The duke of Bourbon had, during these negotiations, transmitted the constable sealed proposals to the king, which clearly discovered the constable's treason in this instance, and also in others which he had confessed on his trial. The examinations were all read,—but as they were of great length, I omit them for the sake of brevity.
After the constable had confessed himself, and was preparing to mount the scaffold, he told his confessors, that he had sewed up in his doublet seventy half-crowns of gold, which he took out and gave to the Cordelier, to be distributed in charity from his love to God and for the ease of his conscience. The Cordelier replied, that they would be well employed if distributed among the poor novices of his convent: the Augustin said the same. In order to satisfy them, he desired that they would divide the sum among themselves, and make such distribution in charities as their consciences should approve of. He then took a gold ring set with a diamond from his finger, and, giving it to the penitentiary, desired that he would offer it to the image of the virgin Mary, and place it on her finger, which he promised to perform. Addressing himself to master John Sordun, he said, 'Reverend father, here is a stone that I have long worn round my neck, and which I loved much for its virtue of preserving the wearer from all poison and pestilence,—which stone I beg of you to bear to my young son, to whom you will say, that I entreat he will be careful of it, out of love to me.' The friar promised to obey his wishes.
After his execution, the chancellor demanded of the four confessors if he had given them any thing; and they informed him of the half-crowns, the ring, and the stone. The chancellor said, that in regard to the half-crowns and the ring, they must obey the injunctions of the deceased; but as to the stone, it must be delivered to the king, for him to do with it according to his pleasure. In consequence of the execution of the constable the following short epitaph was made:
'Mille quatre cens l'année de Grace
Soixante quinze, en la grande place,
A Paris, que l'on nomme Gréve,
L'an que fut fait aux Anglois treve,
De Decembre le dix-neuf,
Sur un échauffaut fait de neuf,
'Fut amenè le connetable,
Accompagnié grand et notable,
Comme le veut Dieu et raison,
Pour sa grande trahison:
Et là il fut décapité,
En cette très noble cité.'
On Saturday, the 23d of December, an edict was published at Paris, by sound of trumpet, to notify the displacing of the master and officers of the mint, and the causes for the same. In their places, the king appointed only four persons, namely, sir Germain de Merle, Nicholas Potier, Denis le Breton, and Simon Ausoran. It was ordered by this edict, that the crowns of gold bearing the stamp of the king, and which had been current for twenty-four sols parisis three deniers tournois; should be current for thirty-five unzains, equivalent to twenty-five sols eight deniers parisis; and that the other crowns that were marked with a crescent instead of a crown, should pass for thirty-six unzains, worth twenty-six sols six deniers parisis,—and the new twelve-penny pieces were to pass for twelve pennies tournois.
This day, by permission from the king the remains of Regnault Veloux, who had been executed for treason, were collected together,—his body from the gibbet of Montfaucon and his head from the lance to which it had been affixed, fronting the town-house,—and carried to the church of the Cordeliers for interment, where a handsome funeral service was performed for the salvation of his soul, all at the cost and expenses of the friends and relatives of the late Regnault Veloux.
On St Stephen's day, in this year there appeared before the town-house in Paris a lombard knight, called sir Boufillé, who had been challenged to mortal combat on foot by an arragonian knight, but who had failed to keep his engagement on the day appointed for the combat. To obtain such damages as in reason he ought to have, the said Boufillé had come before the count de Dammartin, whom the king had nominated judge to decide the differences between them. Boufillé appeared in full armour, with his battle-axe on his wrist ready for the combat, and was preceded by his banner and three trumpets, followed by many servants, one of whom bore another battle-axe. After he had stated his case, and made his appeal to the count de Dammartin, he retired to his lodgings at the sign of the Great Cup, near to the town-house.
Sunday the 28th of December, the duke of Alençon, who had long been confined in the prisons of the Louvre, was, by orders from the king, taken thence about six in the evening, to be lodged in any private house that should be by his guards thought sufficiently secure. Sir Denis Hesselin, Jacques Hesselin his brother, and sir John de Harlay, commander of the night-guard of Paris, were appointed to conduct him; which they did, to the house of the late Michael L'Huillier, whither he was preceded by four lighted torches.
In the month of January following, the king caused proclamation to be made in Paris, that whereas, from long antiquity, the kings of France had been allowed by the different popes to assemble every five years, the prelates of France for the reformation of the church; and whereas this had been neglected for some years, the king, desirous to guard and preserve the rights of the gallican church, now ordered a council of the prelates and churchmen to be holden at Lyon, or in some town near; and for this purpose the king commanded all archbishops, bishops, and other dignitaries, to be resident in their several dioceses, that they might be in readiness to attend this council at whatever place it should be appointed to be holden, under pain of having all their temporal property seized on by the king, should they fail of obeying this edict as to their residence, within six months after the proclamation of the said edict.
Another proclamation followed the above, stating, that whereas the king, to answer some urgent demands respecting the public welfare, had ordered a crown to be paid for every pipe of wine that was exported and that all other provision, was to pay in proportion, which taxes had for some time been neglected to be raised: he therefore ordered the tax of a crown to be paid from one extremity of the kingdom to the other, on every pipe of wine exported, but that the taxes on other provision were to cease and be annulled. Master Laurence Herbelot, king's counsellor, and Denis Chevalier, formerly notary to the Châtelet, were appointed to collect this tax,—although the king had, a little before, nominated master Pierre Jouvelin inspector of accounts, who was now displaced by this new appointment.