Chapter XVI: Book THE THIRD (1)

CH. I.—How the King took an occasion of making a new War upon the Duke of Burgundy; and of his sending as far as Ghent to summon him to appear, by a Serjeant of the Parliament.—1470.

In the year 1470, the king, having a fair opportunity, as he thought, resolved to be revenged of the Duke of Burgundy, and secretly endeavoured to persuade the towns upon the River Somme, as Amiens, St. Quentin, and Abbeville, to forsake the duke, and admit some of his troops into their garrisons; for it is always the custom of great princes (especially if they be wise), to seek out some fair pretence or other to cover their designs. In order to your better understanding the intrigues and artifices of the French court in this kind of transactions, I will give a relation of the whole management of this affair; for the king and duke were both of them deceived, and a very bloody and cruel war commenced upon it, which lasted thirteen or fourteen years. The king indeed had a great desire to excite those towns to rebel, and set up his standard, upon pretence that the Duke of Burgundy had extended the bounds of his dominions farther than the treaty would bear. Upon this account several envoys and ambassadors were sent from one court to the other, backward and forward, who passed and repassed through these towns, and proposed and drove on their several bargains very securely, there being no garrisons in these towns; for the whole kingdom of France, as well on that side towards the Duke of Burgundy’s dominions, as on the other towards the Duke of Bretagne’s, was in perfect peace, and the Duke of Guienne was to all appearance in great friendship with the king. However, the king had no design to commence a war purely to repossess himself of one or two of those towns, and no more; but his intention was to raise a universal rebellion in the Duke of Burgundy’s dominions, hoping, by that means, to make himself master of all his country.

Many persons, to ingratiate themselves with the king, undertook the management of these secret negotiations, and reported them much forwarder than he really found them; one promised him one town, and another another town, and that they had bargained for them all; but had the king’s designs reached no farther than the events which succeeded (though indeed he had cause to complain of his treatment at Peronne), he would not have violated the peace, nor involved himself in a new war; for he had published the peace at Paris[273] three months after his return into his kingdom; and he began his enterprise not without some fear and caution; but the violent desires he had to it, at last prevailed over his timorousness, and he was spurred on to it by some of his courtiers.

The Count of St. Paul, a very wise man, and Constable of France, with several of the Duke of Guienne’s servants and others, earnestly desired a war between those two great princes, rather than peace, and that for two reasons:—The first was, that they were afraid their great revenues would be lessened, if the peace should continue; for the constable had 400 men-at-arms or lances, paid every muster, without any comptroller, and above 30,000 francs a-year, besides the salary of his office, and the profits of several good places which he had in his possession. The other was, because they had observed and talked among themselves, that the nature of the king was such, that unless he was at war with some foreign prince, he would certainly find some quarrel or other at home with his servants, domestics, and officers; for his mind must always be working. Prompted by these specious arguments, they endeavoured to persuade the king to commence the war; and the constable promised to take St. Quentin whenever he pleased, for his lands lay near it; and he boasted much of his great intelligence in Brabant and Flanders, and that he could induce several of those towns to revolt against the Duke of Burgundy.

The Duke of Guienne being of the same opinion, all his principal governors offered the king their services, and promised him to bring along with them 400 or 500 men-at-arms, whom the Duke of Guienne kept constantly in pay; but their design was not as the king took it, but quite contrary, as you will see hereafter.

The king was always wont to proceed gravely and solemnly in all actions of importance, and therefore he convoked the three Estates at Tours in the months of March and April, 1470[274] (a thing which he had never done before[275], nor ever did afterwards), but he summoned only such persons as he thought would not oppose his designs. In this assembly he complained of several of the Duke of Burgundy’s enterprises and practices against his crown; he ordered the Count d’Eu to bring in a complaint against the duke for detaining from him St. Vallery and other towns belonging to the jurisdiction of Abbeville and the county of Ponthieu, without giving the Count d’Eu any reason or satisfaction; pretending only he did it by way of reprisals for a merchant-man of Flanders, which had been taken by a small man-of-war belonging to Eu; for which the Count d’Eu offered to make reparation. Besides, the Duke of Burgundy wished to oblige the Count d’Eu to do him homage, and swear fealty to him against all persons whatever; which he would never consent to do, it being against the honour and authority of the king. In this assembly there were present several lawyers, as well of the parliament as elsewhere; by all of whom it was concluded, according to the intention of the king, that a day should be appointed, and the Duke of Burgundy summoned to appear in person before the Parliament at Paris. The king knew very well his answer would be insolent, or that he would do something or other against the authority of that court, which would give him a more plausible pretence of declaring war against him.

The Duke of Burgundy received his summons in Ghent from the hands of one of the officers of the Parliament, as he was going to mass; he was much surprised, and highly offended at it, and ordered the officer to be taken into custody, where he remained several days, but at length he was dismissed.

You see the measures that were concerted for the invasion of the Duke of Burgundy’s territories; who, having intelligence of it, immediately enlisted great numbers of men, but at half-pay (as they called it), who were to be ready in arms at their houses upon the first summons. However, they were mustered constantly once a month, and received their pay.

In this posture affairs continued for three or four months; but the duke growing weary of the expense, disbanded his soldiers; for the king having sent several embassies to him, he began to think the storm was blown over, and retired into Holland. He had now no soldiers in pay, ready to be employed upon any occasion, nor garrisons in his frontier towns, which was greatly to his disadvantage, by reason of the designs on foot for bringing over Amiens, Abbeville, and St. Quentin to the king. While the Duke of Burgundy was in Holland, John, late Duke of Bourbon[276], gave him notice, that in a short time a war would break out against him, as well in Burgundy as Picardy, for the king had great intelligence both in those provinces and in his household. The Duke of Burgundy being wholly unprovided with troops (having disbanded his army, as I said before), was much alarmed at this news; upon which he passed immediately into Artois by sea, and went straight to Hesdin.[277] There he began to find out the secret intrigues of some of his officers, and the transactions which were being managed privately in the above-mentioned towns. At first he could not be persuaded of the truth of it, so that it was some time before he would be convinced of their treachery; but at length he sent for two of the principal citizens of Amiens, whom he suspected to have a hand in those secret negotiations; yet they excused themselves so handsomely, that he suffered them to depart. Not long after this some of the duke’s household revolted from him, and went over to the king, as the Bastard Baudouin[278], and several others[279]; which made him fearful lest more should follow their example. To prevent the worst, he issued a proclamation, requiring all his people to be immediately in arms; but few obeyed it, for winter was approaching, and the duke had not been many days arrived from Holland.

CH. II.—Of the Delivering up the Towns of St. Quentin and Amiens to the King; and upon what grounds the Constable and others fomented the War between the King and the Duke of Burgundy.—1471.

Two days after the Duke of Burgundy’s servants had deserted him (which was in December, 1470), the Constable of France entered St. Quentin[280], and forced the inhabitants to take an oath of fidelity to the king. Then the duke began to discern the ill posture of his affairs; for he had sent all his officers to raise men in his own countries. However, with those few he could get together, and about 400 or 500 horse, he marched to Dourlans[281], intending to secure Amiens, and keep it from revolting; but he had not been there many days before Amiens began to treat, for the king’s army being not far off, invested the town, but was refused entrance for some time, because there was still a small party left in it for the duke, who had sent his quarter-master thither, and if he had had a sufficient number of troops with him to have entered in person, that town had never been lost; but with the small brigade he had, he durst not venture himself in it, though he was much pressed by several of the townsmen.

As soon as those of the king’s party perceived he was afraid, and not strong enough to trust himself in the town, they put their plans in execution, and received a garrison of the king’s troops.[282] Those of Abbeville intended to have done the same, but the Lord des Cordes got in for the duke, and prevented their design. From Amiens to Dourlans is but five short leagues[283]; so that upon the news that Amiens had declared for the king, the Duke of Burgundy was forced to retire with great precipitation and alarm to Arras[284], fearing lest other places should do the like, and seeing himself surrounded by the friends and relations of the constable. Besides, the revolt of the Bastard Baudouin made him entertain a jealousy of the great Bastard of Burgundy, his natural brother. However, by degrees, troops came in to him; and the king now thought himself master of his designs, for he believed whatever the constable and the rest had told him of their intelligences all over the Duke of Burgundy’s dominions; and had it not been in hopes it would have proved true, that enterprise had never been undertaken.

But it is now high time for me to declare what it was that moved the constable, the Duke of Guienne, and their principal ministers (notwithstanding the many good offices, the supplies, and honourable dealing which the Duke of Guienne had received from the Duke of Burgundy), and what advantage they proposed to themselves by fomenting the war between these two great princes, who were then in peace in their several provinces. I have said something of it before, that it was to secure their pensions and employments, lest the king, having no wars abroad, should either take them away, or retrench them. But this was not the chief cause. The Duke of Guienne and his party had passionately desired a match between him and the sole daughter[285] and heiress of the Duke of Burgundy (for the Duke of Burgundy had no sons.) The Duke of Burgundy had been often solicited in this business, and always gave them hopes, but would never suffer it to be concluded, and indeed entertained propositions from other persons.[286] It is worth our observation to consider what artifices these persons used to arrive at their designs, and force the duke to give his daughter to the Duke of Guienne. As soon as those two towns had revolted, and the Duke of Burgundy was returned to Arras (where he was raising what forces he could), the Duke of Guienne sent an envoy privately to him, with only three lines under his own hand (folded as close as was possible, and made up in a piece of soft wax) containing these words, “Endeavour what you can to reconcile yourself to your subjects; for other things take no care; for you will be sure to find friends enough.”

The Duke of Burgundy, who at first was extremely alarmed, immediately despatched a messenger to the constable, to entreat him that he would not pursue his advantages, and do him so much mischief as he knew was in his power, since the war was begun without any proclamation. The constable was not a little pleased with this message, supposing he had the Duke of Burgundy now at his beck, and could manage him as he pleased: he returned him this answer, that he was sensible his affairs were in very great danger, and that he knew but one remedy left, which was to marry his daughter to the Duke of Guienne; for by so doing he would be abundantly supplied with men, and the Duke of Guienne and several other great lords would declare for him, and he himself would deliver up St. Quentin, and become of their party; but without the consummation of that marriage, nothing was to be expected; for the king was very powerful, had his affairs well managed, and held great intelligence in the whole territory of Burgundy. He also made use of several other expressions to augment the duke’s fears. I never knew any man come to a good end that took pleasure in frightening his master, or keeping him in subjection, or indeed any other great prince whom he had occasion to treat with, as you shall see afterwards in the example of the constable; for though the king was his master at that time, yet his children, and the greatest part of his estate, lay in the Duke of Burgundy’s dominions. However, it was always his method, by making them afraid of one another, to keep both of them in awe; which at last fell heavy upon himself. And as it is natural for all people to endeavour to free themselves from fear and subjection, and often hate those that keep them in that bondage, so none do it with more eagerness and revenge than princes, of whom I never knew any that did not pursue, with a mortal and implacable hatred, all who attempted to use them so.

After the delivery of the constable’s answer to the Duke of Burgundy, he found nothing of friendship was to be expected from him, but that he was the contriver and principal manager of the war; upon which he conceived a mortal hatred for him, which could never after be extinguished, especially when he reflected that his remonstrances of danger tended to no other end, but to constrain him to the marriage of his daughter. In the meantime the Duke of Burgundy had recollected himself in some measure, and assembled a considerable army. By the messages which were sent, first from the Duke of Guienne, and afterwards from the constable, it is plain the whole business was premeditated; for, not long after, the Duke of Bretagne wrote to him in the same, or more terrible language; and suffered the Lord of Lescut to put himself into the king’s service, with 100 of his Breton men-at-arms; so that it may be easily concluded this war was undertaken to force the Duke of Burgundy to consent to that match. The king was deceived when he was put upon it; and the story of their intelligence in the Duke of Burgundy’s country was utterly, or to a great extent, false. However, during this whole expedition, the king was served faithfully by the constable, who mortally hated the Duke of Burgundy, because he knew that the duke had no affection for him. The Duke of Guienne also served the king very honestly in this war, with a considerable body of troops, and the Duke of Burgundy’s affairs were in a dangerous condition; yet if, in the beginning of this rupture, the duke (as I said before) would have consented to the marriage of his daughter with the Duke of Guienne, all the above-mentioned great lords would have abandoned the king, and employed all their power and interest against him; but it is in vain for man to determine in these cases, for God Almighty ever executes as he pleases.

CH. III.—How the Duke of Burgundy took Picquigny; and the means he found out to make a Truce with the King for a Year, to the great Dissatisfaction of the Constable of France.—1471.

You have already been sufficiently informed of the motives of this war, and that the two princes were at first deluded, and invaded one another without understanding the true grounds of the quarrel; which is a convincing argument of the marvellous subtilty of those that managed that affair, and confirms the old saying, That one half of the world does not know what the other is doing. But all these passages which I have mentioned happened in a very little space of time; for, in less than a fortnight after the taking of Amiens, the Duke of Burgundy took the field near Arras (for he retired no farther), and marched afterwards towards the Somme, directly to Picquigny. As he was upon his march, a messenger (no better than a footman) came to him from the Duke of Bretagne, who told him from his master, that the king had acquainted him with much of his affairs, and among the rest, that he had considerable parties in several of his great towns, naming Antwerp, Bruges and Brussels: he gave him notice, also, that the king designed to besiege him wherever he should find him, though it were in Ghent itself. I am of opinion that this message was intended only in favour of the Duke of Guienne, and to further the match. But the Duke of Burgundy was highly displeased at this information, and told the messenger immediately, that his master was misinformed, and that it was only some bad courtiers about him who had filled his imagination with those jealousies and apprehensions, solely with a design to deprive him of the supplies which by his alliance he was obliged to send him; and that as to the town of Ghent, and the rest which he mentioned, he was misinformed, for they were too large to be besieged; that he should undeceive his master, letting him know how he found him attended, and that he was now marching to pass the River Somme, and was resolved to fight the King of France, if he endeavoured to interrupt the course of his arms. He desired him, therefore, that he would entreat the duke his master, from him, to declare himself immediately against the king, and that he would show himself no otherwise to the Duke of Burgundy than the Duke of Burgundy had expressed himself towards him in the treaty of Peronne.

The Duke of Burgundy arrived the next day with his army near a town (strongly seated upon the Somme) called Picquigny.[287] His design was to lay a bridge thereabouts over the river, and pass it with his army; but there being by accident at that time 400 or 500 archers, and some few of the nobility in the town, they resolved to march out, and dispute the passage with him. They sallied out upon a long causeway to engage him, and advanced so far, that, being repulsed, their distance from the town gave the duke’s men an opportunity of pursuing them; and they did it so effectually, that they killed a great number of them before they could recover their works, and possessed themselves of the suburbs at the end of the causeway. The Duke of Burgundy immediately planted four or five great guns to batter the town (though the town was impregnable on that side, because of the river’s running between them): however, the archers, observing that their bridge was almost finished, and expecting to be besieged as soon as the enemy had passed the river, abandoned the town, and marched away in great confusion. The castle held out two or three days, but the garrison was forced at last to surrender, and march away without their arms.

This little action revived the Duke of Burgundy’s courage, so that he encamped about Amiens[288], and pitched his tents in two or three several places, giving out that he kept the field, to see if the king would venture a battle with him. At length he approached so near, that his artillery fired into and over the town; and in that camp he continued for six weeks together. There were in the town 1400 of the king’s men-at-arms, and 4000 frank-archers, and with them the constable, with all the great lords of France, as the grand-master, the admiral, the marshal, the seneschals, and a great number of persons of quality besides. In the meantime the king was at Beauvais, where he assembled a great army. The king was attended by his brother the Duke of Guienne, Duke Nicholas of Calabria[289] (eldest son of Duke John of Calabria and Lorraine, sole heir of the house of Anjou), and by the rest of the nobility of his kingdom, assembled by virtue of the arriere-ban; who, as I have been since informed, had a great curiosity at that time to find out the intrigue and mystery of this expedition, for they saw his business was far from being done, and that he was deeper engaged in war than ever he was before.

Those who were in Amiens had a design to sally out and attack the Duke of Burgundy’s army, if the king would have advanced, and joined them with the forces which he had at Beauvais. But the king, having notice of their design, sent express orders to forbid it; for though, in all probability, this action was likelier to turn to his advantage than otherwise, yet it could not be attempted without manifest danger, especially to those in the town, for they were obliged to sally out of the gates; and there being but two, and one of them very near the Duke of Burgundy’s army, and their whole body consisting of infantry, if they had been repulsed, it would have been difficult for them to have made their retreat, and they would have been in great danger, not only of being cut in pieces themselves, but also of losing the town. In this posture of affairs the Duke of Burgundy despatched one of his pages (called Simon de Quingy, who was afterwards Bailiff of Troyes) with a letter to the king, only of six lines, but under his own hand. The letter was very humble, and in it he complained that he had been tempted to invade him upon other people’s designs, and declared that, if he had been rightly informed, he was confident he never would have attempted it.

Meanwhile the king’s army in Burgundy had fought and defeated the whole force of that country, and though the number of the slain was not very considerable, yet the victory was great; many prisoners were taken, and an abundance of towns besieged and carried by storm. The news of this defeat extremely surprised the Duke of Burgundy, who immediately caused a report to be spread in his army that his forces had won the battle. The king was highly pleased at the receipt of the Duke of Burgundy’s letter, for the reasons above mentioned, and because he did not love to carry on tedious enterprises; he returned him an answer, and sent a commission to empower certain persons in Amiens to enter upon a truce. At first a cessation was agreed on for some few days only; but at length, as I remember, they had one for a year[290], with which the Constable of St. Paul seemed to be highly displeased: and without doubt (whatever some people may say or think to the contrary) the constable was the Duke of Burgundy’s mortal enemy. Several treaties and conferences they had, but never the least friendship proceeded from any of them, as the event demonstrated. Yet they continued sending one to the other, and endeavouring a reconciliation; the duke did it in hopes by this means to recover St. Quentin, for whenever the constable entertained the least suspicion or fear of the king, he promised to restore that town; and sometimes it proceeded so far, that, by the consent of the constable, the Duke of Burgundy’s forces approached within two or three leagues of the town, in expectation to be received; but when they were to be admitted, the constable’s heart always failed him, and he sent them back, which proved afterwards highly to his disadvantage. He had a strong opinion that, by the strength of his position, and the great number of his forces (which the king had to pay), he should be able to keep the king and the duke in the same jealousy and discord as they were in at that time; but his design was very dangerous, for they were both of them too powerful and too sensible to be imposed on at that rate.

Upon the breaking up of these armies, the king retired into Touraine, the Duke of Guienne into his own country, and the Duke of Burgundy into Flanders; and affairs continued in that posture for some time. The Duke of Burgundy called a general assembly of the Estates[291] of his country, to whom he remonstrated the damage he had sustained by not having a good body of men-at-arms ready as the king had; assuring them that, if he had had but 500 men-at-arms ready to secure his frontiers, the king had never undertaken that war, and they had continued in peace. He laid also before them the dangers to which they were still exposed, and pressed very hard that they would allow and pay him for 800 lances. At last they consented to give him a subsidy of sixscore thousand crowns[292], besides all other duties that they yearly paid him; neither was Burgundy comprehended in this grant. But his subjects made great scruple, (and for several reasons), to put themselves into such a state of subjection as the kingdom of France was in, by reason of their standing army. And to speak impartially, their unwillingness was not without cause; for when he had once got 500 or 600 horse, he hankered after more, and attempted more boldly upon his neighbours; the sixscore thousand crowns he multiplied to 500,000, and increased his guards to such a number, that at last they became a great grievance to his subjects. My opinion is, that guards, or standing forces, may be employed very usefully under a prudent and judicious prince: but when it is otherwise, or he happens to die, and leaves his successors, children, the service in which their governors employ them is not always safe or advantageous for either prince or subject.

Notwithstanding these correspondences and truces, the hatred between the king and the Duke of Burgundy rather increased than diminished. The Duke of Guienne, upon his return into his own country, solicited the Duke of Burgundy very hard to marry his daughter; which proposal the Duke of Burgundy did willingly entertain, and indeed so he did whoever was proposed; so that I am of opinion he had no mind to have a son-in-law, nor that his daughter should marry in his life-time, but chose rather to keep her as a decoy to allure princes to his party, and bind them to his assistance; for he had so many and so great enterprises in his head, as could not be compassed in one man’s life. Besides, to speak the truth, they were but little better than impossible, for one half of Europe was not sufficient to content his insatiable desire of extending his dominions. He had courage enough to undertake the most difficult enterprises, his body was capable of as much pains and fatigue as was necessary; he was powerful in men and money; but he was defective in judgment, and in the cunning management of his affairs: and if a prince be deficient in that point, let him be every way as complete and as nicely qualified for heroic actions as he will, it signifies nothing; so that I look upon sense as proceeding entirely from the grace of God. In short, he that could have taken part of the king’s qualities, and mingled them with the duke’s, might have made a perfect prince; for certainly the king was much superior to him in judgment and management, and the end sufficiently demonstrated it to all the world.

CH. IV.—Of the Civil Wars between the Princes in England, during the Difference between Louis XI. and Charles, Duke of Burgundy.—1470.

In mentioning the preceding passages, I had almost forgotten to speak of Edward, King of England; for those three great princes, King Louis XI. of France, King Edward IV., and Charles, Duke of Burgundy, were contemporaries. I shall not here observe the method and order of writing which is usual among historians, nor name the years and moments of time when every action happened; neither shall I produce any examples out of history (of which you know enough, and it would be like talking Latin to monks). I shall only give you a plain account of what I have seen, known, and heard of these three great princes above mentioned. In my judgment, you that live in the age when these affairs were transacted, have no occasion of being informed of the exact hours when everything was done.

I have formerly[293] mentioned the reasons that prevailed with the Duke of Burgundy to marry the sister of Edward, King of England, and it was principally to strengthen his alliance against the King of France; otherwise he would never have done it, for the love he bore to the house of Lancaster, to which he was allied by his mother, who was Infanta of Portugal, but her mother[294] was the Duke of Lancaster’s daughter; wherefore his kindness for the house of Lancaster was as great as his hatred to that of York. At the time of this marriage, the house of Lancaster was quite depressed, and of the house of York there was no great talk; for Edward, who was both Duke of York and King, enjoyed the peaceable possession of the kingdom. In the war between these two contending houses, there had been seven or eight[295] memorable battles in England; in which threescore or fourscore persons of the blood-royal of that kingdom were cruelly slain, as is said before in these Memoirs. Those that survived were fugitives, and lived in the Duke of Burgundy’s court; all of them young gentlemen (whose fathers had been slain in England) whom the Duke of Burgundy had generously entertained before this marriage, as his relations of the house of Lancaster. Some of them were reduced to such extremity of want and poverty before the Duke of Burgundy received them, that no common beggar could have been poorer. I saw one of them, who was Duke of Exeter[296] (but he concealed his name), following the Duke of Burgundy’s train bare-foot and bare-legged, begging his bread from door to door. This person was the next of the house of Lancaster; he had married King Edward’s sister, and being afterwards known, had a small pension allowed him for his subsistence. There were also some of the family of the Somersets[297], and several others, all of them slain since, in the wars. The fathers and relations of these persons had plundered and destroyed the greatest part of France, and possessed it for several years, and afterwards they turned their swords upon themselves, and killed one another; those who were remaining in England, and their children, have died as you see; and yet there are those who affirm that God does not punish men as he did in the days of the children of Israel, but suffers the wickedness both of princes and people to remain unpunished. I do believe, indeed, he does not speak and converse with mankind as he did formerly; for he has left them examples enough in the world to instruct them; but you may see, by the sequel of this discourse, and by reflecting on what you know besides, that of those bad princes, and others, who cruelly and tyrannically employ the power that is in their hands, none, or but few of them, die unpunished, though, perhaps, it is neither in the same manner, nor at the same time, that those who are injured desire.

But to return to King Edward. The greatest support of the house of York was the Earl of Warwick; and the greatest partisan of the house of Lancaster was the Duke of Somerset. This Earl of Warwick, in respect of the eminent services he had done him, and the care he had taken of his education, might have been well called King Edward’s father; and indeed he was a very great man; for besides his own patrimony, he was possessed of several lordships which had been given him by the king, some of crown lands, and some that were confiscated. He was made Governor of Calais[298], and had other great offices, so that I have heard he received annually in pensions and that kind of profits, 80,000 crowns, besides his inheritance. By accident the Earl of Warwick had fallen out[299] with his master the year before the Duke of Burgundy’s expedition against Amiens.[300] The Duke of Burgundy had indeed, in some measure, been the occasion of the breach between them, as he disliked the mighty sway and authority that the earl bore in England. Besides, there was no good understanding between them, for the Earl of Warwick held constant correspondence with the King of France our master. In short, about this very time, or a little before, the Earl of Warwick was grown so exorbitant in his power, that he imprisoned his master King Edward[301], put the Queen’s[302] father[303] (the Lord Rivers) and two of his sons to death, and the third was in great danger (though all of them were great favourites of the king.) He also caused several knights to be put to death. For some time he used the king very honourably, and put new servants about him, hoping that he would have forgotten the old, for he looked upon his master as a very weak prince. The Duke of Burgundy was extremely concerned at what had happened, and privately contrived a way for King Edward’s escape, and that he might have an opportunity of speaking with him: and their plot succeeded so well, that King Edward escaped out of prison, raised men, and defeated a great body of the Earl of Warwick’s troops. King Edward was very fortunate in his battles, for he fought at least nine pitched battles (always on foot), and was always conqueror. The Earl of Warwick finding himself too weak to oppose King Edward, having first given instructions to his private friends what they were to do in his absence, put to sea with the Duke of Clarence, who had married his daughter[304], and was then of his faction, notwithstanding that he was brother to the king; and carrying with them their wives and children, and a great number of forces, he appeared before Calais. There were at that time several of the earl’s servants in the town, and one in the quality of his lieutenant, Lord Wenlock[305], who, instead of receiving him, fired his great guns upon him. Whilst they lay at anchor before the town, the Duchess of Clarence (who was daughter to the Earl of Warwick) was brought to bed of a son[306], and great entreaties had to be used before Wenlock and the rest could be persuaded to send her two flagons of wine, which was great severity in a servant to use towards his master; for it is to be presumed the earl thought himself secure of that place, it being the richest treasure belonging to England, and the best captaincy in the world (or at least in Christendom); and this I know, for I was there several times during their differences, and was told by the chief officer of the staple for cloth, that he would willingly farm the government of the town from the King of England at 15,000 crowns per annum; for the Governor of Calais receives all profits on that side of the sea, and has the benefit of all convoys, and the entire disposal and management of the garrison.

The King of England was extremely pleased, and well satisfied with Lord Wenlock for refusing his captain, and sent him a patent to constitute him governor, in the Earl of Warwick’s room; for he was an old experienced officer, a wise gentleman, and of the Order of the Garter. The Duke of Burgundy was also well pleased with him for this action, and being at St. Omer[307], he sent me to Lord Wenlock, to assure him of a pension of 1000 crowns, and to desire him to continue that affection which he had already shown to the King of England. I found him fixed and resolved to be so, and in the Hotel de l’Etape in that town, he swore solemnly to me, that he would serve the King of England against all opposers whatsoever; and when he had done, all the garrison and townsmen took the same oath. I was near two months going and coming to and from him, to keep him steady in his allegiance; but the most part of that time I was with him, the Duke of Burgundy was come to Boulogne, and had his residence there[308], in order to the setting out a great fleet against the Earl of Warwick, who, at his departure from Calais, had taken several ships belonging to the Duke of Burgundy’s subjects, which was partly the occasion of the war between the King of France and him. For the Earl of Warwick’s soldiers selling all their booty in Normandy, the Duke of Burgundy, by way of reprisal, seized upon all the French merchants who came to the fair at Antwerp.

Since it is as absolutely necessary to be acquainted with the examples of the deceit and craftiness of this world, as with instances of integrity (not to make use of them, but to arm ourselves against them), I shall in this place lay open a trick, or piece of policy (but, call it what you please, it was certainly wisely managed), by which you may understand the juggling of our neighbours, as well as our own, and that there are good and bad people in all places of the world. When the Earl of Warwick came to Calais, which he looked upon as his principal refuge, and expected to be received, Lord Wenlock, being a person of great prudence, sent him word, that if he entered he was a lost man, for all England and the Duke of Burgundy would be against him; besides, the inhabitants of the town would be his enemies, as well as a great part of the garrison, as Monsieur de Duras[309], who was the King of England’s marshal, and several others, who had great interest in the place, were hostile to him. Wherefore he advised him, as the best thing he could do, to retire into France, and not to concern himself for Calais, for of that he would give him a fair account upon the first opportunity. He did his captain good service by giving him that counsel, but none at all to his king. Certainly no man was ever guilty of a higher piece of ingratitude than Lord Wenlock, considering the King of England had made him Governor in chief of Calais, and the Duke of Burgundy settled a large pension upon him.

CH. V.—How the Earl of Warwick, by the Assistance of Louis, King of France, drove King Edward IV. out of England, to the great Displeasure of the Duke of Burgundy, who received him into his Countries.—1470.

The Earl of Warwick, who followed Wenlock’s counsel, landed in Normandy[310], and was kindly received by the King of France, who furnished him with great sums of money to pay his troops. The Duke of Burgundy had at this time a great fleet abroad, infesting the king’s subjects both by land and sea; and this fleet was so powerful, that none durst oppose it. The king ordered the Bastard of Bourbon[311], Admiral of France, with a strong squadron[312], to assist the English against any attempt that should be made upon them by the Duke of Burgundy’s fleet. All this happened the season before the surrender of St. Quentin and Amiens, which was in the year 1470. The Duke of Burgundy was stronger at sea than the Earl of Warwick and the king together; for at Sluys he had seized upon several great ships belonging to Spain and Portugal, and two Genoese vessels, besides many hulks from Germany.

King Edward was not a man of any great management or foresight, but he was of an invincible courage, and the handsomest prince my eyes ever beheld. The Earl of Warwick’s landing in Normandy did not so much affect him as it did the Duke of Burgundy, who presently perceiving there were great transactions in England in favour of the Earl of Warwick, gave frequent information of it to that king, but he never heeded it; which in my opinion was great weakness, considering the mighty preparations the King of France had made against him, for he fitted out all the ships he could get, and well manned and victualled them, and ordered the English fugitives to be equipped. By his management also a marriage was concluded between the Earl of Warwick’s second, daughter and the Prince of Wales[313], which prince was the only son to King Henry VI. (who was at that time alive, and prisoner in the tower.) An unaccountable match! to dethrone and imprison the father, and marry his only son to the daughter of him that did it. It was no less surprising that he should delude the Duke of Clarence, brother to the king whom he opposed, who ought in reason to have been afraid of the restoration of the house of Lancaster; but affairs of so nice a nature are not to be managed without great cunning and artifice.

During the whole time of this preparation, I stayed at Calais to keep Lord Wenlock firm to his allegiance; but I could discover nothing of his juggling, though he had been at it for three months. My business with him then was, to desire that he would order twenty or thirty of the Earl of Warwick’s servants who were there, to depart the town; for I was assured the king’s fleet, in conjunction with the earl’s, was ready to set sail from Normandy, and if they should land suddenly in England, it might happen that those servants of the Earl of Warwick’s might raise some tumult or other in the town of Calais, that he might not be able to appease, for which reason I was very earnest for their being turned out. Before, he had always promised me he would, but then he took me aside, and told me that he would keep the town well enough, but he had something else to impart to me, and that was, that I would acquaint the Duke of Burgundy, that if he desired to show himself a friend to England, he would advise him to employ his good offices rather in mediating peace, than endeavouring to promote war; and this he said in respect of the preparations which the Duke of Burgundy had made against the Earl of Warwick. He told me farther, that it would be no hard matter to compass an accommodation, for that very day there was a lady passed by Calais into France, with letters to the Duchess of Clarence, and in them overtures of peace from King Edward; and he said truly; but as he had done with others, so the lady dissembled with him; for her business was of another kind of importance, which she accomplished at last, to the prejudice of the Earl of Warwick and all his party.

You cannot be better informed by any other person of the secret contrivances and subtle collusions which happened on our side of the water, than by me, especially as to the transactions of these last twenty years.

The secret affair to be managed by this lady, was to solicit the Duke of Clarence not to contribute to the subversion of his own family, by endeavouring to restore the house of Lancaster; that he would remember their old insolences, and the hereditary hatred that was between them, and not be so infatuated as to imagine that the Earl of Warwick, who had married his daughter to the Prince of Wales, and sworn allegiance to him already, would not endeavour to place him upon the throne. This lady managed the affair that was committed to her charge, with so much cunning and dexterity, that she prevailed with the Duke of Clarence to promise to come over to the king’s party as soon as he was in England.

This lady was no fool, nor loquacious; and being allowed the liberty of visiting her mistress the Duchess of Clarence, she for that reason was employed in this secret, rather than a man. Wenlock was a cunning man, and shrewd enough; yet this lady was too hard for him, wheedled him, and carried on her intrigues till she had effected the ruin of the Earl of Warwick and all his faction; for which reason it is no shame for persons in his condition to be suspicious, and keep a watchful eye over all comers and goers; but it is a great disgrace to be outwitted, and to lose anything through one’s own negligence; however, our suspicions ought to be grounded on some foundation, for to be over-suspicious is as bad the other way.

You have already been informed that the Earl of Warwick’s fleet, with the squadron the King of France had sent to convoy him, was ready to sail, and that the Duke of Burgundy’s navy lay ready at Havre to engage them; but it pleased God to order it so, that a great storm arising that night, the Duke of Burgundy’s navy was driven by stress of weather, some into Scotland, some into Holland, and all of them dispersed; after which, in a short time, the weather coming about fair for the Earl of Warwick, he took his opportunity, and sailed safely to England. The Duke of Burgundy had sent King Edward word of the port where the earl designed to land, and had persons constantly about him, to put him in mind of taking care of himself, and putting his kingdom in a posture of defence. But he never was concerned at anything, but still followed his hunting, and nobody was so trusted by him as the Archbishop of York[314] and the Marquis of Montague[315], both the Earl of Warwick’s brothers, who had sworn to be true to him against their brother, and all opposers whatsoever; and the king put an entire confidence in them.

Upon the Earl of Warwick’s landing[316], great numbers came in to him; and King Edward when he heard it, was much alarmed; and (when very late) he began to look about him, and sent to the Duke of Burgundy to desire that his fleet might be ready at sea to intercept the Earl of Warwick on his return to France, for on land he knew how to deal with him. The Duke of Burgundy was not well pleased with these words, for he looked upon it as a greater piece of policy to have hindered the earl from landing, than to be forced to run the hazard of a battle, to drive him out again. The Earl of Warwick had not been landed above five or six days before the whole country came in to him, and he encamped within three leagues of the king, whose army was superior to the earl’s (had they been all true to his interest), and waited on purpose to give him battle: the king was possessed of a fortified village or house[317], to which (as he told me himself) there was no access but by one bridge, which proved of great service to him; the rest of his forces were quartered in the neighbouring villages. As he sate at dinner, news was suddenly brought him that the Marquis of Montague, the Earl of Warwick’s brother, and several other persons of quality, were mounted on horseback, and had caused their soldiers to cry, “God bless King Henry.” At first King Edward would give no credit to it, but despatched other messengers to inquire, and in the meantime armed himself, and posted guards to defend the bridge in case of any assault. There was with him at that time a very prudent gentleman called the Lord Hastings[318], High Chamberlain of England, in great authority with the king; and he deserved it, for though his wife was the Earl of Warwick’s sister, he continued loyal to his king, and was then in his service (as he told me afterwards) with a body of 3000 horse. There was likewise with him the Lord Scales[319] (brother to King Edward’s queen) besides several good knights and gentlemen who began to think that all was not well, for the messengers confirmed what had been told the king before, and that the enemy was marching boldly on, with a design to surprise him in his quarters.

It happened by God’s grace that King Edward’s quarters were no great distance from the sea, and some ships that followed with provisions for his army, lay at anchor with two Dutch merchant vessels hard by. King Edward had but just time to get aboard one of them; his chamberlain stayed a little behind, and advised his lieutenant and the rest of the officers to go in with their men to the Earl of Warwick, but conjured them to retain their old affection and allegiance to the king and himself; and then he also went aboard the ship with the others, which were just ready to set sail. It is the custom in England, when a battle is won, to give quarter, and no man is killed, especially of the common soldiers (for they know everybody will join the strongest side), and it is but seldom that they are ransomed; so that when the king had made his escape, not one of his men was put to the sword. King Edward told me, that in all the battles which he had gained, his way was, when the victory was on his side, to mount on horseback, and cry out to save the common soldiers, and put the gentlemen to the sword, by which means none, or very few of them, escaped.