Enguerrand de Monstrelet

“ He imagines that there is not a prince on earth but will bring him the keys of his towns before he calls for them, considering that he has taken by storm Constantinople, the strongest city in Europe, and so powerful that it was thought no army, however great, could accomplish it, and that he and his troops are bold in arms, holding their lives of no value to gain an object. ”

“ The motive assigned by Heuterus for this extraordinary display of friendship in the duke towards the dauphin, is the hope "that this young prince, bound by the immensity of the obligation, would, on his accession to the throne, be the firm friend of his son Charles, and of [Pg 466] the Belgian states. But, adds the historian, it is in vain that benefits are heaped on men of a depraved disposition, as king Charles himself prophecied in the following words. You know not, duke Philip, the nature of this savage animal. You cherish a wolf who will one day tear your sheep to pieces. ”

“ The king of France departed from Louviers, attended by the king of Sicily and his nobles, and advanced to Pont de l'Arche,—when the inhabitants came out with great joy, to welcome him on his arrival. He thence sent heralds without delay to summon Rouen to surrender, that all oppressions might be avoided by a voluntary submission: but the english garrison, aware on what embassy the heralds came, would not let them approach the walls, nor would they hear their summons, ordering them, at the same time, to make haste and return, under pain of death. ”

“ The king's army was a fine sight; for never, in the memory of man, had the king so grand or so numerous an assembly of lords, barons, knights and esquires, with [Pg 68] common men, as were now under his orders.
This evening, the English surrendered the bridge, the guard of which was given to the lord de Herunville,—and, on the morrow, the gates of the town were thrown open, for all to enter or go out as they pleased.
The duke of Somerset was afflicted at heart to see the great army the king had brought against him, and demanded a conference with him. ”

“ If in a narrative so full of confusion and so crowded with errors, it is allowable to form a conjecture that may tend to reconcile it any degree with fact, I should suppose this knight marshal to be the great Hunniades, and the action to refer to the famous siege of Belgrade which was raised by the exertions of that heroic general. John Corvinus Hunniades was of ignoble birth, the son of a Wallachian father by a Greek mother; so far the account of Monstrelet tallies with the reality. He was appointed by king Ladislaus to the government of upper Hungary, and the command in chief of his armies. ”

“ Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, the garrison made many sallies, in which very gallant deeds of prowess were done; and a french esquire, called the bastard de Forbier, was made prisoner by reason of his horse falling under him. The french lords drew their army up in battle-array before the walls, and sent the king's heralds, a second time to summon the city to surrender; but as the English would not suffer them to approach near enough to be heard by the people, they were forced to return as before, which was quite contrary to every rule of chivalry ”

“ The duke of Burgundy was very much affected by the death of sir James, for he loved him more than any other of his household for his numberless virtues, and had the place attacked with such violence that the garrison were forced to submit to his will. ”

“ Conformably to the old proverb, of 'He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day,' did those act who fled and left their companions to bear the brunt of the battle, namely, Matago, sir Robert Vere, Henry Lons, master Meillan, and another captain who commanded thirty lances and five hundred archers. The prisoners taken at this battle were estimated at from twelve to fourteen hundred. Matago fled to Bayeux, and sir Robert to Caen,—and thus, by the favour of Divine Providence, were the English defeated. ”

“ The duke was ignorant of the capture of Hulst, until the ghent men had taken and burnt Axel. They would have gained Alost, had not sir Anthony de Wissoc, the governor for the duke, made so gallant a defence that they were repulsed. On their return to Ghent, they burnt all the villages that acknowledged the duke's government, and put men, women, and children, to death without mercy. ”

“ First, an universal peace must be established in Christendom; then the Venetians, the duke of Milan, the Florentines, and the other princes of Italy, should raise an army of twenty thousand horse, well appointed, and under able captains, who should lead them to Pera, through Albania, as far as the possessions of the Christians, where they should halt in a country well supplied with all kinds of provision. They will be there secure, and instantly joined by the Albanians, Sciavonians, and other Christian nations, [Pg 332] who will unite in the defence of the catholic faith. ”

“ The king of France, moved by compassion and pity, after the example of our Lord, who desires not the death of sinners, but would rather that they would turn to their God,—and considering what a loss the destruction of so fine a town would be, and the miseries that would ensue from pillaging the churches, violating women and damsels,—and desirous also of sparing a further effusion of human blood, consented to their request, and agreed that the place should be surrendered on capitulation. ”

“ He holds it an easy matter to throw a bridge from Megara [175] to Venice, for a passage to march his army thither. He inquires where Rome is situated,—and after the duke of Milan, of his valiant deeds, and other affairs. He can talk of nothing but war; and declares that he will make Constantinople his seat of empire, for that he is able and desirous to establish a large navy. ”

“ Soon after Easter in this year, the duke of Burgundy, accompanied by the dauphin, set out from Brussels for Bruges, passing through the towns of Oudenarde and Courtray. In both these towns, the dauphin was received most honourably. Thence they proceeded to Bruges,—and the principal inhabitants, to the amount of eight hundred, very richly dressed, came out to meet them, with a great concourse of common people, to do honour to the dauphin, and to please their lord. ”

“ To find supplies for the support of the king's armies, and for the better government of this duchy of Normandy, the lord de Trainel, chancellor of France, the lord de Gaucourt, sir Thibaut de Vaulpergue, bailiff of Lyon, sir James Cœur, counsellor, and master of the king's wardrobe, exerted themselves greatly: the last, in particular, employed every means in his power to prevent the soldiers, who were daily increasing, from being disappointed of their regular monthly payment. ”

“ The count de Clermont, the lord de Saintrailles bailiff of Lyon, the governor of la Rochelle, sir John Bureau mayor of Bordeaux, and sir Guichart le Boursier, were appointed to superintend the erection of these castles. They exerted great diligence to complete them,—and they were so strong that they were thought impregnable, so that the inhabitants were kept in more subjection than they had ever before been. ”

“ But because some of the lords of that country and city had maliciously and traitorously sought the alliance of England, and had gone thither for that purpose, contrary to their oaths and declarations made to the king in the preceding year, who, at a very great expense and loss of men, had conquered them, the king would reserve to himself the power of banishing from the country of Bordelois twenty persons, according to his pleasure, such as had gone to England to seek the aid of the English, and particularly the lord de Duras, the lord de l'Esparre, and others. ”

“ On the 25th of October, sir Anthony bastard of Burgundy marched from Dendermonde, together with the garrison of Alost, which he had summoned to join him, toward Ghent, having dispatched thirty of his best-mounted horsemen to show themselves before the gates and endeavour to entice the garrison to come out. The ghent men, having had intelligence of sir Anthony's coming, were ready to sally forth, and attacked these thirty men so hardly that they were astonished. ”

“ At this siege were many greek Christians, and others from different parts, who, although subjects to the Turk, are not constrained to renounce their religion: they therefore pray to and adore God at their pleasure. There were beside several captains and powerful Turks, who, out of spite to Sangombassa, as he oppressed them much, gave information to those in the town, by letters fastened to arrows and by all other possible means, of what was going forward in the camp. ”

“ Item, neither the sheriffs nor any gentleman in Ghent shall issue public mandates in their names.
Item, the whole of the municipality, the deacons, governors, and two thousand of the commonalty shall advance half a league out of the town, clad only in their shirts, and humbly on their knees, beg pardon of their lord, saying, that they had wickedly and wrongfully made war against him their lord, for which they crave his mercy. ”

“ This was on the 18th day of May; and he had not advanced far when he was met by a large body of ghent men, who instantly attacked and surrounded him on all sides. He behaved himself most valorously: no knight could have done better: but sir John bastard of Renty, captain of these archers, did not do the same,—for he let fall the duke's banner which he bore, and saved himself as fast as his horse could carry him. In this encounter, seven or eight archers were slain, three of whom were of the duke's guard. ”

“ Without losing time, the lieutenant-general marched his army before the castle of Harcourt, which is handsome and strong. It was governed by sir Richard Frongueval [21] , an Englishman, having under him about eight score of his countrymen. The siege lasted about fifteen days, with daily skirmishes with the garrison. Great advances were made, in which a very valiant man at arms from the garrison of Louviers was killed by a cannon-shot,—and an Englishman lost his life by the shot of a culverine, on the portal of the lower court. ”

“ This army was in truth very strong; and there was need that it should be so, for the men of Ghent had boasted, that this time, they would fairly meet the duke in battle. When they learnt that the duke intended to besiege Gaveren, they sent thither an Englishman, called John de Voz, a very able man at arms, with sixteen others, and swore to him, on his departure, that the duke should not remain four-and-twenty hours unfought with. Nevertheless, the duke's army posted themselves around the place,—and the batteries were erected without any molestation. ”

“ The nobles and people of this country have ever been rebellious against the french kings, at least for two hundred years, which is a long lapse of time, although it forms part of the realm of France.
The king, desirous to act with prudence and circumspection, summoned a council of his principal barons and knights on the 5th day of September, in the year 1450, in the city of Tours, where the matter was [Pg 149] fully discussed in their presence, and also in the presence of the princes of his blood and the chief prelates of the realm. ”

“ During the truce, the english garrisons of Mantes, Verneuil, and Laigny had gone on the high roads between Orleans and Paris, and had robbed and murdered all passengers and merchants that fell in their way. In like manner did the English of Neufchâtel, Gournay, and Gerberoy, on the roads between Paris, Abbeville, and Amiens: they also made inroads over the country, seizing all they could lay hands on, and murdering gentlemen in their beds, who had sworn allegiance to the king of France ”

“ The Caramanian, who is a great prince, and a bitter enemy to the Turks, should he be informed of this intended warfare against the Turk, he will harrass him much, and, with some inducements, may probably become a Christian. In Greece, there will not be a common peasant but will exert himself to bring provisions to the Christian army. ”

“ The duke had not any archers with him, for they had all dismounted, and could not easily overtake the runaways on horseback, to put them to death; for the duke hated them mortally, and was more vexed than can be imagined to see those who had leaped the ditches forced back again by the resistance they met with. Then this valiant prince, seizing his lance from the page who bore it by his side, [Pg 273] raging like a lion, made his horse leap the ditch, and charged the thickest of the ghent men. ”

“ The count de St Pol, on another day, advanced from Alost to before the walls of Ghent, and gallantly repulsed those who sallied out against him; and this he did repeatedly. The count d'Estampes returned thither also, and not only repulsed them back into Ghent but slew upwards of forty: he lost, however, seven of his archers.
Between Ghent and Antwerp lies a fertile country, called the country of Waes: it is very strong from its bogs and ditches, and has several rich towns and villages dependant on Ghent, and would not own any other superior lord than the municipality of Ghent. ”

“ On the 12th of August, the king of France came to Vendôme, grandly accompanied by men at arms, as well lords, [Pg 15] knights and esquires, as others. He remained there until the 18th; and, during this time, the lord de Lohéac, marshal of Brittany, sir Geoffry de Couren [7] , and Joachim Rohault and others, attacked the town of St Jacques de Beuvron with great vigour from nine in the morning until night, and, with heavy and small artillery, kept up a continual fire on the walls. ”