Chapter XVIII: Book THE EIGHTH (7)

About this time several of the nobility of Normandy arrived at Paris to serve the king in his wars, all which had their quarters assigned them in the Faubourg de St. Marcel, amongst whose retinue there were some particular persons that committed great thefts and disorders, two of whom were seized by some of the citizens as they were forcing their way into the city; and upon the citizens stopping them, the Normans began to abuse and rail at the citizens, calling them traitors and rebellious Burgundians, vowing to be revenged of them, and telling them that they came from Normandy with no other design but to plunder and destroy the whole city. Of which words a complaint being made, and an information given by the said citizens to the mayor of Paris, the principal offender, who spoke these dangerous words, was condemned to the ignominious punishment of walking barefoot and bareheaded, with a lighted torch in his hand, through the streets, and in the public market-place before the Hotel de Ville, in this shameful condition, to acknowledge his offence before the town-clerk, and to ask the good citizens of Paris pardon and forgiveness for what he had falsely and maliciously spoken, and afterwards to be bored through the tongue, and banished the city.

On the Monday following, the Burgundians came and showed themselves before Paris, amongst whom was the Count de St. Paul, to meet whom the king went out of Paris, and they had a conference together, which lasted two hours; and as a surety for the Count’s safe return, the king delivered up the Count du Maine, who staid in the Burgundians’ army till the return of the said Count de St. Paul.

And on the same day a great council was held in the exchequer-chamber, at which, amongst the other officers and magistrates of that court, the sixteen quarteniers[520], the cinquanteniers[521], and some of the councillors belonging to the court of parliament, were present; to whom, by the king’s order, Morvillier, chancellor of France, made a speech, in which he acquainted them how honourably his majesty had acquitted himself towards the princes, and what generous offers he had made them upon their demanding the duchy of Guienne, Poitou, with the country of Saintonge, or the duchy of Normandy, as an appanage for the Duke of Berry. He farther told them that the king’s council, who were there present, had informed the princes that it was not in his majesty’s power to give away or dismember anything belonging to the crown; and that since he was pleased to offer the countries of Champagne and Brie, reserving only to himself Meaux, Montereau, and Melun, in lieu of the said appanage, they were of opinion that the Duke of Berry ought not in reason and honour to refuse it. After this the assembly broke up, and (all hopes of an accommodation being vanished) the young seneschal of Normandy was ordered out with six hundred horse to skirmish with the Bretons and Burgundians, who were drawn up in order of battle on the other side of the Seine, and, firing upon them, killed a gentleman of Poitou belonging to M. Panthieu’s regiment, called John Canreau, Lord de Pampelie.

On the Saturday following, at break of day, one Lewis Sorbier, whom Marshal Joachim Rouault had left in Pontoise as his lieutenant, basely and treacherously betrayed his trust, and suffered the Bretons and other troops belonging to the enemy to possess themselves of the town, having agreed with them beforehand, that whoever of the Marshal Joachim’s regiment refused to enter into their service, should have the liberty of marching out with their bag and baggage, without being examined or molested. And as soon as he had delivered up Pontoise into the enemy’s hands, he marched with some of his confederates to Meulan, where, not believing that his treason was already known, he thought that, by showing Marshal Joachim’s colours, he would get an easy admittance; but upon his arrival at the gates, the inhabitants of Meulan, who had been informed of his treachery, and were in arms upon the walls, cried out, “Get you gone, vile and despicable traitor,” and fired their cannon upon him and his party, which obliged him to retire with the utmost shame and confusion to Pontoise; and on Sunday, by break of day, the enemy came and gave the city an alarm on the side of St. Anthony’s gate, and a great body of them penetrated as far as St. Anthoine des Champs; and in order to dislodge them, several cannon, field-pieces, and culverins were fired, but there were no sallies made.

About this time the Bretons and Burgundians who lay before Paris made songs, ballads, lampoons, and other scandalous verses, on some of the chief officers of the court, which set the king so against them, that he turned them out of their places. Neither did the king’s own soldiers, who were quartered in Paris, behave themselves much better, but spent their time in all manner of lewdness, debauching and seducing the hearts of several wives, maids, and widows, who left their children, husbands, and places to follow and live with them.

In the evening, M. Balue, Bishop of Evreux, was set upon by some people that owed him a spite, in the Rue de la Barre du Bec, who at the first stroke beat the two torches that were carried before him out of the servants’ hands, and afterwards they came up to the bishop, who, being mounted on a stout mule, carried him off cleverly to his own hotel in the cloister of Nostre-Dame; by which means he saved his life, for his servants, who were afraid of being knocked down, had quite forsaken him; however, before he made his escape he received two wounds, one in his hand, and another in one of his fingers. The king was extremely concerned at this accident, and ordered a strict inquiry to be made after the assassins; but they were never discovered.

On the Thursday following, there was a great complaint made in the Hotel de Ville by some of the citizens against the soldiers for having spoken and published certain words and speeches of a dangerous consequence to the inhabitants. Among other things, they boldly affirmed that neither the city of Paris nor anything in it belonged to the inhabitants, but to them who were quartered in it; that they would have the citizens know that the keys of their houses were at the soldiers’ disposal; that they would turn out the present possessors, and live in them themselves; and, in short, if the citizens pretended to make resistance, they should find, to their sorrow, they were able to conquer them. And the very same day a foolish Norman said openly at St. Denis’s gate that the Parisians were very weak to think that chaining up their streets would signify anything against the forces of their country. A report of these dangerous and insolent words being made to some of the officers of the Hotel de Ville, they immediately issued out an order commanding several streets to be chained up, and that every quartenier of Paris should cause great fires to be made in every ward under his jurisdiction, and that one of them should be in arms upon the watch before the Hotel de Ville all night, which was accordingly done. And that very night there was a hot report that the gate of the Bastille St. Anthoine was left open on purpose to let the Bretons and the Burgundians into the town; and, to confirm it the more, several cannon were found nailed up, and rendered unfit for service.

On the Friday following, two pursuivants-at-arms arrived at Paris; one was despatched from Gisors to acquaint the king of the weak condition of that place, which was wholly unprovided with everything necessary for its defence, and to let his majesty know that if he did not send them a speedy supply of men, arms, ammunition, and provision, they must be forced to surrender to a body of six hundred horse that lay before the town. The other pursuivant was sent by one Hugh des Vignes, a man-at-arms belonging to M. de la Barde’s regiment, and who at that time was at Meulan, to inform the king that he was assured from very good hands that the Bretons had a design of surprising Rouen as they did Pontoise, if they were not prevented. And on the same day the ambassadors that were chosen on both sides dined together at St. Anthoine des Champs without Paris; and on the next day the same ambassadors on both sides were assembled again, but in two distinct parties, that is to say, the Duke du Maine and those of his party, who were for the king, with the rest of the lords and princes, were all of them together at the Grange-aux-Merciers. There were also several others nominated by the king, who were at St. Anthoine des Champs; but notwithstanding this meeting, very little business was despatched this day.

In the afternoon the king received letters from the widow of the late Peter de Brézé, by which she informed his majesty of her having caused the Lord Broquemont, captain of the palace at Rouen, to be apprehended upon suspicion of not being well affected to his government, and having a design to deliver it up to the Bretons; but that he need not give himself the least pain about Rouen, for he would certainly find all the citizens hearty and true to his interest. The same day, in the afternoon, arrived the unwelcome news of the taking of Rouen by the Duke of Bourbon, who entered the town by the castle of Rouen, which was the weakest side, and lay towards the fields.

As soon as the princes that lay before Paris heard of the taking of Rouen, they sent to acquaint the king that his brother, the Duke of Berry, who was before contented with Champagne and Brie, would accept of no other appanage than the duchy of Normandy; so that the king was forced, notwithstanding the former agreement, to give the Duke of Berry the duchy of Normandy, and reserve for himself that of Berry. The Count de Charolois had for his share the towns of Feronne, Roye, and Mondidier, for him and his heirs for ever; besides, the king gave him during his life all the lands and towns that were lately redeemed for four hundred thousand crowns, and had been pawned to his father Philip, Duke of Burgundy, to which he added the countries of Guynes and Boulogne, to be enjoyed by him and his heirs for ever. He also gave to the Duke of Calabria a great sum of money, and lent him a certain number of troops, which were to be paid by the king, and to be employed wherever the Duke of Calabria thought fit. The Duke of Bourbon was to have the same pension, and the same quota of troops allowed him that he formerly had in the reign of the late King Charles, besides the remainder of his wife’s marriage dower, which was left unpaid; and this was all he demanded. The Count de St. Paul was restored to all his places that had been taken from him during this unhappy rupture between the king and the princes, and a considerable pension settled upon him for life. The Count de Dammartin was also restored to all his lands and possessions that were confiscated by a decree in Parliament, and had considerable presents made him by the king. As for the other lords, they had every one of them a large share, and departed well satisfied with what they had got.

And on Tuesday, the 1st of October, a peace was proclaimed between the king and the princes, and that day the Count de St. Paul came to Paris, and, having dined with the king, was conducted into the Hotel de Ville, where he was created Constable of France, and took the oaths accordingly. And on the same day the king ordered a proclamation to be issued out, by which free leave was granted to all the inhabitants to supply and furnish the Bretons and Burgundians with whatever necessaries they wanted; upon which proclamation several merchants of Paris immediately sent a great quantity of all sorts of provision into the fields before St. Anthony’s gate, which was quickly bought up, especially the wine and the bread, by the whole army, who instantly repaired thither half starved, and in a miserable condition, with their thin, lank cheeks over-grown with hair, and full of lice and nastiness, and the greatest part of them without stockings or shoes. But every one will be amazed at the inconceivable strength and richness of Paris, which was able to maintain four hundred thousand horse, including the Burgundians, Bretons, Calabrians, Picardians, and the rest of the enemy’s forces for a long time, and plentifully to supply them, without ever raising the price of any manner of provision; nay, immediately after the enemy had left it, things were sold cheaper than they were before; and the whole Thursday following was spent in victualling the Burgundian camp. The same day the king went to make a private visit to the Count de Charolois near Conflans, which was looked upon by all persons that had a respect and concern for his majesty, as a very indiscreet action; nay, the very Picardians themselves and the rest of the army could not forbear reflecting upon him, and breaking their jests upon the Parisians after this manner: “Here, take your king, who has at last submitted to the Count de Charolois, and meanly condescended to visit him in private; in a little time we shall have him at our command.”

On Friday, the fourth of the same month, the king gave orders for the admittance of the Burgundians into the city through St. Anthony’s gate, who, upon that permission, came in large bodies, and committed several riots and disorders, which certainly they would never have done had they not been encouraged by the king’s late condescension in visiting the Count de Charolois in so private a manner.

On the Sunday following several men of quality and officers of the army came and supped with the king at Paris in an hotel belonging to M. John Lullier, the town-clerk, at which entertainment several ladies of quality and distinction were also present.

And in this month of October a detachment of the Count de Charolois’s troops came before Beauvais, and summoned the town to surrender; upon which the inhabitants set down the summons in writing, and sent it to the king, who immediately sent it to the Count de Charolois, with whom he had lately concluded a peace. The Count de Charolois sent back word to the king that he knew nothing of the summons; and that whosoever had done it, did it without his knowledge or order. The king returned a very civil answer to the Count de Charolois, and told him it was not a fair way of proceeding; that for the future, in pursuance of the articles of peace that had been lately concluded between them, he must forbear committing such acts of hostility; and that if he had a mind to Beauvais, he should have it.

On the Thursday following, several waggon-loads of gold and silver, for the payment of the Count de Charolois’s troops, arrived in the Burgundian camp, under a strong convoy both of horse and foot, commanded by the Lord de Saveuses; and on the same day the Duke of Bretagne and the king came to an agreement in relation to the affair that was between them, by which compact the king was obliged to restore the county of Montfort and several others; besides a vast sum of money to pay that very army which he, in conjunction with the rest of the princes, had raised to invade the king’s dominions. The next day M. John le Boulenger, president of the court of parliament, was sent by the king’s order to the Hotel de Ville to acquaint the mayor and aldermen of Paris that the Burgundians had a design to review their army that day before the city gates, and to desire them to acquaint the common people with it, lest they should be surprised and astonished to see them thus drawn up against the town. But after all, the review was not made in sight of Paris that day, but from the Pont de Charenton to the Bois de Vincennes, whither the king, attended only by the Count de Charolois, the Duke of Calabria, and the Count de St. Paul, very imprudently went to see the review. As soon as the review was over, the king came back by water to Paris; and the Count de Charolois, upon his taking leave of his majesty, in the presence of those lords that attended the king thither, made the following acknowledgment in these words:—“My lords, you and I are subjects to the king here present, our lord and sovereign, and ought to serve him whenever he pleases to command us.”

Not long before this, the king had received a private information of a design formed by some of his enemies either to kill him or seize upon his person; upon which he immediately ordered his guards to be doubled, great fires to be made every night in the streets, the number of the watch to be augmented, as well upon the walls as in the streets, and took all the care imaginable to prevent their designs and secure his own person; and upon hearing of the surrender of Caen and several other towns in Normandy, he immediately reinforced the garrison of Mantes with a considerable body of men-at-arms and Frank archers.

On Tuesday, the 22d of October, the king made a private visit to the princes at the Grange-aux-Merciers, where all but the Duke of Berry were met together; and the next day the Duke of Bourbon had a long conference with the king in a place without the gates of Paris, on this side of the ditch of the Grange de Ruilly.

On the Saturday following, the Count de Charolois, with a small detachment, left the army, having first caused an order to be published in his camp, by which all soldiers were obliged, under pain of death, to hold themselves in readiness to march against the Liegeois, who with fire and sword had invaded his territories. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday the Duke de Berry lay ill of a fever at St. Maur des Fossez; but being pretty well recovered of his illness by Wednesday, the 30th of October, and able to go abroad, he went to wait upon the king at the Bois de Vincennes, where he did homage to him for the Duchy of Normandy, which the king gave him for his appanage; and on the same day the articles of peace between the king and the princes were read and published in the court of parliament, and ordered to be registered in the same court.

And on the Thursday following, the Duke of Berry, the Count de Charolois, and the rest of the princes, separated, and went different ways. The Duke of Berry, whom the king waited on some part of the way to Pontoise, went into Normandy; and afterwards the king and the Count de Charolois retired to Villiers le Bel, where they stayed two or three days, and from thence the count marched with all speed through Picardy to make war upon the Liegeois.

On the Monday following, M. Robert Destouteville, Lord of Beine, who was mayor of Paris in the reign of the late King Charles, and had been displaced by the king upon his accession to the crown, was restored to his former office, which had been given to James de Villiers, Lord of Lisle Adam, and that day he sat in the Hotel de Ville as mayor, and despatched a great deal of the king’s business.

On Thursday, the 7th of November, 1465, M. Robert Destouteville was conducted to the Chastellet of Paris by M. Charles de Melun and M. John Dauvet, first president of the parliament of Toulouse, whom the king had acquainted with the said Robert Destouteville’s having taken the oaths already as mayor of Paris in the room of James de Villiers, whom, upon his first accession to the crown, he had advanced to that office. And after the letters patent, by which the king appointed and constituted the said Robert Destouteville mayor of Paris, were read, he was immediately put into possession of his office, without giving the said Villiers any time to lodge an appeal against him.

On Saturday, the 9th of November, M. Peter Morvillier, Chancellor of France, resigned the seals, and was succeeded in the chancellorship by Juvenal des Ursins, who was in the same post at the death of the late King Charles VII.

About this time also the king made several alterations and promotions in his court; amongst the rest, he turned M. Peter Puy out of his office of Master of the Requests, and gave it to M. Regnault des Dormans.

After the settling of this affair the king went to Orleans and took with him Arnold Lullier, banker and citizen of Paris, whom he commanded to attend him during his stay there; he also carried along with him M. John Longuejoye the younger, who was newly married to Madame Genevieve, daughter of M. John Baillet, and made him one of his counsellors of state. Before he left Paris, he made M. Charles d’Orgemont, Lord of Mery, Treasurer of France, Arnold Lullier Treasurer of Carcassonne, and M. Peter Ferteil Comptroller of his Household.

The king during his stay at Orleans, made several acts, laws, and ordinances, turned out several officers of the army, and gave their commissions to others; amongst the rest he took away the command of a hundred lances from Poncet de Rivière, and made him Bailiff of Mont Ferrant, upon which, in disgust, he went beyond sea, and visited Jerusalem, and the Holy Hill of St. Catharine. Several other officers had their commissions taken from them, and given to others that did not so well deserve them. The king also restored Monsieur de Loheac, Marshal of France, to all his former places in the government, some of which had been given to the Count de Comminges, Bastard of Armagnac; and after he had settled these regulations, he left Orleans, and marched with his whole army and artillery directly into Normandy towards Argentan, Exmes, Falaise, Caen, and other places, in order to reduce them to his obedience, where he found the Duke of Bretagne, who stayed there some time with his majesty.

A little after this, the Duke of Berry went from Rouen to Louviers, thinking to find the Duke of Bourbon there, but being disappointed of meeting him, he immediately came back again. Upon his return to Rouen, he was with great pomp and ceremony conducted into the town-hall by the magistrates of the city, who, according to the usual custom of the place, acknowledged him for their duke by putting a ring on his finger; afterwards he took an oath to maintain and support them in their privileges and franchises, and immediately remitted to them half the taxes they were formerly used to pay. This act of generosity won the hearts of the whole city, and so firmly united them to his interest, that the nobility, gentry, clergy, and the common people, vowed to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in his service, and to remain his faithful and loyal subjects for ever. And afterwards they presented him an old book of records that was in the town-hall, and made him read an article in it aloud before all the people, which gave an account of a king of France heretofore who at his death left two sons, the eldest of whom succeeded his father, and the youngest had the duchy of Normandy for his appanage: how that the elder brother, as soon as he was settled in his kingdom, demanded a restitution of the said duchy, and being denied, how he made war upon his younger brother, and thought to have taken it from him by force, but his subjects unanimously joining with him, they dethroned his brother the King of France, and set up their duke for king. After he had done reading, they boldly told him they feared nothing; that their fortifications were strong and in good repair; that they had great store of cannon, arms, ammunition, and provision, and could upon occasion make a brave defence, assuring him they would one and all to a man stand by him, and defend him, themselves, and the town, against any opposers whatsoever.

On the 30th of December of the same year the king in his return from Lower Normandy arrived at Pont Audemer, and from thence marched into the county of Neufbourg, from whence he detached the Duke of Bourbon with a body of forces to summon Louviers, which surrendered on the Wednesday following, and the Duke of Bourbon took possession of it for the king, into which his majesty made a public entry the same day after dinner. From Louviers the king marched to a town called Pont des Arches, about four leagues from Rouen, which he formally besieged.

On Monday, the 6th of January, 1466, a proclamation was issued at Paris, commanding all the sutlers that were used to supply the army with provisions, to repair immediately to the camp before Pont des Arches, and all the prisoners were ordered to be ready by the next morning, to set out for the same place, under the command of M. Denis, one of the four aldermen of the city, who was appointed to take care of them.

On the Wednesday following the king entered Pont des Arches, and M. John Hebert with several others who were in the town retired to the castle, which three days after was also surrendered to the king. After the surrender of the town and castle, the citizens of Rouen sent deputies to treat of an accommodation, who highly complained of the Dukes of Bourbon and Bretagne. And amongst other requests and remonstrances that the said deputies were ordered to make to the king, one was, that his majesty would be pleased to be reconciled to them, notwithstanding what they had done; that he would openly declare that they had not been wanting in their duty, nor acted contrary to his interest; and that he would grant them the same privileges and immunities he had granted his good city of Paris; to which his majesty answered, he would consult his council about it.

Whilst this affair was in agitation, several of the king’s party had free admittance into Rouen, and conversed familiarly with the citizens; in the mean time, the Duke of Berry and several of his adherents retired to Honfleur and Caen, where they stayed for some time. During these transactions, M. John de Lorrain thought to have made his escape into Flanders, but was taken and brought before the king, who disposed of most of the officers belonging to the duchy of Normandy, putting in new officers, and turning out the old ones. And after the Duke of Berry’s leaving Rouen, the city was reduced to the king’s obedience, upon which the king dismissed all his Frank archers from his service till the 1st of March following, sent all his artillery to Paris, and retired to Mount St. Michael in Lower Normandy. About that time the king gave the command of one hundred lances which belonged to M. Charles de Melun to the Count de Dammartin, who was with him, and not long after deprived him of his office of high steward of his household, and gave it to M. de Craon; however, several people were of opinion that M. de Melun had done the king signal services, and been very faithful to him, especially in his great care and defence of Paris in the king’s absence in Bourbonnois, which he managed and regulated so well, that many sincerely believe that the preservation of that city and the whole kingdom is in some measure owing to his conduct and vigilance in that affair.

About that time the king commanded Chaumont upon the Loire (belonging to M. Peter of Amboise, lord of the same place) to be burnt; and it was accordingly done.

On Monday, the 3rd of February, one Gauvain Manniel lieutenant-general of the bailiwick of Rouen, was taken in the city and carried prisoner to Pont de l’Arche, and there, upon a scaffold erected near the town bridge, was beheaded by the provost-marshal for high treason, his head fixed on a lance on the same bridge, and his body thrown into the river Seine. Just after this the Dean of Rouen and six canons were banished the city, and expelled the duchy of Normandy.

After this the king went to Orleans, where he stayed a considerable time with the queen, and then retired to Jargeau and the neighbourhood of that place, where ambassadors from several potentates upon different affairs came to wait upon his majesty. And about that time he resolved to send an embassy to the King of England; and accordingly the Count de Roussillon Bastard of Bourbon and Admiral of France, the Lord de la Barde, the Bishop and Duke of Langres, M. John de Pompaincourt, and M. Oliver le Roye one of the counsellors of the exchequer, were chosen to go in that embassy, and they set out for England in April, 1466.

On Saturday, Whitsun Eve, an order was published by sound of trumpet in all the public streets of Paris, by the command of the Constable of France, in which order was inserted the royal mandate he had newly received from the king, the substance of which was, that the king (having received certain advice that the English, his ancient enemies, had a design to invade the kingdom of France with a powerful army, and for that descent were fitting out a strong squadron of men-of-war,) was resolved to make what preparations he could to oppose and defeat their designs, and therefore had given full power and command to his Constable of France to make proclamation of it in all the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets of the kingdom, in order that all the nobility and gentry holding any lands by homage or fealty of the crown, not excepting the Frank archers, should be ready in arms by the 15th of June following, under pain of imprisonment and confiscation of goods.

At the same time a peace was concluded with the English both by sea and land, which was publicly proclaimed; and about that time also, the Duke du Maine was for some secret reason turned out of his government of Languedoc by the king, which was given to the Duke of Bourbon.

After the consummation of marriage between the Admiral of France and the king’s natural daughter, the king gave the said admiral the castle of Usson in Auvergne, which was looked upon to be the strongest place in the whole kingdom, with the government of Honfleur, and several other places in Normandy.

In July, several prelates, lords, churchmen, and counsellors, that the king had sent for to make some new regulations in all the courts of justice, and to reform some abuses, arrived at Paris, to whom the king gave full power and authority; and by virtue of the same, he nominated and appointed twenty-one commissioners, of which M. Charles d’Orleans, and the Counts of Dunois and Longueville were chief commissioners; and even these commissioners had no powers of acting, unless thirteen of them, besides their presidents the Counts de Dunois and Longueville, were assembled together; and in pursuance of the commission that had been granted them, they began their sittings on Tuesday the 16th, and were called by the people the reformers of the nation. This was just a year since the battle between the king and the Count de Charolois at Mont l’Hery.

About this time a war broke out between the Liegeois and the Duke of Burgundy, upon which he immediately took the field with his whole army, and being a little indisposed, was carried in a litter, commanding his son the Count de Charolois, with all the nobles and officers that were with him, to march forward with a strong detachment to invest Dinant, and leave him to come up with the rest of the army. Upon his arrival the town was formally besieged, which occasioned several sallies and bloody actions on both sides, much to the disadvantage of the Burgundians in the beginning of the siege, but at last, whether by force of arms or treason, the town was taken by the Burgundians, who, only reserving a few of the chief citizens, whom they made prisoners of war, turned out men, women, and children, and gave the town up to be plundered by their soldiers. Nor were they contented with this; they set fire to the churches and the houses, and having burnt and consumed everything they could lay their hands on, they ordered the walls to be demolished, and the fortifications to be blown up, by which means the poor inhabitants were reduced to extreme want and necessity, and abundance of young women were forced to betake themselves to a vile and shameful way of living.

In August and September in the same year, the heats were so violent as to breed the plague and several other contagious distempers in France, which swept away, in a little space of time, above forty thousand people in Paris and the neighbouring towns. Some persons of note and learning died also of it, amongst whom we may reckon M. Arnoul, the king’s astrologer, a very worthy, learned, and facetious person, several eminent physicians, and abundance of officers belonging to the city.

During the plague, the king and his council stayed at Orleans, Chartres, Bourges, Meun, and Amboise, and during his abode in that neighbourhood he received several embassies from foreign princes and states, especially from England and Burgundy; and it was there he declared in council his resolution of making war upon the Duke of Burgundy, and his son, the Count de Charolois, upon which the ban and arriere-ban were ordered to be raised, and a considerable augmentation to be made to the body of Frank archers.

After this affair was despatched, the king made several new ordinances and establishments for the better defence of his kingdom, and the garrisoned towns in it, and accordingly he made the Marshal de Loheac his lieutenant of Paris and the Isle of France, M. de Geilon had the government of Champagne, and the government of Normandy was given to the Count de St. Paul, Constable of France, who formerly was the king’s enemy, and had joined with the Duke of Burgundy and the Count de Charolois.

Some time after this, in February 1467, an ambassador from Bretagne arrived at Paris, who, after he had had audience of the king, set out for Flanders, to wait on the Duke of Burgundy and the Count de Charolois his son. The many civilities that the king showed this ambassador made some persons of note imagine that the affair between the king and his brother was amicably adjusted, at which they were extremely glad.

Immediately after this, the king set out from Paris, in order to visit Rouen and several other places in Normandy, and during his stay at Rouen he sent for the Earl of Warwick out of England, and went by water, attended by several of his nobility, as far as Bouillé, to meet him, which was situated on the Seine, about four leagues from Rouen. He arrived there on the 7th of June, 1467, about dinner-time, where he found a magnificent entertainment ready prepared for him and his nobility, and after dinner the Earl of Warwick came to pay his compliments to the king, after which he went to Rouen by water, and the king and his nobility by land. The magistrates of Rouen, in their formalities, were ordered to go out to meet the Earl of Warwick, and receive him, upon his landing, at the Key-Gate of St. Eloy, with abundance of pomp and ceremony, bearing before him crosses, banners, holy-water bottles, and the relics of several saints, attended by the priests in their copes; and after this manner he was conducted to the church of Notre Dame, where he made his offering, and from thence to a magnificent apartment prepared for him in one of the religious houses. Soon after this, the queen and the young princesses came to Rouen, and the king stayed there with the Earl of Warwick about a fortnight; after which the earl took leave of his majesty, and returned to England, accompanied by the Admiral of France, the Bishop of Laon, M. John de Pompaincourt, M. Olivier le Roux, and several others, whom the king had ordered to wait on him thither.

The king presented the Earl of Warwick, during his stay at Rouen, with several valuable and rich presents, amongst the rest a piece of gold plate, and a large gold cup set with precious stones. The Duke of Bourbon also presented him with a fine diamond, and several other things of value; besides which, he and his whole retinue had all their expenses borne by the king from their first landing in France to their embarking for England. After the earl’s departure the king returned from Rouen to Chartres, where he stayed some time; and in this month died Philip, Duke of Burgundy, and his body was carried with great solemnity to Dijon, and interred in the church of the Carthusians.

Immediately after this, the king ordered a proclamation to be published, by which (in order to repeople his good city of Paris, that had been greatly diminished by war, sickness, and other misfortunes) his majesty gave leave to strangers of all nations, of what crimes soever they had been guilty, except high-treason, to come and settle in the city, suburbs, or precincts thereof, promising to grant them the same privileges as his own subjects, and to defend and protect them, even not excepting those that had been banished to St. Maloes and Valenciennes. At the same time, also, by sound of trumpet, was published an order, commanding all the nobles and gentry holding any lands or tenures by homage or fealty, even not excepting those in the Isle of France, as well in Paris as elsewhere, to be ready in arms by the 15th of August.

About this time, the Admiral of France, and those that were ordered by the king to wait on the Earl of Warwick into England, returned, where they had stayed a long while without doing any thing, and brought with them some hunting-horns and leathern bottles, as a present from the King of England to the King of France, in return for all the valuable gifts his majesty and the Duke of Bourbon had made the Earl of Warwick at his departure from Rouen. And on Friday, the 18th of August, the king arrived at Paris, about nine at night, attended by the Duke of Bourbon and several of the nobility.

On Tuesday, the 1st of September, the queen also came from Rouen to Paris by water, and landed at Notre Dame, where her majesty was received by all the presidents and counsellors of the court of parliament, the Bishop of Paris, and several persons of quality in their robes and formalities. There was also a certain number of persons richly dressed to compliment her on the part of the city, and abundance of the chief citizens and counsellors of Paris went by water to meet her majesty in fine gilded boats covered with tapestry and rich silks, in which were placed the choristers of the Holy Chapel, who sang psalms and anthems after a most heavenly and melodious manner. There was also a great number of trumpets, clarions, and other softer instruments of music, which altogether made a most harmonious concert, and began playing when the queen and her maids of honour entered the boat; in which the citizens of Paris presented her majesty with a large stag made of sweetmeats, besides a vast quantity of salvers heaped up with spices and all sorts of delicious fruits, roses, violets, and other perfumes being strewed in the boat, and as much wine as every body would drink. After the queen had performed her devotions to the blessed Virgin she came back to her boat, and went by water to the Celestines’ church-gate, where she found abundance of persons of quality ready to receive her majesty, who, immediately upon her landing, with her maids of honour, mounted upon fine easy palfreys, and rode to the Hotel des Tournelles, where the king was at that time, and where she was received with great joy and satisfaction by his majesty and the whole court; and that night there were public rejoicings and bonfires in Paris for her majesty’s safe arrival.

On the 14th of September, the king, who had ordered the Parisians to make standards, published a proclamation, commanding all the inhabitants, from sixteen to sixty, of what rank or condition soever, to be ready to appear in arms that very day in the fields, and that those that were not able to provide themselves with helmets, brigandines, &c., should come armed with great clubs, under pain of death; which orders were punctually obeyed, and the greatest part of the populace appeared in arms, ranged under their proper standard or banner, in good order and discipline, amounting to eighty thousand men, thirty thousand of whom were armed with coats of mail, helmets, and brigandines, and made a very fine appearance. Never did any city in the world furnish such a vast number of men, for it was computed there were sixty-seven banners or standards of tradesmen, without reckoning those of the court of parliament, exchequer, treasury, mint, and chastellet of Paris, which had under them as many or more soldiers than what belonged to the tradesmen’s banners. A prodigious quantity of wine was ordered out of Paris, to comfort and refresh this vast body of men, which took up a vast tract of ground, extending themselves from the end of the Lay Stall, between St. Anthony’s gate and that of the Temple, as far as the Town-ditch upwards to the Winepress, and from thence along the walls of St. Antoine des Champs, to the Grange de Ruilly, and from thence to Conflans, and from Conflans back again by the Grange-aux-Merciers, all along the river Seine, quite to the Royal Bulwark over against the tower of Billy, and from thence all along the Town-ditch on the outside to the Bastile and St. Anthony’s gate. In short, it was almost incredible to tell what a vast number of people there were in arms before Paris; yet the number of those within was pretty nearly as great.

About this time a terrible war broke out between the Liegeois, and the Duke of Burgundy, and their bishop, cousin to the Duke of Burgundy, and brother to the Duke of Bourbon, whom they besieged in Huye, and after a long siege took the town, but the bishop made his escape; and towards the latter end of it the king sent four hundred lances under the command of the Count de Dammartin, Sallazart, Robert de Conychan, and Stevenot de Vignolles, with six thousand Frank archers, picked and chosen out of Champagne, Soissonnois, and several places in the Isle of France. As soon as the Burgundians heard that the Leigeois had taken Huye, they resolved immediately to take the field with their whole army, and to march against them and destroy them with fire and sword, to be revenged of them, for the Burgundians they had slain upon their taking the town. Accordingly they declared war against them throughout all their dominions by the ceremony of a naked sword in one hand, and a burning torch in the other, signifying that this was a war of blood and fire.

About the same time the king sent the Bishop of Evreux, who was lately made a cardinal at Rome, M. John de Ladrische, treasurer of France, and several others, on an embassy to the Count de Charolois, to negotiate some secret affair with that prince.

On Sunday night about nine, there was such terrible thunder and lightning as had scarce been known in the memory of man; and during the whole month there were such prodigious heats as surprised every body, which was looked upon to be very strange and unnatural.

On Thursday the fifteenth of the same month, the king received advice that a great detachment of Bretons had possessed themselves of the town and castle of Caen, in Normandy, and from thence marched to Bayeux, which they also surprised, and turning out the garrison, put some of their own troops in it. The king was extremely concerned at this news, and immediately sent the Marshal de Loheac, who had the command of one hundred lances of Bretagne, into Normandy, to see how affairs stood there.

About this time, M. Anthony de Chasteauneuf (Lord of Lau, great butler of France, and seneschal of Guienne, great chamberlain to the king, and the most beloved and rewarded of any favourite the king ever had) was, by his majesty’s order, moved front the castle of Sully upon the Loire, where he had been long a prisoner, to the castle of Usson in Avergne, by M. Tristan l’Ermite the king’s provost-marshal, and William Serisay, newly chosen register in parliament; and upon this removal there was a discourse, which lasted some time, that he was executed, but it was a false report.

On Tuesday, the 20th of October, the king set out from Paris for Normandy, and lay that night at Villepereux, and the next at Mantes. Before he left Paris he sent for several of his captains and officers of his army, and ordered them to get the troops that were under their command in readiness to follow him into Normandy, or wherever there should be most occasion for them; and on the same day he published certain letters and ordinances, by which he declared that it was his royal will and pleasure that for the future all the officers of his kingdom, both civil and military, should continue in their places, and that no place should become vacant but by death, resignation, or forfeiture, resolving to dispose of no places but what became vacant by one of the three before-mentioned ways, and therefore it would be in vain for any one to expect or solicit for a post upon any other terms, since he designed to do justice to every one. After this declaration, he set out from Mantes for Vernon on the Seine, where he stayed some time, during which the Constable of France, who came thither to pay his respects to the king, found out an expedient how to conclude a peace between his majesty and the Duke of Burgundy, for six months from the date of the articles, without including the Liegeois, who were actually in arms against the Duke of Burgundy, in hopes of being assisted by the king, as they were promised; but by this treaty they were balked in their expectations, and left in the lurch. As soon as the treaty was signed and sealed by the king, the Constable of France went to wait on the Duke of Burgundy to acquaint him with it.

Soon after this M. John de Balue, Bishop of Evreux, M. John Ladrische, and the rest that had been sent into Flanders to negotiate an affair at the Duke of Burgundy’s court, came to Vernon, to give the king an account of their embassy; immediately after which the king left Vernon, and came to Chartres, where he stayed till the arrival of the greatest part of his artillery from Orleans, which was to be employed in the reduction of Alençon, and several other towns in the same province. And afterwards the king sent M. John Prevost into Flanders with the articles of peace to the Duke of Burgundy.

On the 16th the Bishop of Evreux, the Treasurer de Ladrische, M. John Berart, and M. Jeffery Alnequin, arrived at Paris, in order to review the banners, and to inspect several other things that the king had given them in charge. After that the king went from Chartres to Orleans, Clery, and other towns in that neighbourhood, and afterwards to Vendôme, from whence he marched with great part of his artillery and a considerable body of troops to Mount St. Michael. In the mean time the Bretons with a strong army left their own country, and penetrated into Normandy as far as the city of Orange, and other towns of that province, and also dispersed themselves in small bodies all over Normandy, as far as Caen, Bayeux, Coutances, and other places. About the same time the Duke of Burgundy, taking advantage of the peace that was concluded between him and the king, in which the Liegeois were excluded, marches against them with his whole army, and lays siege to their capital city; and they being balked in the expectation of those succours that the king promised to send them, and seeing their ruin near at hand, were at last forced to surrender all their towns to the Count de Charolois, besides giving him a vast sum of money, and consenting to have their gates pulled down, and part of their walls demolished.

On Saturday, the 22nd of November, the Bishop of Evreux, and the rest of the commissioners appointed for that purpose, reviewed the bands of the tradesmen as they were drawn up and ranged under their respective banners in several places in the city. And the very same day the king commanded a proclamation to be issued out, commanding all persons that were used to serve in the wars to repair forthwith to certain commissaries appointed to receive and give them pay. And the next day M. John Prevost returned from the Duke of Burgundy’s court, whither the king had sent him with the articles of peace, and brought his majesty back the answer the Count de Charolois had given him in relation to that affair. On Thursday the 16th of November, there was another review made of all the banners without the gates of Paris. As soon as the review was over, the Bishop of Evreux, and the rest of the commissioners, with M. John de Ladrische, Treasurer of France, M. Peter l’Orfevre, Lord of Ermenonville, and several other of the king’s officers, set out from Paris to wait upon the king, who was between Mans and Alençon with a prodigious army consisting of one hundred thousand horse, and twenty thousand foot, in order to oppose the Bretons; upon which his majesty ordered the greatest part of his artillery to be brought up, to be employed in the siege of Alençon.

During these transactions there were some overtures of peace which hindered the king from entering upon action; and so by consequence his army was forced to destroy and eat up all the flat country for twenty or thirty leagues round Mans and Alençon. In the mean time the Count de Charolois, who had already destroyed the Liegeois, and overrun the country, retired to St. Quentin; and ordered a proclamation to be issued out through his whole dominions, commanding all his subjects that were able to bear arms, and those forces that were already raised, to repair to St. Quentin by a certain day upon pain of imprisonment, in order to be reviewed by certain commissaries appointed for that purpose. The same proclamation he caused to be published in Burgundy, commanding all his subjects of that duchy to repair to Montsavion by the 22nd of December, as a place of general rendezvous, where several commissaries were also appointed to enlist and enter them in his service; from whence they were ordered to march and join the forces at St. Quentin, which were to act in conjunction with those of the Dukes of Berry and Bretagne, against the king of France. Upon publishing of this proclamation, several merchants of Paris that were gone into Burgundy to buy up some commodities, made a quick return, without doing any business; and the Count de Charolois ordered all his forces to rendezvous at St. Quentin on the 4th of January following.