Chapter XIII: Book THE EIGHTH (2)

That night we had two great alarms, and all through our own negligence, in not having taken the same precautions to secure ourselves against the incursions of the Estradiots, as we used to do against the light horse; for twenty of our men-at-arms, with their archers, would easily have stopped two hundred of them; but they were new to us then. We had great rains that night also, and such claps of thunder and lightning, as if heaven and earth were coming together, or that this was an omen of some impending mischief. But we were at the foot of great mountains, in a hot country, and in the height of the summer, so that the thing was natural enough; however, it was very terrible, and our consternation was increased by our enemies being so numerous before us, and our having no possibility to pass without fighting them, which must be done to our great disadvantage; for our army was but small, not amounting to above nine thousand men in the whole; and of these, I believe, two thousand were servants, and such as followed the camp, without reckoning pages and footmen belonging to the officers.

CH. X.—The Arrangement of the two Armies for the Battle of Fornovo.—1495.

On Monday morning, the 6th of July, in the year 1495, by seven o’clock, the noble king mounted on horseback, and called for me several times: I came to him, and found him completely armed, and mounted upon the best horse I ever saw in my life. The horse was called Savoy, of the Bressian breed, and had been given him, according to common report, by Charles, Duke of Savoy. It was a black horse, with but one eye, of no extraordinary stature, but tall enough for him that was to ride him. This young prince seemed that day quite another person than what one would take him to have been by his nature, proportion, and complexion. He was exceeding bashful, especially in speaking, and is so to this day; and no wonder, for he had been brought up in great awe, and in the company of inferior people; but now, being mounted on his horse, his eyes sparkled with fire, his complexion was fresh and lively, and all his words showed wisdom and discretion,—so that I could not but believe the predictions of Friar Jerome (and I thought of them at that time) when he told me that God would conduct him, as it were, by the hand, and that he should meet with some difficulties in his return to his own dominions, but that he should overcome them all, and gain immortal honour by it. The king told me that if those people wished to treat, I might go treat with them; and the Cardinal being by, he nominated him to go along with me, and also the Marshal de Gié, who at that time was in a violent passion, occasioned by a dispute between the Counts of Narbonne and Guise, both of whom pretended to the command of the van that day. I replied, “Sire, I shall observe your commands; but I never saw two great armies so near without fighting before they parted.”

Our whole army marched out of their camp in good order, the battalions being near one another, as on the day before; but yet methought they did not make so fine an appearance as those I had formerly seen under Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and our king’s father Louis XI., nor indeed were they half so numerous. The Cardinal and I withdrew a little, and dictated a letter to the two proveditors, which was written by one Monsieur Robertet[415], one of the king’s secretaries, in whom he had great confidence. The substance of the letter was, that it was the Cardinal’s duty, by virtue of his quality and function, to procure peace, if it lay in his power, and mine also, as I had been ambassador lately at Venice; wherefore it would not be improper for me to be a mediator now. We signified to them that the king’s resolution was only to march through the country in his way to France, without committing any hostilities; and therefore, if they desired a conference, as was proposed the day before, we were ready to meet them, and would employ all our interest to accommodate matters. By this time the fight was begun, and there was skirmishing on all sides. As we were marching on slowly, with the river between us, we came within a quarter of a league one of the other, they being also drawn up in order of battle; for it is their custom to make their camp so large, that they can put themselves into battle array within it.

They sent out a party of their Estradiots and mounted bowmen, and some few men-at-arms, who marched directly, by private roads, to the village of Fornovo, which we had just left, with a design to pass the little river Tarro in that place, and fall upon our baggage-train, which was very numerous (in all, I believe, besides waggons, about six thousand sumpter-horses, mules, and asses). Their army was drawn up in as good order as possible, and had been so for several days before; and they relied much upon the superiority of their forces. They attacked the king’s army on every side; so that, if we had been beaten, not a man of us could have escaped, considering the country we were in, and that those whom I mentioned before had fallen upon our baggage. On the left hand, there were the Marquis of Mantua and his uncle, the Lord Rodolph, with the Count Bernardino di Montone[416], and the flower of their army, consisting of six hundred men-at-arms, as they told me afterwards; and these charged our rear. All the men-at-arms were well barded, with fine plumes of feathers, and bourdonnasses[417]; and with their cross-bow men on horseback, their Estradiots, and their infantry to support them. Against the Marshal de Gié and our vanguard, the Count di Cajazzo advanced with about four hundred men-at-arms well accoutred, and supported also by a good body of foot. There was also another brigade of about two hundred men-at-arms, commanded by the son[418] of Signor John Bentivoglio, of Bologna, a young gentleman who had never been in battle before; and, to speak the truth, they wanted good officers as much as we did. These were to second the Count di Cajazzo, and fall upon our van; and there was also another squadron, in the nature of a reserve to the Marquis of Mantua’s brigade, which was commanded by Anthony d’Urbino, a bastard of the late Duke of Urbino; and, besides all these, there were two great bodies left in their camp. This I understood afterwards from themselves, and the next day I saw it with my own eyes; for the Venetians would not venture all at one stake, nor leave their baggage unguarded; yet, in my judgment, they had done better to have put all to a push, since they were so far engaged.

I shall now acquaint you with what became of the letter which the Cardinal and I had sent by a trumpeter. It was received by the proveditors, and as soon as they had read it, our great guns began to fire, and they immediately answered us; but their artillery was not so good as ours.[419] The proveditors sent the trumpeter back, and the marquis sent another of his own with this message, that they would willingly treat, and if we would give over cannonading, they would do so too. I was then at a distance from the king, who was riding up and down from rank to rank: so I sent back the trumpeters to say, that our cannon should cease firing; and having given orders to that purpose to the master of the artillery, both sides ceased for a time; but on a sudden they fired a gun amongst us, and ours began to play more fiercely than before, with three fresh pieces which we had levelled against them. As soon as our two trumpeters were arrived in their camp, they were carried to the marquis’s tent, where it was solemnly debated whether they should treat or engage. The Count di Cajazzo (as they told me, who were present) urged that we were half vanquished already, and that this was no time for a treaty; and one of the proveditors (who told me the story) was of his judgment, but the other was not. The marquis was of that mind too, but his uncle was against it; and being an honest and discreet man, strenuously opposed it, for he loved us well, and served against us unwillingly. At length they were unanimous in their opinion for fighting.

CH. XI.—How Parleys were vainly attempted; and the Beginning of the Battle of Fornovo.—1495.

You must know that the king had placed his greatest strength in his van; for in it there were about three hundred and fifty men-at-arms, three thousand Swiss (the hopes of the whole army[420]), three hundred archers, and some of the two hundred mounted cross-bow men of his own guard (which was a great loss to him, as he ordered them to fight on foot). Besides these we had very few foot; but what we had were distributed among them. There fought on foot among the Swiss the Lord Englebert of Cleves[421], brother to the Duke of Cleves, the Lord of Lornay[422], and the bailiff of Dijon, who commanded them; and the artillery was placed in their front. The forces that had been left in the territories of Florence, and those which had been sent to Genoa against the judgment of all people, would have been of very great service to us on this occasion. Our vanguard had by this time marched on as far as the enemy’s camp, and everybody expected they would have attacked us; but our two other bodies were neither so near each other, nor so well ordered as on the day before; and because the Marquis of Mantua (who had already passed the river, and entered the plain) was within a quarter of a league of our rear ready to attack them, but marching slowly on, and in such close order, that it was a very fine sight to behold, the king was forced to turn his back upon his own vanguard, and face about to his enemies at the rear. I was at that time with the Cardinal, awaiting an answer; but I told him it was no time to trifle any longer, and so I passed by the Swiss squadron and went to find out the king. In my passage I lost a page (who was my cousin-german), a valet-de-chambre, and a foot-boy, who followed me at a little distance; and I did not see when they were slain.

I had not come a hundred paces, when I heard a great noise in the place from whence I came, or a little behind it: it was the Estradiots, who were gotten into the king’s quarters, where there were not above three or four houses; and they rifled his baggage, and killed or wounded four or five men, but the rest escaped. They killed altogether about a hundred footboys and servants belonging to our carriages, and put our whole train in very great disorder. When I came where the king was, I found him making knights. The enemy being come very near him, he was obliged to give over; and I heard Matthew the bastard of Bourbon[423] (who was in great favour with the king), and one Philip du Moulin[424] (a very brave gentleman), call to the king, and say, “On, sir, on;” upon which he went to the head of the army, and placed himself directly before his standard, so that there was not a man that I saw nearer the enemy, unless it were the bastard of Bourbon. I had not been with the king a quarter of an hour before the enemy were advanced within a hundred paces of his majesty, who was as ill guarded and attended as any prince or noble that I ever saw; but he is well guarded who is guarded by God: and it was true what the venerable Friar Jerome had presaged, who said, “That God would lead him as it were by the hand.” His rear was posted on the right, a little behind him. The next battalion to him on that side was the Duke of Orleans’ troop, consisting of about eighty lances, commanded by Robinet de Framezelles[425], about forty more under the Sieur de la Trimouille, and the hundred Scottish archers, who put themselves into as close order as if they had been men-at-arms. I was on the left among the gentlemen of the Vingt-Escus[426], the pensioners, and others of the king’s household: I will not mention their several captains for brevity’s sake; but the rear was commanded by the Count of Foix.

About a quarter of an hour after my arrival, the enemy, being advanced so near the king (as you have heard), began to couch their lances, advanced upon a gentle gallop, and in two bodies charged our two squadrons on the right of them, and the Scottish archers; our men advanced towards them, and the king as bravely as any. On the left, where I was posted, we charged them on the flank much to our advantage; and, indeed, to say truth, never charge was brisker on both sides. The Estradiots, who were in the rear of that division, seeing our mules and sumpter-horses making with all speed to our vanguard, and that their comrades were beginning to plunder, quilted their men-at-arms, and ran to get their share of the booty; but certainly, if fifteen hundred light horse had but attacked us with their scimitars in their hands (which is a terrible weapon), considering the smallness of our number, we must certainly have been beaten; but God assisted us, for no sooner had they charged us with their lances but their Italian men-at-arms fled, and all their infantry, or the greatest part of them, gave ground also. At the same time that this squadron charged us the Count di Cajazzo attacked our van; but they came not so close, for when they should have couched their lances their hearts failed, and they fell into disorder; and the Swiss took fifteen or twenty of them in a company, and put them to the sword: the rest fled, and were but indifferently pursued; for the Marshal de Gié with much ado kept his forces together, for he perceived another great body of them not very far off. However, some followed the chase, and the enemy fled over the ground where we had charged along the highway, with their swords only in their hands; for they had thrown away their lances.

But you must know that that brigade which charged the king was warmly pursued; for all of us made after them: some of them fled to the village from whence we were come, others made at the top of their speed to their camp, and all of us after them: only the king stayed behind with some of his troops, and put himself in no little danger by doing so. One of the first men of the enemy who was slain was the Lord Rodolph of Mantua, the marquis’s uncle (who was to have sent orders to the Lord Anthony of Urbino, when it was time for him to advance), for they thought the battle would have lasted a long while, according to the custom of Italy; and the Lord Anthony excused himself upon that score, but I believe he saw nothing to encourage him to advance. We had a great number of grooms and servants with our waggons, who flocked about the Italian men-at-arms, when they were dismounted, and knocked most of them on the head. The greatest part of them had their hatchets (which they cut their wood with) in their hands, and with them they broke up their head-pieces, and then knocked out their brains; otherwise they could not easily have killed them, they were so very well armed; and to be sure there were three or four of our men to attack one man-at-arms. The long swords also which our archers and servants wore did very good execution. The king continued on the ground where he had been charged, declaring that he would neither follow the chase nor retire to our vanguard, which was at too far a distance. He had appointed seven or eight young gentlemen to attend constantly about him. He had escaped very well the first charge, considering how near he was to the enemy; for within twenty paces of him the bastard of Bourbon was taken prisoner and carried off to their camp.

CH. XII.—Consequences of the Victory gained by the French at Fornovo; and the Danger to which King Charles VIII. found himself exposed.—1495.

The king (as I said before) remained in the same place, and so ill attended that of all his squadron he had none left him but Anthony des Aubus, a gentleman of his bed-chamber, a little man, and but ill-armed; the others were all dispersed, as he told me himself at night before their faces, and they ought to have been ashamed of themselves: but they returned to his assistance very seasonably; for a small party of the routed enemy coming along the road, and perceiving it so thin of men, fell upon the king and the aforesaid gentleman of his bed-chamber; but the king, by the activity of his horse (which was the best in the world), kept them at bay till others of his men came up, who were not far off; and then the Italians were all forced to fly. Upon this the king took their counsel and retired to his van, which had never stirred from its ground. Thus the king came off victoriously with the main battle, and if the van had advanced but a hundred paces, the enemy’s whole army would have fled: some said they ought to have advanced, and others that they ought not.

Our troops, which had pursued, followed the enemy to their very camp, which was extended towards Fornovo; and I saw none of our men touched but one Julian Bourgneuf, who fell down dead from a blow that was given him by an Italian who passed by him; but he was very ill armed. Upon that accident our men stopped, and cried, “Let us return to the king;” and at that very word the whole party halted to give their horses breath, which had been very hard ridden, and were tired with the length of the way, which was full of sharp stones and gravel. Not far from us we saw a party of about thirty of the enemy’s men-at-arms march along in retreat; but we were in disorder and suffered them to pass. When our horses had taken a little breath we went in search of the king, not knowing where he was: we set off at a good trot, but we had not gone far before we perceived him at a great distance. We then caused our servants to alight and gather up the lances, which lay very thick upon the field, and especially the bourdonnasses; but they were good for nothing, for they were hollow and light, and weighed no more than a javelin, yet they were finely painted; so that we were now better furnished with lances than on the day before, and marched directly towards the king. In our way we fell in with several bodies of the enemy’s foot, who were of the marquis’s division, and had hid themselves behind the hills when he made his charge upon the king. Several of them were slain; but others got over the river and escaped, and we did not trouble ourselves much about them.

Some of our men in the heat of the action cried out “Remember Guynegate,” which was a battle[427] we had lost in King Louis’ time in Picardy against the King of the Romans, because our people fell to plundering the waggons, though there our men had got nothing; but here their Estradiots took what they thought good, and pillaged as they pleased; but they carried off only five and fifty of our richest and best-covered sumpters, which belonged to the king and his chamberlains, and took one of the king’s gentlemen of the bed-chamber called Gabriel[428], to whose care were committed all the relics and curiosities which for a long time had belonged to the kings of France, and were then in the army, because the king was there in person. Many other of our sumpters and waggons were overturned, destroyed, and plundered by our own men; but the enemy had no more than I have already mentioned. We had, indeed, several pimps and wenches who followed the camp on foot, who stripped the dead and did a great deal of mischief.

To speak the truth (upon impartial information from both sides), we lost only Julian Bourgneuf, the captain of the king’s gate, nine of the Scottish archers, one gentleman of the household, about twenty horse of the vanguard, and seventy or eighty servants belonging to our baggage. On their side they lost three hundred and fifty men-at-arms upon the field; for no prisoners were taken, which perhaps never happened before. Few of their Estradiots were slain, for they were busy in plundering when they should have been fighting. In the whole (as I have been informed by several of their nobility) they lost three thousand five hundred men (others say more), and among them were several persons of quality. I myself saw a list of eighteen, all of them considerable persons, and among the rest four or five of the Gonzagas, which is the name of the marquis’s own family. The Marquis of Mantua in this battle lost sixty gentlemen of his own subjects, all mounted and not one on foot among them. It is strange that so many should have been killed with the sword, for our artillery killed not ten in both armies, and the battle lasted not a quarter of an hour; for as soon as the enemy had broken their lances they fled, and the chase lasted about three-quarters of an hour. Their battles in Italy used not to be managed at this rapid rate; their custom was to fight squadron after squadron, and the fight lasted sometimes a whole day together, without either side winning the victory.

The rout was great on their side: three hundred of their men-at-arms, and most of their Estradiots fled, some to Reggio[429], and others to Parma, which was about eight leagues from the field of battle. When our army was first engaged in the morning, the Count de Petillane and the Lord Virgil Ursini fled from us: the Lord Virgil only retired to a gentleman’s house hard by, and stayed there upon his parole; but the truth is, we had done him an injury. The Count de Petillane went over to the enemy; he was a person well known in their army, for he had always had a command under the Florentines or King Ferrand. As soon as he was got amongst them he began to cry out “A Petillane, a Petillane;” and he followed those who fled above three leagues, calling out to them, and assuring them that there was no danger, and that if they faced about, the day would still be their own: by which means he rallied a great part of them, and gave them good hopes; and if it had not been for him, it would have been a total defeat, for it was a great encouragement to them to have such an officer escape from us and come to their assistance.

He was eager for attacking us again that very night, but all the rest of the officers opposed it. He told me so himself afterwards, and the Marquis of Mantua confirmed it, and owned that advice to be his; and this is certain, had it not been for him, their army would not have kept together till morning.

As soon as we were got up to the king, we discovered a great body of men-at-arms drawn up in order of battle outside their camp, with some infantry; but we could only see their heads and the tops of their pikes and lances. They had stood there all day, but they were farther off than we imagined: before we could have come at them we must have passed the river, which was deep, and increased every hour, for it had thundered, lightened, and rained most prodigiously all that day, especially during the fight and while we were in the pursuit. The king immediately called a council of war, in which it was debated whether he should advance against this new body or not. There were then with him three Italian knights; one of them was Signor John James di Trivulce (who is yet living, and behaved himself very well that day); another was Signor Francisco Secco, a brave man of seventy-two years of age, who had been bred a soldier under the Florentines; the third was Signor Camillo Vitelli, who, with three of his brothers, was then in the king’s service. These came unsent for from Citta-de-Castello as far as Sarzana (which is a great way), to be present at this battle; and, finding that it was impossible to come in time enough with his troops, Camillo left them to march slowly after, and advanced with all speed to overtake the king. The last two were of opinion that we should attack the body that was still unbroken; but the French officers being consulted, gave their judgment against it, pretending that we had done enough, and that it grew late and was time to think of quarters.

Secco persisted, and pressed hard to have that body charged; he showed them that people were passing to and fro upon the great road that led to Parma (which was the next town they had to retreat to), and assured them that the enemy were either flying or rallying again; and, as we heard afterwards, he was in the right. His behaviour and counsel denoted him to be a brave and wise man, for all the officers told me afterwards, and some of them before the Duke of Milan’s face, that, if we had but advanced against them, we had certainly obtained the greatest and most glorious victory that the French nation had won for ten years! and, had we known how to have improved it, and obliged the people by our civil treatment of them, in eight days’ time the Duke of Milan would not have had anything left but the castle of Milan, so inclinable were his subjects to revolt from him. And the Venetians would have been much in the same condition, and there would have been no need to care about Naples; for the Venetians would have been able to have raised men only in Venice, Brescia and Cremona (which is but a small place), for all the rest of their territories in Italy would have been lost. But God had dealt by us as Jerome had foretold, and we had the honour of the day, though, to speak truth, our ill conduct did not deserve it, nor did we then know how to manage our victory; but now, in the year 1497, if such good fortune should happen to the king, I think he could order it better.

Whilst we were in this suspense the night drew on, and the enemy that had faced us marched off into their camp. We, on the other side, took up our quarters about a quarter of a league from the field of battle. The king lay in a farmhouse or cottage (to judge by the meanness of the building), but the houses belonging to it were full of unthreshed corn, which served for provender for our horses. There were a few houses besides that in which the king lay, but they were even worse than it; so they were but little benefit to us, and every one was forced to quarter as he could. For my part, I remember I lay in a little pitiful vineyard, upon the ground without any shelter; for the king had borrowed my cloak in the morning, and my baggage was not to be found. He that had anything to eat kept himself from starving; but very few had any victuals more than a crust of bread or so, which they took from their servants. I saw the king in his chamber, where there were several wounded; amongst the rest, the seneschal of Lyons and others, whom he caused to be dressed. The king was very cheerful, and every one was pleased he had escaped so well; but we did not boast and swagger as we used to do, for the enemy was at hand. All our Swiss were that night upon the guard; the king gave them three hundred crowns, and they watched very diligently and their drums beat bravely during the whole night.

CH. XIII.—How the Lord of Argenton went alone to parley with the Enemy, upon the Refusal of those that were deputed to go along with him, and of the King’s safe Arrival with his whole Army at Asti.—1495.

The next morning I resolved with myself to pursue our negotiations for peace, as I was still very solicitous about the king’s passage in safety; but I could scarce find a trumpeter that would venture to the enemy’s camp, because nine of their trumpeters had been slain (unwittingly) in the battle, and they had taken one of ours and killed another, whom (as I mentioned before) the king had sent to them before the fight began; but at last one of our trumpeters was prevailed upon to go, and went to the enemy with a passport from the king, and brought me another to meet and confer in the midway between the two armies. I judged it to be dangerous; however, I resolved not to break with them, nor pretend any difficulty. The king nominated the Cardinal of St. Malo, the Lord de Gié, marshal of France, the Lord de Piennes his chamberlain, and myself. The enemy appointed the Marquis of Mantua captain-general of the Venetians, the Count di Cajazzo general for the Duke of Milan, and formerly of our side, and Signors Luca Pisani and Melchior Trevisano the two proveditors. We approached so near that we could plainly discern them, and that there were only those four upon the bank and the river between us, which was much swollen since the day before. Nobody but they appeared out of their camp, and on our side there was nobody but we four and a sentinel that stood over against them. We sent a herald to know whether they would pass the river to us, which I thought a hard matter to persuade them to, because I believed it was what both sides would scruple to do. Their answer was, that by agreement the conference was to be in the midway between the two armies; that they had advanced already above half-way, and, being the chief officers in their army, they could not pass over without danger, which they did not think it prudent to venture.

Our deputies were as careful of themselves, and made the same difficulty on their side, but would needs have me go and confer with them without further instructions. I told them I could not in discretion go alone, and that I would at least have one witness along with me. Upon which there went with me one of the king’s secretaries called Robertet, a servant of my own, and a herald, with whom I passed the river, in confidence that, if I could not come to any accommodation, I should yet discharge my duty to them, since by my means the conference had been accepted. When I came within hearing, I told them they were not come half-way as they pretended, and that they ought at least to have come to the river’s side; however, since they were so near, I did not think it fit to let them return without being spoken with. They replied that the river was broad, and the noise of the waters so great, that they could not hear us from the other side; and I could use no argument powerful enough to persuade them to advance any farther; but they asked me for my proposals. I answered, that I had no such commission, and that alone I could say nothing to them; but, if they pleased to offer anything, I would acquaint the king with it. While we stood talking in this manner, a herald came to me to let me know that our commissioners were going back, and I might make what overtures I pleased; but I refused to do that, for they understood the king’s pleasure better than I, as being his confidants; besides which, they had whispered in his ear at their coming away; but, as to the business then in discussion, I knew as much as the best of them.

The Marquis of Mantua began to discourse about the battle, and asked me if the king would have put him to death if he had taken him prisoner. I told him “No,” but he would have treated him honourably; for the king had reason to esteem him, for the great honour he had gained by attacking him. Then he spoke to me in behalf of the prisoners, and particularly of his uncle the Lord Rodolph, whom he thought to be alive, but I knew the contrary; however, I assured him they should all be civilly used; and then I recommended to him the bastard of Bourbon, who was their prisoner. It was no hard matter to use our prisoners well; for we had none, which perhaps had never been known in any battle before; and the marquis had lost seven or eight of his near relations, and about sixscore of his men-at-arms. After which discourse I took my leave, and promised to return before night; until when we agreed to a cessation of arms.

Upon my return to the king, with his secretary, he asked me what news? and immediately called a council of war in a pitiful poor chamber; but everybody’s eye was fixed upon his neighbour, and we came to no resolution. The king whispered something in the Cardinal’s ear, and then told me I should go back, and see what they would say (but, as the proposition of a conference had proceeded from me, it was probable they would insist that I should make some overtures first); however, the Cardinal told me I must conclude nothing; but that was trifling, for it was not in my power to conclude anything unless I had instructions from them. However, I would neither say nor do anything that might hinder my going, for I resolved to do no harm, and I was in hopes to discover something by the enemy’s looks, who, without doubt, were more fearful than we; and I thought perhaps something or other might fall from them that might be improved to the benefit of both parties. So I set out for their camp; but it was night before I reached the banks of the river. One of their trumpeters met me there, with a message from their four commissioners to desire I would advance no further that evening; for their Estradiots were upon the guard, who knew nobody, and therefore, in all probability, it would be dangerous for me to venture; but, if I pleased, he told me he would stay with me all night, and conduct me in the morning. However, I sent him back, and told him I would be there again next morning by eight o’clock, and that he should await me; or, if anything happened to prevent me, I would give them notice by a herald; for I had no mind he should know anything of our condition that night, nor could I tell what resolution the king would take; for I saw people whispering in his ear, which made me suspicious; and so I returned to give his majesty an account of what I had done.

Every man supped on what he could get to eat, and took up his lodging upon the ground. About midnight I went to the king’s quarters, where I found the gentlemen of his bed-chamber booted and spurred, and ready to mount on horseback. They acquainted me with the king’s resolution of retreating with all expedition towards Asti and the territories of the Marchioness of Montferrat; and desired me to stay behind and amuse the enemy with a treaty. I heartily thanked them for their love, told them I took no delight in being killed, and that I would be on horseback as soon as the best. Awhile after the king awaked; and, having heard mass, he mounted immediately. An hour before day one of our trumpeters sounded the watch, but when we marched off we made no use of our trumpets, nor, indeed, was it proper to do so: however, this silent stealing away in the night was enough to have discouraged the whole army, especially those who knew what it meant; for we turned our back upon the enemy, and consulted nothing but our safety, which in an army is of dangerous consequence. Besides, at our first decampment we had very difficult marching; for the ways were deep and woody, and, having no guides, we lost ourselves several times. I heard the soldiers call for guides to their ensigns; but the master of the horse and all of them answered there were none: but we had no need of any, for God had conducted us thither, and (as Friar Jerome said) He would carry us back again; otherwise it could not have been supposed that so great a prince would have marched in the night without a guide, where so many might have been had. Besides, God gave us a greater evidence than this of His immediate protection; for the enemy perceived nothing of our decampment till noon the next day, as they still depended upon the treaty which I had set on foot: and then the river was so swollen, it was past four in the afternoon before any durst venture over to pursue us. The first that passed was the Count di Cajazzo, with two hundred Italian light horse, but the current was so strong, they passed in a great deal of danger, and, as I was told afterwards, one or two men were drowned.

In the meantime, we marched on through woody and uneven ways, where we could go but one abreast for near six miles together; but at last we came into a fair plain, where our van, artillery, and baggage were arrived already, and were so numerous and great, that at first sight they frighted us, when we saw the white colours chequered with red, which belonged to Signor John James di Trivulce, and were like those which were carried before the Marquis of Mantua in the fight. Our van were in no less fear of our rear, seeing them at a distance along the road, and marching towards them as fast as they could; upon which both parties stood to their arms, and drew up in order of battle: but this fear was soon over, for our scouts met immediately, and recognized one another; so we marched to Borgo San-Donino, where we halted and refreshed our men, and where also a false alarm was given, on purpose to get our Swiss out of the town, lest they should have plundered it. From thence we marched, and took up our quarters that night at Firenzuola, and the second night near Piacenza, where we passed the Trebia, but left two hundred lances, our Swiss, and all our artillery, except six guns, on the other side of the river: and this the king did, that his army might encamp more commodiously; for the river is usually low, and especially at that time of the year. However, about ten o’clock at night it swelled so fast, that nobody could get over either on foot or on horseback; neither could one party have relieved the other, in case of necessity, which was a matter of great concern, considering how near the enemy were to us. All that night was spent on both sides in contriving a remedy; but nothing would do till the water fell of itself, which happened at about five in the morning. Then we threw over ropes to the other side, to help the passage of our foot, who were forced to wade up to the waist in water. When they were over, the horse and artillery followed; but with great difficulty and danger, not only from the garrison of Piacenza, but from the Count di Cajazzo, who was got into the town, upon intelligence that there were designs to betray it to the king, in trust for a young son of John Galeas, the last Duke of Milan, who had died not long before, as you have heard. If the king would have accepted such overtures as these, several other persons and towns would willingly have come over to him, by the interest of Signor John James di Trivulce; but he would not hearken to anything prejudicial to the pretensions of his cousin the Duke of Orleans, who was then in Novara; and yet, to speak impartially on the other hand, his majesty was not desirous to advance the grandeur and power of his cousin; but his chief design was to march on with his army, and leave these disputes to be adjusted as they might. The third day after the battle, the king dined at Castel San-Giovanni, and lay in a wood; the fourth he dined at Voghera, and lay at Ponte Curone; the next night he lay near Tortona, where he passed the river Scrivia, which Fracasse[430] was to have defended, for the garrison of Tortona supported the Duke of Milan, and were commanded by him: but when he was informed by our quarter-masters that the king intended not to remain, he retired into the town, and sent us word, that he would furnish us with what provisions we pleased; and he faithfully performed his promise; for when our whole army marched under the walls of the town, Fracasse came out (in his armour) to wait upon the king, but attended only by two persons; he excused himself as handsomely as he could for not quartering us in the town, sent us out more provisions, (so that our army was plentifully furnished,) and came again at night, to pay his respects to the king in his tent. But you must know he was of the house of St. Severino, brother to the Count di Cajazzo, and the Lord Galeas; and not long before had served the king in Romagna, as has been already observed. From thence our next march was to Nizza della Paglia[431], which belongs to the Marquisate of Montferrat; and glad we were to reach that place; for then we were safe, and in the country of our friends. Before our arrival there, the enemy’s light horse, under the command of the Count di Cajazzo, were perpetually at our heels, and gave us great disturbance; for few of our horse were willing to be in the rear, and the nearer we approached to a place of security, the more difficult it was to persuade them to fight. Some say this is the nature of the French, and Italian authors have written, that in their attacks they are more than men, but less than women in their retreats. The first part of their character I believe, for certainly upon a charge they are the fiercest nation in the world (I mean their cavalry); but at the end of an engagement, there is no nation in the world but is less daring and courageous than they were in the beginning of the action.

CH. XIV.—How the Swiss secured the French army in its retreat.—1495.

But to continue this discourse: Our rear was brought up by three hundred Swiss, with several field-pieces, and a strong body of hackbutters, who drove off the Estradiots, who were not numerous. However, the grand army which had fought us was pursuing with all possible diligence, but as they began their march a day after us, and were heavily armed, they could not get up to us; so that we lost not a man in our retreat, nor could they ever come within twenty miles of our rear. When they found they could not come up with us, (and perhaps they never desired it,) they turned off towards Novara, where, as we said before, the Duke of Milan and the Venetians had another army; but if they could have reached us, soon after we began our retreat, in all probability they had succeeded better than in the valley of Fornovo.

I have said in several places of these Memoirs, that I have seen, and by experience found, that God the Creator was our conductor in this expedition into Italy; yet it is convenient for me to repeat it again, for though from the time of the battle to our arrival at Nice, our quarters were taken up without proper order, yet we bore the hardships and inconveniences of the long march, without raising any mutiny or murmuring in the least. Our great want was of provisions, yet we were in some measure supplied by the country people, who might easily have poisoned us if they had pleased, not only in our victuals and wine, but in our water too, and our wells, which might have been dried up in a moment; for I do not remember I saw any but what were very small. If they had had a mind to have destroyed us by poison, it was in their power to have done it, and therefore we may reasonably believe our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ prevented that desire in them. I have seen our men so thirsty, that our foot in great numbers have lain down, and drank out of the ditches round about the little villages through which we marched. Our marches were long, and our drink nothing but standing water that stank; and yet our men were so greedy, they plunged in it up to the waist to come at it; for we had multitudes that followed, the camp, and were not soldiers, but attended to our mules. The king always marched before day, but never took a guide with him, nor baited till noon, and then he dined; and those that attended him took what care they could of themselves. No man in the whole army, though of the best quality, was excused from looking to his own horse, but every one brought his own straw or hay in his arms. Twice I did it myself, and was two days without eating any thing but bread, and that none of the best; yet I suffered not so much hardship as others did. Our army was highly to be commended for one thing, and that is, that I never heard any of our soldiers complain; and yet it was the most painful and incommodious march I ever made, though I have been through several that were bad enough, with Charles Duke of Burgundy. We marched no faster than our artillery, and were often forced to halt, on purpose to mend the guns, which, because of the want of horses to draw them, incommoded us extremely; but whenever we were hard put to it, we were generously supplied by the officers of the army; so that we lost not one piece, nor one pound of powder in our retreat; and yet I am of opinion never any man saw guns of their size conveyed with such expedition through such impassable places. And if I have mentioned any thing of disorder or inconvenience in our quarters or elsewhere, it was not for want of good officers and men of experience in our army; but (as fortune would have it), they had no authority with the king, who was young and intractable, as I have said before; so that to conclude, our Saviour Jesus Christ did most manifestly reserve all the glory of that journey to himself.

The seventh day after the battle, we marched from Nice, and encamped all together in the field, not far from Alessandria. We doubled our guards that night, and kept very strict watch, and the next morning we marched to Asti, that is to say, the king and those that attended on him, but the army continued in the field. We found the town of Asti well furnished with provisions, which was a great refreshment to our wearied troops, who wanted them severely, having endured much hunger, thirst, labour, heat, and watching; and after all had no clothes to their backs, but what were ragged and worn out. As soon as the king was in Asti, about an hour before bedtime, I despatched a gentleman named Philip de la Couldre (who had formerly been in my service, but was then a servant to the Duke of Orleans), to Novara, where the duke was besieged, though not so closely but that people might get in and out; for their design was only to starve them. I sent him word by this gentleman, that our king had several treaties on foot with the Duke of Milan (one of which I managed by means of the Duke of Ferrara), for which reason I thought it convenient he should immediately come to the king, after he had assured his party in the town that he would return in a short time, or send them relief. They were no less than 7500 men in pay, and as fine a body of troops (for their number) both French and Swiss, as ever were seen in the field. After the king had been a day at Asti, he had intelligence from the Duke of Orleans and from others, that the enemies’ two armies were joined before Novara; and the duke pressed for supplies, for (by reason of their imprudence at first) their provisions now began to fail; but had they been so provident when they came into the town, as they ought to have been, they need not have been in distress; for there was plenty enough in the villages about it, especially of corn, which if they had brought in time into the town, and carefully laid up in their magazines, they would not have been forced to surrender: for had they held out but one month longer, they would have come off honourably themselves, and covered the enemy with shame and confusion.

CH. XV.—How the King fitted out a Fleet with an intention to have relieved the Castles of Naples; and of the Miscarriage of that Design.—1495.

As soon as the king had refreshed himself for some few days at Asti, he marched to Turin[432]; and at his departure from Asti he despatched Peron de Basche, the steward of his household, to equip a fleet at Nice with all speed for the relief of the castles of Naples, which held out for the king. Peron obeyed his majesty’s orders, prepared a fleet, and gave the command of it to the Lord d’Arban[433], who sailed with it as far as Pruce[434], within sight of the enemy; but the weather was bad, and would not suffer them to engage, so that the fleet did nothing; for the Lord d’Arban returned to Leghorn, where most part of his men got on shore, and ran away from their ships; and the enemy came with their fleet into the port of Bengon[435], not far from Piombino, where they continued two months; so that our men were able to send some small supplies into Naples, by reason that the nature of the port of Bengon is such, that unless it be by one single wind ships can hardly get out, and that wind blows seldom in winter. The Lord d’Arban was valiant in person, but not a very skilful admiral.

During the king’s stay at Turin many proposals of treaties passed between the king and the Duke of Milan; and some were managed by the mediation of the Duchess of Savoy, who was the Marquis of Montferrat’s daughter, a widow, and mother to the young duke[436] that was then living. Others were transacted by other people: I was also concerned therein: for the confederates (by whom I mean the commanders at that time before Novara), had a great desire to have me employed in the matter, and sent me a passport; but (as there are always emulations at court) the Cardinal would not suffer it, but prevailed that the overture proposed by the Duchess of Savoy might be preferred, which was managed by the Cardinal’s landlord, who was treasurer of Savoy, a wise man, and a good servant to his mistress: this treaty took up a long time, and for this cause the Bailiff of Dijon was sent ambassador into Switzerland, to raise five thousand of their men.