FOOTNOTES:
[16] Dampvilliers,—a town in Luxembourg, diocese of Verdun.
[17] Yvoix,—now called Carignan, a town in Luxembourg.
[18] Mehun-sur-Yevre,—four leagues from Bourges.
[CHAP. XVI.]
THE EARL OF WARWICK AND OTHERS FROM ENGLAND ATTEND THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.—THE KING OF FRANCE HAS SOLEMN OBSEQUIES PERFORMED FOR HIS BROTHER, THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.
The earl of Warwick, three bishops, four abbots, and other noble knights, clerks and doctors in theology, to the number of about eight hundred, travelled from Calais, through Flanders, with a handsome retinue, as commissioners from the king of England, his realm, and the university of Oxford, to the council of Constance. They were well received by the new emperor, whose coronation some of them had attended as ambassadors from the king of England, the pope and the whole council.
As the day was drawing near when the countess of Hainault and her brother, the duke of Brabant, with the deputies from Flanders, were to meet to ratify the late peace at Senlis, between the duke of Burgundy and the king of France; and as the grand council was then very much engaged in business, Louis duke of Bavaria, sir Colart de Calville and others were sent as ambassadors from the king to prolong the day.
On Saturday, the eve of the Epiphany, the king ordered a solemn service to be performed in the cathedral church of Nôtre Dame in Paris, for his late brother the duke of Orleans, which had not been as yet done. It was celebrated with a multitude of wax lights and torches, and attended by the duke of Orleans and the count de Vertus, the dukes of Berry, of Bourbon, Louis of Bavaria, the counts d'Alençon, de Richemont, d'Eu, de la Marche, and many more, all dressed in deep mourning. The duke of Acquitaine was not present, he had gone the preceding day to visit the queen his mother, and his sister the duchess of Brittany at Melun.
At these obsequies the sermon was preached by the chancellor of the cathedral, doctor John Gerson, much renowned for his theological learning; and it was so strong and bold that many doctors and others present were astonished thereat. When he praised the manners of the deceased duke and his government of the realm, he declared that it had been by far better administered by him than it had ever been since his death. He seemed, in this discourse, more desirous of exciting a war against the duke of Burgundy than of appeasing it; for he said, he did not recommend the death of the duke of Burgundy, or his destruction, but that he ought to be humiliated, to make him sensible of the wickedness he had committed, that by a sufficient atonement he might save his soul. He added, that the burning, last Lent, of the propositions advanced by the duke's advocate, John Petit, against the duke of Orleans, before the gates of the cathedral, as wicked doctrines, had been well done; but that all that was necessary had not yet been executed. He concluded by declaring, that he was ready to maintain and defend what he had said against the whole world.
The king was present, but not in mourning, in an oratory on the right hand of the altar; and near him was the duke of Orleans, who took precedence of all others, on account of this service that was performed for his late father; then the duke of Berry, the count de Vertus, and several princes seated according to their rank, listening to the words of the preacher. Two cardinals, namely, those of Rheims and of Pisa, many bishops, and such crowds of clergy, knights and common people assisted, that the church could scarcely contain them. When the sermon was ended, the dukes of Orleans and Berry, and the count de Vertus, recommended the preacher to the king's notice.
On the ensuing Monday, the king had similar obsequies performed for the late duke of Orleans, in the church of the Celestins in Paris, where he had been buried. They were attended by all who had assisted at the former ceremony. Master John Courbecuisse, doctor of divinity, preached the sermon, and pursued the same course of arguments as doctor Gerson.
The king likewise had vigils, funeral orations and masses, said for his late brother, in the chapel of the college of Navarre in Paris, at which he and the other relations of the deceased assisted.
[CHAP. XVII.]
THE KING AND HIS GRAND COUNCIL SEND FORCES TO ATTACK THE BURGUNDIANS.—OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED.
True it is, that after the destruction of the castle of Tonnerre, as has been mentioned, many men at arms and archers, who had been there employed, formed themselves into a company of full seven thousand horse, and committed much mischief on the country around, as well on the territories of the king in the Auxerrois as elsewhere.
In consequence, the king and council ordered the lord de Gaucourt, and Gassilin du Bos, to march against and conquer them. They obeyed, and so vigorously pursued them that from two to three hundred were killed or made prisoners. These last were carried to Paris, and confined in the prisons of the Châtelet, whence, after a short time, they were brought to trial, and some of them executed, but not before the king had paid their ransoms to those who had taken them.
The commanders of these marauders were Jacqueville, Fierbourg, and some others, who, when they heard that the king was sending a force against them, retired into the duchy of Burgundy.
Not long after, Sir Jeninet de Pois, nephew to sir James de Châtillon, lord de Dampierre, and admiral of France, going to the duke of Burgundy, attended by only two hundred lances or thereabout, was attacked, killed and robbed of every thing. Only one man, named Tambullan, of his whole company, escaped, and he saved himself by flight: all the rest were slain or taken. This action was very displeasing to the duke of Burgundy.
In like manner Hector de Saveuses, who had made a successful war on the king's forces, when before Arras, was captured when on a pilgrimage to Liance[19], and carried to Paris: had it not been for the earnest solicitations of the countess of Hainault, he would have been executed. Philip de Saveuses, his brother, had also made prisoners of Henry de Boissy, lord de Chaulle, and Eustace Dayne, lord de Sarton, who had warm friends among the king's ministers; and they exerted themselves so effectually for their liberty, that Hector was given in exchange for them.
These, and many similar facts, shewed that, notwithstanding the peace of Arras, there was very little security in the kingdom for travellers or others: for the Orleans party had so surrounded the persons of the king and the duke of Acquitaine, that those attached to the duke of Burgundy or his allies were deprived of all share in the government, and treated very harshly. This treatment, however, was but a retaliation for what the Orleans party had suffered when the Burgundians were in power.
Peace was somehow or other preserved; and the countess of Hainault came, with a noble attendance, through the Vermandois, Noyon and Compiegne to Senlis: the deputies from Flanders followed her, handsomely escorted; and last came the duke of Brabant, with the chief ministers of the duke of Burgundy, namely, the bishop of Tournay, the lord de Ront, sir William Bouvier, governor of Arras, master Thierry du Roy, and some others.
The council of the king of France requested them to proceed to Paris, for the purpose of more conveniently discussing the subject, which was complied with by all except the countess of Hainault, who had been forbidden by her lord and husband to go farther than Senlis, where she had been very honourably received by the dukes of Acquitaine and Berry, who had come from Paris to meet her. She was visited by other princes of the blood, and even by the duchess of Bourbon, who with the consent of her duke, had come from Clermont to entertain her, and remained in her company until she quitted Senlis.