THE DUKE OF BERRY IS DANGEROUSLY ILL.—HE IS VISITED BY HIS DAUGHTER THE DUCHESS OF BOURBON, AND BY THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.—NOTICE OF OTHER MATTERS.
THE duke of Berry, who had come to Paris to attend the king his nephew, and a grand council about to be holden, was taken dangerously ill at his hôtel of Neele; but by the care and affection of his daughter the duchess of Bourbon, who, on hearing of his illness, had come to see him, and by her nursing, he was soon restored to health. He was also very frequently visited by his nephew the duke of Burgundy.
While the duchess of Bourbon was at Paris, she obtained from the king, and from the dukes of Acquitaine and Burgundy, that the body of Binet d'Espineuse, formerly the knight of her lord the duke of Bourbon, should be taken down from the gibbet of Montfaucon, and his head from the market-house, where it had been placed some time since by the king's officers of justice. She had it escorted by many of his friends to the town of Espineuse, in the county of Clermont, where it was honourably interred.
The duke of Burgundy at this time had the sole government of the kingdom, for nothing was done but by his advice or that of his friends.
Notwithstanding it had been promised at the peace of Auxerre, by the king and the princes of the blood, that every one, of whatever party he might have been, should be reinstated in his property in such offices as had been held by them, very many could not profit of this royal favour; for with all their diligence in suing for reinstatement, they met with nothing but delays, more especially those who had been attached to the Orleans-party. This caused much silent bitterness and discontent; and both sides were busily employed underhand on the means of securing the support of the king and the duke of Acquitaine,—one party making secret attempts to gain the former, the other the latter. Thus, therefore, there was not any sincere love between them; and the war was daily expected to recommence with greater fury than before, as shall be more fully explained.
I shall hereafter, towards the end of this year 1412, lay before you all the letters and treaties that passed between king Henry of England and his children, and other princes, on the one part, and the dukes of Berry, Orleans, Bourbon, the counts d'Alençon, d'Armagnac, the lord d'Albreth, and their adherents, on the other part, and their mutual engagements to each other.