Chapter VIII: Part 8

In this year also, the count de Charolois, son to the duke of Burgundy married the daughter of duke Charles of Bourbon.

The king of Spain deceased, at the age of fifty years. It was a pity, for he was a good, wise, and handsome prince.

In this same year died pope Nicholas, who was but in his prime[184]; and it was found, when the physicians opened his body, that he had been poisoned. Pope Calixtus was chosen in his stead.[185]

The king of England called a meeting of some of his lords in the month of February, and remonstrated with them on the imprisonment of the dukes of Somerset and Glocester, his relatives, and wished that, if they were not too heavily charged with high treason, they might be released. They consented to this; and the mayor of London even said, that he would instantly deliver them from prison, on receiving good security for their re-appearance. Soon after, these lords appeared before the tower in great force, and took therefrom the duke of Somerset, who soon after gained the complete government of the king. The duke of York, seeing this, and dreading the effects of Somerset's anger, left the court as secretly as he could, and retired into his duchy.

About this time, the lord de l'Esparre was arrested, for having, contrary to his oath, gone to England, and induced king Henry to send over troops to reconquer the Bordelois. Although his treason had been manifest, nevertheless the king, at the last capture of Bordeaux, being alway full of mercy, had pardoned him, on condition of his being banished Guienne and the Bordelois. However, by the instigation of the devil in hell, he had attempted, under colour of a passport, to restore those countries to the English, as a more false and wicked traitor than before. But as the Scripture says, that every thing wicked, however secretly done, is at length discovered and punished, so this came to the king's knowledge, and, as I have said, he was arrested and carried prisoner to Poitiers, where, on being tortured, he confessed his guilt, and was judicially condemned. He was then delivered to the executioner, who smote off his head and quartered his body, which was hung up at different places, as is usual in such cases, to serve for an example to all others.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 183: There must be a mistake here: the duke of York did imprison Somerset, but Glocester was a Yorkist.]

[Footnote 184: Pope Nicholas was said to have died of grief for the capture of Constantinople. He had reigned eight years nineteen days.]

[Footnote 185: Alfonso Borgio, cardinal-bishop of Valencia in Spain, his native country. He took the title of Calixtus III.]

CHAP. LX.

THE MARRIAGE OF THE COUNT DE CHAROLOIS WITH THE LADY ISABELLA OF BOURBON.--THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY RETURNS FROM GERMANY, AND IS MOST HONOURABLY RECEIVED IN THE TOWNS OF LILLE AND ARRAS.

On the last day of October, in this same year, and when the duke of Burgundy was returned from Germany, his son, the count de Charolois, espoused, in the town of Lille, his cousin-german the lady Isabella of Bourbon, by dispensations from the holy church, on account of their nearness of kindred. The duke, being in Burgundy, was not present at the wedding, but the duchess was. The marriage was so sudden that many said the count knew nothing of it until the preceding day: his father would have it so, and strictly ordered him to comply, which he did like a good and obedient son. Some said, that it was against his conscience to marry so near a relative; but others, that he would rather have married the daughter of the duke of York, and, by this alliance with England, have some claim to that crown.

Whatever truth may be in these reports, he married to please his father, and behaved to his cousin in so honourable a manner that no married couple could behave better; and it was currently said, that after his marriage, he knew not any other woman.

During the absence of his father in Germany, he had the regency of his states, and governed them with equity: he was only too prompt to believe the first reports that were made to him, which is a misfortune generally attached to great lords.

About the middle of February, the noble duke of Burgundy came to Lille, where he was received by his subjects with every honour. On the 24th of the same month, he went to Arras, where he was likewise honourably and joyfully received,--for he had been long absent, and God had now permitted him to return from Germany in good health, and without any hinderance.

CHAP. LXI.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY LAYS HEAVY TAXES ON HIS ESTATES, TO DEFRAY HIS EXPEDITION AGAINST THE TURKS.

Five days after the arrival of the duke in Arras, and when the feasts of his coming were over, he assembled the three estates of Artois, and declared to them the vow he had made of undertaking a war against the Turks, and of marching thither in person with his whole force, provided the king his lord would promise to keep and guard for him his estates during his absence. To accomplish this vow, he said, that it would be necessary for him to call for the aid of his good vassals and subjects; and he required that they would grant him supplies, amounting, in the whole, to the sum of fifty-six thousand francs, royal money.

The three estates having consulted together, agreed to grant him three aides, instead of four, which he had demanded, amounting to forty-two thousand francs,--but on condition, that if this expedition was not undertaken, they should not be paid. The good duke replied, that in truth, if the expedition failed, he should not want any thing.

The duke then visited Flanders, Hainault, and Brabant, where he made similar requests; and those countries granted him very great supplies to carry on the war against the infidels.

[A.D. 1455.]

CHAP. LXII.

THE BISHOP OF UTRECHT DIES.--THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY GOES TO HOLLAND TO PROCURE THE ELECTION TO THE BISHOPRICK FOR HIS BASTARD SON DAVID, THEN BISHOP OF THEROUENNE.

In the year 1455, died the bishop of Utrecht, which is in Holland, bordering on Germany. Duke Philip of Burgundy had for a long time thought of obtaining this bishoprick for his bastard son David, then bishop of Therouenne, and had even during the life-time of the late bishop solicited the canons to elect this his son on the first vacancy. They, however, paid no attention to his solicitations, but elected the provost of their church, brother to the lord de Brederode, a great baron in Holland, and a relative to duke Philip.

The duke was much dissatisfied at this conduct, and sent to Rome, and managed so well with the pope that he gave this bishoprick to his bastard son: he had even promised him the succession before the death of the last bishop. The duke went, therefore, to the Hague in Holland, where he endeavoured, but in vain, to gain over to his interest the chapter of Utrecht by every kind means, that they might receive his son for their bishop; and for this purpose he remained in Holland from the feast of St Remy[186], in the year 1455, until St John Baptist's day in the ensuing year.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 186: St Remy. This feast is on the first day of October, and St John's the 24th June.]

CHAP. LXIII.

THE COUNT DE CLERMONT, THE LORD DE LOHÉAC MARSHAL OF FRANCE, AND OTHER CAPTAINS, ARREST THE COUNT D'ARMAGNAC, AND DELIVER HIM UP TO THE KING.--THEY PUT THE ARCHBISHOP OF AUCH IN POSSESSION OF HIS ARCHBISHOPRIC.--OTHER EVENTS.

In the month of May of this year, the king of France sent the count de Clermont, the lord de Lohéac marshal of France, and other captains, into the county of Armagnac; and likewise the count de Dammartin, the bailiff of Evreux, and several others, against the count d'Armagnac, into Rouergue, because he had refused to put the archbishop of Auch in possession of his archbishopric, to which he had been duly elected, and had received his bulls from the pope. The count had wished, contrary to all right, to place therein one called de l'Estin, and had given him admittance into the city, and possession of the archbishopric, contrary to the will and orders of the king.

The king, much angered at de l'Estin having been installed by the count by force, ordered his men at arms to besiege his city of Lectoure[187], whither the before-named captains had marched, as well as into other parts of his possessions in Armagnac and Rouergue. Thus did the count lose all his territories for his rebellion against the king; for, as the Scripture saith, it is hard to kick against the pricks. When this was done, these captains returned to the king according to his orders.

In this same year, king Henry of England, by the advice of the duke of Somerset, summoned a parliament of his great lords, to consider the present state of affairs. For this purpose, very many came to London; and the duke of York thought it would be advisable for him to make his appearance also,--and in fact he set out, accompanied by about a thousand armed retainers. He was, however, joined on his road by four or five thousand more, of which the king and the duke of Somerset were ignorant, they having knowledge of the duke being attended by only one thousand men. The king and the duke of Somerset held a council with the earl of Northumberland, and other lords, and determined to collect as large a force as they could in and about London, and march out to meet the duke of York, in the expectation of defeating him, as they were astonished he should come in arms to attend the parliament.

The two armies soon met, and instantly came to blows, when numbers were slain,--but victory remained with the duke of York. Among the slain were the duke of Somerset, the earl of Northumberland, and many other lords, and from four to five hundred common men. The king was wounded by an arrow in the neck, and was for some time in great danger. The duke of York made many prisoners, nobles and others, whom he led to London with the king,--where some were set at liberty, and others punished according to their deserts. The late government was entirely overthrown, and the whole power remained with the duke of York as regent of the king and kingdom.

At this time, the count d'Armagnac, having lost all his possessions, retired into the kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 187: Lectoure,--a city in Armagnac, of which Auch is the capital, ten leagues from Auch.]

[A.D. 1456.]

CHAP. LXIV.

THE KING OF FRANCE IS DISCONTENTED WITH THE DAUPHIN, FOR GOING TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY WITHOUT HIS CONSENT.--POPE CALIXTUS MAKES REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE CROISADE AGAINST THE TURKS.

In the year 1456, the king of France, learning that his eldest son had left Dauphiny, and gone to the territories of the duke of Burgundy to consult with him, was very much displeased that he should have done this without previously informing him thereof. And because he doubted his being led away by bad advice, and acting imprudently, he determined to take possession of Dauphiny, to avoid the inconveniences that might ensue, and also to reduce him to that obedience a son owes a father.

In consequence, he marched a powerful army into Dauphiny, and took full possession of all its rents and revenues, together with the castles and strong holds, to prevent his son from receiving any advantages from them, and to induce him the more speedily to return. The king sent also men at arms to guard the passages at Pontoise, Compiègne, in Brie, and other parts, and forbade the great towns to admit the dauphin or any of his partisans, unless they should be forced thereto. He did all this, from his opinion how headstrong and obstinate the dauphin was: as a convincing proof of which, when he left the king, he had asked leave to be absent only four months, and had remained nearly ten years, to the great vexation of his father.

About this time, pope Calixtus III. made certain regulations respecting a croisade, and issued indulgences to all who should carry into execution the contents of the bulls that had been published by him, and had been promulgated by different preachers throughout Christendom.

Certain proposals were now sent by the duke of Burgundy to the king of France respecting the dauphin, and were laid before him by the duke's ambassadors.

In this season, the Hungarians made a great destruction of the infidels in Hungary, by the counsel of sir John Capestrian[188], an ancient disciple of St Bernard, in conjunction with the aid of a wise and valiant knight called sir Guillaume Blanc[189]. By their means, the Turks, who were very numerous in Belgrade, were driven out of that city, and more than fifteen thousand were slain: indeed, none escaped being put to death. On the morrow, great armies of Turks advanced, and were valiantly fought with by the Christians, who again gained the victory, and slew one hundred thousand Turks between sunrise and sunset.

The soldan of Persia[190], commander in chief of the Turks, was there in person; and seeing the discomfiture of his army, he fled with a few of his men to a city called Boibe[191], and thence into Greece. The chevalier Blanc pursued him, and won the city of Boibe, putting to death two thousand Turks; and by the aid of God, following up their success, the Christians won very many towns and strong castles, namely, the city of Bastiliance, Ulgaria, Fastigia, Emere, and a very handsome town called Angasta[192]: in the latter, fifteen thousand Turks were destroyed. The Christians lost, at this last attack, five thousand men, whom may God receive in paradise! 'Quia dignus operarius mercede sua.'

The Christians afterwards gained St Vincent[193], and the town and castle of Valence[194]; and as they proceeded, the inhabitants were converted to the Christian faith. They continued successful, and won the town and castle of Flagis and Gaunaldalo, and Porrus, Stavengier and Chastouen[195], where four thousand Turks were put to death, with the loss of one hundred Christians, whose souls may God pardon! The Christians now entered Greece with a large army, and conquered a great city called Glotuase[196], where they slew ten thousand infidels.

They then left behind them all walled towns, and advanced to the province of Culdée[197], which is near to Constantinople, having gained possession of the greater part of the lands in Greece, and to the westward of it, and also of the cities of Latheris and Glamus[198], with many other castles and towns.

The Turks that had been slain in these different battles were estimated at two hundred thousand, with the loss of eight score cities and walled towns, four hundred castles, great and small. These victories have been thus detailed for insertion in the chronicles of the times, and asserted for truth on the holy evangelists, on the oath of their priesthood, by the following venerable persons, namely, sir John Valate, priest, sir Patrick Tournaille, priest also, and Andrew Valate, a layman,--all three inhabiting the diocese of Umblanum in Dacia.

The chevalier Blanc was grievously wounded by a lance in the last battle, so that he was constrained to retire into the city of Angasta, where he died. God have mercy on his soul! he being well deserving thereof. In like manner was the Turk severely wounded, and forced to withdraw to Constantinople, where he remained for a long time very ill.

These three persons having been interrogated by the chronicler of France on their oaths, how they knew what they had told to be true, deposed, that they had been personally present in arms at all these battles and sieges, and had fought at them, and, in consideration of the very great perils they had escaped from, had vowed to make pilgrimages to the shrine of St Denis, and to other places, which they intended to fulfil before they returned to their own country. They appeared to be well affected to the Christian faith. They said, that the Turk, when recovered, left Constantinople for Asia.

On Saturday, the 4th day of December in this year, and about three hours before day, such an earthquake happened at Naples, in Puglia, and Calabria, as the oldest persons did not remember to have seen, from which great and numberless evils ensued,--a few of which shall be mentioned. In the first place, the small city of Ariano[199], in the kingdom of Naples, was so completely destroyed that eight thousand persons perished. Another city called Padula[200] was destroyed, with its three thousand inhabitants, for not one escaped. Item, another town, called Bouchery[201], was overwhelmed,--and no one who had not seen these places before this unfortunate event would have supposed they could have existed, so thoroughly changed was the whole face of the country.

One half of the town of Troia[202] was thrown down, and many people perished. The greater part of the castle of Canosa[203] fell, with some of the town. The cities of Ascoli[204] and Santa Agatha[205] shared the same fate, as did the castle of Arpi[206] and several others.

In the country of Molise[207], the cities of Campo Basso[208], Laurentino[209], the castle of St Julian[210], Macona[211], the castles of St Lou[212], Castine[213], and La Rippe[214], were swallowed up by the earthquake, and many lands near to Altavilla[215], when upwards of twenty-eight thousand persons perished. The city of Naples suffered some damage, but more in the churches than in the other buildings. The earthquake lasted for three days, and in some places more, namely, from the 4th of the month until the 7th inclusive; when, as reported by men of truth, more than one hundred thousand persons of both sexes were destroyed.

This earthquake ruined in one night the castles of Sanguine[216], Presole[217], and la Roche Capoa[218], where neither walls nor houses were left standing. One half of the city of Sermone[219] and the castle of Oliveto[220] were destroyed: in which last five hundred persons were killed, and in the castle of Pesolo[221] six hundred. In like manner, when the castle of Thoco[222] was overthrown, its lord and all within perished. This accident ruined also part of the port of Ancona, and such damages were done to the buildings of Capua[223], Aversa[224], and Benevento[225], and to the castle of Lusano[226], as would have been incredible but to those who saw it.

The account of this unfortunate disaster was sent in writing to the marquis of Ferrara by his brother Hercules[227], then in the kingdom of Naples with the king of Arragon, and written at Rougia[228], the 7th day of December, in the year 1456.

On the first day of this same year, while the king of France was at St Prier, near to Lyon, Otho Castellan, a Florentine and treasurer of the king's household, was arrested on the bridge at Lyon by the provost of the palace, from informations the king had received that the said Otho had formed certain devices prejudicial to his personal safety. He had made certain images that, by diabolical arts, would assure him the government of the king, and cause him to do whatever the said Otho should please. Guillaume Gouffier was his accomplice, and was long detained in prison to obtain from him the truth of these charges. Otho was carried prisoner before the parliament of Tholouse, where he had long acted as the king's treasurer; and Gouffier was sent to Tours. In the ensuing year, Otho was condemned by the chancellor to banishment and confiscation of his effects; but the king pardoned him, so that he only lost the places he had held, and was banished to twenty leagues distant from wherever the king should be, and was compelled to pay a fine of a thousand crowns for the expenses of his suit. But Otho was then accused of sodomy, and brought back to Tours for trial, and thence sent to Paris, as it was said that he had appealed to the parliament; but I cannot say how this matter ended, for he was transported from one prison to another, so that I am ignorant of the conclusion.

This was a great year of rain. The duke and duchess of Savoy came this year to the king of France and the prince of Piedmont, eldest son to the duke, was married to Yolande, daughter to the king of France.

An embassy now arrived in France from Spain, to confirm the alliances between the two kingdoms; and at the same time, the prince of Navarre came to demand from the king the duchy of Nemours,--and also the cardinal of Avignon from Brittany, on his return from canonising St Vincent at Vannes. Shortly after, the cardinal waited on the king, to require a tenth from the clergy of his realm, to carry on the war, as he said, against the Turks.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 188: Sir John Capestrian. John Capistrian, a celebrated franciscan monk. Nicholas V. made him apostolic commissary in Hungary. He was greatly successful in assembling the army, which, under the command of the great Huniades, raised the siege of Belgrade in 1456. He died three months after. He was canonised, in 1690, by Alexander VIII.--See Aikin's General Biography, Moreri, &c.]

[Footnote 189: Sir Guillaume Blanc. I should suppose this must be meant for John Corvin Huniades,--the greatest captain of the age, and the bitterest enemy of the Turks. See more of him in the biographical works above mentioned.]

[Footnote 190: The soldan of Persia. A mistake. It was Mohammed II. who was wounded at this battle.]

[Footnote 191: Boibe. Q.]

[Footnote 192: Bastiliance, Ulgaria, Fastigia, Emere, Angasta. Q.]

[Footnote 193: St Vincent. Q.]

[Footnote 194: Valence. Q.]

[Footnote 195: Flagis, Gaunaldalo, Porrus, Stavengier, Chastouen. Q.]

[Footnote 196: Glotuase. Q.]

[Footnote 197: Culdée. Q.]

[Footnote 198: Latheris, Glamus. Q.]

[Footnote 199: Ariano,--in the Principato Ultra of Naples. It never recovered the desolation caused by an earthquake 1456. Another more destructive happened in 1732.----_Crutwell's Gazetteer._]

[Footnote 200: Padula,--a town of Naples, in the Principato Citra.]

[Footnote 201: Bouchery. Q. Bocchianico? a town of Naples in Abruzzo Citra.]

[Footnote 202: Troia,--a town of Naples in the Capitinata.]

[Footnote 203: Canosa,--a town in the country of Bari. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1694.]

[Footnote 204: Ascoli,--in the Capitinata.]

[Footnote 205: Santa Agatha,--in the Principato Ultra.]

[Footnote 206: Arpi,--in the Capitinata.]

[Footnote 207: Molise,--a country of Naples.]

[Footnote 208: Campo Basso is the capital.]

[Footnote 209: Laurentino. Q.]

[Footnote 210: St Julian. St Guiliano in Molise.]

[Footnote 211: Macona. Q. Ancona?]

[Footnote 212: St Lou. St Lotiero in the Principato Ultra.]

[Footnote 213: Castine,--Castigluini, Principato Ultra.]

[Footnote 214: La Rippe. Ripa Limasara in Molise.]

[Footnote 215: Altavilla,--in the Principato Citra, 17 miles from Salerno.]

[Footnote 216: Sanguine. Q.]

[Footnote 217: Presole. Q. Presciano. Principato Citra.]

[Footnote 218: La Roche de Capoa. Q. Rocca de Minolfa. Molise.]

[Footnote 219: Sermone. Q.]

[Footnote 220: Oliveto. Q.]

[Footnote 221: Pesolo. Pesol_a_ is a lake in the Basilicata.]

[Footnote 222: Thoco. Q.]

[Footnote 223: Capua,--fifteen miles from Naples.]

[Footnote 224: Aversa,--ten miles north from Naples.]

[Footnote 225: Benevento,--in the Principato Ultra.]

[Footnote 226: Lusano. Q.]

[Footnote 227: Borso d'Este, marquis of Ferrara, was succeeded by his legitimate brother Hercules d'Este.]

[Footnote 228: Rougia. Q. Reggio? a sea-port of Naples in Calabria Ultra.]

CHAP. LXV.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, WITH A LARGE ARMY, ESCORTS HIS BASTARD SON INTO HOLLAND, AND PUTS HIM IN PEACEABLE POSSESSION OF THE BISHOPRICK OF UTRECHT.--HE BESIEGES DEVENTER[229], AND FORCES ITS INHABITANTS TO OBEY THE NEW BISHOP, WHICH THEY HAD BEFORE REFUSED.

When duke Philip saw that he could not prevail by love and entreaties to make his son be accepted for bishop by the chapter of Utrecht, he sent to Picardy and Hainault for a body of troops, and he was soon joined by full thirteen thousand combatants. The chapter now changed their tone, and admitted his son as their bishop, under certain conditions, namely, that the brother of the lord de Brederode, who had been elected, should receive for his life an annual pension, from the bishoprick of Utrecht, of four thousand francs, from the bishoprick of Therouenne two thousand francs,--and, for the expenses he had been put to, fifty thousand lyons once paid. He was also to be made first counsellor to the duke in the affairs of Holland, with a salary of a thousand florins of the Rhine. In consideration of this arrangement, he resigned the bishoprick, which was commonly said to be worth yearly fifty thousand mailles of the Rhine.

When this had been settled, duke Philip entered Utrecht, with his company on the 5th of August, and was most honourably received. On the morrow, his son entered in arms, grandly accompanied; and on the Sunday following, he said mass in the cathedral.

Soon after, the duke left Utrecht, with his whole army, to besiege a considerable town in the diocese, called Deventer, because it had refused to acknowledge the new bishop. Those of the town sallied out against him; and a smart skirmish ensued, in which many were killed on both sides. In the end, they were repulsed and driven back into the town; and on the fourth day, a strong bulwark they had erected in front of the gate was so much battered with cannon that those within, foreseeing it must be taken, set in on fire, and burnt it during the night. The siege, however, lasted until the end of September, when the townsmen sent offers to the duke to obey the bishop, as the other towns within his diocese had done.

While this treaty was carrying on, the duke of Gueldres, who had married the niece of duke Philip, by whom he had a fair son about sixteen years of age, after having promised his aid to the duke of Burgundy, quitted his country, and abandoned his places,--but nevertheless made an hasty alliance with the Frizelanders, when they assembled a great army with the intent of overthrowing duke Philip.

The duke of Burgundy would have remained in perfect ignorance of this treachery, had not his niece been told of the wicked designs of her husband against her uncle; and instantly quitting the place she was in with her son, attended by her servants, she hastened to the duke, then besieging Deventer, and told him of the plots against him. This caused the duke to lose no time in closing with the offers of those in Deventer, so that the treaty was immediately concluded, and hostages were given for its performance. The duke raised the siege the 27th day of September, and returned to Utrecht, and thence to the Hague, where he disbanded his army, leaving his son David in peaceable possession of the bishoprick of Utrecht.

He was under great obligations to his niece for the information she had given him; for if he had remained two days longer at the siege, he would have been attacked by the duke of Gueldres and the Frizelanders before he knew any thing of their intentions, and it would probably have been unfortunate to him by reason of his being totally unprepared to receive them.

The duke of Gueldres was much reproached for this conduct, considering that he had married the duke of Burgundy's niece, and that the good duke had sent their daughter to marry the king of Scotland, at his own expense, and had done many and very great kindnesses to the duke of Gueldres.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 229: Deventer,--on the Issel, the capital of Overissel.]

CHAP. LXVI.

THE DUKE OF ALENÇON IS ARRESTED AND THROWN INTO PRISON.--THE TURKS ARE MIRACULOUSLY DEFEATED IN HUNGARY.--OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS YEAR OF MCCCCLVI.

Soon after the feast of Pentecost, the duke of Alençon was arrested in Paris, by orders from the king and the count de Dunois, bastard of Orleans, and sent to Melun. From Melun he was carried before the king, and convicted, as it was said, of having intrigued with the English to accomplish a marriage between his eldest son and the eldest daughter of the duke of York, unknown to the king, and of having engaged to deliver up to the English his strong places, to the prejudice of the king, and particularly the duchy of Normandy. Having confessed his guilt, he was closely confined until after the death of king Charles. When he was arrested, it was currently reported that the duke of Burgundy was implicated in these intrigues of the duke of Alençon with the English, which so much displeased the king that he had it proclaimed throughout the realm, that no one, under pain of death, should make such charges against his good brother of Burgundy, nor any way speak disrespectfully of his honour.

In the month of June in this year, a comet with a prodigious tail appeared in the west, having its tail pointed toward England: it continued visible for three months. The new wines of this season were so sour that the old ones were in greater request for their superior goodness and flavour.

In this year also, the great emperor of the Turks, called Morbesan[230], besieged the strong town and castle of Belgrade, situated on the confines of Hungary. He was upwards of four months and a half before it, which vexed him so much that he swore, in the presence of his army, to win it by force or perish in the attempt. There were some in the turkish army who gave information of this to those in the town, that they might be prepared; and Ovidianus[231], one of the noblest and most powerful princes of Hungary, hearing also of this intention, instantly assembled nine hundred cavalry and forty thousand infantry of all sorts, and entered the town by the Danube, without the Turk knowing any thing thereof,--for he had only besieged the place on the land side, and had neglected to post any guards on that great river the Danube.

Ovidianus entered the town on the eve of Magdalen-day, which was the day fixed on by the Turk to storm the place; and so eager was he to fulfil his vow that he ordered one third of his army to commence the attack at midnight, which was done with much courage,--but the besieged made so gallant a defence that they were repulsed. The attack lasted until eight o'clock in the morning, when another division, equal in numbers to the first, advanced to renew the combat, but they also were forced to retreat.

The emperor of the Turks now advanced in person, accompanied by the boldest of his captains, and continued the combat with such obstinacy and courage that, from its commencement, at four in the afternoon, it lasted until the middle of the following day, which made twenty hours in the whole: a terrible fatigue to those in the town thus to support three renewed attacks without any respite or repose. They were at length so worn down that they could not longer help each other, and the Turks were beginning to enter the town in large bodies.

Among the Christians in this town was a very devout cordelier friar, called John Capistran, who, seeing the Turks enter the breach, seized a crucifix, and, ascending the highest part of the castle, cried aloud, 'O Deus meus, Deus meus! O altissime Pater! veni in adjutorium, veni et libera populum quem redemisti pretioso sanguine tuo. Veni noli tardare. Deus meus ubi sunt misericordiæ tuæ antiquæ, veni ne Turci et increduli dicant ubi est Deus eorum.' The cordelier, in uttering these words, wept bitterly; and when the Christians heard them, they felt quite refreshed, and as if they were new men, without feeling any fatigue, and instantly fell on the Turks who were entering the town with such courage that they slew all they met, and put the rest to flight. They pursued them upwards of eight leagues, killing or wounding all they overtook, so that more than one hundred thousand were slain in the whole. They gained all the artillery of the Turks, and such quantities of riches, in tents, money, and effects, as it would seem marvellous to relate.

Among other things won were eleven large bombards, six of which were of prodigious length, and of a great bore, and more than two hundred smaller bombards and cannons. When news of this important victory was carried to the pope then reigning, he ordered processions and thanksgivings to be made in all the churches of Christendom, to render thanks to God for this great victory,--and, among other things, to ring the Ave Maria between two and three o'clock on the anniversary of the day this miracle happened, as it is usual to ring it every evening in all churches; and this manner of ringing it after dinner is continued in several churches in France.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 230: Morbesan. Mohammed II. surnamed the Victorious.]

[Footnote 231: Ovidianus. Probably Huniades,--John Corvin.]

CHAP. LXVII.

THE DAUPHIN OF FRANCE TAKES REFUGE WITH DUKE PHILIP OF BURGUNDY.--OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS YEAR.

Louis de Valois, eldest son to the king of France, and dauphin of Vienne, had resided for ten or twelve years in Dauphiny, because the king was displeased with him. Some said, this was owing to his ill treatment of his subjects in Dauphiny, more particularly the bishops and churchmen, whose revenues he seized against their wills, for the support of his state: others, however, excused him for so doing, because his father had stopped the allowance he had formerly given him.

It was also reported, that the king's anger arose from the death of the fair Agnes being caused by poison, of which the dauphin was suspected, as he had frequently blamed and murmured against his father for his attachment to her. In truth, Agnes Sorel was the handsomest woman of her age, and in more favour with the king than the queen: the great lords also paid more court to her than to the queen, who was a very good and honourable lady, which had vexed the dauphin much,--and he had hastened her death.

However, after the decease of the fair Agnes, the damsel de Villequier, her niece, succeeded her in the affections of the king, who, in his latter days, would have about him the finest and handsomest women of his realm.

Whatever may have been the real cause of the quarrel between the king and the dauphin, the king ordered sir Anthony de Chabannes count de Dammartin, to proceed into Dauphiny with a sufficient body of men at arms to arrest the dauphin and bring him to his presence by force or otherwise; but the dauphin fortunately escaped,--for it was then commonly believed that, had he been arrested, the king would have treated him very harshly, and would have made king his younger son Charles.

The dauphin having had intimation of the orders to arrest him, gave public notice for a hunting party on the morrow, and ordered his dinner to be prepared at the place of rendezvous. Intelligence of this was carried to the count de Dammartin, who posted ambushes to seize the dauphin the moment he should arrive at the place; but, as he suspected their machinations, early on the morrow, when it was thought he was gone to the hunt he with six of his most confidential attendants, mounted their fleetest horses, and set off, as fast as they could travel, for Burgundy, and never stopped until they arrived at St Claude, a town in Burgundy. It was well for them that they made this haste, or they would have been overtaken by the count de Dammartin, who followed very closely at their heels.

Shortly after the dauphin's arrival at St Claude, he went to the prince of Orange at Nasere[232], who received him most honourably: and on hearing him declare that he feared he should be pursued, and that he was desirous of going to the duke of Burgundy, the prince sent off in haste for the marshal of Burgundy, who came to him with a handsome escort of men at arms,--and they instantly departed for Brabant.

This conduct was truly extraordinary,--for the prince of Orange and the duke of Burgundy were the two men in the world whom the dauphin hated the most, for having several times repulsed, with loss, his own and the king's men, whenever they made any excursions on the duke's territories, which he was determined to preserve from inroads; but necessity, which owns no law, forced him to seek an asylum among those he hated, and to make use of them in his time of need.

The marshal of Burgundy conducted him with such prudence through the territories of the duke of Burgundy that he arrived safely at Louvain, whence he went to Brussels, and thence he sent one of his attendants with information to the duke, at that time in Holland, of his arrival. The good duke, anxious to receive and entertain him as the eldest son of his sovereign lord, hastened as much as possible the treaty of Deventer, that he might return to Brabant.

Immediately on his arrival at Brussels, he went to the dauphin, and paid him every respect in honour to the king, and to himself personally,--and no prince knew better how to do these honours. He instantly assigned him three thousand francs monthly to maintain his estate, and begged of him to make choice of what place he should please for his residence, and he would give orders for its being immediately delivered up to him. The dauphin asked for Geneppe[233], a castle in Brabant, pleasantly situated, and a handsome residence, where he lived for a long time.

In the course of this year, sir Thibault de Luxembourg, lord of Fiennes, brother to the count of St Pol, and widower of the daughter of the lord of Antoing, by whom he had several children, became a monk of the order of Cistercians, notwithstanding that in his youth he had been a very free liver.

Toward the end of October, soon after the arrival of the dauphin in Brabant, the duke of Burgundy sent a handsome embassy to the king of France, the chief of which was the lord de Chimay high bailiff of Hainault, to satisfy him as to his son's coming to his territories, and to say that he would show him every possible honour in his power. The ambassadors waited long for an audience; and while they were thus delayed, the king of France sent a body of men at arms to Compiègne and Soissons, two towns on the frontiers of the duke of Burgundy's possessions. The duke, hearing of this, suspected that the king intended to make war on him, as indeed did many others, and issued a summons throughout Picardy, Flanders, and Hainault, for all men capable of bearing arms to be ready in his defence in case the king should attack him.

About Christmas in this year, Charles duke of Bourbon departed this life, and was succeeded by his eldest son, who, by his mother, was nephew to the duke of Burgundy.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 232: Nasere. Q. Nazey? a village near Besançon.]

[Footnote 233: Geneppe,--on the Dyle, six leagues from Brussels. Louis XI. resided here, when dauphin, with the dauphiness, upwards of five years.]

CHAP. LXVIII.

A QUARREL TAKES PLACE BETWEEN DUKE PHILIP OF BURGUNDY AND HIS SON THE COUNT OF CHAROLOIS, BUT IS APPEASED BY THE DAUPHIN.--THE COUNTESS OF CHAROLOIS IS BROUGHT TO BED OF A DAUGHTER.--OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN DIVERS PARTS.

On the 17th of January, of this same year, while the duke of Burgundy resided at Brussels, a dispute arose between the lord de Quievrain and the lord d'Aymeries, both chamberlains to the count de Charolois, each of whom, during the absence of the lord d'Auxy his first chamberlain, would take the precedency of the other. The count was desirous that the lord d'Aymeries should have the preference,--which coming to the knowledge of the duke, he sent for his son, and commanded him to prefer the lord de Quievrain. The count replied, that he would do no such thing, and that the house of Croy should not govern him, as he had suffered them to do in regard to himself.

The duke was so exceedingly irritated at this answer of his son that he would have struck him, and commanded him to quit his territories instantly. The count, therefore, departed, much angered and grieved. When night came, the duke, equally troubled, called for a horse, and, having mounted it, rode alone into the fields, although it was then raining very hard. He soon after entered a forest, and lost his road, so that he knew not whither to direct his horse: luckily he came to the house of a poor man, who received him, and he lay there that night. On the morrow, at the earliest dawn, he made his host conduct him strait to Geneppe,--and on his departure gave him eight florins of the Rhine.

The attendants of the duke sought him during the night, so that on the morrow he was grandly accompanied, and thus returned to Brussels. He shortly after pardoned his son, at the request and entreaties of the principal lords of his household, and especially at the entreaties of the dauphin; but he banished from his territories two of the count's attendants, because he suspected them of having advised his son to act in the manner he had done, respecting the two chamberlains.

It happened, that not long after, as the dauphin and the count de Charolois were hunting in a forest, toward evening they separated, and the dauphin, with only two attendants, lost his way in the thickest part of the forest. The count, imagining that he was returned to Brussels, came home without him. The duke, seeing him return without the dauphin, was much angered, and ordered him to remount, and sent him, with many others, with torches and lights, charging them withal to seek diligently and find him. They made such haste that they met him full eight leagues from Brussels under the guidance of a peasant, to whom he had given a golden crown: by this means they had so soon found him, and were much rejoiced thereat,--as was the duke, when he saw him arrive in safety.

On the 13th of February, in this year, the countess of Charolois was brought to bed of a daughter in the town of Brussels. At her christening, the dauphin, the duchess of Burgundy, and the lady of Ravestein were sponsors. The dauphin named her Mary, in honour of the queen his mother, who bore that name. Great feasts took place on this occasion throughout the duke's territories,--and in the great towns there were illuminations, and thanksgivings were offered up to God.

A short time after this event, the duke of Burgundy sent again the same embassy, namely, the lord de Chimay and sir Simon de Lalain, to assure the king of France, that the dauphin had come to him of his own accord, and to find means of satisfying the king on this subject.

About this time died the patriarch of Antioch, brother to the chancellor of France, Juvenel des Ursins, to the archbishop of Rheims, and to another knight at arms, who were four brothers much in the good graces of the king of France.

[A.D. 1457.]

CHAP. LXIX.

AN EMBASSY FROM THE KING OF HUNGARY ARRIVES AT TOURS, AND IS HONOURABLY RECEIVED BY THE KING OF FRANCE.--THE KING OF HUNGARY DIES.--THE FRENCH TAKE THE SEAPORT OF SANDWICH BY STORM.

In the year 1457, the king of France, anxious to attack his enemies, more particularly the Saracens and other unbelievers in the catholic faith, made an alliance with the potent king of Hungary, who was sovereign of three kingdoms, namely, Hungary, Poland, and Bohemia. In consequence of this alliance, the king of Hungary was to espouse the princess Magdalen, the king of France's daughter; and very many great barons, knights, and lords of the three kingdoms were sent as ambassadors to France to be present at the betrothing: even churchmen were of this embassy, such as the archbishop of Cologne and the bishop of Passau,--to the amount, in all, of six hundred horse.

When they arrived at Tours in their various dresses, the king was at Montils le Tours, a place hard by,--but the queen and princess were in Tours. The ambassadors presented to the queen a rich robe of cloth of gold, embroidered with pearls and jewels, and another, equally sumptuous, to the princess, together with a splendid waggon hung on springs[234]. Many of the principal lords of the king's household went about a league from Tours to meet them.

They were handsomely received by the king and his court, and great entertainments were made for them, especially by the count de Foix, who gave a grand feast on Thursday before Christmas, in the abbey of St Julian at Tours, where all the princes and lords of the court were present. The tables were served, in the utmost abundance, with all sorts of delicacies, such as pheasants, partridges, bustards, cranes, wild geese, rabbits without number, fat capons, six score quarts of hypocras, as well white as red, removes,--morrice dances of children dressed as savages issuing from a rock, singers, trumpets, clarions, and various devices,--insomuch that this dinner cost eighteen hundred crowns, besides the rich presents to the guests.

These feasts were continued to the ambassadors waiting for the betrothing of the princess to the king of Hungary, by procuration, soon after Christmas. But it has been truly said, that often man proposes, and God disposes; for on the morrow of Christmas-day, the melancholy news of the king of Hungary's death was brought to the king of France, which caused great sorrow to him and his whole court.

The king ordered a general mourning, and a grand funeral service to be performed, in honour of the potent king of Hungary, in the metropolitan church of St Gratien in Tours, with ringing of bells, illuminations of wax tapers in the greatest profusion, befitting the obsequies of so noble a prince.

The hungarian ambassadors took their leave of the king of France on the morrow after new-year's-day[235], and departed for their own country, taking their road through Paris, where they were grandly received,--and all the nobility then in the town went out to meet them as far as the windmill beyond the gate of St James. They had people appointed, however cold the weather was, to lie upon their carriages, which were chained up with great chains. This was a novel sight,--and the chains were fastened with a lock, the key of which one of their governors carried with him when he went to sleep. A grand funeral service was performed in the church of Nôtre Dame, with a great display of torches and wax lights.

During the stay of the Hungarians in Paris, the frost was so intense that they could not walk or ride by reason of the slipperiness of the streets, but went about in a traineau, made of wood, square and without wheels, wherever business or pleasure led them. They visited the noble and royal church of St Denis, and were received at the gate of the church by the convent in their copes, but the abbot was absent. They were presented to kiss a cross of gold set with precious stones, that contained within it a part of the true cross, and they were besprinkled with holy water and incense: in short, their reception was similar to that which would have been given to the late king of Hungary, had he been there in person. The treasures and sacred vestments of the church were displayed to them,--and they saw the bodies of the saints that had been interred in separate chapels, and the sepultures of the kings and queens of France; all of which gave them much pleasure, for they had for interpreter one of the king's pursuivants, who understood their language, and had been ordered by the king to attend on them. After their return from St Denis to Paris, they departed for Hungary.

On the 21st day of August, sir Pierre de Brézé, lord of Varenne and count de Maulévrier, accompanied by Robert de Flocques, bailiff of Evreux, with many other lords, men at arms and archers, sailed from Honfleur, to the number of four thousand combatants. And on the 25th of the said month, the lords de la Fosse and de l'Eure put to sea, and sailed for several places without meeting any adventures, nor being able to land from the roughness of the weather.

On the following Sunday, the 28th of the month, from sixteen to eighteen hundred combatants made a descent, two leagues from Sandwich in England, about six o'clock in the morning, and formed themselves into three battalions. They marched on foot two long leagues through very bad roads, until they came to a bulwark that had been lately repaired, the ditches of which were full of water. This bulwark had two towers full of archers, who were sharply attacked, and many wounded on each side. Several of the English were killed,--and the bulwark was won by storm, the English having retreated into the town.

The bailiff of Evreux, who commanded the rear-guard, remained at his post during this attack, and, when the bulwark was won, kept his position, as it had been ordered. A division came by sea before Sandwich, to the great joy of their companions on foot, seeing their handsome appearance, while the English were as much cast down. In this division was a guidon of the count de Dunois, borne by Galiot de Genouillac.

There were in the port of Sandwich a large carrack and three ships of war, into which many English had retreated, and would have continued to do much mischief to the French, if the grand seneschal of Normandy had not sent them orders to cease shooting or he would burn their vessels. It was then agreed, that they should retire in safety from these vessels, provided they ceased from hostilities, which was fully complied with.

This same day the seneschal had it proclaimed through his army, that no one, under pain of death, should touch the effects of the churches, or violate the honour of any woman, or set any house on fire, or kill any one in cold blood: all of which commands were most honourably observed.

The infantry now entered the town by the gates, and the division by sea the harbour,--when the English gave them full employment, for they attacked them in every square when they rallied after being defeated in another place. However, the French, but with great difficulty, drove them out of the town, and displayed their banners from the gates, under which the French formed themselves in battle-array: indeed, they had need so to do, for the English were increasing in strength from all the adjacent parts. They had heard that the French intended to attack Sandwich, but, from pride, they said they would not believe it until they should see them.

The English, thus increased, kept up the skirmishes before the gates for six hours without intermission, when many were killed and wounded on each side. Thirty new knights were created on this occasion, namely, Robert de Flocques, called Flocquet, bailiff of Evreux,--Thibault de Termes, bailiff of Chartres,--John Charbonnel, lord of Chevreuses, and others, who behaved very valiantly.

When it was about five o'clock in the afternoon, the French, perceiving no end to skirmishing from the numbers of the enemy constantly increasing, and that their own men were greatly fatigued from their sufferings at sea, as the weather had been against them, determined on making a retreat; for they thought they should be unable to continue the engagement during the night, considering that they had many killed and wounded, that their men had little or no refreshments during the whole day, and that the English were hourly receiving reinforcements. In this retreat, the French suffered no other loss than that of a boat, in which were twelve men at arms, that sunk, and nine of them were drowned: it was a pity, for they had that day well done their duty. May God grant them his pardon, and show mercy to all the others who fell!

If it had not been for the great quantity of wine in Sandwich, of which many archers took more than was necessary, the seneschal would have tarried there with his whole company that night. They, however, carried off much wealth, and numbers of vessels, of different sizes, that were in the harbour: in the number were three large ships of war, which cast anchor in the road, two leagues from Sandwich, and remained there until the Wednesday following: the English all the time were drawn up in battle-array, about a cannon-shot distant one division from another. The seneschal departed with his fleet on the Thursday, with numbers of prisoners and much wealth. On his arrival at Honfleur, the prisoners were ransomed, and the plunder divided.

This was a year of great scarcity in France, and of great mortality in other places.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 234: I have said 'a waggon hung on springs,' as it is in the original _chariot branlant_.]

[Footnote 235: The commencement of the year seems _now_ to take place seven days after Christmas.]

CHAP. LXX.