THE DUKE OF BERRY QUITS PARIS, AND RETIRES TO HIS OWN ESTATES.—HE GOES AFTERWARD TO ANGERS, AND UNITES WITH THE DUKE OF ORLEANS AND THE OTHER PRINCES OF HIS PARTY.
THE duke of Berry, finding that he had not that government of the king and the duke of Acquitaine to which he had been accustomed, became very discontented, and retired to his estates, indignant at the ministers, and particularly at his nephew and godson, the duke of Burgundy. Shortly after, he went to Angers, where the dukes of Orleans and of Bourbon, and all the principal lords of that party, were assembled.
They went in a body to the cathedral church, and there made oath, in the most solemn manner, to support each other, and mutually to defend their honour against all who should attempt any thing against it, excepting the king, and ever to remain in strict friendship united, without acting to the contrary in any kind of measure.
Many great lords in France were not pleased with this confederation; and when, shortly after, news of it was brought to the king and his council, he was much astonished and dissatisfied therewith.
The king, in consequence of the advice of the duke of Burgundy and his friends, marched out of Paris, accompanied by him, the duke of Brabant, the count de Montagu, and a large body of chivalry, and went to Senlis: thence to the town of Creil, to regain the castle of that place, which the duke of Bourbon held, and had given the government of it to some of his people.
The governor made so many delays before he surrendered it that the king became much displeased; and because they had not obeyed his first summons, the garrison were made prisoners, and carried bound to the prisons of the Châtelet in Paris. The countess of Clermont, cousin-german to the king, soon after made application for their deliverance, and obtained it; and on the morrow the king appointed another garrison, and returned to Paris.
This expedition was not very agreeable to the Orleans-faction,—and they continued to collect daily, and inlist in their party as many as they could.
The duke of Burgundy became very uneasy at their proceedings; for he suspected the duke of Orleans and his party would infringe the peace which had so lately been patched up between them at Chartres, or that they would march a large force to Paris, to seize the government, together with the persons of the king and duke of Acquitaine.
To obviate this, he caused several royal summons to be proclaimed in various parts of the realm, for the assembling of men at arms and quartering them in the villages round Paris, to be ready to defend the king and his government against the ill-intentioned. By the advice of his brothers and the king of Navarre, he resolved to defend himself by force against his adversaries, and caused it to be proclaimed throughout the kingdom, in the king’s name, that no one should dare to assemble armed in company of the dukes of Berry and Orleans, and their allies, under pain of corporal punishment and confiscation of goods.
The Orleans-faction, however, continued their meetings in spite of this proclamation, and even forced their vassals to serve under and accompany them: I mean, such of them as were dilatory in obeying their summons. There were, therefore, at this time, great and frequent assemblies of armed men in different parts of France, to the prejudice of the poor people.
Those lords that were well inclined to the king came to Paris, and their men were quartered in the flat country of the island of France. The Orleans-party fixed their quarters at Chartres and the adjacent parts; and their forces might amount, according to the estimate of well-informed persons, to full six thousand men in armour, four thousand cross-bows, and sixteen hundred archers, without counting the unarmed infantry, of which there were great numbers.
In regard to the army which the duke of Burgundy had assembled by orders from the king, it was estimated to consist of upward of sixteen thousand combatants, all men of tried courage. During this time, the king of Navarre and his brother, the count de Mortain, at the request of the duke of Burgundy, negotiated a peace between the duke of Brittany, their nephew, and the count de Penthievre, son-in-law to the duke of Burgundy.
This was done in the hope that the duke of Brittany would be induced to assist the king with his Bretons, and give up the Orleans-party, to whom he had engaged himself. On the conclusion of this peace between the two parties, twenty thousand golden crowns were sent the duke, to defray the expenses he had been at in raising men at arms.
Large sums of money were also sent to the lord d’Albreth, constable of France, that he might collect a numerous body of men at arms, and march them to Paris, to serve the king. He had not any great desire to perform this, for he was wholly inclined to the duke of Orleans and his allies, as was perfectly notorious shortly afterward.