter took possession of the town of Neuss, +accepted Hermann of Hesse as their protector, and sent an embassy to +Rome to state their grievances. The elector aided his brother and the +belligerent parties grew in strength. + +The city of Cologne wavered for a space, undecided which cause to +espouse, and finally chose the chapter's side, signing a five years' +alliance with that body, which had officially renounced allegiance to +Robert, pending the judgment of pope and emperor on the dissension. +Such was the state of affairs when Charles entered into possession of +Guelders and manifested a disposition to interest himself in Cologne. +He informed the chapter that he was greatly displeased with their +contumely. To Cologne he said, "Be neutral," but the burghers showed +so little inclination to heed his neighbourly advice that he tried +harsher measures and permitted Cologne merchants to be molested in his +domains. + +In 1473, all hostilities were suspended in the hopes of imperial +intervention.[3] While Charles was still in Guelders, Robert paid +him a visit, held long conferences with him, and probably received +promises of future aid, for he had an air of arrogance when he +returned from the interview. During the sojourn of duke and emperor at +Trèves, a papal legate, the Bishop of Fossombrone, arrived from Rome +with plenary powers to settle Cologne affairs, and his measures were +endorsed by Charles in a letter from Trèves. + +For a time Frederic III. seemed inclined to refrain from interference, +then something influenced him in another direction. When he arrived +at Cologne in November, he received a warm welcome and costly gifts, +which he repaid by conferring a mass of privileges on his "good +city,"--cheap and easy benefits,--but he did not prove an efficient +arbitrator, simply postponing any decision from day to day, though he +was begged to settle all difficulties before Charles should attempt to +relieve him of the trouble. + +True, Charles was detained elsewhere. But he no longer felt the need +of conciliating the emperor, and at Thionville, on December 11, 1473, +he issued a manifesto declaring that his friend Robert was entirely in +the right, his opponents in the wrong.[4] As these latter defied papal +legate and arbitrator duly authorised to settle the points of dispute, +he, Charles of Burgundy, would constitute himself defender of the +insulted archbishop. At the same time, he despatched Ètienne de Lavin +to check the encroachments of the insolent rebels. The declaration +emboldened Robert to defy the emperor's summons to meet him and the +papal legate. They both declared that they would take measures to +bring him to obedience, but Frederic did not wish to tarry longer at +Cologne. In January he took his departure, having directed Hermann of +Hesse to protect that see against all aggression. + +Apparently, at that time, in spite of the manifesto, there was no +formal treaty between Charles and Robert, but there are two drafts for +such a treaty in existence,[5] wherein the former pledged himself to +force chapter, nobles, and city to submission, in consideration of the +sum of 200,000 florins, while the archbishop gave permission to his +ally to garrison all strongholds, including Cologne. Pending his +autumn sojourn in the upper Rhinelands, Charles had, therefore, plans +regarding Cologne definitely in mind. + + + +_Lorraine_ + +This duchy was even more interesting to Charles than Cologne, and +there were many matters in its regard which demanded his urgent +attention in 1473. It, too, was a pleasant territory, and conveniently +adjacent to Burgundian lands. A natural means of annexation had been +considered by Charles in the proposed marriage between Nicholas, Duke +of Lorraine, and Mary of Burgundy. When that project was abandoned to +suit Charles's pleasure, he retained the friendship of his rejected +son-in-law until the latter's death in the spring of 1473. So +unexpected was this event, that there was the usual suspicion of +poisoning, and this crime, too, was charged to the account of Louis +XI., apparently without foundation. Certainly that monarch reaped +no immediate advantage from the death, for the family to whom the +succession passed was more friendly to Burgundy than to France. + +The heir to the childless Nicholas was his aunt Yolande of Anjou, +daughter of old King René of Anjou, sister to the unfortunate +Margaret, late Queen of England, and widow of the Duke of Vaudemont. +The council of Lorraine lost no time in acknowledging Yolande as their +duchess. She hastened to Nancy, the capital, with her son René, aged +twenty-two, where they were received hospitably, and then Yolande +formally abdicated in favour of the young man, who was duly accepted +as Duke of Lorraine. + +Now there was a large party of Burgundian sympathisers in Nancy, and +it was probably owing to their pressure that very strong links were at +once forged between Charles and the new sovereign of the duchy. The +apprehension lest the former should protect the land as he had the +heritage of his namesake, little Charles of Guelders, was expressed by +the timorous, but their counsels were overweighted, and, on October +15th, René accepted a treaty whose terms were very favourable to +Burgundy. In exchange for being "protector,"--an office that the +emperor had already been asked to change into suzerainty,--René +cemented an alliance, offensive and defensive, with Charles, giving +the latter full permission to march his forces across Lorraine. +Further, he pledged himself to appoint as officials in all important +places on the route "men bound by oath to the Duke of Burgundy." Yes, +more, these were discharged from fidelity to Renè in case he abandoned +Burgundian interests. + +Yolande of Vaudemont endorsed these articles by adding her signature +to that of her son. Charles feared, however, that the provisions +might not be adhered to by the Lorrainers--so humiliating were the +terms--and exacted in addition the signatures of the chief nobles. On +November 18th, seventy-four of these gentlemen attested their +approval of an act that practically delivered their land to a +stranger,--evidence that they doubted the ability of their hereditary +chief, and preferred Burgundy to France. + +There is a story that Charles tried other methods than diplomacy, +before he got the better of the young duke in this bargain, that he +actually had him stolen away from the castle of Joinville where he was +staying with his mother.[6] Louis promptly came forward and arrested a +nephew of the emperor, a student in the University of Paris, and kept +him as a hostage until the release of René. Rumour, too, asserts that +there was a treaty of Joinville, wherein René asserted his friendship +with Louis, which was intermitted by his relations with Charles, to be +resumed later. That also seems to be improbable. The formal alliance +with Louis did not come then, though the king took immediate care +to build up a party in his behalf in Lorraine, and to keep himself +informed of the progress of the new regime. + +From Thionville, Charles journeyed on to Nancy, where he was welcomed +by his protégé, outside the city walls, and the two rode in together +as the duke and the emperor had entered Trèves. Charles had been so +long keeping up a show of obsequiousness which he did not feel that, +undoubtedly, he enjoyed again being the first personage.[7] He +refused, however, to accept the young man's hospitality, and spent the +two days of his sojourn in the house of a certain Malhortie, where +he felt more at ease in his conferences with Lorrainers willing to +proceed further to the disadvantage of their new sovereign. + +The ally certainly became more exigeant. In various towns on the +Moselle, Épinal, Charmes, Dompaire, etc., the Lorraine soldiers were +replaced by Burgundians. This immediate and arrogant use of the rights +he had wrested from the Duke of Lorraine alienated many who had been +warm for Burgundy. René himself admired Charles as Maximilian had +done. The strong man exercised a fascination over both youths, but +the duke did not turn this admiration into real friendship, +underestimating the character of his protégé. His measures, too, were +taken without the slightest consideration for local feeling. Garrison +after garrison was installed and commanded to obey his officers alone, +while the soldiers were allowed to levy their own rations, equivalent +to raids on a friendly country. As always, the agglomeration of +mercenary companies was difficult to control. The duke did not succeed +in having those remote from his jurisdiction kept in due restraint. +Complaints began to pour into his headquarters. Public sentiment +shifted day by day. The Burgundian became the personification of a +public foe. Before Charles proceeded on his way to Alsace, René had +begun to lose his admiration and it was not long before he impatiently +awaited an opportunity to break with his too doughty protector. + + + +_Alsace_ + +During the four years that Charles had delayed in coming to look at +the result of the bargain of 1469 in the Rhine valley, his lieutenant, +Peter von Hagenbach, had given the inhabitants reason to regret +the easy-going absentee Austrian seigneurs. Much had been done, +undoubtedly, in restraining the lawlessness of the robber barons. The +roads were well policed, and safety was assured to travellers. "I +spy," was the motto blazoned on the livery of the forces led by +Hagenbach up and down the land, until he had unearthed lurking +vagabonds. It was acknowledged that gold and silver could be carried +openly from place to place, and that night journeys were as safe as +day. Still, this advantageous change had not won popularity for the +man who wrought it. Perhaps the people thought it less burdensome to +make their own little bargains with highwaymen or petty nobles,[8] a +law unto themselves, than to meet the rigorous requisitions of the +Burgundian tax collector. + +It was the country that had profited most by the new administration. +The small towns had long enjoyed great independence, and had shown +ability in managing their own affairs. They wanted no interference. +Not liked by those whom he had really protected, Hagenbach was +absolutely hated by the burghers who felt his iron hand, without +acknowledging that its pressure had more good than evil in it. + +Then there were the neighbours to be considered. The Swiss had hated +Sigismund and all Austrians, and had been prepared to prefer Burgundy +as a power in the Rhinelands. But Hagenbach took no pains to win their +friendship. His insolent fashion of referring to them as "fellows" or +"rascals," added to acts of aggression, unchecked if not condoned by +him, aroused bitter dislike to him in the confederated cantons,[9] and +in their allies, Berne, Mulhouse, etc. By 1473, there was a growing +sentiment in Helvetia that they would be happier if Austria had her +own again, while the uneasiness in the cities that stood alone had +greatly increased. + +Within Hagenbach's immediate jurisdiction, the opposition to his +measures took a definite form long before the duke's arrival there. +The various commissioners sent by Charles to inspect the quality of +his bargain had all agreed in an urgent recommendation to the duke to +redeem, at the earliest possible moment, all the troublesome mortgages +honeycombing his authority. Hagenbach, too, was fully convinced of the +necessity for this measure, but he was not provided with sufficient +money to accomplish it. + +In the spring of 1473, therefore, he resolved to lay a new tax on +wine. This impost, called the "Bad Penny," was bitterly resented for +two reasons. The burden was oppressive to the vintners and it was an +illegal measure, as no sanction had been given by the local estates. +Three towns, Thann, Ensisheim, and Brisac, declared that they were +determined to refuse payment. + +Hagenbach marched a force into the Engelburg, a stronghold dominating +Thann, bombarded the town, and took it easily. Thirty citizens were +condemned to death as leaders in an iniquitous rebellion against the +just orders of their lawful governor. Some of these, indeed, were +pardoned, though their estates were confiscated, but five or six +were publicly executed, and their bodies hung exposed to view on the +market-place, as a hideous object-lesson of the cost of resisting +Burgundian orders. + +One execution sufficed to render Ensisheim submissive, but Brisac +proved more obstinate. The magistrates there did not resort to force. +They declared there was no need, for they were fully protected by the +article in the treaty of St. Omer, which forbade arbitrary imposition +of any tax on the part of the suzerain. Their determined refusal made +the lieutenant consent to refer the question to the Duke of Burgundy, +and messengers were despatched to Trèves to represent the respective +grievances of governor and governed. The collection of the tax was +postponed until Charles could examine the situation. + +A determined effort to bring the independent town of Mulhouse under +Burgundian sway was another act of 1473, fanning opposition to a white +heat that forged organised resistance to any extension of Burgundian +authority. For three years, Hagenbach had endeavoured to convince the +burghers of that imperial city that they would be wise to accept the +duke's protection and have their debts paid. The latter were, indeed, +oppressive, but there was fear lest "protection" might be more so, and +conference after conference failed to produce the acquiescence desired +by Hagenbach. + +In 1473, that zealous servant of Burgundy declared that if the +burghers persisted in their refusal he would resort to force. Their +reply was that Mulhouse could not take such an important step without +consulting her friends, the Swiss. "Are the cantons going to help you +pay your debts?" was the sneering comment of Hagenbach. "Mulhouse is +a bad weed in a rose garden, a plant that must be extirpated. Its +submission would make a charming pleasure ground out of the Sundgau, +Alsace, and Breisgau. The duke knew no city which he would prefer to +Mulhouse for a sojourn," were his further statements.[10] + +Two days were given to the town council for an answer. Hagenbach +remarked that it was useless to think that time could be gained until +the mortgaged territories should return to Austria. "Far from planning +redemption, Duke Sigismund is now preparing to cede to _Charles le +téméraire_ as much again of his domain and vassals." Still Mulhouse +was not convinced that the only course open to her was to let Charles +pay her debts and receive her homage. No answer was forthcoming in the +two days, but ready scribes had prepared many copies of Hagenbach's +letter, which were sent to all who might be interested in checking +these proposals of Burgundy. + +On February 24, 1473, a Swiss diet met at Lausanne and there the +matter was weighed. Hagenbach's letter was shown to those who had +not seen it, and methods of rescuing Mulhouse from her dilemma were +carefully considered. Years ago a union had existed between the forest +cantons and the Alsatian cities. There were propositions to renew +this alliance so as to present a strong front to their Burgundian +neighbour. The cantons had enough to do with their own affairs, but +the result of the discussion was that, on March 14th, a ten-year +Alsatian confederation was formed in imitation of the Swiss. + +The chief members were Basel, Colmar, Mulhouse, Schlestadt, and two +dioceses, and it is referred to as the _Basse-Union_ or the Lower +Union, the purposes being to guarantee mutually the rights of the +contracting parties, to meet for discussion on various questions, and, +specifically, to help Mulhouse pay her debts. A few days later, March +19th, there was a fresh proposition to make an alliance between +this _Basse-Union_ and the Swiss confederation. This required a +_referendum_. Each Swiss delegate received a copy of the articles to +take back to his constituents for their consideration. No bond between +the confederation and the union was, however, in existence at the time +when Charles was approaching Alsace. Various conciliatory measures +on his part had somewhat lessened immediate opposition to him, but, +nevertheless, there were frequent conferences about affairs. Diets +were almost continuous and there were strenuous efforts to raise money +to free Mulhouse from her hampering financial embarrassments. + +Hagenbach had not followed up his threats of immediate war measures, +but it was known that he had obtained imperial authorisation to +assume the jurisdiction of Mulhouse, a step which her allies hoped to +forestall by settling her debts. Strasburg offered to contribute six +hundred florins, Berne and Soleure seven hundred, Basel four hundred, +while Colmar, Schlestadt, Obernai, and Kaisersberg together hoped to +raise another four hundred. A diet was called at Basel for December +11th, and Zürich and Lucerne were expected to enter into the union. +The tidings of the duke's approach were undoubtedly a stimulus to +these renewed efforts to make the league strong enough to withstand +him. The sentiment expressed by the pious Knebel, "May God protect us +from his mighty hand," voiced probably a wide-spread dread. + +When Charles entered Alsace, his escort was large enough to +inspire fear, but there was no opposition to his advance, though +consultations, now at one city, now at another, were frequent. The +duke paid little heed to their deliberations, under-estimating their +importance, while he was gracious to any words of welcome offered to +him. Strasburg sent him greetings while he rested at Châtenois, and so +did Colmar. The latter town expressed her willingness to receive him +and an escort of one or two hundred, but was firm in her refusal to +admit a larger force within her walls. By this precaution, Charles was +baffled in his plot to gain possession of the town, and so passed on +his way. + +On Christmas eve, the traveller made a formal entry into Brisac, where +a temporary court was established, and where audience was given to +various embassies with the customary Burgundian pomp. Meanwhile the +troops, forced to camp without the walls, were a burden to the land, +and seem to have been more odious than usual to their unwilling hosts. + +The citizens of Brisac offered homage on their knees and had their +hopes raised high by their suzerain's pleasant greeting, but they +failed to obtain the hoped for assurance that the treaty of St. Omer +should be observed in all respects. Among the envoys were many who +undertook to remonstrate in a friendly fashion about the imposition +of the "Bad Penny" tax on the Alsatians, and the over-severity of +Hagenbach's administration. The cause of Mulhouse, too, was urged, +notably by Berne. The representations of these last envoys were +received most courteously. The duke rather thought that the city could +be detached from the league, and therefore gave himself some trouble +to establish friendly relations. + +To Mulhouse, too, his tone was conciliatory. He wrote a pleasant +letter to the town and despatched a councillor thither, who would, he +assured them, arrange matters to their satisfaction. But an abortive +_coup d'état_ on the part of the Burgundians, which would have given +them possession of Basel, destroyed the effect of these reassuring +phrases. The burghers were warned in time, looked to their defences, +and banished from their midst every individual suspected of Burgundian +sympathies. Every newcomer was carefully scrutinised before he was +admitted within the walls, and the Rhine was guarded most rigidly. The +propriety of these precautions was soon proven. + +Charles ordered a review at Ensisheim, the official capital of the +landgraviate. Thither marched his troops from every quarter. Those +from Säckingen, Lauffen, and Waldshut found their shortest route over +the bridge at Basel, and there they appeared and begged to be allowed +to cross. Their sincerity was doubted, and the least foothold on the +city's territory was sternly refused then and a week later, when the +request was renewed. The method of introducing friendly troops into a +town and then seizing it by a sudden _coup de main_ was what Charles +had been suspected of plotting for Metz, and later for Colmar, and +there seems to be no doubt that a third essay of this rather stupid +stratagem was planned, only to fail again, and this time to be +peculiarly disastrous in its reflex action. + +The review took place and the strength of the Burgundian mercenaries +was duly displayed to the Alsatians, but no satisfactory assurances +were given to Brisac and the other towns that their suzerain +would restrict his measures of taxation and administration to the +stipulations of the contract of St. Omer. On the contrary, when +Charles passed on to Burgundy it was plain to all that he had _not_ +restricted the powers of his lieutenant in any respect, but rather had +endorsed his general method of procedure. + +One night was spent at Thann[11] and then the duke took his leave of +the annexed region whose people had hoped so much from his visit to +them. In mid-January he arrived at Besançon, his winter journeying +being wonderfully easy in the unprecedentedly mild weather. + +Hagenbach lost no time in proceeding to the levying of the impost now +approved by the duke, who had at the same time expressly ordered that +the people were to be treated mildly, and that summary punishment +was to check all excesses on the part of the eight hundred Picards +employed by Hagenbach to aid the tax collector. The governor, however, +saw no further need for gentle treatment or for respect to privileges. +In Brisac, municipal elections were arbitrarily set aside, and +officers appointed by the governor. The corporation was curtailed +of power, and the burghers were forced to prepare to march against +Mulhouse. + +Having accomplished his duty to his own satisfaction, Hagenbach +proceeded to give himself some relaxation. His own marriage took place +on January 24th, and he celebrated the occasion with great fêtes. It +is of this period in Hagenbach's life that the stories of gross excess +are told.[12] It seems as though, having once abandoned restraint +towards the city, his personal passions, too, were permitted to run +riot, and he spared no wife nor maid to whom he took a fancy. + +As he had succeeded in impressing the "Bad Penny" on the little +independent landowners, he tried to extend it to the territory of the +Bishop of Basel. Vehement was the opposition which was reported to the +duke, who promptly ordered his lieutenant to restore the prisoners he +had taken and to cease his aggressions. Charles was not ready to +meet the Swiss, and was willing to defer an issue, but he was wholly +ignorant of the real strength of the confederation. Hagenbach then +proceeded to make a stronghold of Brisac and waited for further +action. + + +[Footnote 1: De Roye, p. 105.] + +[Footnote 2: He also issued administrative orders. It was at this time +that he instituted a high court of justice and a chamber of accounts +at Mechlin, both designed to serve for all the Netherland provinces. +This measure was bitterly resented by the local authorities. +(Fredericq. _Le rôle politique et social des ducs de Bourgogne_, p. +183.)] + +[Footnote 3: Letters are preserved in the Cologne archives. (Toutey, +p. 64.)] + +[Footnote 4: Toutey, p. 66. This document is in the Cologne archives.] + +[Footnote 5:_See_ Toutey, p. 66. These are printed in Lacomblet, +_Urkunden_, iv., 468, 470.] + +[Footnote 6: Jean de Roye is the only contemporary to tell this story. +Both Toutey and Kirk reject it. (_See_ Toutey, p. 76; Kirk, ii., +271.)] + +[Footnote 7: Toutey's suggestion.] + +[Footnote 8: All sons inherited their father's title, so that there +were many landless lords.] + +[Footnote 9: At this period there were eight in the confederation, +which was a loose structure in which each member preserved her +individuality.] + +[Footnote 10: _See_ Toutey, p. 82, who quotes from the _Cartulaire de +Mulhouse_, iv., _et passim_. This last furnishes the details for these +passages.] + +[Footnote 11: In this account Toutey's conclusions are accepted. There +are discrepancies as to dates among the various chroniclers. The +duke's itinerary as given in Comines-Lenglet (ii., 211) does not agree +with that of Knebel and others. But the facts of the narrative are +little affected by the variations. The following is the itinerary +accepted by Toutey: + +Dep. from Ensisheim Jan. 8 +Stay at Thann " 9-10 +Dep. from Belfort " 11 +Besançon " 17 +Auxonne, slept " 18 +Dijon, a " 23 +Dijon, d Feb. 19, 1474 +Auxonne, slept " 20 +Dôle " 21-March 8 +(Invested with the Franche Comté of Burgundy.) +Besançon March 12 or 15 +Vesoul and Luxeuil March 23-28 +Lorraine " 28 +Luxemburg Apr. 4-June 9 +Easter fêtes " 10 +Fête of the Order of the Garter " 23 +Brussels June 27] + +[Footnote 12: Kirk considers that they are well founded and too +indecent to repeat.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + +THE FIRST REVERSES + +1474-1475 + + +"Who is this that cometh, this that is glorious in his apparel, +travelling in the greatness of his strength?" These words in Latin, +on scrolls fluttering from the hands of living angels, met the eyes +of Charles of Burgundy at his retarded arrival in Dijon. And the +confident duke had no wish to disclaim the subtle flattery of the +implied comparison between him and the subject of the words of the +prophet.[1] + +The traveller had slept at Périgny, about a league from the capital +of Burgundy, so as to make the last stage of his journey thither in +leisurely state. Unpropitious weather on Saturday, January 22d, the +appointed day, made postponement of the ducal parade necessary, out +of consideration for the precious hangings and costly ecclesiastical +robes that were to grace the ceremonies of reception and investiture. +Fortunately, Sunday, January 23d, dawned fair, and heralds rode +through the city streets at an early hour, proclaiming the duke's +gracious intention to make his entry on that day. Immediately, +tapestries were spread and every one was alert with the last +preparations. + +[Illustration: A FORTIFIED CHURCH IN BURGUNDY - XVth Century] + +Lavish was the display of biblical phrases, like that cited, which +were planted along the ducal way and on a succession of stagings +erected for various exhibits. On the great city square, the platform +was capacious and many actors played out divers roles. Here stood the +scroll-bearing angels on either side of a living representation of +Christ. In the background clustered three separate groups of people +representing, respectively, the three Estates. Above their heads more +inscriptions were to be read.[2] "All the nations desire to see the +face of Solomon," "Behold him desired by all races," "Master, look on +us, thy people," were among the legends. + +The stately pageant, in which dignitaries, lay and ecclesiastical, +from other parts of the duke's domains participated, proceeded past +all these soothing insinuations that Charles of Burgundy resembled +Solomon in more ways than one, to the church of St. Benigne. Here +pledges of mutual fidelity were exchanged between the Burgundians and +their ruler. The Abbé of Citeaux placed the ducal ring solemnly +upon Charles's finger as a symbol, and he was invested with all the +prerogatives of his predecessors. + +From the church, the train wound its way to the Ste. Chapelle, past +more stages decorated with more flowers of scriptural phrase such as +"A lion which is strongest among beasts and turneth not away for any," +"The lion hath roared, who will not fear?" "The righteous are as bold +as a lion," etc. + +Two days later, the concluding ceremonies of investiture were +performed, and followed by a banquet. Charles was arrayed in royal +robes, and his hat was in truth a crown, gorgeous with gold, pearls, +and precious stones. After a repast, prelates, nobles, and civic +deputies were convened in a room adjoining the dining-hall, where +first they listened to a speech from the chancellor. When he had +finished, the duke himself delivered an harangue wherein he expatiated +on the splendours of the ancient kingdom of Burgundy. Wrongfully +usurped by the French kings, it had been belittled into a duchy, a +measure much to be regretted by the Burgundians. Then the speaker +broke off abruptly with an ambiguous intimation "that he had in +reserve certain things that none might know but himself."[3] + +What was the significance of these veiled allusions? It could not have +been the simple scheme to erect a kingdom, because that was certainly +known to many. Charles had, doubtless, an ostrich-like quality of +mind which made him oblivious to the world's vision but even he could +hardly have ignored the prevalence of the rumours regarding the +interview of Trèves, rumours flying north, east, south, and west. +Might not this suggestion of secrets yet untold have had reference to +the ripening intentions of Edward IV. and himself to divide France +between them? + +When his own induction into his heritage was accomplished, Charles was +ready to pay the last earthly tribute to his parents. A cortège had +been coming slowly from Bruges bearing the bodies of Philip and +Isabella to their final resting-place in the tomb at Dijon, to which +they were at last consigned.[4] + +A few weeks more Charles tarried in the city of his birth, and then +went to Dôle where he was invested with the sovereignty of the +Franche-Comté and confirmed the privileges. Thus after seven years of +possession _de facto_, he first actually completed the formalities +needful for the legal acquisition of his paternal heritage. The +expansion of that heritage had been steady for over half a century. +Every inch of territory that had come under the shadow of the family's +administration had remained there, quickly losing its ephemeral +character, so that temporary holdings were regarded in the same light +as the estates actually inherited. At least, Charles, sovereign duke, +count, overlord, mortgagee, made no distinction in the natures of his +tenures. But just as the last link was legally riveted in his own +chain of lands, he was to learn that there were other points of view. + +The statement is made and repeated, that the report of the duke's +after-dinner speech at Dijon was a fresh factor in alarming the people +in Alsace and Switzerland about his intentions, and making them hasten +to shake off every tie that connected them with Charles and his +ambitious projects of territorial expansion.[5] As a matter of fact, +there had been for months constant agitation in the councils of the +Swiss Confederation and the Lower Union as to the next action. + +Opposition to Sigismund had been long existent, antipathy to Austria +was so deeply rooted that the idea of restoring that suzerainty in the +Rhine valley was slow to gain adherents. Probably the arguments that +came from France were what carried conviction. It was a time when +Louis spared no expense to attain the end he desired, while he posed +as a benevolent neutral.[6] His servants worked underground. Their +open work was very cautious. It was French envoys, however, who +announced to the Swiss Diet, convened at Lucerne, that Sigismund was +quite ready to come to an understanding in regard to an alliance and +the redemption of his mortgaged lands. + +That was on January 21, 1474, the very day when the mortgagee was +preparing to ride into Dijon and read the agreeable assurances of his +wisdom, strength, and puissance. Yet a month and Sigismund's envoys +were seated on the official benches at the Basel diet, ranking with +the delegates from the cantons and the emissaries from France. On +March 27th, the diet met at Constance, and for three days a debate +went on which resulted in the drafting of the _Ewige Richtung_, +the _Réglement définitif_, a document which contained a definite +resolution that the mortgaged lands were to be completely withdrawn +from Burgundy, and all financial claims settled. This resolution was +subscribed to by Sigismund and the Swiss cantons. Further, it was +decided to ignore one or two of the stipulations made at St. Omer and +to offer payment to Charles at Basel instead of Besançon. + +Meantime that creditor, perfectly convinced in his own mind that +the legends of his birthplace were correct in their rating of his +character and his qualities, again crossed Lorraine and entered +Luxemburg, where he celebrated Easter. It was shortly after that +festival, on April 17th, that a letter from Sigismund was delivered to +him announcing in rather casual and off-hand terms that he was now in +a position to repay the loan of 1469, made on the security of those +Rhinelands. Therefore the Austrian would hand over at Basel 80,000 +florins, 40,000 the sum received by him, 10,000 paid in his behalf to +the Swiss, and 30,000 which he understood that Charles had expended +during his temporary incumbency,[7] and he, Sigismund, would resume +the sovereignty in Alsace. + +It was all very simple, at least Sigismund's wish was. The expressions +employed in the paper were, however, so ambiguous, the language so +involved, that Charles expended severe criticism on his cousin's style +before he proceeded to answer his subject-matter. To that he replied +that the bargain between him and Sigismund was none of his seeking. +The latter had implored his protection from the Swiss, had begged +relief in his financial straits. Touched by his petitions, Charles +had acceded to his prayers and the lands had enjoyed security under +Burgundian protection as they never had under Austrian. Charles had +duly acquitted himself of his obligations, he had done nothing to +forfeit his title. The conditions of redemption offered by Sigismund +were not those expressly stipulated. If a commission were sent to +Besançon, the duke would see to it that the merits of the case were +properly examined. + +"If, on the contrary, you shall adhere to the purpose you have +declared, in violation of the terms of the contract and of your +princely word, we shall make resistance, trusting with God's help that +our ability in defence shall not prove inferior to what we have used +to repulse the attacks of the Swiss--those attacks from which you +sought and received our protection." + +Before this letter reached its destination, the duke's deputy in the +mortgaged lands had already found his resources wholly inadequate to +maintain his master's authority. After Charles departed from Alsace, +Hagenbach's increased insolence and abandonment of all the restraint +that he had shown while awaiting the duke's visit soon became +unbearable. The deliberations in Switzerland concerning their return +to Austrian domination also naturally affected the Alsatians and made +them bolder in resenting Hagenbach's aggressions. + +Thann and Ensisheim were both firm in refusing admission to his +garrisons. Brisac was in his hands already, and her fortifications +held by mercenaries, but an order to the citizens to work, one and +all, upon the defences, produced a sudden disturbance with very +serious results. It was at Eastertide, and the command to desecrate a +hallowed festival, one especially cherished in the Rhinelands, proved +the final provocation to rebellion. + +There is a black story in the Strasburg chronicle, moreover, that this +misuse of Easter Day was not Hagenbach's real crime. He simply +wished to get all combatants out of the city before butchering the +inhabitants and his purpose was discovered in time. That charge does +not, however, seem substantiated by other evidence. But there is no +doubt that the citizens lashed themselves into a state of fury, fell +upon the mercenaries, and killed many of them in spite of their own +unarmed condition. Hagenbach, driven back into his lodgings, appeared +at the window and offered various concessions, being actually humbled +and intimidated by the unexpected turning of the submissive folk +against him. + +But the revolutionary spirit raged beyond the reach of conciliatory +words. Some of the more intelligent burghers endeavoured to give a +show of propriety to events, by promptly re-establishing their own +ancient council, arbitrarily abolished by Hagenbach, while taking a +new oath to the Duke of Burgundy, according to the formula of 1469. +They also despatched envoys to the duke with explanations of their +proceedings, stating further that it was Hagenbach's misrule alone to +which protest was made; that they were not in revolt against Charles. +The latter answered, "Send Hagenbach to me," but the provisional +government, by the time they received this order, felt strong enough +to disregard it and to continue to act on their own initiative. + +Hagenbach was cast not only into prison but into irons. All fear of +and respect for his authority was thrown to the winds, his offer of +fourteen thousand florins as ransom being sternly refused. + +Deputations came from the confederation to congratulate the officials +_de facto_ and to promise aid. The next step gave the lie direct to +the message sent to Charles upholding his authority while protesting +against his lieutenant. Sigismund was urged to return to his own +without further delay for legal formalities with his creditor. He +assented. On April 30th, accordingly, the Austrian duke arrived in +Brisac and picked up the reins of authority which he had joyfully +dropped four years previously. + +The rabble welcomed his coming with effusion, singing a ready parody +of an Easter hymn:[8] + + "Christ is arisen, the _landvogt_ is in prison, + Let us all rejoice, Sigismund is our choice. + Kyrie Eleison! + Had he not been snared, evil had it fared, + But now that he is ta'en, his craft is all in vain. + Kyrie Eleison!" + +Thus it was under Sigismund's auspices that the late governor was +brought to trial. Instruments of torture sent from Basel were employed +to make Hagenbach confess his crimes. But there was nothing to +confess. As a matter of fact the charges against him were for +well-known deeds the character of which depended on the point of view. +What the Alsatians declared were infringements of their rights, the +duke's deputy stoutly asserted were acts justified by the terms of the +treaty. In regard to his private career the prisoner persisted in +his statement that he was no worse than other men and that all his +so-called victims had been willing and well rewarded for their +submission to him. + +On May 9th, the preliminaries were declared over and the trial began +before a tribunal whose composition is not perfectly well known, +but which certainly included delegates from the chief cities of the +landgraviate, and from Strasburg, Basel, and Berne.[9] + +The trial was practically lynch law in spite of the cloak of legality +thrown over it. Charles alone was Hagenbach's principal and he alone +was responsible for his lieutenant's acts. The intrinsic incompetence +of the court was hotly urged by Jean Irma of Basel, Hagenbach's +self-appointed advocate, but his defence was rejected. Public opinion +insisted upon extreme measures, and the sentence of capital punishment +was promptly followed by execution. + +Petitions from the prisoner that he might die by the sword and be +permitted to bequeath a portion of his property to the church of +St. Étienne at Brisac were granted. The remainder of his wealth was +confiscated by Sigismund, who had withdrawn to Fribourg during the +progress of the trial. Even Hagenbach's bitterest foes acknowledged +that the late governor made a dignified and Christian exit from the +life he had not graced. + +Charles is said to have beaten well the messenger who brought him the +news of this trial and execution, in the very presence of Sigismund +who had not yet bought back his rights in the landgraviate, where he +had appointed Oswald von Thierstein as governor, and where he was thus +presuming to use sovereign power. This was not sufficient, however, +to make the duke change his own plans. Stephen von Hagenbach was +entrusted with the commission of punishing the Alsatians for his +brother's ignominious deposition, and he did his task grimly. +According to the Strasburg chronicler, this Hagenbach, at the north, +and his colleague, the Count of Blamont, at the south, did not have +more than six or eight thousand men apiece, but they left Hun-like +reputations behind them. Devastation, slaughter, pillage in houses and +churches, all in the name of the duke, contributed to the zeal with +which the Austrian's return was ratified by popular acclamation, and +with which the contingents sent to Alsace by the confederates were +received. + +Sigismund's letter to Charles is casual in tone and obscure in +phraseology. A statement presented somewhat later to the emperor by +the _Basse Union_ is more precise in the justification offered for the +events and in the grievances rehearsed.[10] That is, Sigismund treats +the transaction as a purely financial one, naturally completed between +him and his creditor by the offer to liquidate his debt. The plea made +by the Alsatians and their friends is, that Charles had failed to keep +his solemn engagements and that his appointed lieutenant had been +peculiarly odious and had broken the laws of God and man, and that the +mercenaries employed by him, the Burgundians, Lombardians, and their +fellows, had pitilessly ravaged the county of Ferrette, the Sundgau, +and the diocese of Basel. The charges are itemised.[11] + + "All this, well-known to the Duke of Burgundy, has neither been + checked nor punished by him. In consequence, our gracious Seigneur + of Austria has been obliged to restore the land and people to his + sovereignty and that of the House of Austria, which he has done + with God's aid to prevent the complete annihilation and total + destruction of land and people." + +Charles did not hasten to Alsace to settle matters in person, but +pursued his intention of reducing Cologne to the archbishop's control, +undoubtedly thinking that the base which would then be open to the +archbishop's protector on the lower Rhine would facilitate his +operations in the upper valleys. Meanwhile the Emperor Frederic had +emphatically declared that he alone was the Defender of the Diocese, +and that the unholy alliance between Robert and Charles was a menace +to the empire. His letters to Charles exhorted him to abandon the +enterprise and to accept mediation; those to the electors, princes, +and cities of the empire urged them to defend Cologne against Burgundy +until he himself arrived on the scene. There was a hot correspondence +between all parties concerned, from which nothing resulted. Charles +had various reasons for delay. There was trouble in other quarters of +his domain. Flanders was in a state of ferment at his requisitions +for money, and the Franche-Comté was on the point of making active +resistance to the imposition of the _gabelle_. + +In view of all these complications, Charles decided to prolong his +truce with Louis XI., to May 1, 1475. That monarch was well pleased +to continue to pursue his own plans under cover of neutrality. The +determination of the anti-Burgundian coalition in Germany to keep +Charles within the limits of his own estates was a pleasant sight to +the French king, and he felt that he could afford to wait. + +In June an edict was sent forth from Luxemburg, forbidding all owing +allegiance to the Duke of Burgundy to have any commercial relations +with the rebels of Cologne, or of Alsace, or with the cities of the +_Basse Union_, and declaring the duke's intention to take the field +at once, to reinstate the archbishop in his rightful see. This was a +declaration of war and was speedily followed by the duke's advance +to Maestricht, where he spent a few days in July, collecting a force +which finally amounted to about twenty thousand men. + +On the 29th he sat down before Neuss, which had again emphatically +refused entry to him and his troops. Three days the duke gave himself +for the reduction of the town, but there he remained encamped for +nearly a whole year! Neuss was resolved to resist to the last +extremity, while Bonn, Andernach, and Cologne contributed their +assistance by worrying and harassing the besiegers to the best of +their ability. It was a period when Charles seemed to have only one +sure ally, and that was Edward of England, whose own plans were +forming for a mighty enterprise--no less than a new invasion of +France. + +On July 25th, the very day that Charles was on his march up to Neuss, +his envoys signed at London a treaty wherein the duke promised Edward +six thousand men to aid him to "reconquer his realm of France." +Nothing loth to dispose of his future chickens, Edward, in his turn, +pledged himself to cede to Charles and his heirs, without any lien +of vassalage, the duchy of Bar, the countships of Champagne, Nevers, +Rethel, Eu, and Guise, all the towns on the Somme, and all the estates +of the Count of St. Pol. Other territories of Charles were to be +exempt from homage. Yes, and by June 1, 1475, Edward would land in +France and set about his conquests. Nor were commercial interests +forgotten; "to the duchess his sister (to the Flemings) is accorded +permission, to take from England wool, woollen goods, brass, lead, and +to carry thither foreign merchandise." + +The year when Charles was waiting before the gates of Neuss was full +of many abortive diplomatic efforts on the part of both the duke and +Louis XI, and it was the latter who managed to save something even +from broken bargains. The Swiss not only counted on his friendship, +but were constantly encouraged by his money, which emboldened them to +send a letter of open defiance to Charles: "We declare to your most +serene highness and to all of your people, in behalf of ourselves +and our friends, an honourable and an open war." To the herald who +delivered this document Charles answered: "O Berne, Berne!"[12] He +felt that he had been betrayed. + +This was on October 26th. The defiance was followed by a descent of +the mountaineers upon Alsace, which Charles had not yet released +from his grasp. Stephen von Hagenbach prepared to defend Burgundian +interests at Héricourt, a good strategic position on the tiny Luzine. +Here, the Swiss were about to besiege him, when the Count of Blamont +arrived with two bodies of Italian mercenaries, aggregating more than +twelve thousand men, and attempted to draw off the besieging force. +His plan failed--the tables were turned. It was the Burgundians who +were fiercely attacked and who lost the day. Hagenbach was forced to +surrender, obtaining honourable terms, however, and Sigismund put a +garrison into Héricourt on November 16th. + +This was a tremendous surprise to Charles. That cowherds could repulse +his well-trained troops was a thought as bitter as it was unexpected. +But he put aside all idea of punishing them for the moment, and +continued to "reduce Neuss to the obedience of the good archbishop," +and Hermann of Hesse continued to aid the town in its determined +resistance. + +The opprobrious names applied to the would-be and baffled conqueror at +this time are curiously similar to the epithets hurled at Napoleon +a few centuries later. He was compared to Anti-Christ himself, with +demoniac attributes added, when Alexander was felt to be too mild a +comparison. There was still a terrible fear of the duke's ambition, +even though, in the face of all Europe, the Swiss had repulsed his +men, and Neuss obstinately refused to open her gates, while the world +wondered at the duke's obstinacy displayed in the wrong place. The +belief expressed several times by Commines that God troubled Charles's +understanding out of very pity for France, was a current rumour. + +At the end of April an English embassy arrived at the camp, which was +kept in a marvellous state of luxury, even though disease was not +successfully curbed in the ranks. The urgent entreaty of the embassy +was that Charles should raise this useless siege, fruitless as it +promised to be, owing to the difficulty of cutting off the town's +supplies. Edward IV was almost ready to despatch his invading army. +He implored his dear brother to send him transports and to prepare to +receive him when he landed. A letter from John Paston gives a glimpse +into the situation[13]: + + "For ffor tydyngs here ther be but ffewe saffe that the assege + lastyth stylle by the Duke off Burgoyn affoor Nuse, and the + Emperor hath besyged also not fferr from there a castill and + another town in lykewyse wherin the Duke's men ben. And also, the + Frenshe Kynge, men seye, is comen right to the water off Somme + with 4000 spers; and sum men have that he woll, at the daye off + brekyng off trewse, or else beffoor, sette uppon the Duks contreys + heer. When I heer moor, I shall sende yowe moor tydyngs. + + "The Kyngs imbassators, Sir Thomas Mongomere and the Master off + the Rolls be comyng homwards ffrom Nuse; and as ffor me, I thynke + I sholde be sek but iff I see it.... + + "For it is so that to morrow I purpose to ryde in to Flaundyrs + to purveye me off horse and herneys and percase I shall see the + essege at Nwse er I come ageyn." + +There was more reason for Charles to be heartsick at the sight than +for John Paston, and he did grow weary of the further waiting and +anxious, for his truce with Louis was drawing to a close. On May 22d, +there was a skirmish between his troops and the imperial forces, +wherein Charles claimed the victory. In reality, there was none on +either side, but the semblance was sufficient to soothe his _amour +propre_, and to convince him that an accommodation with Frederic would +not detract from his dignity. + +A large fleet of Dutch flatboats had been despatched to help convey +the English army, thirsting for conquest, across the sea. Six thousand +men in the duke's pay, too, were to be ready to meet Edward IV., and +swell his escort as he marched to Rheims for his coronation. Other +matters also demanded Charles's personal attention. Months had elapsed +and Héricourt was unpunished--Berne had not been reproved. + +René of Lorraine was formally admitted to the League of Constance on +April 18, 1475, and was now ready openly to abjure the "protection" he +had once accepted from Burgundy. There was a touch of old King René's +theatrical taste in his grandson's method of despatching the herald +who rode up to the duke's gorgeous tent of red velvet on May 10th. The +man was, however, so overcome at the first view of _le Téméraire_ that +he hastily delivered up his letter, and threw down the blood-stained +gauntlet, which he carried as a gage of war, without uttering a word. +Then he fell on his knees, imploring the duke's pardon.[14] Charles +was so little displeased at the signs of the impression his presence +made that, instead of being angry with the man, he gave him twelve +florins for his good news. The terms of the declaration of war carried +by the herald were as follows: + + "To thee, Charles of Burgundy, in behalf of the very high, etc., + Duke of Lorraine, my seigneur, I announce defiance with fire and + blood against thee, thy countries, thy subjects, thy allies, and + other charge further have I not."[15] + +The reply was straightforward: + + "Herald, I have heard the exposition of thy charge, whereby thou + hast given me subject for joy, and, to show you how matters are, + thou shalt wear my robe with this gift, and shalt tell thy master + that I will find myself briefly in his land, and my greatest fear + is that I may not find him. In order that thou mayst not be afraid + to return, I desire my marshal and the king-at-arms of the Toison + d'Or to convoy thee in perfect safety, for I should be sorry if + thou didst not make thy report to thy master as befits a good and + loyal officer." + +Thus was Charles pressed from the south and lured to the north. +Excellent reason for obeying the order of the pope's legate that duke +and emperor must lay down arms under pain of excommunication did +either belligerent refuse! The armistice accepted on May 28th was +followed by a nine months' truce signed on June 12th. It was a truce +strictly to the advantage of Frederic and Charles. The Rhine cities, +Louis XI., René of Lorraine, were alike ignored and disappointed in +the expectations they had based on Frederic. + + +[Footnote 1: Plancher, _Histoire générale et particulière de +Bourgogne, avec des notes et des preuves justificatives_, iv., +cccxxviii.] + +[Footnote 2: Preparations for the duke's visit to Dijon had been set +on foot almost immediately after Philip's death in 1467. One Frère +Gilles had devoted many hours to searching the Scriptures for +appropriate texts to figure in the reception. Every phrase indicating +leonine strength was noted down. The good brother died before the +anticipated event came to pass but the result of his patient labour +was preserved.] + +[Footnote 3: _Dit qu'il avoit en soi des choses qui n'appartenoient de +scavoir à nuls que à lui_ (Plancher, _Preuves_, iv., cccxxxiii.).] + +[Footnote 4: Plancher, _Preuves_, iv., cccxxxiii. The document +describing this ceremony gives February 28th as the date, but that is +evidently an error and not accepted.] + +[Footnote 5: Toutey, p. 117.] + +[Footnote 6: There are many records in the_Bibl. nat._. of the sums +paid out to the Swiss at this time.] + +[Footnote 7: Chmel, i., 92 et seq.] + +[Footnote 8: Kirk, ii., 488.] + +[Footnote 9: Toutey, p. 141.] + +[Footnote 10: Text given by Toutey, _Pièces justificatives_, p. 442.] + +[Footnote 11: The details are very brutal and untranslatable.] + +[Footnote 12: Toutey, p. 182.] + +[Footnote 13: _Paston Letters_, iii., 122.] + +[Footnote 14: Toutey, p. 244.] + +[Footnote 15: _Bulletin de l'acad. royale de Belgique_, 1887.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + + +THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1475 + + + "Monseigneur the chancellor, I do not know what to write to you of + the English, for thus far they have done nothing but dance at St. + Omer and we are not sure whether the King of England has landed. + If he has, it must be with so small a force that it makes no + noise, nor do the prisoners captured at Abbeville know anything, + nor do they believe that there will be any English here in XL + days. Tell the news to Monsg. de Comminge, and recommend my + interests to him as I have confidence in him, and in Mons. de + Thierry and Mons. the vice-admiral."[1] + +Thus wrote Louis XI in June. Two days later and he has heard of the +truce. He seizes the occasion to express to the Privy Council of Berne +his real opinion of the emperor: "So Frederic has deserted us all!"[2] +Well, it was not the first time! Thirty years previous, when Louis was +dauphin, the emperor had tried to turn the Swiss against him. Had not +God, knowing the hearts of men, inspired the brave mountaineers, Louis +would have been a victim of execrable treachery. The outcome had been +wonderful, for an eternal friendship had sprung up between him and the +Swiss which must be preserved. + +Meantime, Charles has made his own definite plan of the campaign which +was to introduce Edward into Rheims for the coronation. The following +letter from him to Edward IV. bears no date, but it was evidently +written at about the time of the truce[3]: + + "Honoured seigneur and brother, I recommend myself to you. I have + listened carefully to your declaration through the pronotary, and + understand that you do not wish to land without my advice, for + which I thank you. I understand that some of your counsellors + think you had better land in Guienne, others in Normandy, others + again at Calais. If you choose Guienne you will be far from my + assistance but my brother of Brittany could help you. Still it + would be a long time before we could meet before Paris. As to + Calais, you could not get enough provisions for your people nor I + for mine. Nor could the two forces make juncture without attack, + and my brother of Brittany would be very far from both. To my + mind, your best landing is Normandy, either at the mouth of the + Seine or at La Hogue. I do not doubt that you will soon gain + possession of cities and places, and you will be at the right hand + of my brother of Brittany and of me. Tell me how many ships you + want and where you wish me to send them and I will do it." + +On hearing further rumours of the actual arrival of the English, Louis +hastened to Normandy to inspect the situation for himself. There he +learned that his own naval forces stationed in the Channel to ward off +the invaders had landed on the very day before his arrival, abandoning +the task. + + "When I heard that we took no action, I decided that my best plan + would be to turn my people loose in Picardy and let them lay + waste the country whence they [the English] expected to get their + supplies."[4] + +At the same time, the rumour that was permitted to be current in +France was, that Charles of Burgundy had been utterly defeated at +Neuss, and that there was nothing whatsoever to apprehend from him. +He, meanwhile, was continuing his own preparations by strenuous +endeavours to levy more troops and to obtain fresh supplies. After +the signing of the convention with the emperor, the duke proceeded to +Bruges to meet the Estates of Flanders. The answer to his demand for +subsidies was a respectful refusal to furnish funds, on the plea that +his expansion policy was ruining his lands. Counter reproaches burst +from Charles. He accused the deputies of leaving him in the lurch and +thus causing his failure at Neuss. Neither money, nor provisions, nor +soldiers had they sent him as loyal subjects should. + +[Illustration: KING RUHMREICH AND HIS DAUGHTER EHRENREICH + +CHARACTERS REPRESENTING CHARLES AND MARY OF BURGUNDY IN WOODCUT IN +EARLY EDITION OF TEMDANK. POEM BY MAXIMILIAN I.] + + "For whom does your prince labour? Is it for himself or for you, + for your defence? You slumber, he watches. You nestle in warmth, + he is cold. You are snug in your houses while he is beaten by the + wind and rain. He fasts, you gorge at your ease.... Henceforth you + shall be nothing more than subjects under a sovereign. I am and I + will be master, bearding those who oppose me."[5] + +Then turning to the prelates he continued: "Do you obey diligently and +without poor excuses or your temporal goods shall be confiscated." +To the nobles: "Obey or you shall lose your heads and your fiefs." +Finally, he addressed the deputies of the third estate in a tone full +of bitterness: "And you, you eaters of good cities, if you do not obey +my orders literally as my chancellor will explain them to you, you +shall forfeit privileges, property, and life." + +All the fervency of this adjuration failed to convince the deputies of +their duty, as conceived by the orator. They declared that they had +levied troops and would levy more, for defence, but that the four +members of Flanders were agreed that they would contribute nothing to +offensive measures. Charles must accept their decision as his sainted +father had done. The details of all the aid they had given him, 2500 +men for Neuss and many other contributions, were recapitulated. +Flanders had been generous indeed. The concluding phrases of their +answer were as follows: + + "As to your last letters, requiring that within fifteen days every + man capable of bearing arms report at Ath, these were orders + impossible of execution, and unprofitable for you yourself. Your + subjects are merchants, artisans, labourers, unfitted for arms. + Strangers would quit the land. Commerce, in which your noble + ancestors have for four hundred years maintained the land, + commerce, most redoubtable seigneur, is irreconcilable with war." + +This answer gave the true key to the situation. The Estates of +Flanders were determined to be bled no further for schemes in which +they did not sympathise. When this memorial was presented to Charles +he broke out into fresh invective about the base ingratitude of the +Flemish: "Take back your paper," were his last words. "Make your own +answer. _Talk_ as you wish, but _do_ your duty." This was on July +12th. Charles had no further time to waste in argument. He was still +convinced that the burghers would, in the end, yield to his demands. + +With a small escort Charles left Bruges, and reached Calais on July +14th, where he had been preceded by the duchess, eager to greet her +brother, who had actually landed on July 4th, with the best equipped +army--about twenty-four thousand men--that had ever left the shores of +England, and the latest inventions in besieging engines. + +The expedition proved a wretched failure--a miserable disappointment +to the English at home, who had been lavish in their contributions. +Charles seems to have been put out by the place of landing. His own +plan is clear from the letter quoted. He wished the two armies of +Edward and himself to sweep a large stretch of territory as they +marched toward each other. The one thing that he objected to was a +consolidation of the two forces. Incapacity to turn an unexpected or +an unwelcome situation to account was one of the duke's most +deeply ingrained characteristics. He showed no inventiveness or +resourcefulness. He held his own army at a distance from the English, +much to the invader's chagrin, who was forced to march unaided over +regions rendered inhospitable by Louis's stern orders, and outside +of cities ready to hold him at bay. "If you do not put yourself in a +state of security, it will be necessary to destroy the city, to our +regret," was the king's message to Rheims, and the most skilful of +French engineers was fully prepared to make good the words. + +Open hostilities were avoided. Edward camped on the field of +Agincourt, where perhaps he dreamed of his ancestor's success, but +no fresh blaze of old English glory illumined his path. He did not +proceed to Paris, there was no coronation at Rheims, no comfortable +reception within any gates at all, for Charles was as chary as Louis +himself of giving the English a foothold, though he advised Edward to +accept an invitation from St. Pol to visit St. Quentin. This, however, +proved another disappointment. Just as Edward was ready to enter, +the gates opened to let out a troop which effectually repulsed the +advancing foreigners. The Count of St. Pol had changed his mind. + +"It is a miserable existence this of ours when we take toil and +trouble enough to shorten our life, writing and saying things exactly +opposite to our thoughts," writes the keenest observer of this +elaborate network of pompous falsehoods[6] wherein every action was +entangled. Louis XI trusted no one but himself, while he played +with the trust of all, and his game was the safest. His fear of the +invaders was soon allayed. "These English are of different metal from +those whom you used to know. They keep close, they attempt nothing," +he wrote to the veteran Dammartin. + +It was, indeed, a patent fact that Edward was not a foe to be feared. +Baffled and discouraged, he readily opened his ears to his French +brother, and Louis heaped grateful recognition on every Englishman who +helped incline his sovereign to peaceful negotiations. Velvet and +coin did their work. Edward was easily led into the path of least +resistance, and an interview between the rival kings was appointed +for August 29th. Great preparations were made for their meeting on a +bridge at Picquigny, across which a grating was erected. Like Pyramus +and Thisbe, the two princes kissed each other through the barriers, +and exchanged assurances of friendship. Edward was, indeed, so easy to +convince that Louis was in absolute terror lest his English brother +would accept his invitation to show him Paris before his return. No +wonder Edward was deceived, for Louis was definite in his hospitable +offers, suggesting that he would provide a confessor willing to give +absolution for pleasant sins. + +The duke was duly forewarned of this colloquy. On August 18th, he was +staying at Peronne, whence he paid a visit to the English camp. It was +ended without any intimation of Edward's change of heart towards the +French king whom he had come to depose, though his plan was then ripe. +On the 20th, Charles received a written communication with the news +which Edward had disliked broaching orally, and was officially +informed that the king had yielded to the wishes of his army, and was +considering a treaty with Louis XI., wherein Edward's dear brother of +Burgundy should receive honourable mention did he desire it. + +On hearing these most unwelcome tidings, Charles set off for the +English camp in hot haste, attended by a small escort, and nursing +his wrath as he rode.[7] King Edward was rather alarmed at the duke's +aspect when the latter appeared, and asked whether he would not like a +private interview. Charles disregarded his question. "Is it true? Have +you made peace?" he demanded. Edward's attempt at smooth explanations +was blocked by a flood of invectives poured out by Charles, who +remembered himself sufficiently to speak in English so that the +bystanders might have the full benefit of his passionate reproaches. +He spared nothing, comparing the lazy, sensual, pleasure-loving +monarch, whose easeful ways were rapidly increasing his weight of +flesh, with the heroism of other English Edwards with whom he was +proud to claim kin. As to the offers to remember his interests in +the perfidious peace that perfidious Albion was about to swear +with equally perfidious France, his rejection was scornful indeed. +"Negotiate for _me_! Arbitrate for _me_! Is it I who wanted the French +crown? Leave _me_ to make my own truce. I will wait until you have +been three months over sea." Among those who witnessed the scene were +several Englishmen who sympathised with Charles--if we may believe +Commines. "The Duke of Burgundy has said the truth," declared the Duke +of Gloucester, and many agreed with him." Having given vent to his +sentiments, Charles hurried away from his disappointing ally and +reached Namur on the 22d, where he spent the night. + +Edward troubled himself little about his brother-in-law's summary of +his character. He was tired of camp hardships, and both he and his men +found it very refreshing to have Amiens open her gates to them at the +order of Louis XI. Food and wine were lavished upon all alike. It +was a delightful experience for the English soldiers to see tables +groaning with good things spread in the very streets, and to be bidden +to order what they would at the taverns with no consideration for the +reckoning. They enjoyed good French fare, free of charge, until their +host intimated to King Edward that his men were very intoxicated and +that there were limits in all things. But Louis did not spare his +money or his pains until he was sure that a bloodless victory had been +won. He fully realised the importance of extravagant expenditure in +order to reach the goal he had set himself. + + "We must have the whole sum at Amiens before Friday evening, + besides what will be wanted for private gratifications to my Lord + Howard, and others who have had part in the arrangement.... Do not + fail in this that there may be no pretext for a rupture of what + has been already settled." + +Though they had now no rood of land, the English returned richer than +they came, and they eased their _amour propre_ by calling the sums +that had changed hands, "tribute money."[8] + + "Ryght reverend and my most tender and kynd Moodre, I recommende + me to youw. Pleas it yow to weete that blessyd be God, this vyage + of the kynges is fynnysshyd for thys tyme and alle the kynges ost + is comen to Caleys as on Mondaye last past, that is to seye the + iiij daye of Septembre, and at thys daye many of hys host be + passyd the see in to Ingland ageyn, and in especiall my Lorde off + Norfolk, and my bretheryn ....I also mysselyke somewhat the heyr + heer; for by my trowte I was in goode heele whan I come hyddre and + all hooll and to my wetyng I hadde never a better stomake in my + lyffe and now in viij dayes I am crasyd ageyn."[9] + +Thus wrote one Englishman from Calais and doubtless many others found +the air more wholesome at home. + +Charles of Burgundy was now ready to consider the affairs of Lorraine. +He advised René of his intentions, in a manifesto which reached him +on September 5th. The preamble contained a long list of the manifold +benefits conferred upon Lorraine by the House of Burgundy. Then René +was admonished to observe in every particular the terms of his own +treaty with Charles, which he, René, had signed voluntarily, or the +former would "make him know the difference between his friendship and +his enmity." + +This menace was ominous to the poor Duke of Lorraine. For on September +13th, his friend Louis XI. had signed a fresh treaty with Charles +of Burgundy at Soleure, and Campobasso was marching mercenaries in +Burgundian pay towards the unfortunate duchy. In other words, the +French king abandoned the young protégé whom he had spared no pains +to alienate from Burgundian protection. It was a moment when his one +interest apparently was to settle accounts with the Count of St. +Pol, who had been equally treacherous in his dealings with England, +Burgundy, and France.[10] + +Having rested during the summer, the Burgundian troops were in fine +trim when Charles marched to Nancy, taking towns on the way, and sat +down before the capital in the last week of October. From his camp he +wrote to the Duke of Milan: + + "Very dear brother, I recommend myself to you. I have just + accepted a truce with the king for nine years to come, in the form + and manner contained at length in the copy of the articles which + I have given to your ambassador, resident with me . . . . And be + sure, _fratello mio_, that nothing would have induced me to accept + the truce, had you not been comprised therein. And, similarly, you + must be satisfied in all the pacts between the king and myself, + just as you were comprised in the convention lately made at Neuss. + + "For the rest, I have heard from your ambassador about the troops + that can be furnished me, for which I am well content, praying you + to continue to serve me in accordance with the promises of your + ambassador. As to the coming of your brother to me [Sforza, Duc de + Bari], I should be very glad. He has no reason now for delay as he + can travel in Lorraine as safely as in Lombardy, as I have said + to your ambassador. Pray the Lord to give you the desires of your + heart. + + + "Written in my camp at Nancy the penultimate day of October, 1475. + + "CHARLES."[11] + + +Some trifling assistance was offered to René by Strasburg and other +foes to Burgundy, but it was wholly insufficient to rescue him from +his difficulties, and he was finally obliged to order the capitulation +of Nancy on November 19th. The magistrates desired to hold out, but +were forced by the populace to submit, and on November 30, 1475, +Charles of Burgundy marched triumphantly through the gate of Craffe +into the capital of Lorraine where he was received as the sovereign +duke.[12] + +This time Charles acted the role of a merciful and diplomatic +conqueror. There was no cruelty permitted, and every evidence of +conciliation was shown. The majority of the Lorrainers accepted the +new order of things without further protest. At the end of December, +Charles convened the Estates of Lorraine in the ducal palace, +addressed them as his subjects of Burgundy, promised to be a good +prince, demanded their attachment, confided his plans of expansion, +and announced his intention of making Nancy the capital of his states. +Again the duke's star rose. This acquisition seemed a sign of the +reality of his dreams. Even before the fall of Nancy, his approaching +success bore fruit, inasmuch as the emperor changed the late +convention into a firmer treaty signed on November 17th. Indeed had +Charles died at that moment, there would have been little doubt that +his dreamed-of kingdom had been simply prevented by a mere accident. + +The detailed story of all that had happened in the Swiss Confederation +and the Lower Union, since their formal declaration of war against +Charles, is too complicated to relate. At the begining of 1476, the +situation was, briefly, that Sigismund held the debated mortgaged +lands, while the Swiss allies, with Berne as the most militant member +of the league, had continued to carry on offensive operations against +the duke and his allies, notably the Duchess of Savoy. The conquest +of Lorraine caused a panic, especially in the face of the fresh +agreements between the duke and the emperor and the king. + +There was a short period of hesitation, marked by a truce till January +1, 1476, between Charles and the confederates, a period when the timid +among the allies urged their counsel of reconciliation at all hazards. +Charles, too, seems to have desired an accord rather than hostilities, +even though he still bore the Swiss a bitter grudge for Héricourt. It +was probably appeals from Yolande of Savoy that decided him to open a +campaign in midwinter. + + "The prince has been so busy for a week past [wrote the Milanese + ambassador] in the reorganisation of his army according to new + ordinances, and in the regulation of his receipts and outlays that + he has scarcely given himself time to eat once in twenty-four + hours. He is importuned by the Duchess of Savoy and the Count of + Romont for aid against the Swiss who respect no treaty, and do + not cease increasing their forces. In consequence, Duke Charles + intends leaving Nancy in six days to go towards the Jura. He + expects to take with him 2300 lances and 10,000 ordnance, which, + joined to the feudal militia of Burgundy and Savoy, will swell his + army to the number of 25,000 combatants. His operations are so + planned that he will have more to gain than to lose."[13] + + +When Charles left Nancy on January 11th, he issued one of his +grandiloquent manifestoes declaring that he was acting in behalf of +all princes and seigneurs who had suffered wrong at the hands of the +Swiss, and that he was ready to punish all who had provoked his just +wrath by ravaging his province of Burgundy. It was rather a curious +act on his part, to let his chief mercenary captain go off to make a +pilgrimage just as he was on the eve of a campaign, but so he did, +granting Campobasso leave of absence to visit the shrine of St. James +at Compostella, a leave possibly utilised by the Italian to further +the understanding with Louis XI., at which he arrived later. + +On across the Jura marched the Burgundian army, while the Swiss diet +came to a slow and confused decision to prepare to meet him. He did +not take the route generally expected, directly towards Berne, his +chief antagonist, but turned aside and attacked the little fortress of +Granson. The castle was not over strong. Efforts to provision it by +water failed, and, finally, on February 28th, after a brief siege, the +captain of the garrison, Hans Wyler, capitulated to the duke's German +forces, who represented to them that Charles was as generous as he was +magnificent. + +If the Milan ambassador can be trusted, the surrender was +unconditional. Charles was soon on the spot. The four hundred and +twelve soldiers, who had succeeded in holding the Burgundian army at +bay for ten whole days, were made to march past his tent with bowed +heads. Then he ordered one and all to be hanged, reserving two to +help in the executions. Four hours were occupied in fulfilling these +pitiless orders. Panigarola arrived at the camp on the 29th,--it was +leap year, 1476,--and found this accomplished and saw the bodies +hanging on the trees, but he asserts that no word was broken.[14] +Charles was now absolutely confident of complete success. "_Bellorum +eventus dubii sunt_," remarked the prudent Milanese, however, and he +was proved right. + +When the allied forces of the mountaineers finally arrived in the +duke's neighbourhood a hot pitched battle ensued. The Burgundians, +led by the duke in person, were thrown into utter confusion. The +mercenaries, terrified by the uncouth yells and battle-cries of Uri +and Unterwalden, simply lost their heads and did nothing. Charles was +pushed on as far as Jougne. It was not only a defeat, but a complete +rout. When the Swiss came in sight of the late garrison hanged to +the trees, their rage knew no bounds. In their turn they massacred, +hanged, and drowned every one in Burgundian pay whom they could lay +hands upon. The Burgundians saved their lives when they could, but +their valuable artillery and their baggage, the mass of riches that +Charles carried with him were ruthlessly sacrificed, and gathered +up contemptuously as booty by the Swiss, who cared little for the +tapestries and jewels though they prized the gold. Such was the battle +of Granson, on the 2nd of March. + +The fatal mistake committed by Charles was that he despised his enemy +and underestimated his quality as well as his strength. Just before +engaging in battle, the whole Swiss army fell upon their knees in +prayer that the issue might be successful. This action deceived +Charles into thinking that they were cowardly and his opinion was +shared by his men. A contemptuous laugh broke out from the Burgundian +ranks.[15] + +Olivier de la Marche ends a meagre account of Granson with the +following rather barren words[16]: + + "In short the Duke of Burgundy lost the day and was pushed back as + far as Jougne, where he stopped, and it is meet that I tell how + the duke's bodyguard saved themselves ... and reached Salins where + I saw them arrive for I was not present at the battle on account + of a malady I suffered. From Jougne the duke went to Noseret, and + you can understand that he was very sad and melancholy at having + lost the battle, where his rich baggage was stolen and his army + shattered." + +On March 21, 1476, Sir John Paston writes to Margaret Paston from +Calais: + + "As ffor tydyngs heer we her ffrom alle the worlde. ... Item, the + Duke of Burgoyne hath conqueryd Lorreyn and Queen Margreet shall + nott nowe be lykelyhod have it; wherffer the Frenshe kynge + cheryssheth hyr butt easelye; but afftr thys conquest off Loreyn + the Duke toke grete corage to goo upon the londe off the Swechys + [Swiss] to conquer them butt the berded hym att an onsett place + and hathe dystrussyd hym and hathe slayne the most part of his + vanwarde and wonne all hys ordynnaunce and artylrye and mor ovyr + all stuffe thatt he hade in hys ost with hym; exceppte men and + horse ffledde nott but they roode that nyght xx myle; and so the + ryche saletts, heulmetts garters, nowchys[17] gelt and all is + goone with tente pavylons and all and soo men deme hys pryde is + abatyd. Men tolde hym that they were ffrowarde karlys butte he + wolde nott beleve it and yitt men seye that he woll to them ageyn. + Gode spede them bothe." + +Many of the rumours that were current represented Charles as +completely prostrated by his disaster. This was only half true. +His efforts to retrieve himself were immediate but, physically, he +certainly showed the effects of this campaign. He was attacked by a +low fever, his stomach rejected food, insomnia afflicted his nights, +and dropsical swellings appeared on his legs. This condition was +attributed to his fatigues and exposure in a hard climate, and to his +habit of drinking warm barley-water in the morning. He was urged to +use a soft feather-bed instead of his hard couch, while Yolande's own +physician and one Angelo Catto watched anxiously over him. The latter +claimed the credit of saving his life. Charles was not, however, fully +recovered when he resumed his activities and held a review on May 9th. +With all his efforts exerted in every quarter likely to yield results, +the whole number of troops was but twenty thousand men. Every onlooker +felt that the duke was now trying to accomplish something quite beyond +his resources. + + "Illustrious prince [wrote the King of Hungary[18]], we cannot + sufficiently wonder that you should have been so gravely deceived + and that, after having once found that you were lured into loss + and disgrace, again you let yourself be snared in a labyrinth from + which you will either never escape, or escape only with damage and + shame.... Without risk to himself [your foe] has precipitated you + into an abyss and tied you where you are exposed to the loss of + your possessions and your life.... We exhort you to pause before + incurring heavier losses and greater dangers. If fortune smiles + upon you in your attack on that people, you will have the whole + empire against you. In the opposite event--which God avert--it + will be turned into a common tale how a mighty prince was overcome + by rustics whom there would have been no honour in conquering, + while to be conquered by them would be an eternal disgrace." + +This plain-spoken epistle failed to reach its destination until after +the prophecy had been fulfilled. Its warning would probably have been +futile had Charles read it before he marched on towards Berne, on June +8th. On the road that he chose lay the town of Morat, which had made +ready for his approach. A few days to reduce it, and then on to Berne +was his plan. His force succeeded in holding the ground and cutting +off communication with Berne for three days. On the 14th, a messenger +made his way through from the beleaguered city to Berne, and all the +allies were then urged to do their best. The result was encouraging. +"There are three times as many as at Granson, but let no one be +dismayed, with God's help we will kill them all," wrote a leader of +Berne. + +The encounter came on June 23d. The force was really a formidable one. +René of Lorraine was among the commanders on the side of the Swiss. +It was a tremendous fight, brief as it was savage; at two o'clock the +assault was made and within an hour Charles was repulsed. Almost all +the infantry perished. The slain is estimated variously from ten +to twenty-two thousand. Charles did not keep his vow to perish if +defeated. To his assured allies he clung closely, and none had more +reason to be faithful to him than Yolande of Savoy. After Granson he +hastened to give the duchess his own view of the disaster: + + "It has given me a singular pleasure to hear of your calmness and + constancy of soul; for the thought of your affliction weighed more + heavily upon me than what has befallen me ... every day diminishes + the inconvenience and proves that the loss in men is less than we + thought. _Such as it is it came from a mere skirmish_. The bulk + of the armies did not engage, to my great displeasure. Had they + fought the victory would have been mine. There has been none on + either side. God, I trust, reserves it for you and for me ... the + hope you have placed in me shall not be vain." + +Thus he wrote on March 7th to encourage his anxious protégée. + +[Illustration: A PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF MORAT] + +After the second defeat it was to her that the duke turned again. In +the very early morning after the battle of Morat, Charles paused at +Morges on the Lake of Geneva, having ridden hard through the night. +There he heard mass, breakfasted, rested awhile, and then rode on, +reaching the castle of Gex at six o'clock in the evening, where +Yolande of Savoy was awaiting his coming in full knowledge of the +second disaster he had suffered. + +At the foot of the staircase, attended by her ladies, Yolande was +waiting to greet her disappointed friend. Charles dismounted and +kissed each member of the family in order of precedence, the little +duke, his brother, then the duchess, her daughter, and the ladies +in waiting. Yolande had had time to move out of her own suite of +apartments and have them prepared for her guest's use, and there the +two talked together confidentially, while their attendants waited +patiently just out of earshot. + +Then Charles formally escorted his hostess to her son's room, +returning to his own, showing signs of extreme fatigue. Panigarola +was absent, but another Milanese was among her suite, and he pressed +forward as the duke re-entered the apartment, offering to carry any +message to the Duke of Milan, to be cut short with, "It is well. That +is enough." Shortly afterwards, Olivier de la Marche and the Sire de +Givry, commander of the Burgundians dedicated to Yolande's service, +were summoned and had a long conference with Charles. + +Yolande was, apparently, more communicative to the Milanese Appiano +than to Charles, but he saw that she was not frank with him. "She must +throw herself on the protection of France or of Milan," he wrote to +his master.[20] She was, however, clear in her own mind that she would +not accept Sforza's protection any more than that of Charles. She +absolutely refused to identify her fortunes with the latter. She was +determined to go to Geneva, but no farther. The duke remained at Gex +until the 27th, and renewed his arguments to persuade her to cross +the Jura with him. She was firm in adhering to her own plan. The +two parties set out from the castle together, their roads lying in +opposite directions, but Charles escorted his hostess about half-way +to Geneva, riding beside her carriage, and continuing his persuasions +in a low voice. At last he drew up his rein, gave her a farewell kiss, +and rode off. He was much displeased at her determination, and he +speedily resolved upon other methods of making sure of her fidelity to +him. La Marche thus relates the story:[21] + + "After the duke had been discomfited the second time by the Swiss + before Morat, believing that he could do the thing secretly, he + made a plan to kidnap Mme. of Savoy and her children and take them + to Burgundy, and he ordered me, I being at Geneva, on my head to + capture Mme. of Savoy and her children and bring them to him. In + order to obey my prince and master I did his behest quite against + my heart, and I took madame and her children near the gate of + Geneva. But the Duke of Savoy was stolen away from me (for it was + two o'clock in the night) by the means of some of our own company + who were subjects of the Duke of Savoy, and, assuredly, they did + no more than their duty. What I did was simply to save my life, + for the duke, my master, was the kind that insisted on having his + will done under penalty of losing one's head. So I took my way, + and carried Mme. of Savoy behind me, and her two daughters + followed and two or three of her maids, and we took the road over + the mountain to reach St. Claude. I was well assured of the second + son, and had him carried by a gentleman. I thought I was assured + of the Duke of Savoy, but he was stolen from me as I said. As + soon as we were at a distance, the people of the duchess, and + especially the seigneur de Manton, had torches brought and took + the duke back to Geneva, in which they had great joy. And I with + Mme. of Savoy and the little boy (who was not the duke), crossed + the mountain in the black night and came to a place called Mijoux, + and thence to St. Claude. + + "You must know that the duke gave very bad cheer to the company, + and chiefly to me. I was in danger of my life because I had not + brought the Duke of Savoy. Then the duke went on to Salins without + speaking to me or giving me any orders. However, I escorted Mme. + of Savoy after him, and he ordered me to take her to the castle of + Rochefort. Thence she was taken to Rouvre in Burgundy. After that + I had nothing more to do with her or her affairs." + +This queer story is undoubtedly true, and the tone in which La Marche +relates it indicates that he, too, was alienated by the duke's manner, +and might have been more willing to lend an ear to Louis's suggestions +than he had been five years previously. + +It is not evident that he played his master false or that he was +cognisant of the recapture of the little duke, but he says himself +that he thought the attendants were absolutely justified in it. + +It is after this incident that the astute Panigarola returns and joins +the duke's suite at Salins. He finds Charles a changed man, indulging +in strange fits of hilarity, expressing the wish that a couple of +thousand more of his troops had been killed, "French at heart" as they +were. He refused to see Yolande, after thus forcibly obtaining the +means of so doing, and sent her to the castle of the Sire of Rochefort +for safe-keeping. Abstemious as he had been all his life, never taking +wine without water, the strong Burgundy in which he now suddenly +indulged went to his head. + +Rumours went abroad that his mental balance was shaken. That does +not seem to have been true to the extent of insanity. He was only +infinitely chagrined but he certainly put on a brave front and +retained his self-confidence and declared + + "They are wrong if they believe me defeated. Providence has + provided me with so many people and estates with such abundant + resources, that many such defeats would be needed to ruin them. At + the moment when the world imagines that I am annihilated, I will + reopen the campaign with an army of 150,000 men."[22] + + +[Footnote 1: _Lettres de Louis XI_., v., 368.] + +[Footnote 2: _Nos omnes relinquens, Ibid_., 371.] + +[Footnote 3: Commynes-Dupont, i., 336.] + +[Footnote 4: _Lettres_, v., 363. Louis to Dammartin.] + +[Footnote 5: Gachard, _Doc. inéd_., i., 249.] + +[Footnote 6: Commines, iv., ch. vi.] +[Footnote 7: Commines, iv., ch. viii.: Comines-Lenglet, ii., 217.] + +[Footnote 8: The terms of the treaty provided for a seven years' +truce, with international free trade and mutual assistance in civil +or foreign wars of either monarch. Louis's complaisance went so far +that he did not insist on Edward's renouncing the title of King of +England and France.] + +[Footnote 9: _The Paston Letters_. Sir John Paston to his mother, +Sept. 11, 1475.] + +[Footnote 10: The story must be omitted here. The constable was +finally apprehended, tried, and executed at Paris.] + +[Footnote 11: _Dépêches Milanaises_, i., 253. The copy only is at +Milan and there is no seal.] + +[Footnote 12: Toutey, p. 380.] + +[Footnote 13: _Dép. Milan_., i., 266.] + +[Footnote 14: _Dép. Milan_., i., 300.] + +[Footnote 15: Jomini lays the defeat to a tactical error. "Charles had +committed the fault of encamping with one wing of his army resting on +the lake, the other ill-secured at the foot of a wooded mountain. +Nothing is more dangerous for an army than to have one of its wings +resting on an unbridged stream, on a lake, or on the sea." Charles +explained to Europe that he had been surprised, and his defeat was a +mere bagatelle.] + +[Footnote 16: III., 216.] + +[Footnote 17: Embossed ornaments.] + +[Footnote l8: _Dép. Milan._, ii., 126.] + +[Footnote 19: _Dép. Milan._, ii., 335.] + +[Footnote 20: _Dep. Milan_., ii., 295.] + +[Footnote 21: III., 234.] + +[Footnote 22: _Dep. Milan_, ii., 339.] + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + +THE BATTLE OF NANCY + +1477 + + +It was manifestly impossible for Charles to attempt to retrieve his +fortunes without having large sums of ready money at his command. +He therefore proceeded to appeal to the guardians of each and every +treasury in his various states. Flanders and Burgundy were, however, +the only quarters whence succour was in the least probable. The +Estates of the latter duchy met, deliberated, and resolved to make no +pretence nor to "yield anything contrary to the duty which every one +owes to his country."[1] A certain Sieur de Jarville, accompanied +by other true Burgundians, undertook to report the proceedings to +Charles,--a duty usually falling to the share of the presiding officer +of the ecclesiastical chamber. The message which he carried was +laconic but sturdy: + +"Tell Monsieur that we are humble and brave subjects and servitors, +but as to what is asked in his behalf, it never has been done, it +cannot be done, it never will be done." + +"Small people would never dare use such language," is the comment +of the Burgundian chronicler, proud of the temerity of his fellow +countrymen. + +In the Netherlands, the individual Estates were equally emphatic in +their refusal to meet the duke's wishes. Charles, therefore, resolved +to call together a general assembly of deputies in the hope of finding +them, collectively, more amenable. Writs of summons were issued very +widely and a "States-general" was formally convened at Ghent on +Friday, April 26, 1476.[2] At the last assembly of this nature, in +1473, the duke had expressly promised, in consideration of an annual +grant of 500,000 crowns for six years then accorded to him, to refrain +from further demands, and there was a spirit of sullen resentment in +the air when this session, whose purpose was plain, was opened by +Chancellor Hugonet. He set forth three points for consideration. +Monseigneur wished his daughter Mary, "that most precious jewel," to +join him in Burgundy. A suitable escort was necessary to ensure her +safe journey and that the duke requested the States to provide. +Secondly he desired the States to endorse a levy of fresh troops to +meet his immediate requirements. Further, he requested each town to +equip a specified number of horses at its own expense; he demanded the +service of his tenants, fief and arrière-fief; and, in addition, he +required that all other men, no matter what their condition, able to +bear arms, should enlist or provide a substitute. A portion of the +troops should be set to guard the frontier, and the rest should be +sent to the duke in Burgundy. + +It was a demand pure and simple for a universal call to arms, a +national levy. The duke's paternal desire to see his daughter was the +flimsiest of excuses that deceived no one for a moment. + +After the chancellor's exposition there was probably adjournment for +discussion. The pensionary of Brussels, Gort Roelants, then acted as +spokesman to present the following report, as the result of their +deliberations, to the duchess-regent. + +As for Mlle. of Burgundy, the deputies would ascertain the wishes +of their principals, but the second request did not call for a +referendum. The representatives were fully capable of settling the +matter at once. Considering the heavy burdens laid on the people, and +taking into account the promises made to them in 1473, that no +further demands should be made on the public purse, the three Estates +concurred in humbly petitioning Monseigneur to excuse them from +granting his request. + +It was on a Sunday after dinner (April 28th) when this decision was +communicated to the duchess in her own hotel. After a private colloquy +between her and Hugonet, the chancellor told the messenger that it was +quite right for the deputies to consult their principals before the +heiress was permitted to leave the guardianship of her faithful +subjects. That was a grave matter, but surely there was no reason why +her "escort" could not be determined upon at once. In regard to the +levies, Madame was not empowered to take any excuse. It was beyond her +province. Since the opening of the assembly, fresh letters had +arrived from the duke urging the speedy execution of his previous +instructions. The chancellor then appointed a committee to meet a +committee from the States at 8 A.M. on the morrow at the convent of +the Augustines. + +This was not satisfactory. Hugonet was speedily notified that the +States did not feel empowered to appoint a committee. The most they +could do was to resolve themselves into a committee of the whole. The +objection to this was that a small conference was far better suited +to free discussion. It was easy for unqualified persons to enter the +session of a large body. The States, however, were tenacious in their +opinion that their writs did not qualify them to appoint committees. +Every point must be threshed out in the presence of every deputy. +_Potestas delegata non deleganda est_. + +[Illustration: PHILIBERT, DUKE OF SAVOY (AFTER THE DESIGN BY MATHEY)] + +There was further negotiation, and it was not until Monday afternoon +that Hugonet's commissioner brought a conciliatory message that if the +gentlemen were so bent on it, he would, in spite of the difficulty of +discussion in an open meeting, talk over both points with them in +full assembly. Again the States objected. They had no instructions +whatsoever in regard to Mademoiselle, and could not discuss her +movements either in public or in private session. As to levies, they +repeated in detail all previous arguments, and expressed a fervent +hope that Monseigneur would withdraw the request. It would, in the +end, be more to Monseigneur's advantage, etc. Back and forth travelled +the commissioner between States and duchess. The latter simply +reiterated her dictum that Mary must certainly set forth to visit her +father in May, with an adequate escort, in whose ranks must appear +three prelates, three or four barons, fifty knights, and notable men +from the "good towns," well armed. + +The States were then resolved into a committee of the whole, for a +private deliberation, an action that probably enabled them to exclude +the embarrassing spectators. In preparation for this, the diligent +commissioner called apart one deputy from each contingent, and +expatiated on the duke's need of proof of sturdy loyalty. Seven to +eight thousand combatants, besides Mademoiselle's escort and the fiefs +and arrière-fiefs, Monseigneur could manage to make suffice for the +present, and these must be provided. These confidences were at once +reported to the assembly, which then adjourned to think over the +matter during the night.[3] + +When they met again on April 30th, the chancellor was ready with a new +message from Madame: "Go home now, consult your principals, and return +on May 15th." On the motion of some deputy, this date was changed to +May 24th. Precautions were taken to prevent any binding action in the +interim. Moreover, the exact phrasing of the reports to the separate +groups of constituents was also agreed upon by the majority of the +deputies. In this, Hainaut refused to participate, as in that province +there was a reluctance to deny the obligations of the fiefs. + +When the deputies reassembled a month later, Hugonet tried to weaken +the effect of their answer by a suggestion that it had better not +be considered the final decision, but a mere informal expression of +opinion. "There were so many strangers present," etc. The States +determinedly refused to be trifled with. "Madame must not be +displeased if they gave the result of their deliberations in the +presence of the whole assembly, not by way of opinion, but as a formal +and conclusive report." Their charge was restricted to this manner +of procedure. The chancellor, interrupting them, asked, since their +charge was thus restricted, whether they had also been limited in the +number of times they might drink on their way.[4] The answer was: +"Chancellor, come now, say what you wish. The answer shall be given as +it was meant to be given." + +[Illustration: PLAN OF BATTLE OF NANCY. REPRODUCED FROM KIRK'S +"CHARLES THE BOLD," BY PERMISSION OF J.B. LIPPINCOTT CO.] + +The communication was so long that its delivery took from 3 to 8 +P.M. It was nothing more than a detailed apology for refusing the +sovereign's demands. Several days more were consumed in unsuccessful +efforts to cajole or browbeat the deputies into a more genial mood. +The only concessions offered were insignificant, and to their +resolution the deputies held firmly. "According to current rumour +[concludes Gort Roelants's story] the ducal council would gladly have +accepted a notable sum in lieu of the service of towns and of the +fiefholders, but the States made no such offer." + +There was evidently a hope that better results might be obtained from +a new assembly,[5] but none was held and the most earnest endeavours +of the duke's wife and daughter failed to arouse enthusiasm for his +plans. Moreover, when there seemed a prospect that the Netherlands +might be attacked from France, the sympathy of even the duchess and +council for offensive operations was chilled. Not only did Margaret +fail to send her husband the extra supplies demanded, but she decided +to appropriate the three months' subsidy, the chief item of regular +ducal revenue, for protection of the Flemish frontier--an action that +made Charles very angry. Defences at home! Yes, indeed, they were +necessary, but the people must provide them. The subsidy was lawfully +his and he needed every penny of it. His army had not been destroyed. +He was simply obliged to strengthen it. Burgundy was helping him. +Flanders must do her part. They were deaf to this appeal, although a +generous message was sent saying that if he were hard pressed they +would go in person to rescue him from danger. + +The story of the assembly of the Estates of the two Burgundies is +equally interesting as a picture of the clash between sovereign will +and popular unreadiness to open the carefully guarded money-boxes.[6] +The deputies convened at Salins on July 8th, in the presence of the +duke himself. The session was opened by Jean de Grey, the president +of the _parlement_ of the duchy, with a brief statement of the +sovereign's needs. Then Charles took the floor, and delivered a +tremendous harangue with a marvellous command of language. Panigarola +declared that his allusions to parallel crises in ancient times were +so apt and so fluent that it seemed as though the book of history lay +opened before him and that he read from its pages.[7] The impression +he made was plain to see. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF NANCY CONTEMPORANEOUS MINIATURE IN ABBEY OF +ST. GERMAIN DES PRÉS (COMINES-LENGLET, III.)] + +His demands for aid to retrieve the Swiss disasters were open and +aboveboard this time. There was no such pretence put forward as the +escort of Mary. The argument was that any ruler, backed by his people +unanimous in their willingness to give their last jewel for public +purposes, must inevitably succeed in his righteous wars, etc. + +His learned and able discourse was well received, according to other +reporters besides the Milanese, but there was no hearty yielding to +sentiment in the reply. Four days were consumed in deliberation before +that was ready on July 12th. They had certainly considered that the +grant of 100,000 florins annually for six years, accorded two years +previously, was their share. But in view of the duke's appeal, they +would endeavour to aid him. Let him stipulate which cities he wished +fortified and they would assume charge of the work. Two favours they +begged--that Charles should not rashly expose his person "for he was +the sole prince of his glorious House," and that he should be ready +to receive overtures of peace. "We will give life and property for +defence, but we implore you to take no offensive step." Charles did +not, perhaps, feel the distrust of his military skill and of his +judgment that these words implied. + +Financial stress was not the duke's only difficulty in 1476. The +defection of his allies continued, Yolande--that former good friend of +his--was now a fervent suppliant to Louis XI., begging him to restore +her to freedom and to her son's estates. Not that her restraint was +in itself hard to bear. At Rouvre, whither she had been removed from +Rochefort, she was free to do what she wished, except to depart. +Couriers, too, were at her service apparently, who carried uninspected +letters to Milan, Geneva, Nice, Turin, and to Louis XI. Commines +says that she hesitated to take refuge with the last lest he should +promptly return her to Burgundian "protection." Yet her brother's +hatred to Charles seemed a fairly strong assurance against such +action. Louis XI. was never so genial as when hearing some ill of +Charles. "From what I have learned, I believe his Turk, his devil +in this world, the person he loathes most intensely, is the Duke of +Burgundy, with whom he can never live in amity." These words were sent +by Petrasanta to the Duke of Milan,[8] who was also turning slowly, +with some periods of hesitation, to an alliance with Louis, now +engaged in "following the hare with a cart."[9] + +On his side the king declared that he had no intention of troubling +further about his obligations to the Duke of Burgundy. "He has himself +broken the truce repeatedly. I can begin a war when I please. But I +have thought it best to temporise." + +[Illustration: COLUMN COMMEMORATING CHARLES AT NANCY AFTER THE DRAWING +BY PERNOT] + +In the succeeding weeks Louis plunged deeper and deeper into +negotiations with any and every one whom he could turn against +Charles. In October, Sire de Chamont, governor of Champagne, --the +territory that Edward IV. had failed to consign to the duke's +sovereignty,--made a descent on Rouvre and rescued Yolande of Savoy. +There was no attempt to stay her departure, and she was scrupulous, so +it is said, in leaving money behind to pay for the Burgundian property +carried off in her train--though it were nothing but an old crossbow. +"Welcome, Madame the Burgundian," was the fraternal salutation which +she received on her arrival at her brother's court. She replied that +she was a good French woman and quite ready to obey his majesty's +commands.[10] + +During the summer, Charles remained at La Rivière exerting every +effort to levy an army. It was no easy task, and the review held on +July 27th showed a meagre return for his exertions. But he did not +slacken his efforts. Lists were immediately drawn up showing the +vacancies in each company, and his money stress did not prevent +his offering increased pay as an extra inducement to recruits. "An +excellent means of encouragement," comments Panigarola. + +The necessity for his preparations was evident. An opportune legacy +inherited by René of Lorraine enabled that dispossessed prince to work +to better advantage than he had been able to do since Charles had +convened the Estates of Lorraine at Nancy. Moreover, on the very day +of the review of the deficient Burgundian troops, a Swiss diet at +Fribourg adopted resolutions regarding, a closer alliance with +René.[11] Louis XI. ostensibly maintained his truce with Charles but +he had intimated that a French army would wait in Dauphiné ready "to +help adjust the affairs of Savoy," and, at about the same time when +Yolande was at court, he gave a gracious reception to a Swiss embassy, +so that René did not feel himself without support as he advanced to +recover his city. + +The mercenaries left by Charles at Nancy were weak and indifferent--a +brief siege, and the capital of Lorraine capitulated to Duke René. +Charles was too late to prevent this mortifying loss. His forces, too, +were a mere shadow. Three to four thousand men rallied round him in +the Franche-Comté, a few hundred joined him in Burgundy, and as he +skirted the frontier of Champagne he received slight reinforcements +from Luxemburg. Then came Campobasso and his mercenary troops, and +the Count of Chimay with such Flemish fiefs as had, individually, +respected the duke's appeal. In all, the forces at Charles's +disposition amounted to about ten thousand, far fewer than those at +Neuss or at Granson. + +At a diet of October 17th, the compact between René and the Swiss was +confirmed, and the former was assured of efficient aid to help him +repulse Charles in his advance into Lorraine. There was need. The city +of Toul refused admission to both dukes, but furnished provision for +Charles's troops, so that for the moment he was the better off of the +two. René then proceeded to provision Nancy and to prepare it for a +siege, while he himself proceeded to Pont-à-Mousson, and for several +days the two adversaries were only separated by the Moselle. Charles's +army was augmented daily by slight accessions from Flanders, and +England, and by fragments of the garrisons of the towns in Lorraine +that had yielded to René and the latter fell back, little by little. +Charles in his turn held Pont-à-Mousson, and proceeded along the road +to Nancy, not deterred by the Lorrainers. + +It was on October 22nd, that Charles of Burgundy laid siege for the +second time to Nancy. In thus entering into active hostilities, he was +ignoring the advice of his councillors who were unanimous in begging +him to devote the winter months to refitting his army in Luxemburg or +Flanders. His position was really very dangerous. He had no base on +which to rest as he had recovered no towns except Pont-à-Mousson. But +he ignored the patent obstacles and tried assault after assault upon +Nancy--all most valiantly repulsed. Within the walls, there was an +amazing display of courage, energy, and good humour. As a matter of +fact, the duke's reputation had waned, while the fear of his cruelty +emboldened the burghers to hold out to the last ditch. Any fate would +be better than falling into his hands, was the general opinion. + +Throughout Lorraine, the captains of the garrisons seized every +occasion to harry the Burgundians. Familiar with the lay of the land, +with every cross-road and by-path, they were able to lie in wait for +the foragers and to do much damage. Four hundred cavaliers, coming +up from Burgundy, were attacked by one Malhortie de Rozière, and +literally cut to pieces, while their horses changed sides with ease. +Only a few escaped to report the fate of the others to Charles. Not +long after, Malhortie, encouraged by this success, crept up to the +Burgundian camp, fell upon the sleepers, and captured a goodly number +of horses. + +The troops on which Charles counted most confidently were +Campobasso's. Several attempts were made to warn him that treachery +was possible in that quarter if the commander were too much +exasperated by delays in payment, too much tried by the ill-temper of +his employer. But the duke persisted in being oblivious to what was +passing under his eyes. Thus, while awaiting the moment for his final +defection, the Italian found it possible to enter into communication +with René and to retard the operations of the siege so as to give time +for the advance of the army of relief. + +The weather of this year was a marked contrast to the mild season of +1473. The winter set in early and the cold became very severe, almost +at once. Their sufferings made the burghers very impatient for the +relief of whose coming they could get no certain assurance. The +Burgundian lines were held so rigidly that the interchange of messages +between the city and her friends was rendered very difficult.[12] One +Suffren de Baschi tried to slip through to Nancy, to tell the besieged +that René was levying troops in Switzerland and would soon be with +them. Baschi fell into the duke's hands and was immediately hanged. +One story says that Campobasso was among the interceders for his life +and received a box on the ear for his pains, an insult that proved the +last straw in his allegiance to Charles. Commines, however, declares +that the Italian urged the death of the captive, fearful of the +premature betrayal of his own intended treachery. + +This execution was one of those arbitrary acts condemned by public +opinion as contrary to the code of warfare. Intense indignation among +the Lorrainers and the Swiss forced René to retaliatory measures, and +he ordered the execution of all the Burgundian prisoners. One hundred +and twenty bodies hung on the gibbets, each bearing an inscription +to the effect that their death was the work of _le téméraire_. The +rancour of the proceedings became terrible. No quarter was given in +any engagements. Slaughter was the only thought on either side. + +Towards the end of December, one Thierry, a draper of Mirecourt, +proved more successful than Baschi in reaching Nancy. His information, +that René's army would leave Basel on December 26th, put heart into +the beseiged and the bells rang out joyfully. + +Just at this epoch, there was an attempt at mediation between the +combatants. The King of Portugal,[13] nephew of Isabella, appeared at +his cousin's camp and implored him to put an end to the carnage, and +in the name of humanity to stop a war that was horrible to all the +world. In spite of his own stress, Charles managed to give his kinsman +a splendid reception, but he waved aside his petition, and simply +invited him to join him in his campaign. + +A week sufficed for the Swiss contingent to march from Basel to Nancy, +across the plains of Alsace. Meantime René had rallied about four +thousand men under Lorraine captains, and to this was added an +Alsatian force which had joined him by way of St.-Nicolas-du-Port. +They were a rude, pitiless crowd, as they soon evinced by routing +a few Burgundians out of the houses where they had hidden, and +massacring them publicly. A reconnaissance, sent out by Charles, was +easily put to flight. + +On January 4th, Charles learned that fresh troops had reached St. +Nicolas. He showed assurance, arrogance, and negligence. His belief in +his star was fully restored. He actually did not take the trouble to +try once more to ascertain the exact strength of the enemy. He had +commissioned the Bishop of Forli to negotiate for him at Basel, and +refused to credit the statement that the Swiss were throwing in their +fortunes with René. He thought that "the Child," as he contemptuously +termed his adversary, had simply gone right and left to hire +mercenaries, and he rather ridiculed the idea of taking such +_canaille_ seriously, saying that it was a host unworthy of a +gentleman. Still he resolved to meet and finish them once for all.[14] + +It is a fact that the Swiss reinforcements were a different and far +less efficient body than the volunteers of Granson and Morat had been. +French gold, scattered freely, had done its work in exciting the +cupidity of every man who could bear arms. There were some staunch +leaders, like Waldemar of Zurich and Rudolph de Stein, but their kind +was in the minority. Berne aided with money rather than with men, but +she was not a generous ally as she insisted on having hostages to +ensure her repayment. A venal spirit was evident in every quarter. As +the troops made their way over the Jura their behaviour showed that +the late splendid booty had affected them. Plunder was their aim. When +René reviewed these fresh arrivals from Basel, one of his attending +officers was Oswald von Thierstein, late governor of Alsace.[15] +Disgraced by Sigismund he had passed over to the Duke of Lorraine, who +appointed him marshal. + +On that January 4th, a Saturday, Charles held a council meeting. The +opinion of the wisest, already given on previous occasions, was urged +again: + + "Do not risk battle. René is poor. If there are no immediate + engagements, his mercenaries will abandon him for lack of pay. + Raise the siege and depart for Flanders and Luxemburg. The army + can rest and be increased. Then at the approach of spring it will + be easy to fall upon René deprived of his troops." + +Charles was absolutely deaf to these arguments. He was determined on +facing the issue at once. Leaving a small force to sustain the siege, +he ordered the camp to be broken on the evening of the 4th and a +movement made towards St.-Nicolas. He selected a ground favourable +for the manipulation of a large body, and placed his artillery on a +plateau situated between Jarville and Neuville. It was not a good +position, being hedged in on the right and in front by woods which +could conceal the movements of a foe without impeding them. Only one +way of retreat was open--towards Metz, whose bishop was Charles's +last ally. But to reach Metz, it was necessary to cross several small +streams and deceptive marshes, half frozen as they were, besides the +river Meurthe, a serious obstacle with the garrison of Nancy on the +flank. In short, there was ample reason to dread surprise, while +in case of defeat a terrible catastrophe was more than possible. +Curiously, the precise kind of difficulties which beset the field of +Morat were repeated here--proof that Charles had not the qualities of +a general who could learn by experience.[16] + +The exact force at his disposal on this occasion has been variously +estimated. Considering the ravages of the sanguinary skirmishes during +the siege, and of the cold, it is probable that the actual combatants +did not number more than ten thousand, all told. And only half of +these were of any value--two thousand men under Galeotto, and +three thousand Burgundians commanded by Charles and his immediate +lieutenants. The remainder were unreliable mercenaries and the still +more unreliable troops of Campobasso already pledged to the foe. La +Marche estimates René's force at twelve thousand and adds: "The Duke +of Burgundy was far behind, for, on my conscience, he had not two +thousand fighting men."[17] + +The allies adopted a plan of battle proposed by a Lorrainer, Vautrin +Wuisse. The first manoeuvre was to divert the foe and turn him towards +the woods, and then to attack his centre, which would at the same +time be pressed at the front by the Lorraine forces, headed by René +himself. The plan succeeded in every point. Surprised that they dared +take the offensive, Charles was alert to the harsh cries of the "bull" +of Uri and the "cow" of Unterwalden, which were heard across the +woods. A sudden presentiment saddened him. Putting on his helmet, he +accidentally knocked off the lion bearing the legend _Hoc est signum +Dei_. He replaced it and plunged into the mêlée. + +The onslaught was terrific. Galeotto's troops and the duke's were the +only ones to make sturdy resistance. The right wing of the army gave +way under the fierce assault of the Swiss. The cry, "_Sauve qui +pent_!" raised possibly by Campobasso's traitors, produced a terrible +rout. Three quarters of the troops were in flight, while the duke +still fought on with superhuman ferocity. + +Galeotto, seeing that the day was lost, protected his own mercenaries +as best he could, while Campobasso completed the treason that he had +plotted with René, which had been partially accomplished four days +previously, and calmly took up his position on the bridge of Bouxières +on the Meurthe, to make prisoners for the sake of ransom. Then the +besieged made a sudden sortie which increased the disorder. The battle +proper was of short duration, with little bloodshed, but the pursuit +was sanguinary in the extreme, because the Burgundian army had left no +loophole open for retreat. + +The Swiss pursued the fugitives hotly as far as Bouxières and +inflicted carnage right and left on the route. It was easy work. The +morasses were traps and the Burgundians, encumbered with their arms, +found it impossible to free themselves, when they once were entangled. +They fell like flies before the fury of the mountaineers. The +Lorrainers and Alsatians were more humane or more mercenary, for they +took prisoners instead of killing indiscriminately. Charles fought +desperately to the very end. There is no doubt that he plunged into +the thick of the fight and risked his life in a reckless manner, +but there is absolute uncertainty as to how he met his death. It is +generally accepted that the last person to see him alive was one +Baptista Colonna, a page in the service of a Neapolitan captain. This +lad, with an extra helmet swung over his shoulder, found himself +close to the duke. He saw him surrounded by troops, noticed his horse +stumble, was sure that the rider fell. The next moment, Colonna's +attention was diverted to himself. He was taken prisoner and knew no +more of the day's events. The figure of Charles of Burgundy disappears +from the view of man. A curtain woven of vague rumour hides the +closing scenes of his life. + +At seven o'clock the victorious Duke of Lorraine rode into the rescued +city and re-entered his palace. At the gates was heaped up a ghastly +memorial of the steadfastness of the burghers in their devotion to +his cause. This was a pile of the bones of the foul animals they had +consumed when other food was exhausted, rather than capitulate to +their liege's foe. To ascertain the fate of that foe now became René's +chief anxiety, and he despatched messengers to Metz and elsewhere +to find out where Charles had taken refuge. The reports were all +negative. The first positive assurance that the duke was dead came +from young Baptista Colonna, whom Campobasso himself introduced into +René's presence on Monday evening. The page told his tale and declared +that he could point out the precise place where he had seen the Duke +of Burgundy fall. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning, January 7th, a +party went forth from Nancy to the desolate battlefield and were +guided by Colonna to the edge of a pool which he asserted confidently +was the very spot where he had seen Charles. Circumstantial evidence +went to give corroboration to his word, for the dozen or more bodies +that lay strewn along the ground in the immediate vicinity of the pool +were close friends and followers of the duke, men who would, in all +probability, have stayed faithfully by their master's person, a +volunteer bodyguard as long as they drew breath. These bodies were all +stripped naked. Harpies had already gathered what plunder they could +find, and no apparel or accoutrements were left to show the difference +in rank between noble and page. But the faces were recognisable and +they were identified as well-known nobles of the Burgundian court. +Separated from this group by a little space at the very edge of the +pool, was another naked body in still more doleful plight. The face +was disfigured beyond all semblance of what it might have been in +life. One cheek was bitten by wolves, one was imbedded in the frozen +slime. Yet there was evidence on the poor forsaken remains that +convinced the searchers that this was indeed the mortal part of the +great duke. Two wounds from a pick and a blow above the ear--inflicted +by "one named Humbert"--showed how death had been caused. The missing +teeth corresponded to those lost by Charles, there was a scar just +where he had received his wound at Montl'héry, the finger nails were +long like his, a wound on the shoulder, a fistula on the groin, and an +ingrowing nail were additional marks of identification,--six definite +proofs in all. Among those who gazed at this wretched sight, on that +January morning, were men intimately acquainted with the duke's +person. + + "There were his physician, a Portuguese named Mathieu, and his + valets, besides Olivier de la Marche[18] and Denys his chaplain + who were taken thither and there was no doubt that he was dead. It + has not yet been decided where he will be buried, and to know it + better it [the body] has been bathed in warm water and good wine + and cleansed. In that state it was recognisable by all who + had previously seen and known him. The page who had given the + information was taken to the king. Had it not been for him it + would never have been known what had become of him considering the + state and the place where he was found."[19] + +Before the body could be freed from the ice in which it was imbedded, +implements had to be brought from Nancy. Four Lorraine nobles hastened +to the spot, when they heard the tidings, to show honour to the man +who had been their accepted lord for a brief period, and they acted +as escort as the burden was carried into the town and placed in a +suitable chamber in the home of one George Marquiez. There seems to +have been no insult offered to the fallen man, no lack of deference in +the proceedings. The very spot where the bier rested for a moment was +marked with a little black cross. + +As the corpse was bathed, three wounds became evident--a deep cut +from a halberd in the head, spear thrusts through the thighs and +abdomen--proofs of the closeness of the last struggle. When all the +dignity possible had been given to the miserable human fragment and +the chamber hung with conventional mourning, René came thither clad +in black garments. Kneeling by the bier, he said: "Would to God, fair +cousin, that your misfortunes and mine had not reduced you to the +condition in which I see you." + +For five days the body lay in state before the high altar of the +church of St. George, and the obsequies that followed were attended by +René and his nobles, and the coffin was honourably placed among the +ducal dead. + +Yet doubt of the man's existence was not buried with the bones to +which his name was given. When the Swiss turned their way homeward, +their farewell words to René were: "If the Duke of Burgundy has +escaped and should reopen war, tell us." "If he has assured his +safety," René answered, "we will fight again when summer comes." There +was no delay, however, in the division of the spoils. The Burgundian +treasure was distributed among René's allies, and the ignorant +soldiers received articles worth many times their pay, which they, in +many cases, disposed of for an infinitesimal part of their value. + +As late as January 28th, Margaret of York and Mary of Burgundy wrote +to Louis XI. from Ghent: + +"We are still hoping that Monseigneur is alive in the hands of his +enemies." Other rumours continued to be current, not only for weeks +but for years. In 1482, it was gravely recounted that the vanished +duke had retired to Brucsal in Swabia, where he led an austere life, +_genus vitae horridum atque asperum_. Bets were made, too, on the +chances of his return.[20] + +Louis XI. was a very pleasant person when news was brought him that he +liked to hear. Commines and Bouchage together had told him about the +defeat of Morat and had each received two hundred silver marks. It was +a Seigneur de Lude who had the good luck to bring him letters from +Craon recounting the battle of Nancy. It was "really difficult for the +king to keep his countenance so surprised was he with joy."[21] His +letter to Craon was written on January 9th and ran as follows.[22] + + "M. the Count, my friend, I have received your letter and heard + the good news that you impart to me, for which I thank you as much + as I can. Now is the time to use all your five natural senses to + deliver the duchy and county of Burgundy into my hands. If the + duke be dead, do you and the governor of Champagne take your + troops and put yourselves within the land, and, if you love me, + keep as good order among your men as if you were in Paris, and + prove that I mean to treat them [the Burgundians] better than any + one in my realm." + +The "five natural senses" of the king's lieutenant were employed most +loyally to his master's service. The duchy of Burgundy returned to the +French crown. Before Easter, the Estates were convened by Louis XI, +and there was no longer any duke in Burgundy to be an over powerful +peer in France. + +With the exception of Guelders the lands acquired by Charles fell +away, but the remainder as inherited by him passed under the rule of +his daughter Mary, who carried her heritage into the House of Austria, +through which it passed finally to the King of Spain. + +On that fatal fifth of January, Charles of Burgundy had only just +passed middle life. He was forty-four years, one month, and twenty-six +days old, an age when a man has the right to look forward to new +achievements. Every circumstance of the dreary and premature death was +in glaring contrast to his prospects at his birth in 1433, in insolent +contradiction to his own estimation of the obligations assumed by Fate +in his behalf. In certain details of the catastrophe there are, of +course, accidents. No one could have predicted that the duke whose +chief title was a synonym for magnificence, that this cherished heir +to his House, who had been bathed in all the luxury known to his +epoch, should have thus lain in death, many hours long, unattended and +uncared-for, naked and frozen on a bed of congealed mud, with a winter +sky as canopy. The actual adversity as it overwhelmed him was too +appalling for any foresight. But the great dream of the man's life +that vanished with his vitality owed its annihilation to no mere +chance of warfare. Had it not been rudely ended by the battle of +Nancy, other means of destruction, inevitable and sure, would have +appeared. The projected erection of a solidified kingdom stretching +from the North Sea to Switzerland and possibly to the Mediterranean, +one that could hold the balance of power between France and Germany, +contained elements of disintegration, latent at its foundation. It is +clear, from a consideration of the Duke of Burgundy and his position +in the Europe of his time, that the materials which he expected to +mould into a realm were a collection of sentient units. Each separate +one was instinct with individual life, individual desires, conscious +of its own minute past, capable of directing its own contracted +future. That the hereditary title of overlord to each political unity +had lodged upon a head already dignified by a plurality of similar +titles, was a mere chance and viewed by the burghers in a wholly +different light from that in which this same overlord regarded it. The +fishers in Holland, the manufacturers in Brabant, the merchants in +Flanders, the vintners in Burgundy, cared nothing for being the wings +of an imperial idea. They wanted safe fishing grounds, unmolested +highways of commerce, vineyards free from the tramp of armies. And +with their desires fixed on these as needful, their attitude towards +the political centralisation planned by their common ruler, often +betrayed both ignorance and inconsistency. At various epochs some +degree of imperialism for the Netherland group had been quite to +popular taste. In Holland, Zealand and Hainaut, it had been conceded +that Jacqueline of Bavaria was less efficient to maintain desirable +conditions than her cousin of Burgundy, and the exchange of sovereigns +had been effected in spite of the manifest injustice involved in the +transaction. But while there was willingness to accept any advantages +that might accrue to a people from the reputation of a local overlord, +it was never forgotten for an instant that his relation to his +subjects was as their own count and strictly limited by conditions +that had long existed within each petty territory. While Charles +seemed to be on the straight road towards his goal, the people within +each body politic of his inherited states were profoundly preoccupied +with their own local concerns, and only alive to his schemes when they +feared demands upon their internal revenues for external purposes. + +It does not seem probable, however, that the abstract question of the +projected kingdom was ever taken very seriously among those to be +directly affected by the proposed change. The bars interposed by his +own subjects in the duke's progress towards royalty were obstructions +to his successive steps rather than to his theory. Indeed, strenuous +opposition to details was allied to a vague and passive acceptance of +the whole. Moreover when the idea was phrased it was distinctly as +a revival, not as a novelty. The previous existence of a kingdom of +Burgundy was undoubtedly a potent factor in the degree of progress +made by Charles towards conjuring into new life a reincarnation of +that ancient realm. Yet it was a factor clothed with a shadow rather +than with the substance of truth. Geographically there was very little +in common between the dominion projected more or less definitely in +1473 and any one of the kingdoms of Burgundy as they had successively +existed. That of Charles corresponded very nearly to the ancient +kingdom of Lorraine. Franche-Comté was the only ground common to the +territories actually held by the duke and to the latest kingdom of +Burgundy. His possessions in Picardy and Alsace lay wholly beyond the +limits of either Burgundy or Lorraine. But the old name survived in +his ducal title, and it was that name that lent a semblance of reality +to this fifteenth-century dream of a middle kingdom as outlined in the +duke's mind more or less definitely or as bounded by his ambition. + +In retrospect it is clear that more was requisite for the realisation +of the vision of the wished-for nation, than imperial investiture of +a crowned monarch with sovereignty over a group of lands. A modern +writer has pointed out how infinitely subtle is the vital principle +of a nation, one not even to be created by common interests. A +_Zollverein_ is no _patria_. An element of sentiment is needful, and +an element of growth.[23] The nation like the individual is the result +of what has gone before. An heroic past, great men, glory that can +command respect at home and abroad--that is the capital on which +is based a national idea. To have wrought in common, to wish to +accomplish more in the future, are essential conditions to be a +people. "The existence of a nation is a plebiscite of every day, just +as the existence of the individual is a perpetual affirmation of +life." + +Now it is evident, in summing up the salient features of this failure, +that a vital principle was not germinating in the inchoate mass. +Charles himself never attained the rank of a national hero. More than +that, with all his individual states, he never had any nation, great +or small, at his back. Personally he was a man without a country. His +father, Philip, was French, pure and simple, quite as French as his +grandfather, Philip the Hardy, the first Duke of Burgundy out of the +House of Valois, even though Philip the Good had extended his sway +to many non-French-speaking peoples and was able to use the Flemish +speech if it suited his whim. But that was as a condescension and as +something extraneous. The chief of French peers remained his proudest +title; his ability to influence French affairs, the task he liked +best. + +His son was quite different in his attitude towards France. He +minimised his degree of French blood royal. More than once he boasted +of his kinship with Portuguese, with English stock. He had certain +characteristics of an immigrant, who has abandoned family traditions +and is proudly confident that his bequest to posterity is to outshine +what he has inherited. Charles was not exactly a stupid man, but he +certainly was dazzled by his early surroundings into an overestimate +of himself, into a conceit that was a tremendous stumbling-block in +his path. He had not the kind of intelligence that would have enabled +him to take at their worth the rhetorical phrases of adulation heaped +upon him on festal occasions. Yet this same conceit, this very +self-confidence, gave him a high conception of his duties. At his +accession, he showed a sense of his responsibilities, a definite +theory of conduct which he fully intended to act upon. His very belief +in his own powers gave him an intrinsic honesty of purpose. He was +convinced that he could maintain law, order, justice in his domain, +and he fully intended to do so in a paternal way, but he left out of +consideration the rights of the people, rights older than his dynasty. +In his military career, too, at the outset, he evinced the strongest +bent towards preserving the best conditions possible amid the +brutalities of warfare. He curbed the soldiers' passions, he protected +women, and was as relentless towards miscreants in his ranks as +towards his foe. In civil matters he exerted himself to secure +impartial equity for all alike. When he gave a promise, he fully +intended to make his words good. It was only in the face of repeated +deceptions of the cleverer and more unscrupulous Louis XI. that +Charles changed for the worse. Exasperated by the knowledge that the +king's solemn pledges were given repeatedly with no intention of +fulfilment, he attempted to adopt a similar policy and was singularly +infelicitous in his imitation. His political methods degenerated into +mere barefaced lying, softened by no graces, illumined by no clever +intuition of where to draw the line. From 1472 on, the duke's word was +worth no more than the king's, and words were assuredly at a discount +just then. A perusal of the international correspondence of the period +leaves the reader marvelling why time was wasted in covering paper, +with flimsy, insincere phrases, mendacious sign-posts which gave no +true indication of the road to be travelled. There are, however, +differences in the art of dissimulation and Charles never attained a +mastery of the science. + +The adjective which has attached itself to his name in English in an +inaccurate rendering of _le téméraire_ which belongs to him in French. +There were other terms too applied to Charles at different periods of +his career. He was Charles the Hardy in his early youth, Charles the +Terrible in those last months when he tried to fortify himself with +wine unsuited to his constitution, but at all times he might have been +called Charles the self-absorbed, Charles the solitary. There have +been many men more passionate, more uncontrolled, than Charles of +Burgundy, whose personal magnetism yet enabled them to win friends and +to keep them, as the duke was powerless to do. The failure to command +personal devotion, unquestioning loyalty, was one of his chief +personal misfortunes. Philip, magnificent, lavish, debonair, found +many lenient apologists for his crimes, while his son received +criticism for his faults even from the faithful among his servitors. +How a reflection of his bearing glows out from the mirror turned +casually upon him by Commines' skilful hand! Take the glimpse of Louis +XI. as he lures on St. Pol's messenger to imitate Charles. The Sire +de Créville inspired by the royal interest in his narration about an +incident at the court of Burgundy, puffs out his cheeks, stamps his +feet in a dictatorial manner, and swears by St. George as he quotes +the duke's words. Behind a screen are hidden Commines, and a +Burgundian envoy aghast at hearing his liege lord so mocked. It is +a time when St. Pol is trying to ride three horses at once and +the French king takes this method to have Charles informed of his +duplicity. "Speak louder" he says, "I grow a little deaf," and the +flattered envoy repeats his dramatic performance in a way to engrave +it on the memory of the duke's retainer. + +[Illustration: THE TOMB OF CHARLES OF BURGUNDY] + +In thus touching on the traits of his former master, Commines does not +show malice or even a dislike for the duke. He is much more severe +about Louis--only he found the latter easier to serve. + +In his family life, too, Charles does not seem to have found any +companionship that affected his life. He is lauded as a faithful +husband to Isabella of Bourbon but her death seemed to make little +difference. Neither she nor Margaret of York had the actual +significance enjoyed by Isabella of Portugal as consort to Philip the +Good with his notoriously roving fancy. + +Thus at home as well as abroad the last Duke of Burgundy tried to +stand alone. Perhaps his chief happiness in life was that he never +knew how insufficient for his desired task he was and how the new art +of printing, the birth of Erasmus of Rotterdam, were the really great +events of his brief decade of sovereignty. It was his good fortune +that he never knew that no splendid achievement gave significance to +his device: "I have undertaken it"--_Je lay emprins_. + + +[Footnote 1: _Mém. de la soc. bourg. de géog. et d' hist_. Article by +A. Cornereau, vi., 229.] + +[Footnote 2: Les états de Gand en 1476. (Gachard, _Études et notices +hist,. des Pays-Bas_, i., I.) + +This is a study of the report made by Gort Roelants, pensionary of +Brussels, one of the deputies to the assembly of 1476. This so-called +"States-general" was by no means a legislative assembly. When Philip +the Good convened deputies from the various states at Bruges in 1463, +it was to save himself the trouble of going to the separate capitals +to ask for _aides_. Assemblies of similar nature occurred several +times before 1477, when Mary of Burgundy granted the privilege of +self-convention and when a constitutional rôle was assured to the +body; though not used for many years (_See_ Pirenne, ii., 379.)] + +[Footnote 3: _Pour y penser la nuit jusques aw lendemain_.] + +[Footnote 4: _S'ils n'avaient point charge limitée quantefois ils +devaient boire en chemin_.] + +[Footnote 5: Compte-rendu par Antoine Rolin, Sr. d' Aymeries, Oct. 1, +1475-Sept. 30, 1476. In the archives of Hainaut there are proofs that +another assembly was confidently expected.] + +[Footnote 6: Gingins la Sarra, ii., 354.] + +[Footnote 7: _Ibid_., 359. Scorende queste cose come avesse il libro +avanti, parse ad ogniuno imprimesse bene questo suo intento.] + +[Footnote 8: Petrasanta to the Duke of Milan Aug. 12th. Quoted in +Kirk, iii., 487.] + +[Footnote 9: An Italian phrase signifying to run down his game +slowly.] + +[Footnote 10: Commines, v., ch. iv.] + +[Footnote 11: Toutey calls the diet at Fribourg a veritable congress +of central Europe, the first of international congresses.] + +[Footnote 12: Huguénin Jeune, _Hist. de la guerre de Lorraine_, p. +217.] + +[Footnote 13: This monarch, Alphonse V., called the African, asking +Louis XI. for assistance against Ferdinand of Castile, was refused on +the score that Charles the Bold was menacing the safety of the French +frontier. Alphonse's prayer for peace might have been instigated by +thoughts of his own needs as well as those of humanity. (Toutey, p. +386.)] + +[Footnote 14: Toutey, p. 387.] + +[Footnote 15: See Scott's _Anne of Geierstein_. This is the man whom +the author makes the appointed instrument of the _Vehmgericht_ to slay +Charles.] + +[Footnote 16: Toutey, p. 388.] + +[Footnote 17: _Mémoires_, iii., 239.] + +[Footnote 18: It is strange that La Marche does not make more of +this scene if he were really there. His sole statement is: "The duke +remained dead on the field of battle, stretched out like the poorest +man in the world and I was taken and others." iii., 240.] + +[Footnote 19: _La déconfiture de Monseigneur de Bourgogne faite par +Monseigneur de Lorraine_. Comines-Lenglet, iii., 493. + +This brief account was drawn up evidently before the duke's burial was +known by the writer. It may have been written solely to please Louis +XI. Still there is a simplicity about it that holds the attention, +in spite of the fact that the story is not accepted by critical +historians.] + +[Footnote 20: La Marche, iii., 240.] + +[Footnote 21: Comines v., ch. x.] + +[Footnote 22: _Lettres_ vi., p. 111.] + +[Footnote 23: Renan, _Qu'est ce qu'une nation_.] + + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +There is an enormous mass of literature bearing upon the later years +of Philip of Burgundy and the brief career of Charles the Bold. Fairly +adequate bibliographies can be found in Pirenne and Molinier (see +list). The following list contains the full titles of the chief works +to which direct reference is made in the text but falls far short of a +complete description of the matter, contemporaneous or critical, which +has coloured the treatment of the subject. + +When extracts have been taken from matter quoted by other writers the +reference is to the later books only. + +_Archives curieuses de l'histoire de France_. Vol. i. (Paris, 1834.) +Contains _Le cabinet du roy Louis XI.; Discours du siège de Beauvais, +en_ 1472, etc. + +BARANTE, M. DE. _Histoire des ducs de Bourgogne de la maison de +Valois. Avec des remarques par le baron de Reiffenberg._ 6th ed. 10 +vols. (Brussels, 1835.) + +BASIN, THOMAS, 1412-1491. _Histoire des règnes de Charles VII. et de +Louis XI._ (Latin text). Ed. J.E.J. Quicherat. 2 vols. (Paris, 1855.) + +BEAUCOURT, G. DU FRESNE, MARQUIS DE. _Histoire de Charles VII_ . 6 +vols. (Paris, 1890.) + +BLOK, P.J. _Eene Hollandsche stad onder de Bourgondisch-Oostenrijksche +Heerschappij._ (The Hague, 1884.) + +BRANTÔME, PIERRE DE BOURDEILLE, SEIGNEUR DE. _OEuvres complètes de_. +Ed. Ludovic Lalanne. (Paris, 1876.) + +BUDT, ADRIAN DE. _Chronicon Flandriæ. De Smet Corpus chron. Flandr. +I_. (Brussels, 1837-65.) + +BUSSIÈRE, BARON MARIE-THÉODORE DE. _Histoire de la ligue formée contre +Charles le téméraire_. (Paris, 1846.) + +_Cent nouvelles nouvelles, Les_. Édition revue sur les textes +originaux, etc., par A.J.V. Le Roux de Lincy. (Paris, 1841.) + +CHABEUF, H. _Deux portraits bourguignons du XV^{e} siècle_. (Dijon, +1893.) (Mémoires de la société bourguignonne de géographie et +d'histoire. Vol. ix.) + +CHASTELLAIN, GEORGES, 1404-1475. _OEuvres._ (Ed. Kervyn de Lettenhove.) +8 vols. (Brussels, 1863-66.) + +CHMEL, JOSEPH. _Geschichte Kaiser Friedrichs IV._ 2 vols. (Hamburg, +1843.) + +CHMEL, JOSEPH. _Urkunden zur Geschichte von Österreich, Steiermark,_ +etc. [Monumenta Habsburgica.] 2 vols. (Vienna, 1849.) + +CLÉMART, PIERRE. _Jacques Coeur et Charles VII_. (Paris, 1873.) + +_Collection de documents inédits sur l'histoire de France_. +"Mélanges." (Ed. M. Champollion-Figeac.) (Paris, 1843.) + +COMMINES, PHILIP DE. _The Historie of_, Englished by Thomas Dannett. +Anno 1596. With an introduction by Charles Whibley. (London, 1897.) + +_Mémoires de Philippe de Comines,_ 1447-1511. Nouvelle édition par +Messieurs Godefroy, augmentée par M. l'Abbé Lenglet du Fresnoy. 4 +vols. Ref. (Comines-Lenglet.) (Paris, 1747.) + +This edition contains many letters, documents, etc., collected by +M. Lenglet du Fresnoy. Their accuracy has been impugned in many +instances. Those cited have been taken with a view to the later +criticism upon them. + +_Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes_. Nouvelle édition publiée avec +une introduction et des notes par Bernard de Mandrot. 2 vols. Ref. +(Commynes-Mandrot.) (Paris, 1901.) + +_Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes_. Nouvelle édition, revue sur les +manuscrits de la bibliotheque royale, etc., par Mlle. Dupont. 3 vols. +Ref. (Commynes-Dupont.) (Paris, 1840.) + +CORNEREAU, A. _Le palais des états de Bourgogne à Dijon_. (Dijon, +1890.) (Mémoires de la soc. bourguignonne de géog. et d'hist., v.) + +COURTÉPÉE, M. _Description, générale et particulière du duché de +Bourgogne_. 4 vols. (Dijon, 1847.) + +DESCHAMPS, EUSTACHE. _Oeuvres complètes_. (Paris, 1878- 1904.) (Soc. +des anciens textes français.) 11 vols. + +DES MAREZ, G. _L'organisation du travail à Bruxelles au XV^{e} +siècle_. (Bruxelles, 1903-04.) (Mémoires couronnés de l'acad. royale +de Belgique. Vol. lxv.-lxvi.) + +DEWEZ, M. _Histoire particulière des provinces belgiques sous le +gouvernement des ducs et des comtes, pour servir de complément à +l'histoire générale_. 3 vols. (Brussels, 1834.) + +DU CLERCQ, JACQUES, 1420-1501. _Mémoires_. (Ed. Baron F. de +Reiffenberg.) 4 vols. (Brussels, 1823.) + +DUCLOS, CHARLES P. _(Oeuvres complètes de_. Nouvelle édition. 9 vols. +(Paris, 1820.) + +ESCOUCHY, MATHIEU D'(DE COUCY). _Chronique_. (1420?-1482 +.) (Ed. G. +du Fresne de Beaucourt.) 3 vols. (Paris, 1863.) (Soc. de l'hist. de +France.) + +FREDERICQ, PAUL. _Le rôle politique et social des ducs de Bourgogne_. +(Brussels, 1875.) + +FREEMAN, EDWARD A. _The Historical Geography of Europe._ 2 vols. 3d +edition, edited by G. B. Berry. (London, 1903.) + +GACHARD, L. P. _Analectes belgiques ou recueil de pièces inédites,_ +etc. Vol. i. (Brussels, 1830.) + +GACHARD, L. P., Ed. _Collection des voyages des souverains des +Pays-Bas._ 4 vols. (Brussels, 1830.) + +GACHARD, L. P., Ed. _Documents inédits concernant l'histoire de la +Belgique_. 3 vols. (Brussels, 1833.) + +GACHARD, L. P. _Études et notices historiques concernant l'histoire +des Pays-Bas._ 3 vols. (Brussels, 1890.) + +_Gesta Episcoporum Leodiensium_. (Marténe Coll. Vol. iv.) (Paris, +1729.). + +GINGINS LA SARRA, LE BARON DE FRÉDERIC DE, Ed. _Dépêches des +ambassadeurs milanais sur les campagnes de Charles le Hardi_, +1474-1477. 2 vols. (Paris, 1858.) + +GOLLUT, M. LOYS. _Les mémoires historiques de la république séquanoise +et des princes de la Franche-Comté de Bourgogne._ (Arbois, 1846.) + +JEUNE, HUGUÉNIN. _Histoire de la guerre de Lorraine et du siège de +Nancy, par Charles le Téméraire, duc de Bourgogne,_ 1473-1477. (Metz, +1837.) + +KERVYN DE LETTENHOVE, LE BARON. [Ed. of works of Chastellain, Budt, +etc.]; see article in _Bullétin de l'académie royale de Belgique_, +1887, etc. + +KERVYN DE LETTENHOVE. _Histoire de Flandre_. 5 vols. (Brussels, +1853-54.) + +KIRK, JOHN FOSTER. _History of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy_. 3 +vols. (Philadelphia, 1864-1868.) + +LABORDE (L.E.S.J.), COMTE DE. _Les ducs de Bourgogne: Études sur les +lettres, les arts et l'industrie pendant le XV^{e} siècle_, etc. +"Preuves." 3 vols. (Paris, 1849-52.) + +LACOMBLET, TH. J. _Urkundenbuch für die Geschichte des Niederrheins._ +4 vols. (Düsseldorf, 1848.) + +LA MARCHE, OLIVIER DE, 1422-1502. _Mémoires._ (1435-1488.) Paris, +1883-84. (Ed. Beaune et d'Arbaumont.) 3 vols. + +LAVISSE, ERNEST. _Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'à la +révolution_. Publiée avec la collaboration de MM. Bayet, Block, Carré, +Kleinclausz, Langlois, Lemonnier, Luchaire, Mariéjol, Petit-Dutaillis, +etc. (Paris, 1893-.) + +The volume covering periods of Charles VII. and Louis XI. is written +by Ch. Petit-Dutaillis, Professor at the University of Lille. +(Reference used, Lavisse, IV^{11}.) (Paris, 1902.) + +LE FÉVRE, JEAN, SEIGNEUR DE ST. RÉMY. (_Toison d'or._) (1395-1463.) +_Chronique._ 2 vols. (Paris, 1876.) + +LE ROUX DE LINCY, A.J.V. _Chants historiques sur les règnes de Charles +VII. et de Louis XI_. + +_Lettres de Louis XI_. (Paris, 1883-.) (Eds., Joseph Vaesen, et +Étienne Charavay, + +LOOMIS, LOUISE ROPES. _Medieval Hellenism_. (Columbia University, +1906.) + +MARTÉNE, EDMUND. _Veterum Scriptorum et Monumentorum, Historicorum, +Dogmaticorum, Moralium, Amplissium Collectio_. Vol. iv. (Paris, 1729.) + +_Mémoires et documents publiés par la société d'histoire de la suisse +romande_. Vol. viii. "Mélanges." (Lausanne, 1849.) + +MEYER, J. _Commentarii sive annales rerum Flandricarum_. (Antwerp, +1561.) + +MOLINET, JEAN. _Chronique_ (1474-1506.) (Paris, 1824-29.) + +This is a continuation of Chastellain and is interesting especially +for the siege of Neuss. + +MONSTRELET, ENGUERRAND DE (d. 1453). _La Chronique_. (Paris, 1861.) + +MOLINIER, AUGUSTE. _Les sources de l'histoire de France des origines +aux guerres d'Italie_. Vols. iv., v., 1461-1494. (Paris, 1904.) + +_Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde_. +Vol. xxv. (Leipzig, 1900.) + +OMAN, CHARLES W.C. _Warwick the Kingmaker_. 1890. ONUFRIUS DE SANCTA +CROCE, Bishop of Tricaria. _Mémoire sur les affaires de Liege_ (1468). +(Ed., S. Bormans.) (Brussels, 1885.) + +OUDENBOSCH. _Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum, historicorum_, etc. +_Rerum Leodiensius. Opus Adriani de vetere Buseo_, 1343. See Marténe. + +PICQUÉ, CAMILLE. _Mémoire sur Philippe de Commines_. (Brussels, 1864.) +Mém. couronnés par 1'acad. royale de Belgique, vol. xvi. + +PIOT, G.J.C., Ed. _Chronycke van Nederlandt_--1565. _Vlaamsche +Kronijk_--1598. _Collection des chroniques belges_. (Brussels, 1836-.) + +PIRENNE, HENRI. _Histoire de Belgique_. 2 vols. (Brussels, 1903.) + +PIRENNE, HENRI. _Bibliographie de l'histoire de Belgique: catalogue +méthodique et chronologique des sources et des ouvrages principaux +relatifs à l'histoire de tous les Pays-Bas jusqu' en 1598_. (Brussels, +1902.) + +PLANCHER, URBAIN. _Histoire générale et particulière de Bourgogne avec +des notes et les preuves justificatives_, etc. 4 vols. (Dijon, 1739.) + +POICTIERS, ALIENOR DE. _Les honneurs de la cour_. (In Sainte-Palaye, +_Mémoires sur l'ancienne chevalerie_, vol. 2, pp. 171-267.) (Paris, +1781.) + +POLAIN, M.L. _Récits historiques sur l'ancien pays de Liège._ 4th ed. +(Brussels, 1866.) + +PUTNAM, RUTH. _A Medieval Princess_. (New York, 1904.) + +RAM, P.F.X. DE. _Documents relatifs aux troubles du pays de Liège +sous les princes-évêques Louis de Bourbon et Jean de Horne_, I vol. +(Brussels, 1844.) + +RAMSAY, SIR JAMES H. _Lancaster and York, a Century of English +History_ (A.D., 1399-1485). 2 vols. (Oxford, 1892.) + +REIFFENBERG, BARON F.A. DE. _Essai sur les enfants naturels de +Philippe de Bourgogne_. + +REIFFENBERG, BARON F.A. DE. _Histoire de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or_. +(Brussels, 1830.) + +REIFFENBERG, BARON F.A. DE. _Mémoire sur le sejour de Louis XI. aux +Pays-Bas_. Nouveaux mém. de l'acad. royale. 1829. + +REIFFENBERG, BARON F.A. DE. _De l'état de la population_, etc., _dans +les Pays-Bas pendant le XV^{e} et le XVI^{e} siècle_. Mem. de l'acad. +royale in 4°. (Brussels, 1822.) [Also editor of various works.] + +RODT, EMANUEL VON. _Die Feldzüge Karls des Kühnen_. 2 vols. +(Schaffhausen, 1843.) + +ROLAND, P. AUBERT. _La guerre de René II. contre Charles le Hardi_. +(Luxembourg, 1742.) + +ROYE, JEAN DE. _Chronique scandaleuse_. [A journal of the years +1460-1483.] (Ed. Bernard de Mandrot.) 2 vols. (Paris, 1894-96.) + +RUHL, GUSTAVE. _L'expedition des Franchimontoir en 1468_. Soc. d'art +et d'histoire de Liège, ix. (Liege, 1895.) + +RYMER, THOMAS. _Foedera, conventiones, litteræ et cujuscumque generis +acta publica inter reges Angliæ et alios quosvis reges_, etc. 20 vols. +Vol. xi. (London, 1704--1716.) + +SCHELLHASE, K. "Zur Trierer Zusammenkunft im Jahre 1473." In _Deutsche +Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft_. Band VI. (Freiburg, 1891.) + +SELDEN, JOHN. _Titles of Honor_. 3d ed. (London, 1672.) + +SNOY, RENIER (Snoyus Reinerus). _De rebus Batavicis_. (Frankfurt, +1620.) In fol. + +STEIN, H. "_Olivier de la Marche historien, poete et diplomate +Bourgogne_." In mén couronné etc., par l'acad. royale vol. xlix. +(Brussels, 1888.) + +STOUFF, Louis. _Les comtes de Bourgogne et leurs villes domaniales_. +(Paris, 1899.) + +STOUFF, LOUIS. "Les possessions bourguignonnes dans la vallée du Rhin +sous Charles le téméraire." _Annales de l'est_. Vols. xvii.-xviii. +(Paris, 1903.) + +TOUTEY, E. _Charles le téméraire et la ligue de Constance._ (Paris, +1902.) + +VANDER MAELEN, PH. _Dictionnaire géographique de la province de +Liège_. (Brussels, 1831.) + +WAGENAAR, JAN. _Vaderlandsche Historie_. 21 vols. (Amsterdam, +1749-1759.) + +WAVRIN, JEHAN DE (living 1465-1471). _Anchiennes croniques de +Engleterre_. (Ed. Mlle. Dupont.) 3 vols. (Paris, 1858-63.) + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Abbeville +Agincourt +Aire +Aix +Alkmaar +Alsace +Alsace +Amboise +Amiens +Amont +Andernach +Angers +Anjou +Anjou, Margaret of, Queen of England +Anjou, René, King of +Anjou, Yolande of, _see_ Vaudemont +Antwerp +Appiano, Antoine d' (Antonius de Aplano), Milanese ambassador +Aragon +Argau +Armagnac +Arras, Bishop of +Arras, treaty +Arson, Jehan d +Arthur, King +Artois +Artois, Bonne of, Duchess of Burgundy, _see_ Burgundy +Atclyff, William +Ath +Augsburg, Diet of +Austria +Austria, House of +Austria, Maximilian, Archduke of, _see_ Maximilian +Austria, Sigismund of (Count of Tyrol; + mortgages lands to Charles of Burgundy; + resumes sovereignty of mortgaged lands; +Auvergne, Marshal d' +Auxonne +Auxy, Jehan, Seigneur d +Avesnes +Avranches, Bishop of +Aydie, Odet d' + + + +B + +"Bad Penny," the, tax +Balue, Cardinal +Bar, duchy of +Barante, cited +Bari, Duc de (Sforza) +Barnet, battle of +Barre, Corneille de la +Barrois +Baschi, Suffren de +Basel +Basel, Bishop of +Basin, Thomas, cited +_Basse-Union_ +Baume-les-Dames +Bavaria, elector of +Bavaria, Stephen of +Beaujeu, Lord of +Beaumont, château of +Beauvais, siege of +Bedford, John, Duke of, death of +Begars, Abbé de +Belfort +Bellière, Vicomte de la +Berne +Berry, Bailiff of +Berry, Charles of France, Duke of (Normandy and Guienne), + heads League of Public Weal; + character of; + Normandy given to; + won over by Louis; + Guienne given to; + proposed marriage of; + suspicious death of +Besançon +Biche, Guillaume de +Biscay, Bay of +Black Forest +Bladet +Blamont, Count of +Blaumont, Seigneur de, Marshal of Burgundy +Boccaccio +Bohemia +Bonn +Borselen, Adrian van, Seigneur of Breda +Borselen, Frank van (Count of Ostrevant; + death of +Borselen, Henry van +Boscise +Bouchage, Monseigneur du +Boudault, Jehan +Boulogne +Bourbon, Catharine of, _see_ Guelders +Bourbon, Duchess of +Bourbon, duchy of +Bourbon, Duke of +Bourbon, Isabella of (Countess of Charolais), _see_ Charolais +Bourbon, Louis of, Bishop of Liege +Bourges +Bouvignes +Bouxières +Brabant, Anthony, Duke of +Brabant, duchy of +Brabant, Duke of +Brandenburg, Albert, elector of +Brandenburg, Margrave of +Brantôme, Pierre de Bourdeille, Seigneur de, cited +Breda +Brederode, Gijsbrecht of +Breisgau +Bresse, Philip de +Brie +Brisac (Breisach) +Brittany, Duchess of +Brittany, duchy of +Brittany, Francis, Duke of, + joins League of Public Weal; + ally of Charles of Burgundy; + is reconciled to Louis XI. +Broeck, M. van der +Bruchsal +Bruges +_Brunette_ +Brussels +Bureau, Jehan +Buren, castle of +Burgundy, duchy of; + Estates of +Burgundy, Franche-Comté of +Burgundy, Anthony, Grand Bastard of +Burgundy, Baldwin, Bastard of +Burgundy, Charles the Bold, (Count of Charolais), Duke of; + birth of; + elected knight of the Golden Fleece; + description of; + ancestry of; + imperial ambitions of; + education of; + weds Catherine of France; + takes official part in public affairs; + character of; + first campaign of; + entrusted with regency of Holland; + English sympathies of; + weds Isabella of Bourbon; + judicial methods of; + rejoices over birth of daughter; + strained relations with his father; + enmity between Louis and ; + at coronation of Louis XI; + fears plots against his life; + joins League of Public Weal; + allies of; + letters of, to cities; + to Louis; + to Duchess Isabella; + to French council; + to Duke of Brittany; + to Sigismund; + to Edward IV.; + to Duke of Milan; + at battle of Montl'héry; + armies of; + dictates terms of treaty of Conflans; + marches against Liege; + destroys Dinant; + underestimates character and strength of enemies; + accedes to the dukedom; + invested with titles; + unpopularity of; + punishes Ghent; + reforms of; + weds Margaret of York; + ducal state of; + demands _aides_; + receives Louis at Peronne; + crushes revolt of Liege; + makes treaty of Peronne; + proposed sons-in-law for; + signs treaty of St. Omer; + takes lands from Sigismund; + relations of, with Swiss; + invested with Order of the Garter; + _Remonstrance_ presented to; + embassies to; + truces of, with Louis XI; + besieges Beauvais; + reverses of; + acquires duchy of Guelders; + negotiations between Emperor Frederic and; + interview of, with emperor at Trèves; + becomes "protector" of Lorraine; + interferes in Cologne affairs; + visits Alsace; + troubles with Alsace; + besieges Neuss; + war declared against; + makes truce with Frederic; + defeated at Héricourt; + besieges Nancy; + allies desert; + defeated at Granson; + at Morat; + convenes states-general; + last battle of; + death and burial of +Burgundy, Cornelius, Bastard of +Burgundy, David of, Bishop of Utrecht +Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of; + ancestry of; + English sympathies of; + retires to convent; + burial of +Burgundy, John the Fearless, Duke of; + death of +Burgundy, Margaret, Bastard of +Burgundy, Margaret of York, Duchess of +Burgundy, Mary of (Duchess of Austria; + godfather of; + proposed marriages for +Burgundy, Philip the Good, Duke of, marriages of; + institutes Order of Golden Fleece; + children of; + alliance of; + signs treaty of Arras; + territories acquired by; + suppresses revolt in Bruges; + wealth and magnificence of; + crushes rebellion of Ghent; + gives Feast of the Pheasant; + plans crusade; + chooses second wife for Charles; + character of; + interferes in affairs of Utrecht, of Liege, and of Cologne; + hospitality of, to dauphin; + influenced by the Croys; + attends coronation of Louis XI; + illnesses of; + witnesses punishment of Dinant; + death and burial of; + epitaph of; + description of; + popularity of +Burgundy, Philip the Hardy, Duke of +Burgundy, Yolande, Bastard of + + + +C + +Cagnola +Calabria, Duke of, _see_ Lorraine +Calais +Calixtus III. +Cambray +Campobasso, Antonello de, mercenary captain; + treachery of +Canterbury +Casanova +Castile +Castile, Henry IV., King of +Castile, Jeanne of +Cat, Gilles le +Catto, Angelo +Caux; + Bailiff of +_Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, les_ +_Cento Novelle_, by Boccaccio +Cesner, Balthasar +Chambéry +Chambes, Helen de +Chamont, Sire de +Champagne +Channel +Charenton +Charlemagne +Charles IV. +Charles (V.) the Wise, King of France +Charles VII., King of France, + reconciliation of, with Philip of Burgundy; + character of; + letters of; + refuses to join crusade; + breach between dauphin and; + illness and death of; + institutes standing army +Charles VIII., King of France +Charles the Simple, King of France +Charmes +Charny, Count de +Charny, Countess de +Charolais, Catherine of France, Countess of; + death and burial of +Charolais, Count of, _see_ Charles of Burgundy +Charolais, Isabella of Bourbon, Countess of; + death of +Chassa, Jehan de +Chastellain, cited; + death of +Château-Chinon +Châtenois +Chauny, +Chesny, Guiot du +Chevelast, Louis de +Chimay, Count of +Citeaux, Abbé of +Clarence, Duke of +Cléry +Cleves, Adolph, Duke of +Cleves, duchy of +Cleves, Marie of, Duchess of Orleans +Cods, the (party name) +Colmar +Cologne +Cologne, Robert, Archbishop of +Colonna, Baptista +Commines (Commynes, Comines), Philip de, + enters service of Duke of Burgundy; + defection of; + cited +Compiègne +Compostella +Conflans, treaty of +Constance; + League of +Constantinople +Cordes, Monsieur de +Corguilleray +Cornwallis, Lord +Corvinus, Matthias, King of Hungary +Cosmo +Court, Jehan de la +Coutault, Monsieur +Craon, Seigneur de +Cret, Dion du +Crèvecoeur, Philip of +Crèvecoeur, Seigneur of +Créville, Sire de +Croy, A. de +Croy, J. de +Croy, Philip de +Croy family, the +_Cueillotte_, the (tax) +Cyprus + + + +D + +Damian +Dammartin, Count of + letters of Louis to +Damme +Dauphiné +Dauxonne, Jacquemin +De Bussière, cited +Décapole, Alsatian, the +De la Loere, secretary +Dendermonde +Denmark +Denys, Chaplain +Deschamps, Eustache, _Lay de Vaillance_ by +Deventer +Dieppe +Diesbach, Ludwig von +Dijon +Dinant; + destruction of +Dôle +Dombourc +Dompaire +Dordrecht +Du Clercq, cited +Duclos, cited +Dunois, Count +Dunois, François +Du Plessis, Seigneur + + + +E + +Easterlings +l'Écluse +Edward IV., King of England; + aided by Charles of Burgundy; + plans conquest of France; + character of; + makes peace with Louis XI. +Edward of Lancaster, Prince of Wales; + death of +Émeries, Antoine Raulin, Sire d' (Aymeries) +Engelburg +England alliance of, + with Burgundy; + with France; + French possessions of; + commercial relations of; + wars of the Roses in +Ensisheim +Épinal +Erasmus +Escalles, Seigneur d' +Escouchy, Mathieu d,' + cited +Estampes, Count d' +Étampes +Eu +Eu, Count d' +_Ewige Richtung_ +Exeter, Duke of +Eyb, Ludwig von + + + +F + +Faret (or Farrel), Guillaume +Favre, Jourdain +Ferrara +Ferrette, county of +Flanders; + Estates of; + commerce of +Flanders, Count of +Florence +Foix, Count de +Foix, Eleanor de +Foix, Gaston de +Forli, Bishop of +Fossombrone, Bishop of +Fou, Ivon du +France, alliance of, with Burgundy; + waning power of England in; + changed conditions in; + assembly of states-general of; + invasion of +France, Admiral of, the +France, Catherine, Daughter of, _see_ Charolais +France, Charles of, Duke of Berry, _see_ Berry +France, Jeanne of +France, Michelle of, _see_ Burgundy +Franche-Comté +Franchimont +Frankfort +Frederic, elector palatine +Frederic III., Emperor; + character of; + negotiations of, with Charles of Burgundy; + meets Charles at Trèves; + description of; + signs treaty with Charles +Fribourg +Friesland; + title of Lord of +Friesland, West + + + +G + +_Gabelle_ +Gachard, cited +Galeotto +Garter, Order of the +Gauthier, Dan +Gautier, cited +Gaveren; + battle of; + treaty of +Gelthauss, Johannes +Genappe +Geneva +Geneva +Genoa +Gex +Ghent; + rebellion of; + submission of; + insurrection in; + humiliation of +Gilles, Frère +Givry, Sire de +Gloucester, Duke of +Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of +Golden Fleece, Order of the, instituted; + assemblies of; + knights of +Gorcum +Görlitz, Elizabeth of +Granson, battle of +Grave +Grenoble +Grey, Jean de +Groothuse, Louis de la +Groothuse, Mathys de la +Guelders, Adolf, Duke of; + imprisonment of +Guelders, Arnold, Duke of; + death of +Guelders, Catharine of Bourbon, Duchess of +Guelders, Charles of +Guelders, duchy of +Guelders, Philippa of +Guérin, Jean de +Guienne, Charles of France, Duke of, _see_ Berry +Guienne, duchy of +Guise +Guisnes + + + +H + +Haarlem +Hagenbach, Peter von; + Governor of Alsace; + trial and execution of +Hagenbach, Stephen von +Hague, The +Hainaut +Ham +Hanseatic League +Heers, Raes de la Rivière, Lord of +Heinsberg, John of, Bishop of Liege +Hemricourt, Jacques de +Henry IV., of Castile +Henry V., King of England +Henry VI., King of England; + character of; + death of +Henry VII., King of England +Héricourt +Hermite, Tristan l' +Hesdin +Hesse, Hermann of +Holland; + title of Count of +Holland, Jacqueline of Bavaria, Countess of +Holland, South +Holland, William VI., Count of +Honfleur +Hooks, the (party name) +Houthem +Howard, Lord +Hugonet, Chancellor +Humbercourt, Seigneur de +Hungary; + King of +Huy + + + +I + +Innsbruck +Irma, Jean +Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, _see_ Burgundy + + + +J + +Jarville +Jarville, Sieur de +Jerusalem +Joan of Arc +Joinville, castle of; + treaty of +Jomini +Jougne +Jouvençal +Juliers, Duke of +Jura, the + + + +K + +Kaisersberg +Kennemerland +Kervyn de Lettenhove, Baron, cited +Knebel, Johannes R. + + + +L + +La Hogue +Laisné, Jeanne (Fouquet), _La Hachette_ +Lalaing, Jacques de, prowess of; + death of +La Marche, Olivier de, cited; + knighted; + loyalty and zeal of +Lambert, Bishop of Tongres +Lancaster, House of +Lannoy, Jehan, Seigneur de +Lanternier, Jehan +Laon +La Rivière +La Rochelle +Lauffen +Lauffenberg +Laurentian Library, the +Lausanne +Lavin, Étienne de +League of Constance +League of Public Weal +Le Grand, Abbé +Le Gros, Jehan +Le Quesnoy +Lescun, Seigneur de +Liege, description of; + government of; + bishop-princes of; + rebellion of; + aided by Louis XI.; + punishment of +Liege, bishopric of +Lille +Limbourg +Livornia +Loches +Loisey, Anthony de +Lombardy +London +Longjumeau +Longueval, Hugues de +Loreille, Thomas de +Lorraine, duchy of +Lorraine, Estates of +Lorraine, Duke of +Lorraine, Nicholas of Anjou, Duke of (Calabria); + death of +Lorraine, René, Duke of, accepts Burgundian protection; + joins league against Charles +Louis XI., King of France; + rebels against Charles VII.; + marries Charlotte of Savoy; + letters of, to Charles VII.; + to Dammartin; + to envoys; + to Count de Foix; + to Lorenzo de' Medici; + to Duke of Milan; + to Amiens; + to chancellor; + flees to Duke of Burgundy; + generosity of Duke Philip to; + is godfather of Mary of Burgundy; + tastes of; + duplicity of; + accession of; + ingratitude of; + character of; + enmity between Charles and; + nobles in league against; + policy of; + signs treaty of Conflans; + incites opposition to Charles of Burgundy; + breaks treaties; + makes visit to Peronne; + signs treaty at Peronne; + ally of the Swiss; + makes nucleus of standing army; + aids Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou; + birth of son of; + makes truce with Charles; + suspected of death of brother; + rewards Beauvais; + wins over Edward IV.; + rejoices in death of Charles +Louvain; + University of +Lower Union, the, _see_ Basse-Union +Lucerne +Lude, Seigneur de +Luxemburg, duchy of +Luxemburg, John of +Luxeuil +Luzine River, the +Lyme +Lyons + + + +M + +Maestricht +Maine +Malhortie +Mandrot, Bernard Édouard, + editor of Commynes' _Mémoires, Jean de Roye_, etc., + cited +Manton, Seigneur de +Marchant, Ythier +Marck, Adolph de la +Marne River, the +Marquiez, George +Mas, Gilles du +Mathieu +Maximilian, Archduke of Austria; + proposed marriage of +Mayence +Mayence, Archbishop of +Mayence, Duke of +Mazilles, Jehan de +Mechlin +Medici, Lorenzo de' +Metz +Metz +Meurin, secretary to Louis XI. +Meurthe River, the +Meuse River, the +Meyer, J., cited +Michel, the Rhetorician, cited +Middelburg +Milan +Milan +Mirecourt +Mongleive +Mons +Montbazon +Montereau, bridge of +Montfort, Ulrich von +Montgomery, Sir Thomas (Mongomere) +Montl'héry, battle of +Monulphe, Bishop of Tongres +Morat, battle of +Morges +Morvilliers, Chancellor +Moselle River, the +Moutils-lès-Tours +Mulhouse + + + +N + +Namur +Namur +Nancy; + sieges of; + battle of +Naples +Naples, King of +Napoleon +Narbonne, Archbishop of +Nassau, Engelbert of +Nassau, John of +_Nations_, the +Nesle +Netherlands, the; + states-general of +Neufchâtel +Neufchâtel, Isabelle of +Neuss +Neuville +Nevers +Nevers, Charles, Count of +Neville, Anne +Nice +Nimwegen +Norfolk, Duchess of +Normandy, Charles of France, Duke of, _see_ Berry +Normandy, duchy of +Norway +Noseret +Noyon +Nuremberg + + + +O + +Obernai +Oise River, the +Onofrio de Santa Croce +Orange, Prince of +Oriole, Pierre d' +Orleans +Orleans, duchy of +Orleans, Duke of +Osterlings, the +Ostrevant, Count of, _see_ Borselen +Oudenarde +Ourré, Gerard +Oxford + + + +P + +Palatinate, the +Palatine, Count; + the elector; + Frederic, elector +Panigarola, Johannes Petrus, + Milanese ambassador, cited +Paris +Paris, University of +Paston, Sir John, letters of +Paston, John, the younger + (brother of above), letter of +Paston, Margaret +Pavia +Pellet, Jean +Pepin +Perdriel, Henry +Périgny +Périgord +Peronne, interview of Louis XI. and Charles at; + treaty of +"Peronne, the Peace of" +Perrenet +Petit-Dutaillis, Ch., author of Vol. IV^{II}, Lavisse, + _Hist. de France, see_ Lavisse. +Petitpas +Petrasanta, Franciscus, Milanese ambassador +Pheasant, Feast of the +Picardy +Picquigny +Plessis-les-Tours +Pleume +Podiebrad, George, ex-king of Bohemia +Poictiers, Alienor de +Poinsot, Jean +Poitiers +Poland +Pont-à-Mousson +Pont de Cé +Porcupine, Order of the +Portinari, Thomas +Portugal +Portugal, Alphonse V., King of +Portugal, Isabella of, Duchess of Burgundy, _see_ Burgundy +Pot, Philip de +Poucque, castle of +Prussia +Public Weal, War of, _see_ League + + + +Q + +Quaux River, the +Quercy +Quiévrain, Seigneur de +Quingey, Simon de + + + +R + +Rampart, Jean +Ratellois +Ratisbon +Ravestein, Madame de +Ravestein, Monseigneur de +Renty, Monseigneur de +Rethel +Rheims +Rheims, Archbishop of +Rheinfelden +Rhine, the; + Valley +Rhinelands, the +Rhodes +Rivers, Earl +Roche, Henri de la +Rochefort +Rochefort, Sire of +Rochefoucauld +Roelants, Gort +Romans, King of the +Rome +Romont, Count of +Romorantin +Roses, Wars of the +Rossillon +Rottelin, Marquise Hugues de +Rotterdam +Rouen +Rousillon +Rouvre +Roye +Rozière, Malhortie de +Rubempré, the bastard of +Rubempré, Jehan de +Ruple, G. +Russia + + + +S + +Saeckingen +St. Bavon, Abbot of +Ste. Beuve, cited +St. Blaise, Abbé of +St. Claude +St. Cloud +St. Denis +St. Lievin, feast of +St. Michel-sur-Loire +St. Nicolas-du-Port +St. Omer; + treaty of +St. Pol, Count of + made constable of France; + treachery of; + execution of +St. Quentin +St. Remy, Jean le Févre, Seigneur de +St. Thierry +St. Trond +Sale, Anthony de la +Salesart +Salins +Salisbury, Bishop of +Savoy, Charlotte of, marries the dauphin +Savoy, duchy of +Savoy, dukes of +Savoy, Yolande, Duchess of; + ally of Charles the Bold; + kidnapped; + rescued +Saxony, Duke of +Saxony, elector of +Schellhass, Karl +Schiedam +Schlestadt +Scotland, Eleanor of, wife of Sigismund of Austria +Scotland, Margaret of, wife of Louis, the dauphin +Seine River, the +Sforza, Galeazzo-Maria, Duke of Milan +Sicily +Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, _see_ Austria +Sigismund, Emperor +Sluis +Snoy, Renier, cited +Soleure +Somerset, Duke of +Somme, towns on the river, + ceded to Duke of Burgundy; + redemption of towns on the +Sorel, Agnes +Soulz, Rudolf de +Spain +Spain, King of +Stein, Hertnid von +Stein, Rudolph de +Stephen, Martin +Strasburg +Strasburg, Bishop of +Stuttgart +Sundgau, the +Swabia +Swiss, the, valour of; + victories of; + allies of Louis XI. +Swiss Cantons, the; + declare war against Charles the Bold +Swynaerde +Sylvius, Æneas + + + +T + +Talmont, Prince of +Tewkesbury, battle of +Texel, island of +Thann +Thérain, the +Thérouanne, Bishop of +Thierry +Thierry, Monsieur de +Thierstein, Oswald von +Thionville +Thouan, Mme. de +Thouars, Guillaume de +Thurgau +Tilhart, secretary to Louis XI. +Tongres; + bishops of +Tonnerre, Count of +Toul +Touraine +Tournay +Tournay, Bishop of +Tournehem +Tours +Toustain, Aloysius (Toussaint) +Toustain, Guillaume +Toutey, E., cited +Trausch, cited +Tree of Gold, jousts of the +Trémoille, Jehan de la +Trèves +Trèves, Archbishop of +Tuin +Turin +Turks, the, capture Constantinople; + proposed crusade against + + + +U + +Unterwalden +Uri +Ursé, Seigneur d' +Utenhove, Richard +Utrecht + + + +V + +Vaesen, Joseph Frederic Louis (editor of _Lettres de Louis XI_.) +Valenciennes +Valois, House of +Vaudemont, Yolande of Anjou, Duchess of +Vendôme, Count of +Venice +Verard, Antoine +Verdun +Vere +Vermandois +Vermandois, Count de +Vesoul +Villeclerc, Demoiselle de +Virnenbourg, Count of +Visen, Charles de +Vosges, the + + + +W + +Wailly +Waldemar of Zürich +Waldshut +Walloon language, the +Warwick, Earl of; + death of +Wavrin, Philip de +Wellington, Duke of +Wenlock, governor of Calais +Weymouth +Wieringen, island of +Woodville, Elizabeth +Wuisse, Vautrin +Wyler, Hans + + + +X + +Xaintes + + + +Y + +York, House of +York, Margaret of, Duchess of Burgundy, _see_ Burgundy +Ypres + + +Z + +Zealand +Zürich +Zutphen + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Charles the Bold, by Ruth Putnam + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14496 *** |