THE KING OF FRANCE KEEPS ROYAL STATE IN HIS PALACE, WHEREIN SEVERAL OF THE GREAT LORDS BEFORE MENTIONED HOLD MANY COUNCILS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION.
IN consequence of several meetings having been held in the presence of the king, queen, and duke of Acquitaine, the king ordered the great hall of the palace to be magnificently prepared for a royal sessions. Thither were summoned all the principal noblemen, prelates and others, when the king appeared seated in his regal robes. On one side of him were the king of Navarre and the cardinal de Bar, and on the other the duke of Acquitaine, the duke of Berry, and all the other princes and nobles, each seated according to his rank: in like manner were the prelates, knights, and clergy, and a multitude of others, seated according to their respective situations in life.
Then, by the king’s commands, the count de Tancarville, an able and eloquent man, harangued with a loud and clear voice, how Richard late king of England, and son-in-law to the king, had been basely and treacherously put to death, during the time of a truce, by Henry of Lancaster, calling himself king of England, but then earl of Derby, in conjunction with his partisans, as might be fully proved by several of the English, near relations of the deceased king Richard:—And also how the young prince of Scotland, an ally to the king, when on his voyage to France, was taken by this same Henry, and detained his prisoner for a long time; as were likewise many Scots, who were in the company of the prince of Wales. Yvain Graindos50, with several of his Welshmen, allies also to the king, notwithstanding the aforesaid truce, were by the English harrassed with war. The eldest son likewise to the prince of Wales was made captive51, carried to England, and imprisoned by Henry for a considerable time.
‘In consequence of the facts above stated, the king thinks he may, without further consideration, lawfully wage war against the said Henry and his english subjects, without giving them any respite. Notwithstanding this,’ continued the orator, ‘the king is desirous that whatever he may please to order should be for the common welfare of the state; and for this purpose a royal sessions has been held, for every one to consider these matters and what ought to be the line of conduct for him to pursue,—and, having an opinion thereon, if they will inform the king or his council thereof, the king will thank them and follow that advice which shall seem to him the most advantageous for the general good.
Upon this, the eldest of the princes of the blood, namely, the king’s uncle the duke of Berry, arose from his seat, and, advancing in front of the king’s throne, fell on his knees, and, speaking for himself and the other princes of the blood, declared they would relinquish, to the use of the state, all taxes and impositions which they annually levied on their lands,—and in like manner would they relinquish all the fees and perquisites of office which they were in the habit of receiving from their places under the king, and as the members of his council.
The king kindly listened to the duke’s speech, and accepted his offers, and then commanded him to be reseated. The lord Tancarville continued his harangue, saying, that the king, then present, revoked all pensions and grants which he had given, and thus publicly annulled them. In regard to the reformation and future management of the finances, the king declared his intention that such regulations as should be ordered by himself, and by the advice of the count de la Marche (who had now lost his wife, the daughter of the king of Navarre), his brother the count de Vendôme, the count de Saint Pol, and the other commissioners from the parliament, should be fully executed without excepting any person whatever; and that the reformations by them proposed should take place, as well in the chambers of accounts as in the generalities and in the household of the king,—and that all receivers, comptrollers, and all persons any way interested in the management of the finances of the realm, whether bishops or archbishops, and of what rank soever, should be subjected to them.’ The orator continued,—‘That the king willed and ordered, that during his absence, the queen should call to her assistance some of the princes of the royal blood, and should govern the affairs of this kingdom according as she might judge most conducive to its welfare; and in case of the absence of the queen, the duke of Acquitaine, his son, then present, should govern the kingdom, with the assistance of the dukes of Berry and Burgundy.’
When the lord de Tancarville had more fully enlarged on the above matters, and concluded his speech, the king descended from his royal throne, and, with a small company, entered his apartment to dinner; and the whole assembly broke up, and departed to their hôtels.
After the dinner, the queen set out with her attendants for the castle of Vincennes, as it was the eve of the feast of the Circumcision, but left her son with the king. On the morrow, the feast-day, the duke of Burgundy (who had alone more princes, knights, and gentlemen attached to him than all the other princes together,) gave presents of jewels and rich gifts, of greater magnificence than any one, according to the custom of that day. He made presents to all the knights and nobles of his household, to the amount, as was estimated, of fifteen thousand golden florins, of medals formed like to a mason’s level, of gold and silver gilt; and at the pointed ends of these levels was fastened a small gilt chain, with a plummet of gold, so that it might be used as a rule.
Item, on Twelfth-day following, Louis king of Sicily, having been sent for by the king, entered Paris. He came from the city of Pisa, whither he had gone to visit pope Alexander V. and made his entry, attended by numbers of the nobility and clergy, who had gone out to meet him.
Shortly after, the cardinal de Thurey came to Paris, as ambassador from the pope to the king, who most honourably received him, as he likewise did Philibert de Lignac, grand master of Rhodes, and chief of the order of St John of Jerusalem, who had come from England.
The king now disbanded all the troops he had collected, as did the duke of Burgundy, excepting about one hundred or six score gentlemen, whom he retained, with those of his household, to guard his person: the others returned to their homes.
Before the duke of Burgundy left Paris, the duke of Acquitaine, with the consent of the king and queen, was intrusted to his care and guardianship, that he might be properly instructed in the arts of war and government. He had been very anxious to obtain this, and had caused several of the princes of the blood to press the matter: even his uncle, the duke of Berry, had, on this account, more than once refused the queen to accept of the guardianship of the duke of Acquitaine; but had so urged the business that the lord de Dolhaing52, knight, his principal esquire, counsellor and advocate, had, by the earnest desire of the queen, been made chancellor to the duke of Acquitaine, and the lord de Saint George his first chamberlain. The government of the castles of Crotoy and Beaurain-sur-Canche were granted to the duke of Berry for his life, on giving the preceding governors the usual pension, in whose room he appointed two of his own knights; the lord de Croy to Crotoy, and the lord de Humbercourt to Beaurain; and sir Reginald Pot was, at his request, appointed governor of Dauphiny for the dauphin. Soon after this, the king relapsed into his usual disorder, and was put under good guard. Those who were intrusted with the reform of abuses continued daily at work, and with such success that large sums were recovered from the late directors of the finances.
At this period, the princes and council of state went often to the castle of Vincennes, where the queen resided,—for without her knowledge no business of any importance was carried on. The dukes of Berry and Bourbon, however, were much discontented that they were not so often summoned to the council as before, and that their authority was greatly lessened. Seeing themselves, as it were, banished from the government, they took leave of the king, queen, and princes, and each retired to his own domains.
The cardinal de Thurey had come to Paris to solicit the university and council of state to consent that pope Alexander might levy two-tenths on the gallican church, to defray the great expenses he was bound to pay. This request was not granted, because the university opposed it, in the name of the whole church. The better to effect this, the university required and obtained a royal mandate, to command all officers under the crown forcibly to send out of their jurisdictions all persons who should come thither making similar demands. The solicitors of this levy had brought to Paris with them a bull containing many novelties, which were not usually advanced, namely, that the tythes, and other things, such as oblations to the church, belonged to them in preference to the parochial clergy, for that in fact they were in the same capacity, inasmuch as whoever should confess themselves to them were not under the necessity of so doing to their own clergyman. This doctrine they publicly preached throughout Paris, and the members of the university preached in opposition to it, so that during Lent the whole town was in confusion and discord by these quarrels of the university and the mendicants, until they were driven out of it by the university. The Jacobins, however, as the most prudent, renounced the bull, and made oath that they would never claim any advantages from it, nor from other privileges that had been granted to them. By this means, they were reconciled to the university. The pope, at this period, held his court with great state in Bologna la Grassa.