[A.D.1472.]

CHAP. XIV.

THE KING OF FRANCE OBTAINS INDULGENCES FOR THOSE WHO SHALL SAY AVE MARIA THREE TIMES.—THE DEATH OF THE BISHOP OF PARIS.—OF THE DUKE OF CALABRIA.—THE ROOF OF NÔTRE DAME OF CLERY BURNT.—THE DEATH OF THE DUKE OF GUIENNE.—A TRUCE WITH THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.—OF THE SIEGE AND ATTACK OF BEAUVAIS.—THE TOWNSMEN OF AUXERRE DEFEATED.—DIFFERENT EDICTS PUBLISHED AT PARIS.—ACCUSATIONS MADE AGAINST THE CONSTABLE.—PARIS AND ORLEANS SEND SUPPLIES TO BEAUVAIS.

Onthe first of May, in this year, a general procession was made to the church of Nôtre Dame in Paris, where a solemn sermon was preached by a doctor in divinity,called master Peter Brete, a native of Tours, who declared, among other things, the king's singular confidence in the blessed Virgin; and he entreated his audience, and the inhabitants of Paris, in his majesty's name, that henceforward, when they should hear the great bell of the church toll at midday, they would fall on their knees, and repeat three Ave Marias for the welfare of the kingdom of France.

Not long after this procession, master John Chartier, bishop of Paris, was taken suddenly ill and died the same day. His loss was much regretted, for he was a devout and good man, and very learned. The episcopal palace was crowded with the populace of Paris, to see his body, which lay in state in the great hall, where they piteously lamented him, and prayed for the salvation of his soul; on going away, the greater part kissed his hands and feet, firmly believing him to be a saint and well beloved by God. On the 15th of May, the king sent letters to the provost and sheriffs, to declare, that the bishop, during his life-time, had been his enemy, and kept up an intelligence with the duke of Burgundy and theconfederate princes when before Paris, and had practised with the inhabitants to favour them. For these causes, he willed, that an epitaph be placed on his tomb, declaratory of his conduct toward his king, which the aforementioned officers ordered to be written for the purpose of being thereon affixed.

The truce between France and Burgundy, which would have expired on the 4th of May, was prolonged until the 15th of the ensuing month of June. In the month of May, the duke of Calabria, nephew to the king of Jerusalem and Sicily, whom the king had honoured by promising him his eldest daughter in marriage, went from his duchy of Lorraine to the duke of Burgundy, to treat of a marriage with the duke's daughter, thus leaving the daughter of the king,—which astonished every one, that he should thus falsify his faith by neglecting a princess of France, to seek to unite himself with a daughter of Burgundy, a subject and vassal to the king of France. Prior to this, the duke of Burgundy had made a severe war on France, in favour of the duke of Guienne, and underpretence of giving him his daughter in marriage,—which he never accomplished, but acted quite contrary, and abused many others, under shadow of giving them his daughter.

On the 14th of May, an unfortunate accident happened to the church of Nôtre Dame of Clery, near Orleans, which the king had lately rebuilt, and covered with a handsome roof of carpentry, slates, and lead. A plumber at work on the roof had inadvertently come down leaving a fire, which had served to heat his soldering irons, unextinguished, which being blown by the wind, set the wood on fire, and the whole was burnt to the ground.

The king received, this day, certain intelligence by the lord de Malicorne, a confidential servant to the duke of Guienne, that his brother was dead, at Bordeaux. The lord de Craon, master Pierre d'Oriole, master Olivier le Roux, with other ambassadors to the duke of Burgundy, now returned, to inform the king what they had done, and of the truce they had prolonged to the 15th of June. During the truce, the duke, nevertheless, took the field withhis army, and posted his park of artillery between Arras and Bapaumes, at a place called Hubuterne, in Artois.

The king, in consequence of the death of his brother being confirmed, departed from Plessis, near Tours, and proceeded toward Guienne, and appointed new officers in La Rochelle, St Jean d'Angeli, Bordeaux, and other places. He made the lord de Beaujeu, brother to the duke of Bourbon, governor of the duchy of Guienne.

The duke of Burgundy, still persevering in his wickedness, and mad attempts against France, sent his army before the town of Nesle[38], in which was captain for the king one called the Petit Picard, having under him five hundred franc-archers from the Isle of France. They endeavoured to gain it by storm, and make several furious attacks, but were gallantly opposed by Picard and his companions. The next day, about five in the morning, Picard, in company with the countess of Nesle, issued out of the town to meet the bastard of Burgundy, who commandedthe army, and endeavoured to conclude a treaty.

But the bastard would only consent to the following terms of capitulation,—namely, that Picard and his men should be allowed to march away in safety, on surrendering the place, but leaving behind their arms and baggage. On Picard's return to Nesle, he told the franc-archers of the terms he had obtained; but though their lives were spared, they were to leave their horses, arms and baggage; when some of them immediately pulled off their armour, even before the terms were signed,—and, in this interval, the townsmen admitted the Burgundians, who notwithstanding the capitulation, charged these disarmed archers, and murdered all they could. A party fled for safety to the church of Nesle, but were followed by the Burgundians, and barbarously put to death. When this slaughter had been completed, the duke of Burgundy arrived, on horseback, and entered the church, which was half a foot deep of blood, from the poor creatures who there lay naked and dead. On looking around, he said, it was a fine sight! and he was glad to have with him such excellent butchers!!

The ensuing day, Saturday the 13th, the petit Picard and others that had been made prisoners, were ordered by the duke to be hanged,—and the town was razed and set on fire. On the morrow, the burgundian army marched from before Nesle to Roye, wherein were fourteen hundred of the company, and under the command of Pierre Aubert, bailiff of Melun and Nugnon. There were also other captains, such as Loiset de Belagny governor of Beauvais, the lord de Mouy, the lord de Rubempré, having full two hundred lances, well appointed. But notwithstanding the fortifications had lately been repaired and strengthened by the king, and the town well victualled, with plenty of artillery on the walls, they surrendered on the 16th, with the loss of all their horses, armour, baggage and artillery, to the detriment of the king of more than one hundred thousand golden crowns. They were obliged to march out naked all but their purpoints, with wands in their hands,—and the duke remained there a long time.

The duke marched from Roye, to lay siege to Beauvais, and arrived before it onthe 27th of June, when he instantly began to attack it. In the course of that night, Guillaume de la Vallée, lieutenant to the seneschal of Normandy, entered the town with two hundred lances, which greatly succoured the garrison and inhabitants, for he arrived very opportunely as the Burgundians were recommencing their attack,—when, mounting the walls, they made them to retreat. On the morrow, there arrived, the lord de Crussol, Joachim Rohault, the company of the lord de Bueil, Guevin le Groing, the lord de Torcy, and other nobles from Normandy, to the amount of more than three hundred lances. They made a vigorous defence, and were strongly supported by the city of Paris, who sent thither a body of pioneers, with pickaxes, shovels, flour, wine, gunpowder, and plenty of all sorts of stores, which were of great relief to those in the town. Several sallies and skirmishes took place before the town, in which many Burgundians were killed and wounded.

At this time, a number of the inhabitants of Auxerre sallied out of their town on a foraging party, to collect cattle andwhatever else they should find in the countries attached to the king, for the victualling of Auxerre, and advanced as far as Joigny, and Seignelay[39]. The bastard of Seignelay, the lord de Plancy, and others, to the number of three hundred, took the field to fight them,—and they no sooner came in sight than these gentlemen charged them so vigorously that eight score were killed, and four score made prisoners; the rest escaped by flight, or were drowned.

As the Burgundians had approached so near to Paris as Beauvais[40], sir Denis Hesselin, pantler to the king and provost of the merchants, made great preparations against them,—such as repairing the walls and the battlements, cutting deep and wide trenches, having the chains to barricade the streets in good order, walling up some of the gates, strengthening others, and causing abundance of cannon to be prepared.

On the 2d of July, the lord de Rubempré, arrived at Paris from Beauvais,with letters from the captains in that town to the lord de Gaucourt, lieutenant for the king in Paris, and to the provosts and sheriffs, to inform them, that there was such scarcity in the burgundian camp that a loaf of bread, worth two farthings in Beauvais, was of the value of three sols parisis to the enemy; and that the duke of Burgundy was in such despair that he had determined to gain the town or lose the greater part of his army. They therefore desired that there might be sent them, without delay, small artillery, cross-bows, and provision,—all of which was done, under the conduct of the bastard de Rochechouart, lord of Meru, who carried thither sixty cross-bowmen, cross-bows, artillery and provisions, from Paris.

About seven in the morning of the 9th of July, after the duke of Burgundy had kept up a brisk fire, from his artillery, against the walls of Beauvais, at the gate of the general hospital, a large detachment entered the ditches with faggots, and other materials, to fill them, and erected their ladders against the wall near the hospital-gate, which they vigorouslyattacked. The guard of this gate was intrusted to the care of sir Robert d'Estouteville lord of Beine, and provost of Paris, who with his company behaved themselves most gallantly. This attack lasted from seven in the morning until near eleven in the forenoon; and the Burgundians were so roughly treated that, including those thrown down from the walls, killed and wounded, their loss amounted from fifteen to sixteen hundred men: it would have been much more considerable, if the besieged could have made a sally; but all the gates on the side of the enemy's camp were walled up.

This was a great vexation to those nobles, and valiant captains, in the town,—such as the count de Dammartin, Joachim Rohault, marshal of France, Salazart, Guillaume de la Valleé, Mery de Coué, Guerin le Groing, the lord de Beine, the brothers de Torcy, and several more, who had under their command from fourteen to fifteen thousand combatants.

During this attack, through the mercy of God, only three or four of the royalistswere slain, and it was said that this was owing to their own rashness. And although the burgundian artillery kept up a continued fire until the 9th of July, not more than four persons were killed by it. On the day succeeding this attack, sir Denis Hesselin sent from Paris to Beauvais, by daybreak, a fresh supply of arrows, cross-bows, gunpowder, and surgeons to attend the wounded.

Saturday the 21st day of July, a messenger of the king's household was confined in the prison of the Châtelet for having published in several parts of Paris, that the constable had drawn out of Beauvais the principal captains, under pretence of holding a council to consider on the means of defending that town, during which the burgundian army had been well victualled, which would not have happened if these captains had been left in Beauvais. This charge was highly offensive to the constable; and on his complaining thereof, the messenger was, by the king's orders, delivered into the hands of master Miles, usher of the household to the constable, and conducted to him, to make good his accusations against him.

The besieged in Beauvais made a deep trench, on the day after the late attack, to enable them to sally out undiscovered,—by which means, Salazart and others of his company, one morning at daybreak, entered the enemy's camp, and killed all they met. They burnt three tents, and all within them. In one were slain two persons of rank, although they offered a large sum for their ransoms. The alarm being now spread, and the shouting of 'Salazart for ever!' having roused the Burgundians, it was necessary for him to retreat toward Beauvais; but in doing so, he carried off some handsome artillery, particularly some mortars that had done much mischief to the town,—and as they were heavy, they threw them into the ditch. They brought into the town two fine serpentines and a large brass cannon, called One of the Twelve Peers, which the king had lost at the battle of Montlehery.

Salazart was very closely pursued, and much beaten and wounded; and though his horse had suffered greatly from the pikes of the Flemings it carried him into Beauvais, when it dropped downdead. From this sally to the 21st, nothing material occurred,—when the inhabitants of Orleans sent, by way of Paris, to Beauvais one hundred tuns of wine from their vineyards, as a present to the lords and the garrison, to invigorate them against the Burgundians. They sent thither, at the same time, large supplies of arrows, cross-bows, and gunpowder, under the escort of some of the burghers of Orleans.

FOOTNOTES:[38]Nesle,—three leagues from Roye.[39]Seignelay,—a town in Burgundy, three leagues from Joigny.[40]Beauvais—is 16 leagues from Paris.

[38]Nesle,—three leagues from Roye.

[39]Seignelay,—a town in Burgundy, three leagues from Joigny.

[40]Beauvais—is 16 leagues from Paris.

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