THE PRINCES OF THE BLOOD ASSEMBLE, AND RESOLVE TO REFORM THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ROYAL FINANCES.—THE DEATH OF MONTAGU.
AT this period, the following princes of the blood,—Louis king of Navarre42, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Bourbon, and many other great lords, were at Paris; and having learnt that the king’s treasury was impoverished by his officers and those who governed him, insomuch that his plate and the greater part of his jewels were in pawn, they one day personally explained to the king, in the presence of the queen, the duke of Acquitaine and others of his council, the miserable state of his finances, and the unworthy government of the officers of his household. They at the same time requested, that he would be pleased to permit that some of them should have power to reform in general the abuses that had commenced with his reign, and to call to an account, dismiss, and punish all who should have mismanaged the finances, according as the cases might require, without any exception whatever.
This request the king granted; and for the better carrying on their object, the greater part of the lords before mentioned left their own hôtels, and resided in the king’s palace of St Pol, where, with the advice of the members of the parliament and the university, they continued their reformations for many days.
They soon discovered that those who had managed the finances for the last sixteen or twenty years had very dishonestly acquitted themselves, and had acquired for themselves and their friends immense fortunes, to the prejudice of the state. Montagu, who had been the principal minister of finance, was particularly the object they aimed at,—and they ordered him, with several others, to be arrested and confined in the prisons of the Châtelet.
Sir Peter des Essars, provost of Paris, was directed to put this order into execution, with his sergeants; and by the command of the duke of Burgundy, the lords de Heylly, de Robais, and sir Roland de Vequerque, were appointed to assist the provost in this duty. Having assembled together, they, on a certain day, met Montagu, and with him the doctor, Martin Gouge, bishop of Chartres, both going to hear mass at the monastery of St Victor.
The provost, attended by the above lords, on meeting them, laid his hands on both, saying, ‘I lay hands on you by virtue of the royal authority vested in me for this purpose.’—Montagu, hearing these words, was much astonished, and trembled greatly; but his courage soon returned, and he replied to the provost, ‘What! rascal, art thou daring enough to lay hands on me?’ But the provost answered, ‘Matters will not turn out as you think,—for you must make reparation for the many and great mischiefs you have done.’
Montagu, unable to resist, was tightly bound by the provost, and carried by him straight to the little Châtelet. The bishop of Chartres was arrested with him, as he had been president of one of the financial departments. Montagu was several times put to the torture, insomuch that, suspecting his end was approaching, he asked his confessor what he had best do: the confessor replied, ‘I see no other remedy than your appealing from the jurisdiction of the provost of Paris.’ This he did; and the provost waited on the lords who had commanded him to arrest Montagu, to inform them, that he had appealed against his jurisdiction. The parliament was consequently convoked to examine into the matter; and the members of it declared the appeal of no effect. The lords, therefore, seeing the cause had been judged, said to the provost, ‘Go, without delay, accompanied by some of the populace well armed, take thy prisoner, and finish the matter by cutting off his head with an axe, and fix it on a lance in the market-place.’
After these words, the populace armed themselves, and, on the 17th of October, assembled in bodies in the place Maubert, and in other parts of the town. They carried Montagu to a scaffold erected in the market place, where, having made him strip to his shirt, they cut off his head, and fixed it to the end of a pike, and hung his body by the shoulders to the highest gibbet at Montfaucon. This execution was chiefly owing, as it was said, to the duke of Burgundy’s hatred to him, who even sent for a very great number of the nobles of his countries of Burgundy, Flanders, and Artois, to be spectators of it.
A little before this execution took place, the duke of Bourbon, and his son the count de Clermont, left Paris, indignant at the arrest of Montagu. The duke of Orleans, his brothers, and all of their party, were also very much displeased that he was put to death,—but they could not help it, for at that time they were not listened to by the king’s council.
On the morrow of this event, duke William count of Hainault arrived at Paris, having been sent for by the duke of Burgundy. A large company of the nobles went out of the town to meet him; and he was most graciously received by the king, the duke of Acquitaine and the other princes. On his arrival, the hôtel that had belonged to Montagu was given to him, with all its furniture, for it had been confiscated to the king’s use; and duke William took instant possession.
The castle of Marcoussi, which had been built by Montagu, was seized by the king: it is situated seven leagues from Paris, on the road to Chartres. Montagu was born in Paris, and had first been secretary to the king: he was the son of Gerard de Montagu, who had also been secretary to Charles V. He was of noble birth by his mother’s side, and had three daughters, two of whom were married; the elder to John43 count de Roussy, the second to Peter de Craon, lord of Montbason; and the third was betrothed to John de Melun, son to the lord d’Antoing44, but the match was broken off: his son was married to the daughter of the lord d’Albret, constable of France and cousin to the king, as has been related.
After this, the provost of Paris arrested many of the king’s officers, particularly those who had been concerned in the finances and in matters of revenue. All the principals in the department of the generalities, the presidents and others of the chamber of accounts, Perrin Pillot, a merchant, with several others, were imprisoned in the Louvre and in other places of confinement.
When the borgne de Foucal, equerry to the king, and keeper of that department of the treasury called the Epargne, heard that the grand master of the household was arrested, he was greatly astonished and troubled, and, instantly changing his dress, mounted a fleet horse, and secretly left Paris. This caused him to be much suspected of improper conduct by the princes who were examining into these matters.
At this period, the archbishop of Sens, brother to the grand master, Guichart Daulphin, William de Tignonville, knights, and master Goutier Col, secretary to the king, were sent, by orders from the king, to meet the english ambassadors at Amiens. The archbishop, hearing of the arrest and imprisonment of his brother, took leave of his companions, and set out from Amiens: but as he was journeying toward Paris, he was met by one of the king’s ushers, who made him his prisoner; for he had orders so to do from the king, and confine him at Amiens, should he chance to find him there.
The archbishop very prudently replied, that he was ready to follow him to prison or to death; but when they came to the river Oise, near the priory of St Leu de Cherens, he played the usher a trick. On leaving the ferry boat with a few of his people, he mounted the fleetest of his horses, and galloped off, leaving the usher on the other side waiting for the return of the ferry-boat; but, thunderstruck at his being so cheated, he returned to Paris without his prisoner.
The lord de Tignonville, having been a member of the chamber of accounts, was, by command of the princes, arrested by the bailiff of Amiens, and confined in his prison. But after a short time, he, the bishop of Chartres, and the other prisoners at Paris, were suspended from their offices, and, having given bail, were permitted to go about Paris, or wherever they pleased.
The princes, not being able to attend sufficiently to these matters of reform from their other occupations of greater weight, appointed a commission to examine carefully into them, which commission was composed of the counts de la Marche, de Vendôme and de St Pol, with some members of the parliament.
The men at arms that had been called together round Paris by the duke of Burgundy and others were disbanded; and each, as they returned to the places whence they had come, devoured the substance of the poor people, according to the custom of that time.
Sir Guichart Daulphin45, before mentioned, was, by the princes, appointed grand master of the king’s household in the room of the murdered Montagu; for the king was then troubled with his usual disorder.
The bishop of Paris now requested of the princes, that they would, in their mercy, permit him to have the body of his brother taken down from the gibbet, and, with many tears and supplications, petitioned for leave to bury him. But neither of these requests was granted him by the princes; on which the bishop, ashamed of the disgraceful death of one brother and the flight of another, the archbishop of Sens, soon after quitted his see, and taking with him his sister-in-law, the widow of Montagu, and some of their children, for the duke of Berry had already appointed another chancellor, went to the estate of his sister-in-law in Savoy: she was the daughter of sir Stephen de la Grange, formerly president of the parliament, and brother to the cardinal d’Amiens.
The borgne de Foucal, not answering to the proclamations that were made for his appearance, was banished the realm of France, by sound of trumpet in the four quarters of Paris. In like manner were the archbishop of Sens and many other fugitives banished the kingdom.
The king of Navarre, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Holland, with the counts de Vendôme and de la Marche, and several great lords, waited on the queen of France and the duke of Acquitaine, to make them acquainted with the reasons for the executing Montagu, and what progress they had made in the reformation of abuses, and the measures they had pursued against such as were criminal. The queen testified her satisfaction, and was contented that they should proceed as they had began. She was, however, far from being pleased with the duke of Burgundy, whom she dreaded, from the great power he was now possessed of, more than any of the other princes, although he treated her respectfully in his speech.
The marriage of the lord Louis of Bavaria, brother to the queen, was again talked of with the daughter of the king of Navarre; and he was presented with the castle of Marcoussi, with all its furniture and appurtenances, which had lately been confiscated to the king, by the death of Montagu, which was very agreeable to the queen.
After these lords had for some days transacted business at Melun, where the court was, they all returned to Paris, carrying with them master Peter Bosthet, president of the parliament, and some members of the chamber of accounts, and assembled daily to inquire after those persons who had been in the receipt and expenditure of the public revenues.
During this time, the king, who had been very ill, was restored to health, insomuch that on the 2d day of December, he rode from his palace of St Pol, dressed in a hauberk under his robes, to the cathedral church of Nôtre Dame, where he made his prayers, a page carrying behind him a very handsome steel helmet and a moorish lance. Having finished his prayers, he returned to his palace of Saint Pol.
On the morrow, he held a royal council in person, at which were present the king of Navarre, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and of Bourbon, which last was lately returned to Paris. It was there resolved, that the king should summon the following lords to attend him personally at the ensuing feast of Christmas, namely, the dukes of Orleans, of Brittany, of Brabant, of Bar, and of Lorraine: the counts of Savoy46, of Alençon, of Penthievre, of Namur, of Harcourt, of Armagnac47, and in general all the great lords within his realm of France and Dauphiny, with many prelates and other noblemen. After this summons of the king, the duke of Burgundy gave orders for a large body of men at arms to be collected in his countries of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy, for the safety of his person.
Shortly after this council, duke William count of Hainault went to Melun, the residence of the queen of France, who was his near relation; and so managed that she, who could not bear the duke of Burgundy, and had strongly supported the party adverse to him, namely, that of my lord the duke of Orleans, was reconciled to him.