[A.D. 1412.]
THE DUKES OF BERRY AND OF ORLEANS, WITH OTHERS OF THEIR ADHERENTS, SEND AN EMBASSY TO THE KING OF ENGLAND.—THE CONSEQUENCES OF IT.
AT the commencement of this year, the dukes of Berry, of Orleans, and of Bourbon, the counts de Vertus, d'Angoulême, d'Alençon and d'Armagnac, and the lord d'Albreth, calling himself constable of France, with other great lords, their confederates, sent ambassadors to the king of England, with instructions, under their seals, for them to act according to the occasion with the king of England, his children and ministers.
As they were journeying through Maine to go to Brittany, and thence to England, they were pursued by the bailiff of Caen in Normandy, who, with the aid of the commonalty, attacked and defeated them, making some of them prisoners, with their sealed instructions and other articles: the rest escaped as well as they could.
After the defeat, the bailiff dispatched an account of it to the king and council at Paris, and sent the sealed instructions, with the other articles, in a leathern bag, well secured. The king assembled a great council at his palace of St Pol, on the Wednesday after Easter, for the full examination of these papers. He was present, as were the king of Sicily, the dukes of Acquitaine and Burgundy, the counts de Charolois, de Nevers, and de Mortaigne, the lord Gilles de Bretagne, the chancellor of France, namely, master Henry de Marle[2], the bishops of Tournay, of Amiens, of Constance, and of Auxerre, the rector of the university, the provost of Paris, and several others, as well of the king's council as capital citizens of Paris and students of the university.
The chancellor of the duke of Acquitaine, the lord d'Olhaing, lately an advocate in the parliament, then declared, that there had been given to his charge, by the king's ministers, a leathern bag, which had been taken by the bailiff of Caen, together with a knight, chamberlain to the duke of Brittany, from de Faulcon d'Encre and friar James Petit, of the order of the Augustins, and other ambassadors from the lords mentioned in the papers contained in the bag, which had been transmitted by the said bailiff to the king's council. He added, that he had found in this bag four blank papers, signed and sealed by four different persons, namely, Berry, Orleans, Bourbon and Alençon. Each blank had only the name signed on the margin above the seal. He had also found many sealed letters from the duke of Berry addressed to the king of England, to the queen, and to their four sons; and in like manner, from the duke of Brittany to the earl of Richmond and to other noblemen in England. There were also many letters without any superscription, being credential ones for the aforesaid Faulcon and friar James Petit, to the king and queen of England.
These letters were publicly read, and in them the duke of Berry styled the king of England, 'My most redoubted lord and nephew;' and the queen, 'My most redoubted and honoured lady, niece and daughter;' and they were signed with the duke of Berry's own hand. In the one to the queen, there were two lines in his own handwriting, desiring her to place full confidence in the said ambassadors.
These blanks were publicly displayed,—and the king held them some time in his hand. There was a small article on a single sheet of paper containing the instructions for the ambassadors, which was likewise read aloud, and contained a repetition of the charges made against the duke of Burgundy, by the duchess of Orleans and her sons, for the death of the late duke of Orleans. It recited, that they had frequently demanded justice of the king of France for this murder, but could never obtain it, because the duke of Burgundy had prevented and evil counselled the king, by persuading him that the duke of Orleans had been a disloyal traitor to his king and country, which was false,—adding, that the duke of Burgundy had seduced the commonalty of France, more especially the populace of Paris, by asserting that the late duke of Orleans wanted to destroy the king of France and his family, which was also a falsehood, for it had never even entered his thoughts.
These instructions contained, likewise, that the duke of Burgundy had caused the king to be angry with the duke of Brittany, because he had obstructed his expedition against Calais, and several other attempts which the duke of Burgundy had plotted against England; that the duke of Burgundy had instigated the people of Paris so greatly against the king and the duke of Acquitaine that every thing was governed to his will,—and he had now the royal family in such subjection that they dared hardly to open their mouths; that the Parisians, under pretext of a bull granted by pope Urban V. against the free companies that had ravaged France, had caused them and their adherents to be excommunicated, and had forcibly constrained the official at Paris to proceed against them in the severest manner, and to denounce them publicly, as excommunicated, with every aggravation of circumstance.
These ambassadors were not to discover themselves to any man in England, unless they were sure of his support; and when they had read the contents of these papers to the king, they were to demand a private audience, and declare from the dukes of Berry, of Orleans, of Bourbon, and from the count d'Alençon, that they were most anxious for his welfare and honour, and ready to aid and assist him against the duke of Burgundy, as well as against the Welsh and Irish.
They were to add, that if they could not succeed against the Scots, which they would attempt, and in case they could not obtain all they wished, they would engage to establish a peace between him and the king of France; and that if there were any lands to which he laid claim, or pretended any right, on their side the sea, they would manage the matter to his full satisfaction. They were also to say, that for want of due justice being administered at home, they were come to claim it from him, in regard to the death of the late duke of Orleans; and as bearing the name of king, it belonged to him to do justice; and he would acquire perpetual honour to himself, and great advantages to his subjects, by granting them his aid and support. It was also worthy of his interference, considering the high rank of the late duke of Orleans. They were likewise to say, that the undersigned would serve him and his family, as well as their descendants, in all times to come, and which they were enabled to do, even against the most potent in the realm of France.
These ambassadors were also to require an immediate aid against the duke of Burgundy, of three hundred lances and three thousand archers, who should receive pay in advance for four months.
The chancellor of Acquitaine next produced a sketch of their intended government of France, containing many articles, which were read aloud. Among other schemes, there was to be imposed on every acre a tax called a land-tax; and as there were deposits of salt in the kingdom, there were likewise to be granaries of wheat and oats for the profit of the king: that all lands or houses which were in a ruinous state should be instantly repaired, or otherwise forfeited to the crown: that every commoner should be forced to work or quit the realm,—and that there should be but one weight and one measure throughout the country. Item, that the duchies of Lorraine and Luxembourg should be conquered, as well as the towns in Provence and Savoy, and annexed to the kingdom of France. Item, that the university should be removed from Paris, and one erected and nobly endowed for the reception of numbers of discreet men.
There were many rolls produced, but not read, as they were of little consequence. After the chancellor of Acquitaine had concluded, the provost of the merchants and the sheriffs preferred two requests to the king, by the mouth of a monk of the order of St Benedict and doctor of divinity.
One was, that the king would be pleased to grant to the city of Paris a third of the taxes collected in that city in the same form and manner as had been done during the reign of king Charles, whose soul may God receive! for the reparations of the said town and the improvement of the river Seine, of which, as the provost of merchants declared, they were in great need; that it would be for the advantage of the king and his good city that certain repairs, very much wanted, should be undertaken, and the place better fortified against the bitter hatred which the dukes of Berry, Orleans, Bourbon, and their faction bore to it. He added, that the town of Tournay was the best fortified, and in the most complete repair of any in the kingdom, because the inhabitants allot certain sums for this purpose; and that, if all the king's enemies were to besiege it, they would never be able to injure it.
The other was, that orders should be given to the chancellor to seal without opposition the patent of an office vacant, or becoming so, by the demission of one of the Armagnacs, which had hitherto been refused.
They were told, that on the Thursday ensuing, they should have answers to both of these requests.
The provost and sheriffs demanded beside, that the chancellor of France should lay before the king such letters as had come to the knowledge of the duke of Acquitaine, mentioning that the dukes of Berry, Orleans, Bourbon, and the count d'Alençon intended making a new king, to the exclusion of his present majesty and the duke of Acquitaine. The chancellor replied, that the subject of their present consideration was the letters contained in the bag; that it was true, he was in possession of letters and other papers mentioning this circumstance, and that he had assured the duke of Acquitaine of their contents.
The chancellor of Acquitaine then declared publicly to the king, that the grand master of his household, sir Guichart Daulphin, had written to inform the duke of Burgundy, that the dukes of Berry, Orleans, Bourbon, and the count d'Alençon, had again renewed their oaths of alliance in the city of Bourges; that the leaders of the confederacy had met in that city, and had there determined to destroy the king of France, his whole royal family, the kingdom of France, and the good city of Paris, or perish themselves in the attempt.
The king was much affected on hearing this, and replied with tears, 'We now fully see their wickedness, and we entreat of you all that are of our blood to advise and aid us against them; for the matter not only regards you personally, but the welfare of the whole kingdom is in danger; and we shall therefore expect the support of all present, and of every loyal subject.'
The king of Sicily then rose, and, falling on his knees before the king, said, 'Sire, I entreat, that in regard to your own honour and welfare, as well as for that of your realm, you will order the most efficacious measures to be pursued against these rebels, for there seems to be instant need of it.'
In like manner, the dukes of Acquitaine and Burgundy, and all the other lords, knelt to the king, and proffered him their services to the utmost of their power. When this was done, the assembly broke up, and all that had passed was promulgated through Paris: even accounts of it were sent in writing to different bailiffs in the kingdom, to the great astonishment of many.