Pictures of the old French court

by Mrs. Bearne

{1404}

Not long afterwards the Duke of Burgundy was taken ill on a journey from Arras, where he had left the Duchess, to Brussels, in order to visit his aunt, the Duchesse de Brabant. The roads were very bad, and though pioneers were sent on before his litter to smooth and mend them, he could not go on much further, but stopped at an inn called the “Stag,” and sent for his three sons, Jean, Antoine, and Philippe. He expressed repentance for his oppressions, exhorted his sons to fear God, to be good brothers to each other, loyal subjects to the King, and to live at peace with the rest of the royal family, after which he arranged his affairs and died.

So extravagant had he been that, in spite of his immense possessions, it was doubtful whether he had left enough money to pay his debts, for which reason the Duchess of Burgundy formally renounced communauté de biens, laying her girdle, purse and keys upon his coffin, according to the custom. She died very soon after.[204]

At the same time the Duc de Berry was very ill, and when he recovered and found the Duke of Burgundy was dead he was deeply grieved. While the former was ill and the King mad, the Duc d’Orléans, at the head of an armed band, broke into the Palais one night and carried away nearly all the money to be found there. The Hundred Years’ War had begun again, and there were constant fights going on, towns and castles attacked and taken, seaports and villages surprised and sacked by warships. The new Duke of Burgundy was much worse than the old one, and had not, of course, the same authority in the council or royal family. The Duc d’Orléans, though he hated his uncle, was obliged to have a certain respect for him as a sort of representative of his father,[205] and the King, in spite of putting a stop every now and then to his tyrannical proceedings, looked up to him with an amount of consideration which neither he nor his brother entertained for Jean Sans-peur, who was as ambitious and extravagant as his father, without his great qualities, and was harder, more unscrupulous, more cruel, and more crafty. The chief princes of the blood who ruled in council were now the Queen, the Duc de Berry (the last surviving son of King Jean), Louis le Bon, Duc de Bourbon, Louis II., King of Sicily (son of the late Duc d’Anjou, and a much better man than his father), Charles III., King of Navarre (also an excellent character), and Jean Sans-peur, Duke of Burgundy, besides, of course, the Duc d’Orléans. But unfortunately the two most influential were the Dukes of Burgundy and Orléans, the latter being always supported by the Queen and her brother, Ludwig of Bavaria.

{1405}

The brigands had reappeared all over the country and great distress prevailed, large tracts of land went out of cultivation, travelling was unsafe owing to the highwaymen who infested the roads, but the fêtes at court grew more brilliant and licentious and the royal favourites more insolent. Charles de Savoisy, who had long been a favourite of the King, and was grand-maître d’hôtel to the Queen, was one of the most conspicuous. One of his pages, galloping down the streets as a procession belonging to the university was going by, knocked down some of the students, out of insolent bravado. The others surrounded and gave him a blow. The page fled to the hôtel Savoisy and demanded vengeance, whereupon the retainers of Savoisy attacked the procession which was already entering the church of Ste. Catherine, striking with sticks and swords those who were still outside, and firing off cross-bows into the church, wounding several people and injuring the sacred images, ornaments, and vestments of the priests. When first Savoisy heard of it, he said his men had done quite right to maintain the honour of his house; but finding that the University had laid a complaint before the Queen and the Dukes of Burgundy and Orléans, he was frightened and offered to give up the culprits to be hanged. The University, however, proceeded with the case, the Duc d’Orléans took it up, and just then the King came to his senses and was very angry. He ordered Savoisy to be banished, his hôtel razed to the ground, and a chapel built there at his expense instead. Savoisy was, after a time, recalled and enriched again.[206]

Meanwhile Louis d’Orléans, Isabeau, and her brother were amassing an enormous amount of treasure, which they kept in safe places distributed about. A convoy drawn by six horses and loaded entirely with gold coin was stopped near Metz, being on the way to Germany, sent by Isabeau. The people learned from the drivers of it that several others[207] of these convoys had safely reached their destination. But they did not pay their tradesmen nor any of their debts. The servants of the household of the King, Dauphin, and other royal children, could not get their wages, so that thus it was nearly impossible to procure them proper food, clothes, and attendance. An Augustine monk named Jacques Legrand, preaching before the Queen on Ascension Day, harangued against the dissolute habits of the court, where he declared that Venus reigned and corruption was general. He said that drunkenness, debauchery, and licentious dances went on all night, that the Queen had introduced the excessive luxury and extravagance in dress which everywhere prevailed, as she would hear if she went out in disguise. The Queen was very angry and some of her ladies told the monk that they could not imagine why he was not afraid to say such things, to which he replied that he could still less understand why they dared to do them. He treated with indifference the threats aimed at him, and when some of the courtiers told the King that he had been speaking disrespectfully of the Queen and her goings on, he said he was very glad of it, and that the monk should preach to him in his oratory on Whitsunday. Charles listened with much attention to his sermon on the excesses of the court and society, and when it was over praised him for his fidelity and courage, took him under his protection, and resolved to reform the state of things he complained of. But he fell ill again in June and remained so during half July, so nothing was done.[208]

There was a spell of very bad weather just then. The melting of snow in the mountains of Haute Bourgogne caused a torrent to rush down from the gorges carrying stones and rocks. It drowned many people, broke down the walls of the great abbey of Cluny, and rushed in, driving the monks up to the higher stories, where they remained till, in sixteen hours, the flood went down, and they descended to dig out the dead bodies from the ruins.[209]

The Queen and Duc d’Orléans had formed the project of attaching to their party the Duc de Bar, cousin of the King, by marrying his son to one of the daughters of France. As the only available one was the Princess Marie, notwithstanding her vows and dedication of the child at Poissy, Isabeau, accompanied by Louis, set out for that convent to see her daughter and talk to her on the subject. She found, however, that instead of a ready consent, which she doubtless expected, the Princess Marie, then about twelve years old, absolutely refused to leave the convent. The Queen talked for a long time to her daughter, and the Duc d’Orléans added his persuasions, but it was no use, she would not hear of it. She said to the Queen that she had placed her there, she was dedicated to God, and she should stay there, adding, “You have made a gift to God and you cannot recall it.”

The King was ill just then, but when he got better they persuaded him to try his influence. He consented rather reluctantly, but said she should do as she chose. He went to see her and asked whether she would consent to leave the convent and marry (she had, of course, not yet taken the irrevocable vows). But the child replied that she had promised to be the bride of Christ, and would hold to her vow unless her father could find her a better and more powerful bridegroom.[210] The Queen and Duc d’Orléans, after their unsuccessful visit to the young princess, went to hunt in the forest of St. Germain. There a frightful storm came on. Isabeau, as usual, was terrified. Louis got off his horse and took refuge in her carriage. The horses took fright and ran away down to the river, into which they would certainly have plunged had not a man caught hold of them and cut the traces, or whatever were the straps that fastened them to the carriage. The lightning struck the room where the Dauphin was in Paris, and killed one of his favourite esquires. The Dauphin was dreadfully frightened but not hurt. His attendants consoled him and had holy water thrown about the room.[211] The people said that these floods and storms were caused by the conduct of the Queen and Duc d’Orléans, who seem to have been of the same opinion, for they were for a short time seized with remorse and declared they would pay their debts. Louis even went so far as to summon his creditors to his hôtel to receive their money, but when they came he had changed his mind and would not pay them—at least, only those who had come from a great distance.