Enguerrand de Monstrelet

“ Some, on noticing this ambuscade of Campo Basso, fled to the woods: but they were pursued by the peasants,—and for four leagues round nothing was to be seen but dead bodies. The pursuit after the Burgundians lasted during two hours after nightfall; and the duke of Lorraine inquired, on all sides, what was become of the duke of Burgundy; whether he had fled, was slain, or made prisoner: but at that moment no one could answer his questions. ”

“ There were twenty-five cardinals, about thirty archbishops, forty bishops, and a number of other prelates and churchmen. When mass was done, the pope and the king came together to a place that had been prepared for them at the entrance of St Peter's, when a bishop displayed the impression of our Saviour's face on the holy handkerchief three times,—and all the people cried aloud, 'Mercy!' The pope was then carried to a scaffold in front of the church, where the king was seated beside him, and the cardinals according to their ranks, and next to them the french princes of the blood. ”

“ Instead of a helmet, he wore a most brilliant crown, adorned with precious stones, to show that he was king,—and a rich canopy of cloth of gold was carried over him. The princes and the other lords, were richly armed,—and their horses were superbly decorated in divers manners, to do honour to the king on his entrance into the capital of his realm. The gentlemen and pages of honour were likewise superbly dressed, and so numerous that it is impossible to notice them. ”

“ By this truce, all Englishmen were allowed to enter France, whether armed or not, provided there were not more than one hundred persons in any one company. The truce was proclaimed at Paris, Amiens, and in other parts of the realm. The king of England then acknowledged the receipt of seventy-five thousand golden crowns; and the king made very liberal presents to all the courtiers of Edward, to the heralds and trumpets, who made great rejoicings for the same, crying out, 'Largesse au très noble et puissant roy de France! ”

“ During this interval, the king had remained inactive in Brittany, with about fifty thousand combatants, because he had been amused with different embassies from that duke, and entertained hopes of a pacification without bloodshed or loss of men; for he was much more anxious for the preservation of his subjects' lives than the duke of Burgundy, who was cruel and obstinate, as he had shown and was daily demonstrating. ”

“ In spite, however, of all their efforts, the duke of Burgundy gave orders for a general attack on the city between eight and nine in the morning of the 30th day of October, when the Burgundians and the king's troops entered the town without resistance; for the better part of the inhabitants, hearing of the intended attack, had fled, leaving behind only the populace,—women, children, old men and monks, who were indiscriminately killed,—and every violence was displayed as usual in a town taken by storm. Many young women and girls were violated, and afterwards murdered. ”

“ These matters being settled, the king sent into the town the lord cardinal of Bourbon, the lord chancellor, sir Guiot Pot bailiff of the Vermandois, sir Philip de Crevecoeur lord Desquerdes, governor of the said town, with other nobles, to receive the oaths of the inhabitants of Arras; but while this was doing, some of the townsmen rebelled, and came in arms to the abbey of St Waast, where the cardinal and the other lords were at dinner, bawling out, 'Kill, kill them!' The commissioners were more frightened than they had ever been in their lives,—but at this time no mischief happened. ”

“ The duke of Guienne is believed by the best historians to have died a natural death; and the earl of Mar (youngest brother of James III.) met his fate, according to the account adopted by Drummond of Hawthornden, in a manner merely accidental. The execution of George duke of Clarence, though it may well be said that the king ought to have pardoned his brother, yet, as it was the consequence of actual treason fully proved in the regular course of law, certainly does not merit the appellation of a murder. ”

“ France, had been condemned, in consequence of his confessions, to death, saving the good pleasure of the king. His life had been spared, but he remained a close prisoner in the castle of Loches until the present king's accession, when he was fully pardoned, and all proceedings against him were annulled. It happened, that a lame man had been one of the principal evidences against this duke, and was much afraid of his revenge when set at liberty,—to avoid which, he presented himself before the king, and solicited to be taken under his protection. ”

“ The king, queen, and the whole court, were much rejoiced at his arrival, and set off instantly from Amboise, to welcome and entertain the duke at Montils-les-Tours. During this interval, the county of Armagnac was reduced to the king's obedience without any effusion of blood,—and the whole surrendered into the hands of the lord admiral and the count de Dammartin, the commanders in chief of the royal army. The court of France remained with the duke de Guienne at the castle of Montils-les Tours until Christmas, when many feasts and entertainments were given by the king. ”

“ During this long siege of Perpignan, the king's troops had suffered greatly from the excessive heats, and from want of provisions,—which made them agree to a truce, for a short time, with the besieged, when each party was supplied as to their greatest wants. In this interval the king sent another reinforcement of men at arms, artillery and provisions, under the command of the lord de Gaucourt. He also ordered master John Bouvré and the banker of the treasury to buy up all the provisions they could lay hands on, and send them to Perpignan. ”

“ Master Gaguin tells us, in his chronicle, that this peace was very agreeable to the king of England; for he loved the French in his heart, but had been constrained by his subjects to send this armament to Boulogne,—and by his advice and remonstrances he had prevented its advancing farther into the kingdom; but that he had been obliged to dissemble, to avoid being suspected by the English of having too strong an inclination to king Charles, whose former kindnesses he could never forget, and this treaty of peace [Pg 375] was not long in being ratified by the two kings. ”

“ On Saturday morning, the 14th of March, the king, who then resided at Plessis du Parc, formerly called Montils les Tours, set off very early, and with few attendants, for Bordeaux and Bayonne. That no person living might follow him, he ordered the gates of Tours to be closed until ten o'clock had struck, and had a bridge broken down near to Tours, to prevent any one crossing the river. For further security, he commanded the lord de Gaucourt, the captain of the gentlemen in his household, to remain in Tours for the same purpose. ”

“ In one were slain two persons of rank, although they offered a large sum for their ransoms. The alarm being now spread, and the shouting of 'Salazart for ever!' having roused the Burgundians, it was necessary for him to retreat toward Beauvais; but in doing so, he carried off some handsome artillery, particularly some mortars that had done much mischief to the town,—and as they were heavy, they threw them into the ditch. They brought into the town two fine serpentines and a large brass cannon, called One of the Twelve Peers, which the king had lost at the battle of Montlehery. ”

“ When the king made his entry into Lucca, he was met by the clergy, and principal townsmen in procession, a league distant,—and what was most singular, the greater part of them were dressed in fine cloths of gold, or in velvets. After they had all paid their respects to the king, they conducted him into the town, which was richly decorated with tapestries, and divers pageants. He was lodged in the bishop's palace, where he and his company were grandly entertained. ”

“ For the more ready communication on the above matters, the duke of Austria marched his army, which was said to consist of twenty thousand combatants, between Douay and Arras, where he encamped. Under pretence of these exchanges, the duke amused the king with fine promises until the end of June, when the king did not gain any one thing that had been promised, although he had liberally restored to Maximilian all the towns on his part, thinking that the duke would as liberally keep the engagements on his side,—but he had been completely deceived throughout. ”

“ In the year 1484, king Charles, being fourteen years of age, was conducted by the noble princes of his blood, namely the duke of Orleans, the count of Angoulême, the count of Foix, the count of Vendôme, the lord of Beaujeu, the lord of Dunois, the duke of Lorraine, and numbers of other princes, barons, and gentlemen, to the city of Rheims, to be consecrated and anointed with the holy oil. ”

“ There were the treasurers of France, the counsellors and clerks of the exchequer, the masters of the mint, the officers of the treasury and of taxes, the assessors, the whole court of parliament, the practitioners in the court of the Châtelet: in all, a fine and numerous company. With the above companies were a great body of horse and foot under the standard and guidon of the Hôtel de Ville. The bishop, the heads of the university, the abbots, priors, and other churchmen of Paris, appeared there with a certain number of men, well armed and well appointed. ”

“ The king declared to the dauphin that he must obey the lord de Beaujeu in whatever he should order him, the same as if he himself were present and gave the orders.
Corn was exceedingly dear this year throughout France, more especially in the Lyonnois, Bourbonnois, and in Auvergne, insomuch that great numbers of people died of famine; and had it not been for the profuse alms and succours from such as had corn, the mortality would have been more than doubled. Crowds of poor people left the above-named provinces, and came to Paris and other great towns. ”

“ While the king was at Lyon, regulating the plans he should pursue in his intended attempt to recover the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, he sent the duke of Orleans forward over the Alps, in company with many other lords and captains and a large detachment of troops, as ambassadors to Milan, Genoa, Venice, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Viterbo and Rome, and to different towns in Lombardy, to learn whether they would keep their promises to the king, and support him in his expedition to Naples. ”

“ About this period, the king of Portugal, who laid claim to the crown of Spain in right of his queen, left Portugal, and came to Lyon, and thence to Tours, to solicit the aid of the king in the recovery of his lawful rights. He was kindly received by the king, and remained some time at Tours, where he was handsomely feasted by many of the nobles, but all at the king's expense. On leaving the king, he went to Orleans, where he was well received, and thence came to Paris, and made his public entry. ”

“ This day, news arrived in France, that the duke of Clarence and the earl of Warwick prospered greatly in their enterprises; that they had taken the field in pursuit of Edward,—and that the greater part of the nobles, prelates and gentlemen of England, had joined them, more especially the populace of London, who had gone out to meet Warwick, having turned their backs on Edward ”

“ The horse of the lord de Romont, son to the count of Savoy, and brother to the queen of France, was killed, but he himself escaped. The governor of Arras, sir James de St Pol, with other lords of name and renown, were made prisoners, whom the lord admiral caused to be led before the walls of Arras, and summoned the inhabitants to surrender the town to the king's obedience, otherwise he would order his prisoners to be beheaded in their sight. ”