Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester: A Biography

by Kenneth Hotham Vickers

1425] INDECISION OF THE POPE

Martin V. was still hesitating as to whether or no he should grant the divorce. It mattered little to him that a distracted people eagerly looked for a judgment that might give them relief; and he thought that by delay he might secure some great concession from one side or the other, or at least he might wait till he could see which party was likely to gain the upper hand. Besides, it must be remembered that immense possibilities—far greater than the question of the rights of a petty Princess of Hainault—lay behind this decision. The course of the war between France and England might lie in the balance which hung between the contending Dukes, and a verdict on the divorce appeal, given at a critical moment, might help to end that long-protracted struggle. Be this as it may, rumours, born of this long waiting for a judgment, arose in the Low Countries, and it was reported that a Bull of divorce between the Duke of Brabant and Jacqueline had been granted by the Holy See, a report which reached as far as Zealand, where the citizens of Zierkzee wrote to the authorities at Mons, asking for a confirmation of the report if it were indeed true.[555] Before long these rumours reached Rome, and on February 13 Martin wrote to Brabant, declaring the Bulls of divorce now circulating in the dioceses of Utrecht, Liége, and Cambray to be absolute forgeries.[556] At the same time he sent letters to Gloucester in which he asserted that the opinion that Jacqueline’s English marriage was undoubtedly legal, currently attributed to him, had never been expressed, and that all he had said was, that he hoped that it might be proved so.[557] Rome was still shuffling, though the purport of the two letters was calculated to improve the position of Brabant rather than that of Gloucester, but for the present this did not affect the course of affairs, for the first letter at least did not reach its destination till Humphrey had turned his back for ever on Hainault.[558]

While Gloucester had been steadily alienating the sympathies of the men of Hainault, and attempting to justify his invasion of the country, his troops had not been idle. In December the Earl Marshal had invaded the territory of Brabant, and had ravaged the country with fire and sword, penetrating as far as Brussels and carrying off much booty and many prisoners.[559] No organised resistance was made to the inroad. The Duke of Brabant, weak and unenterprising as usual, took no interest in the defence even of his hereditary duchy[560]; so little did he bestir himself that a rumour was spread abroad that he was dead.[561] Though this was untrue, a further report that John of Bavaria had died was substantiated,[562] for the energetic ex-bishop had fallen down dead suddenly at the very beginning of 1425,[563] and thus, from the death of one John and the inertia of the other, there seemed to be every likelihood that Hainault at least would pass definitely under Gloucester’s rule.

1425] BURGUNDIAN INTERVENTION

There was one man, however, who had to be counted with, one who would brook no interference within his sphere of influence, and this was the Duke of Burgundy. The titular principals in this drama have retired to the back of the stage; Jacqueline and the Duke of Brabant give place to Humphrey of Gloucester and Philip of Burgundy. The plot, too, has widened, and has ceased to be confined to the mere states under dispute; it has become a personal question with an European significance. When Philip had left Paris vowing that he would resist the ambitions of Gloucester, he meant what he said. A truce concluded with the party of the Dauphin had enabled him to devote his whole attentions to this end, and on December 20 he had issued letters from Dijon to his vassals in Picardy, Artois, and the neighbouring territories summoning them to arm for the defence of Hainault under the leadership of John of Luxembourg.[564] By this means a considerable force was despatched to join the troops which the Count of St. Pol was collecting under the auspices of Burgundy in Brabant, and by the beginning of the new year a body of some forty thousand men, so the chroniclers tell us,[565] was ready to invade Hainault under the brother of Duke John, who himself was too much of a lay figure to command the troops in person.[566] As a preliminary to the attack on Hainault, the frontier towns in Brabant territory were garrisoned, and from these bases frequent predatory expeditions were made across the borders, thus inflicting on the unfortunate Hainaulters the twofold burden of an enemy’s devastation and a so-called friend’s foraging parties.[567] Gloucester had already garrisoned many of the towns under his command, and the two forces were constantly meeting in skirmish and counter-attack, till early in March St. Pol crossed the frontier, and invested the town of Braine-le-Comte.

St. Pol’s army was a heterogeneous collection of men from various sources. Round him were gathered nobles of Brabant, and the discontented from Hainault, Burgundian troops, Brabantine levies, and even Frenchmen from amongst those who espoused the cause of the Dauphin, all comprising a powerful but somewhat unwieldy and undisciplined force.[568] In Braine there was an English garrison of two hundred men, but the numbers of the defenders were swollen by the citizens, who took up arms to resist the invader. For eight days[569] a spirited defence was maintained, but superstitious fear quelled the ardour of the Englishmen when they seemed to see their patron saint St. George riding his white horse among the besiegers. On March 11 terms were offered and accepted; the English were to be allowed to march out with the honours of war, taking with them their private property, whilst the townsmen were to be immune from molestation in return for a certain monetary payment. This agreement, however, was not kept, for the wild, undisciplined levies of Brabant, enraged at the loss of so goodly a chance of spoil, broke into the town under cover of the truce, and pillaged, burnt, and slew, while their captains tried in vain to assert their authority. Thus the town was utterly destroyed, and citizen and soldier alike were butchered in the streets.[570]

1425] INACTIVITY OF GLOUCESTER

While these events were happening at Braine, Gloucester had hurried forward with the main army, which had joined him again after its expedition into Brabant. He left Mons on March 5, and advanced as far as Soignies within four miles of the beleaguered town, but further than this he did not go, for he was advised not to attack the besiegers.[571] Such abstention is inexplicable in the impetuous Humphrey. True, St. Pol had the numerically stronger army, but the English troops were experienced soldiers, whilst their opponents were for the most part raw levies or unmanageable volunteers, and laboured under the disadvantage of having to protect their rear if they were compelled to turn and fight a relieving force. Whether it was that ill-health had sapped Humphrey’s initiative, or that the tactics of the Earl Marshal were over-cautious, the fact remains that nothing was done, and the Duke spent the time that he lay idle at Soignies in writing another letter to the Pope, in which he clamoured for a speedy decision of the divorce proceedings, urging the mischief caused by the delay and the blood which was being shed. He declared that he had entered Hainault, and had been well received, but that the troops of the Duke of Brabant had invaded his territory. The blood of the killed in this struggle was not on his head. He had sent three separate embassies to procure a pacification, but in each case without effect, and now as a devoted son of the Holy See he must urge that the time for delay was passed, and that the Pope must settle the matter by a prompt decision.[572]

While this none too courageous appeal for the help of the spiritual arm against the invaders was being despatched, Braine had fallen, and to cover his supine conduct, which might well suggest cowardice, Gloucester sent a herald to the victorious general challenging him to fight then and there,[573] a challenge which, had it been sent a few days earlier, might have saved both the town and the murdered garrison. St. Pol gladly accepted the defiance, and he waited several days in the neighbourhood expecting to be attacked. At length, as there were no signs of the enemy, and fearing to venture another siege in the inclement state of the weather, he began to draw off, and it was only then that a party of some eight or ten hundred English was sent to harass his retreat. St. Pol in anticipation of a general attack drew up his forces on a hill, as did also the English commander on some rising ground opposite, and a series of skirmishes took place in the intervening valley. This, however, did not develop into a general engagement, and in the evening the English drew off, quite unaware that the Brabant levies had thrown the opposing army into confusion by a precipitate flight. Relieved of his foes, St. Pol was enabled to march off the rest of his troops under cover of the darkness, and Humphrey had lost an excellent chance of securing a decisive victory.[574]

On the evening of the same day as this averted engagement, it was announced to both the English and Brabant commanders that a truce had been declared between Burgundy and Gloucester,[575] and to such an extent was it realised that the struggle lay between these two, and that the Duke of Brabant was merely a lay figure in the dispute, that a general cessation of hostilities ensued. For some little time past the two Dukes had been in communication. As soon as he had learnt of Burgundy’s summons to arms of December 20 Humphrey had written an expostulatory letter to him, in which he complained that his actions had been misrepresented, and that he could not accept the propositions of peace suggested at Paris, as they were prejudicial to his interests, adding further that it was untrue to say that Brabant had on his side accepted the terms. He declared Philip’s support of Brabant to be iniquitous, seeing that Jacqueline was a nearer relation of his than was the Duke, and that he was already bound to support the English cause on the Continent by treaty. Moreover, every step had been taken to respect Burgundian rights, and in passing through Artois the territory and its occupants had been respected. The letter concluded with an appeal to Philip to abstain from further hostilities.[576]