JOHN DUKE OF BURGUNDY GOES TO PARIS, AND CAUSES THE DAUPHIN AND QUEEN TO RETURN THITHER, WHOM THE DUKE OF ORLEANS WAS CARRYING OFF,—WITH OTHER MATTERS.
When the duke of Burgundy had concluded his business at Arras, he set out on the vigil of the Assumption of the Virgin towards Paris, accompanied by a body of men, to the amount of eight hundred combatants, secretly armed. He stopped some days at the town of Louvres, in the Isle of France, where letters were brought him, to say, that the king had recovered his health from his late illness, and that the queen and the duke of Orleans were gone to Melun, and thence to Chartres, carrying with them the duke of Acquitaine, dauphin of Vienne.
Having considered the contents of these letters, he went to bed and slept, but ordered his trumpet to sound very early, and left the town with all his men, and hastened to Paris to prevent the dauphin from leaving it. On his arrival, he was told by the Parisians, that he was already departed after his mother, which was true; upon which the duke, without dismounting or making any delay, trotted through Paris with his troops as fast as he could in pursuit of the dauphin. He overtook him between Ville-Juive and Corbeil, where the queen and the duke of Orleans were waiting dinner for him. With the dauphin were his uncle by the mother’s side, Louis of Bavaria, the marquis du Pont, son to the duke of Bar, the count Dammartin, Montagu, grand master of the king’s household[88], with many other lords to attend upon him. There was in the litter with him his sister de Priaux, wife to sir James de Bourbon.
When the duke of Burgundy approached the dauphin, he made him the most respectful obeisances, and supplicated him to return and live in Paris, where, he said, he would be better than in any other part of France; adding, that he was desirous of conversing with him on many points which touched him personally.
After this conversation, Louis of Bavaria, seeing the dauphin was inclined to comply with the request of the duke, said, ‘My lord duke of Burgundy, suffer my nephew the dauphin to follow the queen his mother and the duke of Orleans, as he has had the consent of his father for so doing.’
Notwithstanding this speech, and many others that were urged on the same subject, which for the sake of brevity I omit, the duke of Burgundy caused the litter of the dauphin to be turned about, and brought him and all his attendants back to Paris, excepting the marquis du Pont, the count Dammartin, and many more of the household of the duke of Orleans.
These last galloped off toward Corbeil, where they related to the queen and the duke of Orleans how the duke of Burgundy had made the dauphin and his attendants return against their will to Paris. This intelligence alarmed and astonished them,—for they knew not what the duke of Burgundy’s intentions were,—insomuch that the duke of Orleans left his dinner, which was quite ready, and went in haste to Melun, followed by the queen and their households.
The duke of Burgundy, as I have said, conducted the dauphin to Paris; and the king of Navarre, the dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, the count de la Marche, with many more great lords, and an immense crowd of the citizens of Paris, came out to meet him, and escorted him most honourably into the town. The duke of Burgundy, however, and his two brothers, as well as the lords above mentioned, kept very close all this time by the sides of the litter.
They rode on in this state, at a foot’s pace, until they came to the castle of the Louvre, when the dauphin was helped out of his litter by his uncle, Louis of Bavaria, and there lodged. All the lords then retired to their houses except the duke of Burgundy, who likewise lodged there. He shortly after sent many messengers to his different countries, to order men at arms instantly to attend him at Paris. The duke kept his state at the Louvre, in the apartments of St Louis, and in those underneath, which formed part of them. The dauphin and his household were lodged in the chambers above them.
On the morrow, the rector and the soundest[89] part of the university came to pay their respects to the duke of Burgundy, and to thank him publicly, with all humility, for his great love and affection towards the king, his family and the whole realm, of which they formed a part, being well assured of his good intentions, which were meant for its reformation and amendment, beseeching him to persevere in these his endeavours, notwithstanding any obstacles he might meet with.
On the Sunday following, the duke and all his people removed from the Louvre; and he established himself at his hôtel of Artois,—and in the adjacent streets he had strong fortifications made of palisades and barriers, to prevent any annoyance from his adversaries. He also prevailed on the king and the great council, that the chains in the Louvre, which had formerly been taken away, should be restored, and affixed to the streets as they before had been. The duke of Burgundy gained much popularity with all the Parisians for having obtained this for them.
The castle of the Louvre remained under the guard of sir Regnault d’Angiennes, to whom it had formerly been intrusted by the king. The bastille of St Anthony was committed to the care of Montagu, grand master of the king’s household, on his making oath that he would not suffer any man to enter it, but when the king’s council was there assembled. The dauphin, by orders of the king and council, was placed under the care of the duke of Berry.
The duke of Burgundy and his two brothers now presented a petition to the king and council, of which the contents were as follows:
‘John duke of Burgundy, Anthony duke of Limbourg, and Philip count of Nevers, brothers, your very humble subjects, relations, and obedient servants, fully sensible, by reason and justice, that every knight of your realm is bound, after God, to love, serve and obey you. We feel ourselves not only obliged to do you no harm, but held to notify to you personally whatever may be proposed against your honour or advantage. In like manner are bound all those your relations who hold great lordships under your favour. We are, as we shall make appear, very sensible of this obligation,—for we are subjects of your realm, as well as cousins-german to your blood.
‘And I John, by the grace of God and your favour, am duke of Burgundy, peer of the kingdom of France and dean of the peerage, count of Flanders and Artois,—and I Anthony, count of Rethel[90],—and I Philip, count of Nevers and baron de Doussy,—and withal by the consent of you, our very redoubted lord, and with that of our much redoubted lady the queen, and of all the royal family, has the marriage been confirmed between the duke of Acquitaine, dauphin of Vienne, your son, and the daughter of me, duke of Burgundy,—and also that between the lady de Charolois, your daughter, and Philip, count de Charolois, my son. We have also been commanded by our late redoubted lord and father, at the time of his decease, who then made us promise that we would inviolably preserve our fidelity toward you and your kingdom, which we shall wish ever to do during our lives.
‘In order, therefore, to prevent any of our actions from being suspected, which may bring down on us the divine indignation, it seems necessary that we declare what is frequently done contrary to your honour and advantage, and principally, according to our judgment, in four points.
‘The first respects your person. Before you recovered from this last illness, by which you are not the only one who suffered, but all those who had a real affection for you, and whom you loved, suffered great affliction on your behalf, seeing matters were transacted in your council against your honour, though coloured over with a pretence of being advantageous. Many unreasonable requests were made, to which, though you had given a denial, some of the members of your council have taken on themselves to grant them, so that the requests, however unreasonable, have been complied with.
‘You have, besides, neither robes, jewels, nor plate, becoming your royal state; and when any small quantity is bought for use, it is very shortly after pawned. Your servants have not audiences from you, nor have they any profit. They are afraid of mentioning to you such things as we now state, and which so much affect your honour, although very desirous of so doing.
‘The second point regards the administration of justice throughout this realm, which was wont to excel all other kingdoms in the ministring strict justice, which is the foundation-stone of your government.
‘In former times, your officers of justice were chosen, after mature deliberation, from among the wisest of your subjects, who defended your rights, and did equal justice to the lowest as well as to those of the highest rank; but now your rights are greatly infringed upon, and daily diminished, by which the people are very much oppressed.
‘The third point respects your domains, which are exceedingly ill managed, insomuch that many houses, castles and edifices, are falling to ruin. In like manner are your woods destroyed, your mills out of repair, your rivers and ponds robbed, and in general all the revenue of your domains are become, from their great diminution, of scarcely any value.
‘The fourth point concerns churchmen, the nobility and the people; and, first, it is a well known fact, that the clergy are grievously vexed, and suffer great losses, as well from the judges of the realm as from men at arms, and several other descriptions of persons, who take by force their provisions, ransack their houses, nay, make them ransom themselves from further injuries, by which means they have scarcely a sufficiency left to perform the divine service.
‘The nobility are frequently summoned, under pretext of aiding you in your wars, and never receive one penny for their attendance or service; and to purchase armour, horses, and other necessaries for war, they are often forced to sell their properties.
‘In respect to your people, it is very certain that they must speedily be ruined, from the vexations they suffer under your bailiffs, provosts, and especially from the farmers of your domains, and under your soldiers. These grievances have been so long winked at that it may be feared that the indignation of God will be roused against you, unless you shall provide remedies for them.
‘It is notorious that your enemies, during the reigns of Philip and John, both kings of France, your noble predecessors, did infinite mischief to your realm; and that they long detained, against the will of king Richard, your ally and son-in-law, as well as against your own, his wife and your daughter. They drowned several nobles and others, who had an affection for her, broke the truces, and have wasted and set fire to several places in your kingdom, in Picardy, Flanders, Normandy, Brittany and Acquitaine, where they have done irreparable damages.
‘We do not, noble sir, advise that you should neglect the war you have undertaken against your enemies,—for that would reflect disgrace on your honour and great council, and put an end to the dissensions that now remain among them, and the war they have on their hands against the Welsh and Scots. Should peace be made between them, greater evils might befal your kingdom than before.
‘It seems to us, as a certain truth, that you will find it very difficult to raise the necessary supplies for this war from your domains, or other sources. Two heavy taxes have been lately imposed, under pretence of supporting the wars; notwithstanding which, not one penny of their receipt has been expended on them, which may cause many evils,—for there are great discontents among the clergy, the nobility and the people; and should they rise together (which I hope will never happen), more real dangers may be the consequence than have ever yet befallen the realm. Every person in your kingdom who is loyally attached to you must feel much grief in seeing the money of your realm thus wasted.
‘We have thought ourselves, noble lord, thus bounden by our obligations to you, to lay the complaints of the nation before you; and, that we may avoid incurring your royal indignation, or that of our lady the queen, or of the princes of the blood, or others of your faithful subjects, we do not wish to make personal charges, nor to seek for any part in your government, but most humbly supplicate you to apply a remedy to the vexations we have stated, and request that you call into your presence those who may assure you of the truths we have told you, that you may seek wholesome counsel, and briefly put an end to such peculations.
‘To aid so good a work, we offer you our persons, our fortunes and our friends; and as in truth we cannot patiently see or suffer such things to be done against your honour, and that of your royal majesty, it is our intention never to cease supplicating your majesty until some efficient steps be taken to remedy them.’
Such was the petition of John duke of Burgundy and his brothers.
Another day, when the king was in a tolerably good state of health, the three before mentioned petitioners, accompanied by their uncle the duke of Berry, and many princes and knights of France, with master Regnault de Corbie, first president of the parliament, and a number of officers of state, went to the hôtel de St Pol, where they found the king, who had quitted his apartment and was in the garden. After having reverently saluted him, the three brothers did their homages for the lordships they held under him, namely, duke John for his duchy of Burgundy, and his counties of Flanders and Artois,—Anthony duke of Limbourg, for his county of Rethel,—and Philip the younger, for his county of Nevers.
There were also a very great number of noblemen, knights and esquires, who did their homages to the king for the estates they held from him in different parts of the kingdom. When the three brothers had requested certificates from the king of the duties they had performed, they took leave of him, and departed for their hôtels.
These same days there arrived at Paris, and in the adjacent villages, full six thousand fighting men, in obedience to the summons of the duke of Burgundy and his brothers, under the command of Jean sans pitié[91], bishop of Liege, and the count de Cleves. This force was collected to oppose the duke of Orleans, should he attempt any insult against them; for they were well informed of his not being well pleased that they had forced his nephew, the dauphin, to return to Paris, nor with the petition they had made to the king. What raised his indignation the more, and especially against the duke of Burgundy, was his knowledge that the charges in this petition attached more to him than to any other of the princes of the realm.
The duke of Orleans, not knowing what turn these matters might take, nor what measures might be pursued against his person, ordered men at arms from all quarters to his assistance. In the number, sir John Harpedanne came with his men from the frontiers of the Boulonois. From other parts came the duke of Lorraine and the count d’Alençon[92] with a large body of men, who were quartered at Melun, and in that neighbourhood, to the amount of fourteen hundred armed with helmets, besides a great multitude of other sorts.
The whole country round Paris, the Isle of France and Brie, were sorely oppressed by the men at arms of both parties.
The partisans of the duke of Orleans bore on their pennons the motto, ‘Je l’envie;’ and the duke sent messengers to the queen and to king Louis[93], who was preparing to set out for his kingdom of Naples with a powerful body of men at arms, to come to him at Melun. The king, leaving his own business, went thither, and had a conference with the queen and the duke,—after which he returned to Paris, with the intention of negotiating between the two parties.
He held many consultations with the dukes of Berry and Bourbon, and the king’s council, to attempt a reconciliation between the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. Whilst this was passing, the duke of Orleans wrote letters to many of the principal towns in the kingdom, complaining that many defamatory and injurious reports against his person and honour had been very industriously spread through Paris, which ought not to obtain any credit until he should make answer to them. In like manner, he wrote to the university of Paris, sending ambassadors to require that the matters in dispute between him and the duke of Burgundy should be argued before them, and that they should decide which of the two was to blame.
The university, on the receipt of this letter, sent some of their principal members as ambassadors to the duke at Melun, who stated three points which they were ordered to lay before him. In the first place, they thanked him for the honour he had done them by sending them his ambassadors: secondly, they declared that they should be very happy to witness the commencement of a reformation in the kingdom; and thirdly, that they should greatly rejoice to see him and the duke of Burgundy reconciled.
The duke of Orleans, having listened to them, instantly made answer, that they had not acted wisely in supporting and advising the duke of Burgundy in his measures, which had been principally directed against himself, as they could not have been ignorant that he was son and brother to a king; that the regency of the kingdom had been given to him as the most proper person, and was in fact his right, considering the state of the king’s health, and the youth of his nephew the duke of Acquitaine. He added, secondly, that those members of the university who were strangers, and from different countries, ought not to interfere in the government or reformation of the kingdom, but should leave it to him and those of the blood royal, and the king’s ministers.
In reply to their third point, he said, that there was no need of pacification between him and the duke of Burgundy, because there was not any warfare, nor had any challenges passed between them.
When the ambassadors had heard these answers, they withdrew, very much confused, and returned to Paris. On the ensuing Saturday, while the duke of Burgundy was in his hôtel d’Artois, he was informed, and it was a fact, that the queen and the duke of Orleans, with all their force, had marched from Melun, and were on their road to Paris.
The duke, on hearing this, mounted his horse, and rode to the hôtel d’Angiers, where he found the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, with other lords of the king’s council, who, when they knew of the arrival of the said duke of Orleans, were all greatly astonished; for this was in direct contradiction to their intent, and to the treaty which they were meditating between the parties.
The duke of Burgundy had a great number of men at arms, as well within Paris as without, who bore for motto on the pennons of their lances, in Flemish, Hie Houd! that is to say, ‘I have possession!’ in opposition to the device of the Orleans-party, Je l’envie![94] The greater part of the duke of Burgundy’s forces drew up in battle-array on the summit of Montfaulcon, to wait the arrival of their adversaries.
In the mean while, the populace of Paris rose; and multitudes armed themselves to oppose the entrance of the duke of Orleans, suspecting his intentions were to give the town up to pillage and murder. They pulled down many sheds, that no obstructions might be found in the streets to the full use of the lance, and that shelter might not be afforded against the stones thrown down from the roofs of the houses.
Many scholars armed themselves for the defence of the bridges; and true it was, that the Parisians were far more favourable to the party of Burgundy than to that of Orleans, and were willing, should there be occasion, to assist that party to the utmost of their power.
The duke of Burgundy was fully prepared to resist and combat the duke of Orleans, had he advanced as far as Paris. But the chancellor and presidents of the parliament, with other prudent men, observing the great ferment in Paris, made many visits to the hôtel d’Angiers, with a view to reconcile these princes, and avert the great mischiefs that might otherwise ensue. They likewise sent messengers to the duke of Orleans, to inform him of the state of Paris, and how very unpopular he was there. The duke and the queen, on hearing this intelligence, after a short consultation with their most confidential advisers, separated: the queen went to the Bois de Vincennes, and the duke returned with his army to Corbeil.
On the morrow, he came to Beauté; and his army was quartered near the bridge of Charenton, and in the adjacent country. During this time, the before-named princes, with many great lords and members of the council assembled, and met for several days, to consider of a reconciliation between the two parties. After some time, they at length made known to each their determination, which was, that within two days the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy should submit the whole of their disputes to the decision of the kings of Sicily and Navarre, and the dukes of Berry and Bourbon; and for the accomplishment of the decision, they were each to bind themselves by their corporal oath, and afterward to dismiss their forces. The duke of Orleans came to lodge at his hôtel at St Anthony, near the bastille.
A few days afterward, the princes before named managed the affair so well that the two dukes made up their quarrel, and apparently showed in public that they were good friends; but He who knows the inward secrets of the heart saw what little dependance was to be placed on such outward appearances.
The duke of Lorraine and the count d’Alençon, after this, returned home with their men, without entering Paris; and not long afterward, the duke of Burgundy departed, with his brothers and men at arms, for Artois, and thence to his county of Flanders, where he had a conference with his brother-in-law duke William, the bishop of Liege, the count Waleran de St Pol, the count de Namur[95], and several others. When this was ended, he returned to his town of Arras.