CHAP. XXI.
THE QUEEN OF FRANCE, THE PRINCESS CATHERINE, AND THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY UNITE WITH THE KING OF ENGLAND.—PEACE BETWEEN THE DAUPHIN AND THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
THE QUEEN OF FRANCE, THE PRINCESS CATHERINE, AND THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY UNITE WITH THE KING OF ENGLAND.—PEACE BETWEEN THE DAUPHIN AND THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
Aboutthe middle of April, the English ambassadors, who had been lately at Provins, returned to the king of France and the duke of Burgundy at Troyes in Champagne,—when a treaty was negotiated so far that a truce was agreed on between the two kings, to last for a certain space of time, in the expectation that more conclusive measures would be adopted; and a day was fixed on for the negotiation to be continued on both sides, near to the town of Meulan.
When this had been settled, the ambassadors went back to their king at Rouen; and within a short time afterward, the king and queen of France, with their daughter, the princess Catherine, and the duke of Burgundy, escorted by a powerful body ofmen at arms, came to Pontoise. On their arrival, according to the measures that had been agreed on with the said ambassadors, they ordered a large inclosure to be made with planks, within which the conferences were to be carried on: it was also surrounded with a deep ditch, having one side on the bank of the Seine. There were several entrances, well secured by three barriers; and tents and pavilions were pitched within, for the lords to repose themselves in.
They then had proper arrangements made in the adjacent villages for the lodging the attendants and equipages of the ambassadors. At this time the king of England had advanced from Rouen to Mantes.
When the day appointed for the conference was come, notwithstanding the king of France was much indisposed as to his health, the queen, the princess Catherine, the duke of Burgundy and the count de St Pol, with the members of the council, escorted by a thousand combatants, went to the place of conference near to Meulan, and entered the tents that were without the inclosure.
Soon after, the king of England arrived,attended by his brothers, the dukes of Clarence and Glocester, and a thousand men at arms. He entered the tent that had been pitched for him, as the others had done; and when they were about to commence the conference, the queen on the right hand, followed by the lady Catherine, the duke of Burgundy, and the count de St Pol, entered the inclosure. In like manner did the king of England, with his brothers and council, by another opening, and, with a most respectful obeisance, saluted the queen, and then kissed her and the lady Catherine. After this, the duke of Burgundy saluted the king, bending his knee a little and inclining his head; but the king took him by the hand, embraced him, and shewed him great respect.
They then entered the tent appointed for the conference, the king leading the queen, where they staid a very considerable time. Their men at arms were drawn up without the paling; but a sufficient number of guards were within side, to prevent any improper persons, or such as were not especially ordered, from entering it.
After they had remained in conferencea long time, they separated, taking most respectful leaves of each other; and one party returned to Pontoise, and the other to Mantes.
On the morrow three weeks, they again met there, and remained together for several days, in the same state, and with the same number of persons, as before, with the exception of the lady Catherine, who had been brought the first time that the king of England might see her, and who was not now present. King Henry was very desirous to marry her, and not without cause, for she was very handsome, of high birth, and of the most engaging manners.
During their meetings, several matters were brought forward, in the hope of concluding a solid peace. It frequently happened that one party was more grandly attended than the other, and at other times less; and although the English and French were quartered close together, there was never the smallest riot or quarrel between them,—and they exchanged provision with each other. This conference, however, ended in nothing, from the demands of the king of England, in regard to the portionof the lady Catherine, being as exorbitant as before.
The dauphin, during the holding of this conference, with the intent of seducing the duke of Burgundy, sent Tanneguy du Châtel to propose a treaty of peace with him, although the duke had before made repeated offers of the same. When the conference was broken off, the inclosure was destroyed, the tents and pavilions pulled down,—and the two parties returned to Pontoise and Mantes.
The king of England was much displeased at the breaking off the conference, as it prevented him from gaining his ends, and was very indignant against the duke of Burgundy, whom he considered as the cause of it, he being the principal leader of the government. The last day they were together, seeing that his demands would not be complied with as to his marriage with the lady Catherine, he said to the duke of Burgundy, 'Fair cousin, we wish you to know that we will have the daughter of your king, and all that we have asked, or we will drive him and you out of his kingdom.' The duke replied, 'Sire, you are pleased to sayso; but before you can drive my lord and me out of his kingdom, I make no doubt but that you will be heartily tired.'
Many more words passed, which would be too tedious to report; and, taking leave of each other, they separated, and went different ways.
Within a few days, sir John de Luxembourg came to Pontoise with a large body of men at arms, which he had assembled from Picardy by orders of the duke of Burgundy, to escort him to Melun, where he was to meet the dauphin; for the ambassadors from each had advanced their treaty so far, that they had fixed on a place and day for their principals to meet and conclude it. In compliance with the above, the dauphin had departed from Tours, and was come to Melun, by Montargis, with a large force of men at arms.
In like manner, the duke of Burgundy had left Pontoise, attended by his nephew, the young count de St Pol, sir John de Luxembourg, many great lords, and a numerous body of men at arms, and went to Corbeil. The lady of Giac, who had been the chief manager to bring aboutthis reconciliation, was also in company with the duke.
On the morrow, the 11th day of July, the two parties took the field with their whole force, and met about a league from Melun, near to Pouilly le Fort. When they were about two bow-shots distant from each other, they halted their men, and, attended by about ten persons each, whom they had selected, they rode forward between the two battalions, and dismounted. On the duke of Burgundy's approaching the dauphin, he inclined his body most humbly several times; and the dauphin doing the same, took the hand of the duke, who was on his knees, and kissed it, and wished to make him rise, but he would not, saying, 'My lord, I know how I ought to demean myself when speaking to you;' but the dauphin, in the mean while, raised him up, and pardoned him for any offences he might have committed against him, adding, 'Fair cousin, should there be any articles in the treaty that has been drawn up between us that you dislike, we will that it be altered; and henceforth doubt not but that our wishes shall be ever the same as yours.'
In short after much conversation between these princes and their attendants, they swore to preserve for ever a peace between them; on which the two battalions, joining together, shouted for joy, and cursed all who should ever again bear arms in so damnable a quarrel. When they had remained some time together, mutually shewing each other the greatest affection, the dauphin mounted his horse, the duke of Burgundy holding the stirrup, notwithstanding the dauphin frequently requested him to desist. The duke then mounted, and, having rode a short way together, they took an affectionate leave, and separated: the dauphin went to Tours, and the duke to Corbeil.
Here follows a copy of the treaty that was concluded between them.
'Charles son to the king of France, dauphin of Vienne, duke of Berry and of Tours, count de Poitiers, and John duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders and Artois, palatine of Burgundy, lord of Salines and of Mechlin, to all who these presents shall see or hear of, greeting. Since by the unfortunate divisions that have for some time reigned within this kingdom severalhatreds and suspicions have arisen within the hearts of ourselves, our vassals and our subjects, against each other, the which effectually put a stop to any concord or unanimous effort for the reformation of abuses that have crept into the government, or to resist the damnable enterprises of our ancient enemies the English, who under the shadow, and by means of these divisions, have been hardy enough to advance into the middle of the kingdom, and in fact have conquered, and do now occupy a great part of the dominions of our lord the king, and may do still greater mischiefs, should public affairs remain as they are at this moment.
'We make known, therefore, that considering what infinite evils might result from these divisions unless put an end to, even to the total perdition of the kingdom, which, though severe to all, would fall most heavy on us, who are bounden by every tie to provide a remedy against so great a misfortune.
'In consequence, we have entered into terms of pacification, and are now assembled with the unanimous intent of concludinga peace,—first in honour of God, and for the love of peace, to which every good Catholic ought to incline, and to relieve the poor people who have suffered many grievous oppressions from these said divisions.
'We have therefore promised and sworn, in the presence of the reverend father in God, Alain, bishop of Léon in Brittany, sent to us for this purpose by the holy apostolical see of Rome, on part of the true cross, and on the holy evangelists by us touched, on condition of failure to be deprived of Paradise, and on the word of honour of a prince, to observe and punctually maintain every article of the treaty of peace made between us.
'And in the first place, I John duke of Burgundy, so long as I shall live, do promise and swear, that, after the person of my lord the king, I will honour and obey, from the bottom of my heart, the person of the dauphin, and will not suffer any thing knowingly to be done to his prejudice, but will aid and support him and his measures to the utmost of my power, and will conduct myself towardhim as becomes a loyal and kind relative; and I will always advertise him of any thing that may be attempted to injure him.
'And should it happen that any person, whatever may be his rank, undertake a war against him, I will serve him with my whole forces, in the same manner as if the war had been mine own.
'In like manner, I Charles the dauphin, so long as it may please God to grant us life, having put out of our memory all remembrance of past actions, do promise, very sincerely to love our very dear and well beloved cousin the duke of Burgundy,—and in all that concerns him will treat him as our near and loyal relative, and procure for him all the good he may desire, and ward off every evil. Should any one attempt to injure him of his estates, we will aid and support him to the utmost of our power, when he shall call on us, against all persons whatever: even if any of our blood and kindred should, on account of matters that have passed some time since, pretend to injure him or his dominions, we will exert ourselves to theutmost in his support, and defend him against them.
'Item, we Charles the dauphin and John duke of Burgundy do undertake henceforward the government of public affairs for the good of the realm, without harbouring any envy or jealousy of each other; and should any of our officers make to us reports contrary to our honour, and likely to create a division between us, we mutually engage to give information thereof, and not to put any faith in such reports.
'As true and loyal subjects to our lord the king, and to the crown of France, we will earnestly exert ourselves to drive the enemy out of the kingdom, and to repair the mischiefs done by him as speedily as possible; and we will neither of us enter into any treaty or alliance with him, without the approbation and consent of the other; for we engage that henceforth all our alliances shall comprehend both of us. Should any treaties or alliances have been made with the said enemy, or with others, prejudicial to our personal interests, we will and agree that all such shall be and are annulled: all which things we do faithfullypromise and swear to observe, without any fraud or covin whatever.
'Should either of the parties wish to infringe or break this present treaty, which God forbid! then we will and order that all vassals, subjects and servants of the person who shall thus break it, do not obey his orders, but do aid and support his opponent; and in this case they shall be absolved from all oaths of allegiance and service,—and in times to come, no blame or reproach shall ever be cast upon them or their heirs for so doing.
'For the further security of this treaty, we willed and ordered, that our principal vassals and servants should swear to the observance of every article; and they instantly did take the oath prescribed, at the hands of the said bishop of Léon, in as much as it concerned them, and that they would use their utmost endeavours to preserve union between us; and should any appearance of coolness arise, they would immediately strictly perform their duty by giving information thereof under their seals.
'Our faithful and well beloved servants, hereafter mentioned, by orders fromus the dauphin, have sworn to the above on the holy evangelists, namely, sir James de Bourbon, master Robert le Masson, late chancellor, the viscount de Narbonne, the lords de Barbasan, d'Espaignon, du Bosquaige, de Montenay, de Gamaches, sir Tanneguy du Châtel, sir John Louvet, president of Provence, Guillaume de Margouin, Hue de Noyeries, Jean de Mesnil, Pierre Frotier, Guichard de Bourdon and Collart de la Vuigne.
'On the part of the duke of Burgundy, his well beloved and loyal servants the count de St Pol, sir John de Luxembourg, sir Archambault de Saxe, the lord de Nouaille, the lord d'Autun, sir Thibault de Neuf-chatel, the lord de Montagu, sir John de la Trimouille, Guillaume de Vienne, sir Pierre de Bauffremont grand prior of France, sir Gaultier des Ruppes, sir Charles de Lens, John lord of Coctebrune marshal of Burgundy, John lord de Toulongeon, Regnier Pot, Pierre lord of Giac, Anthony de Toulongeon, Guillaume de Champdivers, Philip de Jossequin and Nicolle Raullin.
'And for greater security of the abovetreaty, we will and consent that the princes of our blood, ecclesiastics, and the magistrates of the principal towns, do likewise swear to the observance of the different articles, which we, on our part mutually and individually, do faithfully promise to keep; and should we, or any of those who may take the said oath fail to observe it, we submit ourselves and them to our holy mother the church, and to our sacred father the pope, or to any persons deputed by him, to inflict on us their interdict or excommunication, or any other punishment that may be appointed for our said breach of promise.
'In testimony whereof, we have each of us signed this treaty with our own hands, and have added our seals. Given at our place of meeting on the Ponchiel, one league distant from Melun, and very near to Poilly le Fort, on Tuesday, the 11th day of July, in the year of Grace 1419.'