As he advanced, he met sir Tanneguy du Châtel, and, from affection, slapped him on the shoulder, saying to the lord de St George, 'This is he in whom I trust.' He then passed on until he approached the dauphin, who was completely armed and girth with his sword, and leaning on one of the barriers: when near, to pay him greater honour, the duke dropped on one knee, and most respectfully saluted him. The dauphin, however, made no return, nor shewed him the least sign of affection, but reproached him for not having kept his promise of discontinuing the war, and for not disbanding his forces from different garrisons, according to his engagements. At the same time, sir Robert de Loire, taking him by the right arm, said, 'Rise, for you are too great a man thus to bend.' The duke, as has been said, was on his knee; and his sword having turned too much behind him as he knelt down, he put his hand to replace it properly, when sir Robert cried out, 'What! do you put your hand to your sword in the presence of my lord the dauphin!!!'
During these words, sir Tanneguy du Châtel approached him on the opposite side, and making a signal, saying, 'It is now time,' struck the duke with a small battle-axe he had in his hand so roughly on the face that he felled him on his knees, and cut off part of his chin. The duke, on this, put his hand to his sword to draw it, and attempted to rise to defend himself; but at the instant, Tanneguy with others repeated their blows, and laid him dead. While he was on the ground, Olivier Layet, assisted by Pierre Frotier thrust a sword under the haubergeon into his belly.
The lord de Nouaille, seeing this, drew his sword half out, to defend the duke; but the viscount de Narbonne held a dagger in his hand, ready to strike him. The lord de Nouaille now turned toward him, and vigorously wrested the dagger out of his hand: however, while he was thus engaged, he received a blow from a battle-axe on the back part of his head, which put an end to the scuffle and his life.
While these things were passing, the dauphin leant on the barrier, looking on, but soon drew back, as one much frightened, when he was immediately conducted to his lodgings by Jean Louvet, president of Provence, and others his counsellors.
On the other hand, Jean de Fribourg drew his sword, but was soon forced to drop it by dint of blows. In short, the whole of the ten, with the secretary who had accompanied the duke of Burgundy, were without delay made prisoners, excepting the lord de Nouaille, who was killed, and the lord de Montagu, who escaped over the barriers to the castle. The lord de St George was wounded in the side by the point of a battle-axe, and the lord d'Ancre by a cut on the hand.
The lord de Montagu, when clear of the barriers, loudly cried out, 'To arms!' upon which, sir Anthony de Toulongeon, sir Symon Othelimer, Saubertier, and John Demay, with some others, hastened to the barriers, and began to skirmish with their lances with those within them. In this conflict, sir Symon was wounded in the head; for their opponents, and the rest within the town, began to shoot lustily at them with cross-bows: finding, therefore they could not gain entrance to the barriers, they retreated to the castle.
Thus was the duke of Burgundy cruelly murdered, trusting to the promises and securities of the duke de Touraine, dauphin of Vienne, and his ministers. The act and the manner of perpetrating it were most horrible; and the hearts of noble and worthy men, natives of France, must suffer the greatest shame and grief thus to witness the noble blood of the flower de luces, and princes so nearly allied destroy each other; and the kingdom, by these and other acts done prior to this, put to the infinite risk of changing its sovereign, and all things thrown into confusion and peril.
The principal actors in this conspiracy against the duke of Burgundy were Jean Louvet, president of Provence, the viscount de Narbonne, sir Guillaume Batiller, sir Tanneguy du Châtel, sir François de Grimaulx, sir Robert de Loire, Pierre Frotier, Olivier Layet, sir Ponchon de Namac, seneschal of Auvergne, and several more. They had for a considerable time before confederated, and sworn to bring the matter to the conclusion they had just accomplished; and, as I have been informed, they intended to have put their plan in execution at the moment of the meeting of these two princes at Pouilly le Fort, when peace was made between them,—but were then forced to abandon it because the duke was too powerful in arms, and because the armies of each were drawn up so near that great mischiefs must have ensued.
The lord de Joinville and the others in the castle of Montereau, to whom the duke had confided the guard, were greatly alarmed, and not without cause, when they noticed the conduct that was observed toward their lord, whose real situation they were as yet ignorant of, and those who had accompanied him. They were likewise very uneasy as to themselves,—for they were unprovided with any stores of provision or of ammunition, excepting what they had brought with them, which were not in any great quantities; and before their arrival, the castle had been dismantled of artillery, and every other store carried away. They held many consultations, whether they should depart or not, but at length determined to remain where they were until they should receive more certain intelligence respecting their lord than they had hitherto had. Notwithstanding the lords de Joinville and de Montagu most earnestly and often begged of the duke's men to stay with them in the castle, they would not listen to their words, but set off in haste, and in a most disorderly manner galloped away for Bray sur Seine, whence they had come that morning.
However, a large body of the dauphin's army pursued them, and killed and wounded great numbers without any resistance. The lords de Joinville and de Montagu remained, as I have said, in the castle,—and with them sir Robert de Marigny, sir Philip de Servoiles, sir John de Murat, the lord de Rosmat, John d'Ermay, John de Caumaisnil, Sabertier, Philip de Montant, Regnault de Chevilly, Regnault de Rethel, Guillaume de Biere, the lady of Giac and her woman, Philip Josquin, with about twenty varlets and pages of the household of the late duke of Burgundy.