CHAP. XXXVIII.
KING CHARLES GENEROUSLY RESTORES ROUSSILLON TO KING FERDINAND OF ARRAGON.—THE INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF FILLES REPENTIES AT PARIS.—THE TOWN OF ST OMER IS TAKEN BY THE LORD DES CORDES.—A TREATY OF PEACE CONCLUDED WITH THE KING OF ENGLAND AFTER THE SIEGE OF BOULOGNE.—THE TREASON COMMITTED BY CARQUELEVANT IN THE TOWN OF ARRAS.—AMIENS WELL GUARDED.—THE TREATY BETWEEN THE KING OF FRANCE AND THE ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA.
KING CHARLES GENEROUSLY RESTORES ROUSSILLON TO KING FERDINAND OF ARRAGON.—THE INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF FILLES REPENTIES AT PARIS.—THE TOWN OF ST OMER IS TAKEN BY THE LORD DES CORDES.—A TREATY OF PEACE CONCLUDED WITH THE KING OF ENGLAND AFTER THE SIEGE OF BOULOGNE.—THE TREASON COMMITTED BY CARQUELEVANT IN THE TOWN OF ARRAS.—AMIENS WELL GUARDED.—THE TREATY BETWEEN THE KING OF FRANCE AND THE ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA.
Whenthe king was returned from his expedition into Brittany, and had concluded a treaty with the Bretons on the terms before mentioned, he generouslyrestored to Ferdinand king of Arragon the county of Roussillon, and gave him a free acquittance of the sums of money this county had been mortgaged for,—and for the accomplishment of this, he sent thither, as his ambassador, the lord Louis d'Ambois, bishop of Alby. There were some, however, who thought that this county should not have been restored,—and, to appease all murmurings on the subject, the king had it published that he had only acted in conformity to the orders given by his late father, king Louis, when dying. It was therefore the opinion of many, that a perpetual friendship should now be established between the kings of France and of Arragon.
In the year 1494 was established the order of repentant women and girls, who had been public strumpets at Paris. The institution of this order, in honour of the blessed Mary Magdalen, was commenced by a devout sermon preached by friar John Tisserant, a Franciscan monk,—and a house that belonged to the family of Orleans was granted to them, wherein reside many devout women.
After the restoration of the county of Roussillon, the lord des Cordes was so active with his army, in Picardy, that he gained by force of arms, for the king, the town of St Omer. He valiantly passed the breach into the town, his battle-axe hanging on his wrist, and followed by numbers of gallant men at arms, shouting out, 'Vive le roi!' which so astonished the inhabitants that they submitted to his pleasure.
Some days after this, the king of England, ungrateful for the services he had received from the king of France, as has been mentioned, landed a large force at Calais, and marched it to lay siege to Boulogne. The lord des Cordes, imagining that the English would make great efforts to gain Boulogne, he being governor of Artois, left St Omer, having well garrisoned it and other towns, in company with the bastard Cardon captain of Arras, and hastened, with a body of French, to throw himself into Boulogne, to oppose the English, and force them to raise their siege. In consequence of this, only Carquelevant, a Breton, remained in thecastle of Arras,—and that town was given up traitorously to the archduke, as shall be more amply detailed hereafter.
When the lord des Cordes[113]and Cardon had shown their resistance to the king of England's troops before Boulogne they found means to conclude a peace which was very advantageous to the kingdom of France: for the English were to recross the sea without interfering more in the quarrel with the archduke.
Master Gaguin tells us, in his chronicle, that this peace was very agreeable to the king of England; for he loved the French in his heart, but had been constrained by his subjects to send this armament to Boulogne,—and by his advice and remonstrances he had prevented its advancing farther into the kingdom; but that he had been obliged to dissemble, to avoid being suspected by the English of having too strong an inclination to king Charles, whose former kindnesses he could never forget, and this treaty of peacewas not long in being ratified by the two kings.
Within two or three days after this peace had been concluded, the town of Arras was won by a party from Maximilian's army during the night, owing to the treason or neglect of Carquelevant. He had entrusted the keys of the gates to some of his people,—so that the enemy entered the place without meeting any resistance whatever, while he was asleep in bed. They first plundered all the principal persons, and then the churches; and according to Gaguin, these Germans committed such destruction that it seemed as if they were come not to take possession of the town but utterly to destroy it.
After some months, Maximilian demolished a large tower in the market-place, and several other fortifications, which Louis XI. had erected to defend the city against the town of Arras. He also caused the walls of the city to be destroyed, and fortified the town against it, which was not displeasing to several of the inhabitants, as they hated even the french name, although, from the remotestantiquity, they had been always dependant on the kings of France, as their sovereign lords.
Shortly after, Maximilian found means to obtain a truce, that he might again employ his army on similar expeditions,—for the truce on his side was only a pretence. It was not long before a party from the garrison of Arras appeared under the walls of Amiens at midnight, thinking to take it by surprise; but the French garrison and the townsmen were too well on their guard, and made such good use of their bows and artillery that they repulsed the enemy with vigour, so that they were glad to retreat from the suburbs of St Pierre, where they had formed a lodgement, and return in all haste to Arras, whence they had come. Had the lord de Rubempré been allowed to follow his inclinations, he would have sallied out after them, for he was very eager to defeat them; but sir Anthony Clabaut, then mayor of the town, and the council would not permit him, saying, that in their opinion it was fully sufficient to defend the town well when attacked.
The principal lords of France, in conjunction with those of Picardy, solicited the king to conclude a lasting peace with the archduke: terms were, in consequence, agreed on,—and the county of Artois was restored to Maximilian; by which means all Picardy was in perfect union with France, and remains so to this day, which is of very great advantage to the whole realm.
FOOTNOTES:[113]The lord des Cordes—was used to say, that he would willingly pass seven years in hell to recover Calais from the English.
[113]The lord des Cordes—was used to say, that he would willingly pass seven years in hell to recover Calais from the English.
[113]The lord des Cordes—was used to say, that he would willingly pass seven years in hell to recover Calais from the English.