Another day, when the king was in a tolerably good state of health, the three before mentioned petitioners, accompanied by their uncle the duke of Berry, and many princes and knights of France, with master Regnault de Corbie, first president of the parliament, and a number of officers of state, went to the hôtel de St Pol, where they found the king, who had quitted his apartment and was in the garden. After having reverently saluted him, the three brothers did their homages for the lordships they held under him, namely, duke John for his duchy of Burgundy, and his counties of Flanders and Artois,—Anthony duke of Limbourg, for his county of Rethel,—and Philip the younger, for his county of Nevers.
There were also a very great number of noblemen, knights and esquires, who did their homages to the king for the estates they held from him in different parts of the kingdom. When the three brothers had requested certificates from the king of the duties they had performed, they took leave of him, and departed for their hôtels.
These same days there arrived at Paris, and in the adjacent villages, full six thousand fighting men, in obedience to the summons of the duke of Burgundy and his brothers, under the command of Jean sans pitié[[91]], bishop of Liege, and the count de Cleves. This force was collected to oppose the duke of Orleans, should he attempt any insult against them; for they were well informed of his not being well pleased that they had forced his nephew, the dauphin, to return to Paris, nor with the petition they had made to the king. What raised his indignation the more, and especially against the duke of Burgundy, was his knowledge that the charges in this petition attached more to him than to any other of the princes of the realm.
The duke of Orleans, not knowing what turn these matters might take, nor what measures might be pursued against his person, ordered men at arms from all quarters to his assistance. In the number, sir John Harpedanne came with his men from the frontiers of the Boulonois. From other parts came the duke of Lorraine and the count d’Alençon[[92]] with a large body of men, who were quartered at Melun, and in that neighbourhood, to the amount of fourteen hundred armed with helmets, besides a great multitude of other sorts.
The whole country round Paris, the Isle of France and Brie, were sorely oppressed by the men at arms of both parties.
The partisans of the duke of Orleans bore on their pennons the motto, ‘Je l’envie;’ and the duke sent messengers to the queen and to king Louis[[93]], who was preparing to set out for his kingdom of Naples with a powerful body of men at arms, to come to him at Melun. The king, leaving his own business, went thither, and had a conference with the queen and the duke,—after which he returned to Paris, with the intention of negotiating between the two parties.
He held many consultations with the dukes of Berry and Bourbon, and the king’s council, to attempt a reconciliation between the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. Whilst this was passing, the duke of Orleans wrote letters to many of the principal towns in the kingdom, complaining that many defamatory and injurious reports against his person and honour had been very industriously spread through Paris, which ought not to obtain any credit until he should make answer to them. In like manner, he wrote to the university of Paris, sending ambassadors to require that the matters in dispute between him and the duke of Burgundy should be argued before them, and that they should decide which of the two was to blame.
The university, on the receipt of this letter, sent some of their principal members as ambassadors to the duke at Melun, who stated three points which they were ordered to lay before him. In the first place, they thanked him for the honour he had done them by sending them his ambassadors: secondly, they declared that they should be very happy to witness the commencement of a reformation in the kingdom; and thirdly, that they should greatly rejoice to see him and the duke of Burgundy reconciled.
The duke of Orleans, having listened to them, instantly made answer, that they had not acted wisely in supporting and advising the duke of Burgundy in his measures, which had been principally directed against himself, as they could not have been ignorant that he was son and brother to a king; that the regency of the kingdom had been given to him as the most proper person, and was in fact his right, considering the state of the king’s health, and the youth of his nephew the duke of Acquitaine. He added, secondly, that those members of the university who were strangers, and from different countries, ought not to interfere in the government or reformation of the kingdom, but should leave it to him and those of the blood royal, and the king’s ministers.
In reply to their third point, he said, that there was no need of pacification between him and the duke of Burgundy, because there was not any warfare, nor had any challenges passed between them.