CHAP. XXIII.
THE AUTHOR PARTICULARISES THE VALOUR OF SEVERAL OF THE NOBLES IN THE CONQUEST OF NORMANDY.—THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS THE COUNT DE PENTHIEVRE, AS HIS LIEUTENANT, INTO GUIENNE.
Were I to attempt particularising every valiant man, and his gallant deeds, on the reconquering of the duchy of Normandy, it would tire my reader's patience; but still I must mention some of the most renowned, for the benefit of those who, in future times, may peruse this account of the reduction of that duchy.
In the first place, the king of France had placed his army on a most excellent establishment,—and, as it was a novelty, it is worth describing. He had supplied all the men at arms and archers with good and secure habiliments,—namely, the men at arms with cuirasses, greaves, salades[106], and swords mounted with silver, as well as the lances which their pages bore; each man at arms had three horses, for himself, his page, and his varlet,—which last was armed with a light helmet, a brigandine[107], jacket or haubergeon[108], battle-axe or guisarme. Every man at arms had attached to him two archers on horseback, dressed in brigandines, greaves and salades; the greater part of which were ornamented with silver; or wanting these, they had strong leathern jackets and haubergeons. The soldiers, when on service, were always paid monthly, and under such strict discipline that none dared to seize any thing unpaid for,—nor to make prisoners, or ransom man or beast unless they belonged to the English or to their friends. It was lawful to make plunder of whatever was their property, but not otherwise.
The chief captains on this expedition were the count de Dunois, lieutenant-general for the king, the counts de Nevers, de Castres, d'Eu, de St Pol, the lord de Culant, grand master of the household, the lords d'Orval, de Touteville, de Blainville, de Beauveau, de Bueil, de Beaunoir, de Moy in the Beauvoisis, the marshal de Jalognes, the seneschal de Poitou, John of Lorraine, Poton de Saintrailles, the bailiff of Evreux, Robert Conigan[109], and very many other great lords, knights and esquires, who most valiantly conducted themselves, regardless of all the pains and discomforts they were bodily put to on several occasions.
In like manner, the king had made ample provision of all sorts of artillery for his defence, and for the attack of towns and castles. He had the greatest number and variety of battering cannon and bombards, veuglaires, serpentines, crapaudines, culverines and ribaudequins[110], that had ever been collected in the memory of man; and never king had such a train so well supplied with ammunition and every implement for battering towns, nor so numerous a body of men and horses to draw them. These received their pay daily, and were under the command of master John Bureau, treasurer of France, and of his brother Jasper Bureau,—both of whom suffered many difficulties during the sieges of the different towns and castles, for they were very active and attentive to their duty. It was wonderful to see their diligence in planning and forming the trenches and mines that were opened at almost every siege during this expedition; for, to say the truth, there was scarcely any place that surrendered on capitulation but what might have been won by storm, had not the king, out of his benign nature, insisted on the contrary, to prevent the effusion of blood and the total ruin of such places and their inhabitants.
The late duke of Brittany was the leader of the conquest of lower Normandy, having with him his uncle the count de Richemont, constable of France, the late Pregent de Coictivy, lord of Retz and admiral of France, who laboured hard at the business, the count de Laval, the lord de Lohéac, marshal of France, his brother de Montauban, marshal of Brittany, Geoffry de Couvran, James de Tilly, bailiff of the Vermandois. Tuddual le Bourgeois was of this party during his life.
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. Sir John du Bar, lord of Baugey, and sir John Harduyn, treasurer of France, gained great credit,—and all others who laboured at this time in the service of the king.
When king Charles of France, the seventh of the name, had thus, by the Divine grace, and his puissant chivalry, made the conquest of the duchy of Normandy, which had been occupied about thirty years by his ancient enemies the English, and had replaced all the strong castles and principal towns with sufficient garrisons, and regulated the government of each,—confiding always in the grace and mercy of the King of kings, who wills that every one should have his own, as is declared in that chapter of St Matthew's gospel, where our Lord says to the pharisee, 'Render unto Cæsar the things that be Cæsar's and unto God the things that be God's;' he consequently resolved to march an army into Guienne against Bordeaux, which had been occupied by the English time immemorial, contrary to all reason and justice, and in direct contradiction to the said gospel. 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 fully discussed in their presence, and also in the presence of the princes of his blood and the chief prelates of the realm. It was then determined to send a force into Guienne, after proper provision had been made for the defence of Normandy, which was intrusted to the constable, having under him some norman knights and esquires, together with six hundred spears and a body of archers, paid monthly,—and a great number of franc archers were likewise ordered thither by the king. The government of the city of Rouen and the country of Caux was given to sir Pierre de Brézé, grand seneschal of Normandy.