CHAP. XXVII.
COPY OF THE ANSWER OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY TO THE LETTER FROM THE DUKE OF GLOCESTER.
'HIGH and mighty prince Humphrey duke of Glocester, I, Philip duke of Burgundy, earl of Flanders and of Artois, have received your letter addressed to me, and written at Mons in Hainault, under your signet, the 12th day of January last, containing, among other things, that you have heard of proclamations having been issued throughout my dominions, for all well disposed men at arms to assemble, and to march under the command of our very dear and well-beloved cousin sir John de Luxembourg and others, for the service and support of our very dear and well-beloved cousin the duke of Brabant, in opposition to you, your friends, allies and subjects, and which proclamations contained, according to the tenour of your letter, many charges contrary to truth,—the which, and other things, you have discovered in the copy sent me, of certain letters said to have been written by me, on the 21st day of December, in my town of Dijon.
'With regard to this, high and mighty prince, and the greater part of your letter, I shall forbear repeating, or making any reply thereto; for as there is nothing but what touches my honour that I shall consider, and this I will not suffer any one to treat or to blame unjustly.
'You say, however, that the writings, of which you have inclosed a copy, have been done with my knowledge, and by my command. To this I answer, that I was moved thereto by your refusal to conform to the articles of pacification entered into with great deliberation of council, between your fair brother the regent and myself at Paris, to put an end to the discord between you and our very dear cousin the duke of Brabant.
'On the contrary, the duke of Brabant, (to gain the favour of God, and to please your said brother and myself) agreed to abide by these said articles, while you, persisting in your refusal, and without waiting for the final decisions of your suit at the court of Rome, have entered the country of Hainault with a powerful army, with the intent of driving therefrom our said cousin of Brabant, and taking possession of the same. These have been the reasons for my said letter, which contains truths which you cannot any way deny, or be ignorant of.
'I have not therefore given any thing to be understood contrary to truth, or by way of lie, with which you seem most wrongfully to charge me in your letter, which I shall carefully preserve to shew in proper time and place.
'I am sufficiently aware of all that you are attempting against our said cousin of Brabant, and very displeasing has it been to me, without your endeavouring to tarnish our own honour and fair fame, which I will not endure from you nor from any one; and I am persuaded that those with whom I am connected by blood, all my loyal friends, subjects and vassals, who have been greatly attached to and have served my predecessors, will not suffer such a slur to be passed over with impunity. I therefore now summon and require of you to recall all that you have said in your letter, touching what you have therein declared to have been asserted by me contrary to the truth.
'Should you be unwilling to do this, and to support the charges you have made against my honour and fame, I am ready to defend myself personally against you, and to combat you, with the aid of God and our lady, within a reasonable time, in the presence of that most excellent and most potent prince, the emperor, my very clear lord and cousin.
'But that you and all the world may witness that I am anxious to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion, and instantly to repel all attempts on my honour, I am contented, should it be more agreeable to you, that we choose for the judge of our combat your fair brother the regent duke of Bedford, which you cannot reasonably refuse; for he is such a prince that I know he will do the utmost justice between us, as between the most indifferent persons. And for the honour of God, and to avoid the effusion of Christian blood, and the destruction of the poor people, whose sufferings I in my heart compassionate, you and I, who are youthful knights, ought to accept of this proposal (supposing you be determined to maintain what you have written), as it personally concerns us, rather than engage in public warfare, by which numberless gentlemen and others of each party will have their days miserably shortened; and I must add, that it will be highly disagreeable to me if this last mode shall be resorted to. It ought to be matter of regret to us and all catholic princes, that Christian people should engage in war one against another; for my part I repeat that it will be very unwillingly that I shall engage in a public warfare, unless urgent necessity forces me to it.
'High and mighty prince, have the goodness to send me a speedy answer to the contents of this letter by the bearer, or by any more expeditious mode, without prolonging matters by letters; for I am impatient, that every thing touching my honour may be as briefly settled as possible, and I will not that matters concerning it remain as they now are.
'I should sooner have replied to your letter on this subject, had I not been delayed by several concerns of high import that have retarded me.
'That you may be assured this letter is mine, I have signed it with my own hand, and affixed my signet.
'Written the 3rd day of March, in the year 1424.'
This letter was read by the duke of Glocester with great attention, in the presence of his council: in reply, he sent the following letter.