Chapter XVIII: Book THE THIRD (3)

5. The subjects on both sides shall be fully restored to all
their lands, signiories, and inheritances, and all immoveables
in the condition they are; as also such moveables as are upon
the spot, and arrearages of rents, and thus be put into the
possession of them without any let or molestation.

6. All disorders and injuries done and committed during the war
on either side are remitted, pardoned, and abolished, in such
a manner as if they had never been, and no law-suit or process
shall ever be formed concerning them.

7. Seeing both the king and we have, in the beginning of
the troubles, forbidden all trade and commerce between our
subjects, a free trade and commerce is now restored, both by
sea and land, as before the war.

8. All judgments, judicial proceedings, and sentences, given on
either side during the war against the adherents of the king or
us, upon the account of contumacy or otherwise, shall be null
and of no effect.

9. The allies of both parties shall be comprehended in this
treaty, if within a year after the conclusion of it they
signify their assent in due form, which assent or declaration
the king and the duke are to notify to one another within
two months after the same is made; but, in case that should
not be done, there shall be no breach of the peace between
them. The observance of all which we do oblige ourselves
unto, in the most solemn manner imaginable, upon the word of
a prince, and upon the forfeiture of all we have; and in case
we contravene the same, we shall subject ourselves to all
censures ecclesiastical: we shall also cause these presents to
be registered in all our courts by our proper officers.

CH. X.—How the Duke of Burgundy having encamped before Beauvais, and finding he could not take it, raised the Siege, and marched with his Army to Rouen.—1472.

But to proceed in my relation of the war, of which I was speaking before. After the Duke of Burgundy’s barbarous treatment of the poor garrison of Nesle, he broke up from thence[358], and marched with his whole army and invested Roye, in which place there was a garrison of 1500 frank-archers, besides a considerable number of men-at-arms of the arriere-ban. The Duke of Burgundy’s army never made so fine an appearance as at that time; whereupon the next morning the frank-archers, being struck with a sudden fear, leaped over the walls, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The next day the remaining part of the garrison delivered up the town upon composition, leaving behind them their horses and arms, only the men-at-arms were allowed to march away with their horses. Having left a small garrison in this town, he advanced to Montdidier, with a full design to have demolished it quite; but, finding that the people of that district had a great affection for him, he ordered it to be repaired, and put a garrison in it.

From thence his design was to have marched directly into Normandy; but as he was on his way, near to Beauvais, the Lord des Cordes, scouring the country before him with his vanguard, made some attempt upon the town; and at the first attack, the suburb, which faces the bishop’s palace[359], was taken by one Jacques Montmartin[360], a covetous Burgundian, who commanded 100 of the duke’s lancers and 300 of his standing archers. The Lord des Cordes made an attack in another quarter; but his ladders were too short and too few. He had two pieces of cannon with him, which were fired twice (and no more) at the gate[361], where they made a great breach; and if he had had ammunition to have continued his attack, he had certainly taken the town; but he was ill-provided, and not furnished for so great an undertaking. Upon our first investment there were no forces in the town but Loyset de Ballaigny[362], the governor, with some few of the arriere-ban; but that would not have saved the town, had not God himself interposed, and preserved it miraculously. The Burgundians were engaged with the French hand to hand through the breach in the gate, and the Lord des Cordes despatched several messengers to the Duke of Burgundy to acquaint him that, if he marched up presently with his army, he would take the town. Before the duke’s arrival, some of the inhabitants brought kindled faggots to throw in the faces of those who were forcing the gate; and so many were thrown, that the gate was set on fire, and the Burgundians were glad to retire till the flame was extinguished.[363]

The duke, upon his arrival, concluded the town would be his own as soon as the fire could be quenched, which was very great; for the whole gate was in a flame. If the duke could have been persuaded to have posted part of his army on the side towards Paris, no succours could have been thrown into it, and the town could not possibly have escaped. But it pleased God that he was afraid where there was no occasion; for it was only the passing of a small rivulet that made him scruple it then; and yet afterwards, when the garrison was considerably reinforced, he would fain have attempted it, though with the hazard of his whole army; and much ado there was to dissuade him from it. In the meantime the fire, of which I was speaking, continued burning all day long (which was the 28th of June, 1472). Towards night ten of the king’s standing lances, and no more, got into the town, as I have been told (for at that time I was in the Duke of Burgundy’s service); but they were not perceived, because on one side everybody was busy in taking up their quarters, and, on the other, there was nobody at all. By break of day the next morning the duke’s cannon came up, and some time after we saw a reinforcement of at least 200 men-at-arms enter the town together. I believe, had they not arrived as they did, the town would have capitulated. But the Duke of Burgundy was in such a violent passion, that he was for storming it immediately; and certainly, if he had taken it, he would have burned it to the ground, which would have been a great loss; and truly I am of opinion it was preserved by a miracle. From the time the recruits entered, for fifteen days together, or thereabouts, the duke’s cannon fired continually on the town; and the breaches in the town-wall were wide enough and fit for a general storm. However, the ditch being full of water on one side of the gate, which was burnt, a bridge was of necessity to be made; but on the other side of the gate we could make our approaches to the walls without any danger, unless it were from one casemate, which lay too low for our cannon to batter.

It is not only dangerous but imprudent to attack a town where the garrison is so strong. Besides (if I mistake not), the constable was in or near the town, I know not which, with the Marshal Joachim, the Marshal of Loheac, the Lord of Crussol[364], William de Vallée[365], Mery de Cohé[366], Sallezard, Thevenot de Vignoles[367], all of them old soldiers, with at least 100 men-at-arms of the standing forces, a good body of foot, besides many brave men, who accompanied them in the nature of volunteers. For all this the Duke of Burgundy resolved to storm it; but he was singular in his opinion; for there was not one officer in the whole army that agreed with him in it. As he was in his tent that night, and laid down in his clothes, he asked some who were about him if they thought that the town expected to be stormed? They answered “Yes,” and that the garrison was strong enough to defend it, though it were fortified only with a hedge. Upon which the duke laughed, and replied, “You will not find a man there in the morning.”

About break of day[368] the town was bravely attacked, but better defended. Our men pressing eagerly forward over the bridge, in order to mount the breach, the Lord Despiris[369], being in the middle of them, was crowded to death. He was an ancient knight of Burgundy, and the bravest person that was killed that day. On the other side of the gate several of our men got upon the walls, but some of them never came back again. They were at push of pike a great while together, and the assault continued a long time. Orders were given for fresh troops to march up, and relieve those that had made the first attack; but the duke perceiving they would lose their time, ordered them immediately to draw off. The garrison made no sally, for they saw us drawn up in order of battle ready to receive them. In this attack we had about sixscore men killed (some say more); among whom was the Lord Despiris, who was the only officer of any note that was lost; and the number of the wounded was full 1000. The next night after this they sallied out upon us; but the party being small, most of them on horseback, and their horses incommoded by the cords of our tents, they did us no great mischief; for they had two or three officers killed and wounded, and we lost but one of ours, whose name was Jacques d’Orson[370], a brave soldier, and master of the duke’s ordnance, who not long after died of his wounds.

About a week after this repulse, a fancy came into the duke’s head to divide his army, and post one part of it before the gate towards Paris; but he found none of his officers approved of that design. Upon his first arrival, indeed, it was practicable; but now the garrison was so considerably reinforced, that it was too late to be done. Seeing there was no remedy, he raised the siege[371], and marched off in very good order. He expected they would have sallied out and fallen upon his rear, and he had taken care to have given them a warm reception; but they were too cunning for that. From thence he marched with his army towards Normandy, having promised the Duke of Bretagne to meet him before Rouen; but upon the Duke of Guienne’s death he altered his resolution, and stirred not out of his own territories. The Duke of Burgundy presented himself before Eu[372]; and after taking that town and the town of St. Valery[373], he destroyed with fire and sword the whole country to the very walls of Dieppe. He also took Neufchastel, and burnt it, with the whole country of Caux, or at least the greatest part of it, to the very walls of Rouen, to which city he marched in person. In this expedition he lost several of his foragers, and his army was mightily distressed for want of provisions; so that, winter drawing on, he retired. His back was no sooner turned, but the king’s forces retook Eu and St. Valery[374], by which seven or eight of the townsmen were left prisoners at discretion.

CH. XI.—How the King concluded a Peace with the Duke of Bretagne, and a Truce with the Duke of Burgundy; and how the Count of St. Paul very narrowly escaped a Plot, that was laid for him by these two great Princes.—1472-4.

About this time (which was in the year 1472), I came into the King of France’s service, who had also entertained most of the Duke of Guienne’s servants: the king was then at Pont de Cé, having assembled all his forces against the Duke of Bretagne, with whom he was at war. At this place arrived certain ambassadors from the Duke of Bretagne, and others were sent in return to his court. Among those who came in an embassy to the king, there was Philip des Essars[375], a servant of the duke’s, and William de Soubs-Plainville[376], a servant of the Lord of Lescut, who, when he saw his master, the Duke of Guienne, past all hopes of recovery, embarked at Bourdeaux for Bretagne, whither he retired, fearing lest he might fall into the hands of the king, wherefore he made his escape early. And he brought with him the Duke of Guienne’s confessor, and one of the equerries of his stable[377], who were suspected to have had a hand in the duke’s death, and were kept prisoners for it in Bretagne for several years after. These embassies forward and backward continued not long, before the king determined to have peace on that side, and to behave himself so handsomely to the Lord of Lescut, as to bring him back again into his service, and make him forget his old animosity; for the Duke of Bretagne had neither courage nor conduct but what he derived from him; yet so powerful a prince, with so cunning and wise a statesman, was not to be despised. The Bretons themselves (while he was with him) would willingly have accepted of a peace; and certainly the generality of them desired nothing more, for there are constantly many of them in the kingdom of France in great posts and reputation, and not without cause, for heretofore they have done his majesty signal service. Some persons (whose judgment in state affairs was not so good as the king’s) condemned this accommodation; but in my opinion I think his majesty acted very prudently. He had a great value for the person of this Lord of Lescut, saying, that he could commit any affair to his management without danger, for he knew him to be a person of honour and integrity, and one who in all the late troubles would never hold any correspondence with the English, nor consent that any towns in Normandy should be put into their hands, but still advised to the contrary, which was the chief reason of his preferment afterwards.

For these reasons he desired Monsieur Soubs-Plainville to set down in writing what the Lord of Lescut his master’s demands were, both for the Duke of Bretagne and himself. Soubs-Plainville did so, and they were these: For the Duke of Bretagne, a pension of 80,000 francs: for the Lord of Lescut, a pension of 6000 francs, half of Guienne, the two seneschalships of Lannes and Bordelois, the command of one of the castles of Bourdeaux, the captainships of Blaye, and of the two castles of Bayonne, of Dax and St. Sever, 24,000 crowns in ready money, the king’s order of St. Michael, and the countship of Comminges. All was granted and made good; only the duke’s pension was retrenched to half the sum, and that paid but two years. Besides, the king gave Monsieur Soubs-Plainville 6000 crowns; but he did not pay the ready money which I have mentioned both for his master and himself, till four years after the agreement. Besides which sum, Soubs-Plainville had an annual pension of 1200 francs, the mayoralty of Bayonne, the bailiwick of Montargis, and some other little offices in Guienne; all which were enjoyed both by him and his master during the king’s life. Philip des Essars was made Bailiff of Meaux, and master of the waters and forests of France, with a present of 4000 crowns and a pension of 1200 francs. From that time to the death of our master, they enjoyed these places; and the Count of Comminges acquitted himself like a loyal and faithful subject.

After the king had settled his affairs in Bretagne, he marched towards Picardy. It was always the custom of the king and Duke of Burgundy, as soon as winter drew on, to make a cessation of arms for six or twelve months, and sometimes longer. According to that custom, a new one[378] was proposed, and the Chancellor of Burgundy, with ambassadors, came to negotiate it. The king showed the chancellor the final peace which had been concluded between him and the Duke of Bretagne, by which the said duke renounced his alliance with the English[379] and the Duke of Burgundy; wherefore the king insisted that the Duke of Burgundy’s ambassadors should not name the Duke of Bretagne among their allies; but the ambassadors would not agree to it, but urged that it might be left to his own choice to declare himself for the king or their master as he pleased, provided he did it in the usual time. They remonstrated, likewise, that the duke had formerly abandoned them under letters of his hand, and yet not departed from their amity; adding, that they did look, indeed, upon the Duke of Bretagne as a prince who was guided more by other men’s judgments than his own: yet, in the conclusion, they observed, he always recollected who was most necessary to him. And all this happened in the year 1473.

Whilst this treaty was on foot, both sides murmured loudly against the Count of St. Paul, Constable of France. The king, and those who were nearest about him, had conceived great hatred against him, and the Duke of Burgundy a greater, with better reason, for I have heard the true causes on both sides. It was impossible for him to forget that the Count of St. Paul had been the occasion of the taking of Amiens and St. Quentin; and he shrewdly suspected that he was the true cause and fomenter of the war between him and the king; for during the cessation of hostilities he gave him the best words in the world, but as soon as war began again, he showed himself to be his mortal enemy; besides, the count would have forced him to have married his daughter, as you have heard. The duke had also another quarrel against him, and that was, that during the time the duke lay before Amiens, the constable made an inroad into Hainault, and, among the rest of his actions, burned a castle called Solre, which belonged to a certain knight called Baudouin de Lannoy.[380] At that time it was not usual to burn any places on either side: but, to retaliate upon the constable, the Duke of Burgundy fired all that summer wherever he came; so that, to be revenged of the constable, both sides began to conspire against him. In discourse between some of the king’s party and certain of the Duke of Burgundy’s courtiers, whom they knew to be the constable’s enemies, they happened to mention him; and all of them agreeing that he was the occasion of the war, they began to open themselves more freely, and discover all his expressions on both sides, and, by degrees, they unanimously resolved to contrive his ruin.

But some persons may hereafter, perhaps, demand, whether the king was not able to have ruined him alone? I answer, No; for his territories lay just between the king and the Duke of Burgundy; he had St. Quentin, a large and strong town in Vermandois; he had Han and Bohain, and other considerable places not far from St. Quentin, which he might always garrison with what troops, and of whatever country, he pleased. He had 400 of the king’s men-at-arms, well paid, of whom he was commissary himself, and he made his own musters, by which means he gained much money, for he never kept up his full complement. He had likewise a salary of 45,000 francs, and exacted a crown upon every pipe of wine that passed into Hainault or Flanders through any of his dominions; and, besides all this, he had great lordships and possessions of his own, a great interest in France, and also in Burgundy, upon account of his relations.

The truce lasted a whole year, and during that time this plot was contriving against the Constable of France. The king’s agents applied themselves to one of the Duke of Burgundy’s knights, called the Lord of Humbercourt, who for a long time had hated the constable, but more particularly of late, upon the following occasion: In a convention at Roye, where the constable and others were met on the king’s part, with the Chancellor of Burgundy, the Lord of Humbercourt, and others in behalf of the duke, in the heat of their argument, the constable in a passion gave the Lord of Humbercourt the lie. The Lord of Humbercourt made no other reply, but that he would not expect satisfaction from him, but from the king, upon whose security he was come thither, under the character of an ambassador; for the affront was not so much to him as to his master, whose person he represented, and to whom he would give an account. This single piece of insolence, which was so suddenly committed, was the occasion afterwards not only of the constable’s death, but also of the ruin of his family, as the sequel of this history will inform you. For this reason, persons in great authority, and princes themselves, ought to be careful of their language, and consider to whom it is they speak; for the greater the person is, the greater is the injury, and it lies heavier upon him that is affronted, because he thinks the grandeur and authority of him that committed the outrage make it more remarkable, and more liable to be objected against him. If it be one’s own king or master, it makes one despair of a further preferment from him; and generally the hope of future advancement makes courtiers serve a prince better and more faithfully than the thought of what they already possess.

But to return. The king’s agents made continual applications to the Lord of Humbercourt and the chancellor (who was present when that abusive language was given at Roye, and was besides a particular friend of the Lord of Humbercourt); and so far they proceeded in that affair, that they appointed a meeting at Bouvines, which is a town not far from Namur, to consult further about it. On the king’s part there were the Lord of Curton, Governor of Limousin, and Monsieur John Heberge[381], afterwards Bishop of Evreux; and for the Duke of Burgundy, there were the Chancellor of Burgundy and the Lord of Humbercourt, whom I have already mentioned. This was in the year 1474.

The constable, having private information that they were contriving something against him, sent immediately to both princes to let them know that he understood their designs; and he managed the matter so cunningly, that he created a jealousy in the king that the duke intended to deceive him, and debauch the constable from his party; upon which the king, in great haste, despatched a message to his ambassadors at Bouvines, commanding them not to conclude anything against the constable, for reasons which he would tell them, but to prolong the truce according to their instructions; which was for six months or a year, I know not which. When the messenger arrived, the whole affair was concluded, and the articles sealed and exchanged the night before. But the ambassadors were so good friends, and understood one another so well, that they delivered back their writings, by which the constable, for certain reasons there mentioned, was declared criminal, and an enemy to both princes; and the princes did mutually promise and swear, that which of them soever should get him first in his power, should cause him to be executed within eight days after his apprehension, or else deliver him over to the other, to be disposed of at his pleasure; and it was further concluded, that he should be declared an enemy to both princes by sound of trumpet, with all that served, or favoured, or assisted him. The king also promised to deliver up the town of St. Quentin, so often mentioned before, to the Duke of Burgundy, and all the money and moveables belonging to the constable which should be found in the kingdom of France, with all his signiories and lordships held of the said duke, and particularly Han and Bohain, two strong places; in order to which it was agreed that, on a certain day, both the king’s forces and the duke’s troops were to meet before Han, and besiege the constable in that town.

But all this agreement was quashed[382], for the reasons above mentioned, and a day and place appointed for a conference between the king and the constable (the king having first given security for his return); for the constable was fearful for his person, as having had intelligence of the whole business at Bouvines. The place was three leagues from Noyon, towards La Fere, upon a little river which was impassable, by reason that, on the constable’s side, the fords were taken away. Upon a causeway in that place a strong barrier was erected. The constable was the first that appeared at it, attended by all, or the greatest part, of his men-at-arms; for he had 300 gentlemen in his train, all of them well armed, and he wore his own cuirass under a loose coat. The king was attended by 600 men-at-arms, and among them the Count of Dammartin, Lord High Steward of France, who was the constable’s mortal enemy. The king sent me before, to excuse him to the constable for staying so long; but presently after his majesty’s arrival they discoursed together with five or six on each side. The constable excused his coming in arms, pretending he could not otherwise secure himself against the Count of Dammartin. The conclusion was, that all things past should be buried in oblivion, and no mention be made of them for the future, upon which the constable came over to the king’s side; the Count of Dammartin and he were reconciled; he waited upon the king that night to Noyon, and the next morning returned to St. Quentin, very well satisfied, as he said. But when the king came to consider what he had done, and understood the dissatisfaction of his subjects, he began to be sensible of having committed a great oversight, in giving a meeting to his servant, suffering a barrier between them at that interview, and permitting him to come attended with such a number of men-at-arms, all his subjects, and paid out of his purse; so that if his hatred to the constable was great before, this conference mightily increased it, neither was the constable himself really much better pleased.

CH. XII.—A Digression, not altogether improper in this place, concerning the Wisdom of the King and the Constable, with useful Remarks for those who are in authority with Princes.—1474.

He that seriously considers this action of the king’s, must certainly allow, that his majesty acted with great wisdom and prudence; for it is not improbable that the constable might have made his peace with the Duke of Burgundy, by the surrender of St. Quentin, notwithstanding all his promises to the contrary. But certainly for a wise man (as the constable undoubtedly was), he took the wrongest measures in the world, or else God had strangely infatuated his understanding, to come thus in that warlike manner and disguise to converse with his king and master, under a guard of so many horse, all of them the king’s subjects, and at that time in his pay; and indeed by his looks he seemed to be ashamed of the action himself, for as soon as the king came to him, though they were parted by nothing but a rail, he ordered it immediately to be opened, and in coming to the king, was in no little danger that day.

Perhaps he and some of his friends might highly value themselves upon this action, and think it glorious to have a monarch stand in awe of him, as being sensible of the king’s timidity; and indeed sometimes he was fearful, but never without just cause. The king had extricated himself out of all his troubles and wars with the great lords of his kingdom, by large presents, and larger promises, and was sensible of many false steps he had made, and for the future was resolved to put nothing to a venture that he could gain otherwise. Many were of opinion it was from his fear and cowardice that this cautious way of acting proceeded; but several persons, who, upon the strength of that imagination, durst presume to provoke his anger, if they were feebly supported, found themselves strangely mistaken, as the Count of Armagnac and others, who paid dear for that opinion; for he knew very well how to distinguish between the appearance and reality of danger: and this I dare boldly say in his commendation (and if I have said it before, it is not unworthy to be repeated), that in my whole life I never knew any man so wise in misfortunes.

But to return to the constable, who perhaps had a mind that the king should be afraid of him—at least, I suppose he had (for I would not accuse him wrongly, and what I say is only for the information of such as are in the service of great princes, and have not an equal knowledge of the affairs of this world).—Had I a friend in that capacity, I would advise him to carry himself so, that his master might love him, and not dread him; for I never saw any courtier whose authority depended upon the awe he inspired his prince, but some time or other he was ruined, and by his master’s consent. Many examples of this nature have been seen in our time, or not long before, in this kingdom, as in the case of the Lord de La Tremouille[383] and others. In England, the Earl of Warwick and his faction were a remarkable instance; I could name others in Spain, and elsewhere; but perhaps those who shall read this chapter, may know it better than I. This arrogance generally proceeds from some extraordinary service that they have performed, by which they are so strangely puffed up, that they think their merit ought to bear them out in whatever they do, and that their masters cannot live without them. But princes, on the contrary, are of opinion, that the best service their subjects can do them, is no more than their duty: and they like to be told this by their servants, and desire nothing more than to be rid of those who are arrogant in their behaviour.

Again, in this place I must insert two things which the king, my master, told me once in a discourse about persons who had done great service (and he named the author from whom he received that information), that to have served too well is sometimes the ruin of the agent; and that most often, great ingratitude is the reward of long and faithful services; usually upon account of the arrogance of those who have performed them, who, presuming too much upon their good fortune, behave themselves insolently towards their master or fellow-subjects; so that princes are not always to be blamed, if their subjects are not rewarded according to their deserts. His majesty told me further, that he thought that person more happy in his preferments at court, whom his prince had advanced beyond his desert, whereby he remained a debtor to his prince, than he who, by any signal service, had put his prince under great obligation to him; for he himself loved those persons with a greater affection who were obliged to him, than those (whoever they were) to whom he was obliged. So that in all conditions of life, it is a difficult matter to live well in this world, and a great blessing it is to those whom God hath naturally endowed with a right understanding.