The king made no long stay in Paris, but went to Tours, Amboise, and places in that district, where he the more willingly resided.
During this interval, the Burgundians and other enemies to the king, under the prince of Orange, and sir Claude de Vaudray, committed great devastations in Burgundy, and defeated many parties of the royal forces, more especially at the town of Gray sur Saone, wherein they were quartered. The Burgundians killed a number of gentlemen of the companies of Salazart and Coninghame, a scots captain.
The king had this year great devotion for St Louis and St Charlemagne, and ordered that their statues of stone, which had been placed in their rank with those of the other kings of France in the great hall of the palace, should be removed and placed beside the chapel at the upper end of the said hall,—which was done, and the expenses of their removal were paid by Robert Cailletel, receiver of taxes in the city of Paris.
In the month of December, the king, to increase his artillery, ordered twelve great bombards to be cast of a prodigious length and weight. Three of them were to be cast at Paris, three at Tours, three at Orleans, and three at Amiens; and at the same time a quantity of iron bullets were cast at the founderies at Creil, of which charge was given to master John de Reilhac his secretary. In the quarries near to Peronne, were also made many stone bullets for the bombards,—and great stores of scaling ladders and small pieces of ordnance were constructed, for the attack of several towns in Flanders and Picardy that remained to be reduced.
At this period, king Edward of England, having been assured that his brother the duke of Clarence had intentions of crossing the sea to give assistance to his sister. The widowed duchess of Burgundy, ordered him to be arrested and confined in the tower of London, where he remained for some time. During his confinement, the king assembled his council, who condemned him to be drawn on a sledge from the tower to a gibbet, and thereon hanged,—after which, his entrails were to be thrown into a fire, his head cut off, and his body quartered. But this sentence was changed at the intercession of his mother, and the execution deferred until the month of February following, when he was taken out of prison, and, after he had confessed himself, was thrown alive into a butt of malmsey Madeira, which had one of its ends taken off, and held therein, with his head downwards, until he expired. He was then taken out: his head was cut off, and carried to be buried at the Carmelite's church, beside his duchess, daughter to the late earl of Warwick, who had been slain at the battle of Coventry, at the same time when the prince of Wales, son to the sainted Henry of Lancaster, fell[84].
An event happened at this time, at Paris, that made some noise. Daniel de Bar, servant to master Olivier le Daim[85], first barber and valet de chambre to the king, was arrested and imprisoned by the court of parliament, in consequence of several informations laid against him, and especially on the complaint of Marion, the wife of Colin Panier, and another dissolute woman, who charged the said Daniel with having forced them and with having committed upon them the beastly and abominable sin of sodomy. When the parliament and the provost began to examine more minutely into these charges, the women contradicted themselves, and denied the facts, confessing that they had been induced to make such accusations at the instance of Panier, the husband of Marion, and of another called Janvier, enemies of the said Daniel, in order to be revenged on him. The two women were therefore sentenced, by the provost, to be whipped naked and banished the realm; and their effects were to be confiscated to the king, out of which sufficient damages should first be taken for the said Daniel, as an indemnification for these false charges. This sentence was executed in all the squares of Paris, on Wednesday, the 11th day of March.
In this month, the king came from Tours toward Paris, and staid two days at Ablon sur Seine, at the house of Marc Senamy, assessor of Paris; whence he came to his palace of the Tournelles, and on the morrow morning, paid his devotions at the cathedral to the blessed virgin Mary. This done, he went to Louvres, and places in that neighbourhood, where he staid some time, and then proceeded to Hêdin, Amiens, and other towns in Picardy. While he was there, the lord Howard came to him from the king of England, to endeavour to conclude a peace between him and the Flemings. The king appointed the lord de St Pierre to confer with him on the subject; and in the interval, the king marched the whole of his army and artillery into Picardy.
A.D. MCCCCLXXVIII.
After Low Sunday, in the month of March of the above year, the duchess of Orleans arrived at Paris, in company with the duke of Orleans,—a young son of the duke of Cleves, nephew to the duchess,—madame de Narbonne, daughter to the late duke of Orleans, and wife to the viscount of Narbonne, son to the count of Foix,—the son of the count of Vendôme, and a number of lords, gentlemen, ladies and damsels, who were twice most magnificently feasted in the city of Paris.
The first entertainment was given by the cardinal of Foix, in the hôtel d'Estampes, near the bastile,—and the second, by the lord cardinal of Bourbon, at his hôtel, where he gave a grand supper on Wednesday the last day in March. At this supper, there was the greatest plenty of every delicacy that could be procured, with music and singing, mummeries, farces, and other gallant amusements. This supper was served up in the gilt gallery, where all the guests attended but madame de Narbonne,—who, on account of her being far gone with child, and to be more at her ease, supped with her husband and seven more, in the lower apartments of the said hôtel, belonging to John Roye, secretary to the duke of Bourbon, who had the care of his hôtel.