[40]. June 11th, 1429.
[41]. Gallicè: “en leur petite cotte,” i.e., with only the light clothing worn under their armour.
[42]. The “three Pontiffs” referred to are Martin V. (Colonna), the real and acknowledged Pope; the schismatic, Clement VIII.; and a mere pretender, Benedict XIV., who was supported only by one Cardinal. The Schism was practically at an end at the time of this letter, as Clement had abdicated a month earlier (July 26th). Clement VIII. is the true title, though called Clement VII. in Count d’Armagnac’s letter.
[43]. The English lost Paris in 1436.
[44]. Compiègne was relieved early in November; Saint Martin’s Day is November 11th.
[45]. The mandrake was a part of the accepted paraphernalia of a sorcerer. It was kept wrapped in a silk or linen cloth, and was supposed to preserve its owner from poverty. Brother Richard had recently preached a sermon against them (April, 1429); and many had been burned in consequence.
[46]. The balance was a frequent accessory to Saint Michael in the French stained glass windows of the 13th and 14th centuries. A noted example in the Cathedral at Arles represents him weighing the souls of the departed in a balance as big as himself. One of the earliest examples in England is that in a fresco-painting at Preston Manor, Sussex, said to be of the reign of Edward I., in which Saint Michael appears weighing the souls of the faithful, accompanied by Jeanne’s saints, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret.
[47]. Mary of Anjou, wife of Charles VII., daughter of Louis, Duke of Anjou and Yolande of Arragon.
[48]. Jeanne was taken from Beaurevoir early in August, and removed from there, when the negotiations for selling her were complete, about the middle of November.
[49]. Jeanne, Countess de Saint-Pol et Ligny, sister to Count Waleran de Luxembourg and aunt to Jean de Luxembourg.