Nearly at the same time, ambassadors from the duke of Brittany arrived at Poitiers, with some propositions to the king, who, having heard what they had to say, assented to the greater part of their demands. On this being done, the ambassadors promised that the duke should come to Poitiers, or elsewhere, according to the good pleasure of the king, to ratify and confirm what had been agreed on and granted by his majesty. The ambassadors then took their humble leave of the king, and, on their departure, pretended to return home; but their intentions were otherwise,—for, on setting out from Poitiers on a Saturday, they only went four leagues, and remained there until the Monday, when the duke of Berry left Poitiers secretly, during the absence of his brother the king, and joined them. The ambassadors received him with joy, and made all haste to carry him with them to Brittany, fearing they would be pursued the moment the king should learn his brother's escape.
After the departure of the duke of Berry from Poitiers, many others went into Brittany; among the rest, the duke of Orleans left Poitiers; but he was, shortly after, seized with so dangerous an illness, at Châtelherault, that it proved fatal to him, and he was buried in the church of St Sauveur, in the castle of Blois.
The duke of Bourbon now declared war against the king of France and his country, and seized all the finances belonging to the king in the Bourbonnois. The duke made a pretence of arresting the lord de Crussel, who was much in the king's confidence, for passing through his territories with his wife, family and effects, without first having demanded permission. A little afterwards, the lord de Trainel,[68] late chancellor of France, and master Pierre d'Oriole, superintendant-general of the king's finances, were arrested, and detained a long time prisoner in the town of Moulins, but at length were given up by the duke to the king.
On the 15th day of May, sir Charles de Melun, lieutenant for the king, master John Balue, elected bishop of Evreux, and master John le Prevot, notary and secretary to the king, came to Paris, and read to the magistrates, assembled in the town-house, some regulations with which the king had charged them; which being done, they gave several orders, subject to the king's pleasure, for the better defence of the town,—such as the increasing of the nightly watch, additional guards at some of the gates, and walling up others, and likewise for the preparation of chains to be thrown across each street, should there be any occasion for them. Other orders were issued, but it would be tiresome to detail them all.
About this time, an inventory was made of all the effects belonging to Pierre Merin at Paris, which were seized on by the king, because the said Merin, then treasurer to the duke of Berry, held for his lord the town and tower of Bourges against the king. For this reason, the king gave to James Tête-Clerc the office of usher to the treasury, which Merin had held.
In consequence of Anthony de Chabannes count de Dammartin's escape from the bastile of St Anthony at Paris, wherein he had been confined prisoner, as is related by Monstrelet, he found means to get possession from Geoffroy Cœur, son to the late Jacques Cœur, of the towns of St Forgeiul and St Maurice, and made Geoffroy himself his prisoner, laying hands also on all his effects, which he found in these two places.
The king of France advanced toward Angers and the Pont de Cé, to learn the intentions of such as had absented themselves to join his brother in Brittany. He was attended by the king of Sicily duke of Anjou, and the count du Maine, followed by a considerable body of troops, estimated at twenty or thirty thousand combatants. The king, perceiving that much was not to be gained in that quarter, turned his march toward Berry, and to the towns of Issoudun, Vierzon, Déols, and others in that district, having with him a strong detachment from his army and artillery.
Here the two brothers, the king of Sicily and the count du Maine, uncles to the king by the mother's side, left him, and hastened, with a large force, to prevent the dukes of Berry and Brittany from entering Normandy, or from doing mischief to any other part of the kingdom. The king remained some time in Berry, and then departed for the Bourbonnois; but he would not enter Bourges, because it was well provided with a garrison of men at arms, under the command of the bastard of Bourbon for the duke of Berry.
The 14th or 15th of August, of this year 1464, pope Pius II. departed this life, as is noted by Monstrelet. He was elected pope in the year 1458; and his name was Æneas Silvius, of the city of Sienna,[69] an eloquent man, a great orator, and poet laureat. He had been ambassador and secretary to the great emperor Sigismond, and has written a notable treatise in the support of the authority of the council of Basil, with several other fine books, of good doctrine. He canonised St Catherine of Sienna, of the order of Franciscans, in the year 1461, and wrote several elegant latin epistles to many of the Christian princes, to urge them to a croisade against the infidels, as may now be seen in his book of letters. He was, in consequence, surrounded by princes and lords from divers countries, having with them large armies of men at arms, and galleys and other vessels to transport them; so, when thus assembled, they advanced with the pope as far as Ancona, where he was met by the king of Hungary and a great army. But in the midst of these grand and salutary preparations, the good pope Pius died at Ancona, the day and year above mentioned.
In the same year, Paul II. was elected his successor. Paul was a Venetian, and gave his instant approbation for the celebration of the feast of the said glorious virgin St Catherine of Sienna. He loved justice, and was desirous of amassing wealth. He commenced the building of a grand palace beside the church of St Mark at Rome.