Departure of royal family—Hundred Years’ War—Valentine d’OrlÉans—Queen returns to Louvre—Death of Valentine—Forced reconciliation—Philippe de Bourgogne and Michelle de France—Misconduct of the Duc de Bretagne—Death of Isabelle de France—Of the Duc de Bourbon—Quarrels of the Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine—Of the princes.

Never did there appear to be a more conspicuous example of successful crime than the one recorded in the last chapter. Jean Sans-peur had satisfied his vengeance and got rid of his rival, and although retribution eventually fell upon him, he was for many years able to rejoice in his deed and escape the punishment of it by reason of his powerful position and the weakness of those opposed to him.

For Charles VI. was in a much worse state of health than he had been at the time of the attack on Clisson, and though he was transported with sorrow and indignation and swore vengeance upon the murderers, he almost immediately fell into one of his fits of madness, and when he got better he was so confused and weak as to be unable to take any decided measures. The Queen had implored him to punish the assassins, but she had no power to do so when he was again mad, and, fearing for her own safety, she left Paris with the Duke of Aquitaine, his wife, her other children and her brother, and took up her abode at Melun with them.225 The other members of the royal family were afraid of the Duke of Burgundy,226 who besides his violent character and immense power, could easily have endangered France by throwing in his lot with the English, who were carrying on the war, notwithstanding the absurd injustice of the claim they put forward to the crown of France.

It will be remembered that, as was explained in the former volume,227 Edward III. of England claimed that throne through his mother, Isabella, daughter of Philippe IV., and persisted in it, although it was finally decided that the Valois, as nearest heirs male, descending from Charles, brother of that King, were the lawful possessors of the throne ascending to the loi salique or Salic law, which henceforward was adopted by the country; and notwithstanding the existence of daughters and grandsons through them, who would have come before the sister of the then last Kings, Louis Hutin, Philippe-le-Long and Charles-le-Bel, supposing the female line to have been admitted at all.

But Henry IV. had still less pretensions than Edward III., for he was not the lawful heir even of the English King. If, as has been shown, the claim of King Edward was an unjust one, of course he had no ground to stand upon. If, on the other hand, it were a just one, then it would belong, not to the descendant of his third son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, but to the Mortimers, who descended by the female line from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, his second son, Richard II., son of the Black Prince, having left no children. In fact, the Mortimers were the right heirs to the crown of England.228

However, the English were still a very serious danger for France, and the Duke of Burgundy would have been an invaluable ally, whom, in consequence, they did not dare to drive to desperation. And as he always posed as a friend of the people when he wanted to injure Louis d’OrlÉans, who was supposed to be their chief oppressor, he was very popular with the credulous mob, who did not, after the first horror caused by the assassination of the King’s brother, trouble themselves much about it, but said, alluding to the knotted stick which had been the emblem of OrlÉans, and the plane of Burgundy, “Le bÂton noueux est enfin rabotÉ.”229

Louis d’OrlÉans had been buried with great solemnity in the Chapelle d’OrlÉans of the CÉlÉstins, all the princes of the blood, including his murderer, attending in white mantles, the day before the council at which the Duke of Burgundy had owned his guilt. Valentine was still in the country when the news was brought to her, with her children. Overwhelmed with grief, she sent her daughter and her two eldest boys, the young Duc d’OrlÉans and the Comte de Vertus, for safety, to the strong castle of Blois, and with her youngest son and her daughter-in-law, the Princess Isabelle, she set off, in spite of the fearful cold, to Paris, where they arrived on December 10th, went to the hÔtel St. Paul, threw themselves at the feet of the King, who had got better again, and implored justice on the murderer. Charles received his daughter and sister-in-law with kindness and affection, and promised all they asked, but early in January another of his attacks came on, and Valentine seeing that nothing could be done and not thinking herself safe, as the Duke of Burgundy seemed all powerful at Paris where he had returned amid the acclamations of the mob, retired to Blois, and fortified herself there with her children.230

The great frost broke up and the melting of the snow and ice swelled the rivers into frightful torrents, carrying away houses, trees, and cattle. The monk of St. Denis says that he saw in the Seine masses of ice three hundred feet long dashing against each other, destroying boats and bridges. At Paris, on the second day of the thaw, the pont St. Michel was swept away, with all the houses on it, and so was a wooden bridge on the other branch of the Seine. Much it was feared that the Grand Pont also would give way, as it shook terribly with the icicles, but only fourteen shops fell. The roads were impassable by reason of the rocks and trees with which they were covered by the floods. Many mills were destroyed, and the price of bread rose. The King ordered all bakers to sell flour at the same price, but great distress prevailed, and no one alive had ever seen such a winter.231

About May the Princess Marie took the perpetual vows at Poissy, in presence of the King, Queen, and court.

The King went to Melun to visit the Queen, who had sent for the provost of Paris and made him tell her all that had been done there, and found that the Duke of Burgundy had been trying to throw upon her the same suspicions of magic that he had formerly done upon the Duchesse d’OrlÉans. He had now left Paris, and Isabeau, greatly incensed, resolved to return there in state. Charles was taken ill again the day after his visit to Melun, and Isabeau sent for several of the princes, including Berry, Bourbon, AlenÇon, and the young Duc de Bretagne, husband of her second daughter Jeanne, and went to Paris escorted by them, in a gilded coach, the Dauphin Louis, who was usually called Duc d’Aquitaine, riding in the procession for the first time, with a guard of three thousand men in armour. Proclamations were issued that any one misbehaving or causing any disturbance would be imprisoned in the ChÂtelet, which was indeed no desirable place of abode.232 The Queen took up her residence in the strong fortress of the Louvre with her children, where she doubtless felt safer than in the hÔtel St. Paul, and had herself appointed regent in case of the King’s illness.

The princes were divided between their anger at the murder of OrlÉans and their fear of Burgundy, but as he was now absent, the Duchesse d’OrlÉans and her children came to Paris and appealed to the Duc d’Aquitaine and other princes for vengeance on the murderer of their husband and father. The King was just then ill again. As he, when in his mad state, either did not know Isabeau at all, or else was so fierce that she could not go near him without danger to her life, she had ceased to take much trouble about him. In fact, a young girl called Odette had been chosen, with the full consent of the Queen, to be his mistress and constant companion. She seems to have been the only consolation of Charles, who was devoted to her; always listened to her in his most insane moments, and did whatever she told him. She was called by the household and courtiers, “La petite reine.” Their daughter, named MarguÉrite de Valois, was recognised by the King, and afterwards married to a French noble.

The monk of St. Denis says she was of low origin, and such has been the general opinion; but M. Vallet de Viriville says there is good reason to suppose her to have been the daughter of Odin de Champdivers, a Burgundian gentleman who had a chÂteau near DÔle, where, after the death of Charles, she took refuge.233 While the Queen and princes were deliberating on the means of punishing Jean Sans-peur, the news of his victorious return from an expedition to Flanders filled them with consternation. The Queen first tried to borrow money to escape with the King and her children, but no one would lend her any. The King, therefore, left Paris with the Duc de Bourbon on the 3rd of November, and went by boat to the CÉlÉstins, and thence to St. Victor with 1,500 men. The Queen, with the Duke and Duchess of Aquitaine,234 the rest of the children, the Duc de Berry, the Kings of Sicily and Navarre left two days later, went down the Loire to Tours and joined the King. The Duke of Burgundy entered Paris amidst cries of “NoËl! NoËl!” from the populace.235

Valentine Visconti, Duchesse d’OrlÉans, despairing of getting either justice or vengeance, returned to Blois with her children, and also the little son of Louis d’OrlÉans and the Dame de Canny, the afterwards famous Dunois, the Bastard of OrlÉans.

Jean Sans-peur, finding the King, Queen, and royal family all gone, was much disturbed. He resolved to negotiate, and persuaded his brother-in-law, the Comte de Hainault, who was also father-in-law to the King’s second son, to go to Tours for that purpose.

Perhaps what made peace with Burgundy more possible was the death of Valentine Visconti on the 4th of December, at Blois. Overcome with grief, disappointment, and anxiety, her health had given way. She took for her device a chante-pleurs236 dropping tears, and the motto “Rien ne m’est plus; plus ne m’est rien,” which she had embroidered on the black hangings of her room. She always charged her sons to avenge their father, and pointing to the little Jean (afterwards Dunois), then six years old, she said, “Celui-lÀ m’a ÉtÉ enlevÉ, il n’y a point d’enfant si bien taillÉ pour venger la mort de son pÈre.”

As the result of the negotiations an interview was arranged in solemn state in the church of Notre Dame de Chartres. A platform was raised before the great crucifix, all around sat the King, Queen, Kings of Sicily and Navarre, Dukes de Berry and Bourbon, the Cardinal de Bar, the Archbishop of Sens, and all the princes and great nobles. The Duke of Burgundy, with his advocate, then came forward and knelt before the King, the advocate making a speech of which the arrogance was only thinly veiled by the formal respect for the sovereign, ending by asking pardon for the Duke of Burgundy, to which the latter added, “Sire, de ce ie vous prie.” The King was silent, but the Duc de Berry knelt before the Queen, whispering something to her, upon which she rose, and with the Duc d’Aquitaine and the Kings of Sicily and Navarre, knelt and joined in the request, to which he replied, “Nous le voulons et accordons pour l’amour de vous.” The Duke of Burgundy and his advocate then approached the young princes of OrlÉans, who in deep mourning and with tearful eyes stood behind the King; the advocate saying: “Messeigneurs voici le Duc de Bourgogne qui vous prie qu’il vous plaise oster de vos coeurs la vengeance ou hayne que porriez avoir contre luy pour l’ÉxcÉs fait et perpetrÉ en la personne de Monseigneur d’OrlÉans vostre pÈre et que doresnavant vous demourez et soyez bons amys ensemble;” to which Burgundy added, “et de ce ie vous en prie.” The princes of OrlÉans, of whom the eldest, the young Duke, was then seventeen, stood in silence, and it was only in obedience to the desire of the King that they reluctantly, and with tears, answered, “Sire, puisqu’il vous plait commander, nous luy accordons sa requeste, et luy pardonnons toute la maleveillance que aurions contre luy car en rien ne voulons dÉsobÉir À chose qui soit À vostre plaisir.”237 Peace was then signed, sealed, and sworn upon the gospels, but in spite of the grandeur and solemnity of the scene and the intense interest and importance of the occasion, the whole thing was a hollow and worthless form. There was no repentance in the heart of Jean Sans-peur, and no forgiveness in those of the sons, friends, and followers of Louis and Valentine d’OrlÉans. As to the Queen, she was too weak and shallow for any lasting passion or feeling, in which her son the Duc d’Aquitaine closely resembled her. He expressed great anger at the murder of his uncle, and yet he persuaded his father to appoint the Duke of Burgundy his guardian. It is true that at this time he was only twelve years old, but the same vacillating, unreliable character was the despair of his friends and of France during his life. Burgundian one week and Armagnac the next, he, like his mother, was neither to be trusted by friends nor feared by enemies.

The King and Queen returned to Paris in March. All the Queen’s ladies were dressed in white, and there was much feasting at the palaces of the King and Queen, and the hÔtels of the nobles and chief burghers.238

In June the Princess Michelle was married to the eldest son of the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe, Comte de Charolais, and this marriage turned out very happily, for Michelle, then seventeen years old, was a charming character, like her sisters, and Philippe was in most respects unlike his fierce, unscrupulous father. Gay, kind-hearted, and affectionate, he was known as Philippe-le-Bon, and was adored by his subjects as no other duke had been since all Burgundy mourned for Philippe de Rouvre, the last of the beloved CapÉtienne house.

In August the Duke of Burgundy was hastily summoned by the King and Queen to come to Paris and bring a strong body of men-at-arms who might be wanted, as there was a serious quarrel going on with the Duc de Bretagne, husband of their second daughter Jeanne; who had not only brought over239 a number of English and made war on the Comtesse de PenthiÈvre, but had quarrelled with his wife because she opposed his proceedings, and was even said to have struck her. Her father and mother were, of course, much incensed at this, so they resolved to send the Duke of Burgundy and some of the other princes to attack and subdue him. Jean Sans-peur was all the more willing as the Comte de PenthiÈvre had married one of his daughters, so he came at once with his troops, and preparations were going on vigorously for the invasion of Bretagne; but the Duke, hearing of the indignation of his mother-in-law, “et de ceux qui gouvernoit le roi,” became so frightened that he came to Paris and made his submission. All the princes were very angry, and the Duc d’OrlÉans, his brother-in-law, told him that the lion in his heart was not bigger than that of a child of a year old.240 In fact, he seems to have been what some in these days would call “well hustled,” and it would appear that the quarrel between him and the Princess Jeanne was made up. One may imagine that at any rate he must have altered his conduct as we find years after, that the PenthiÈvres having taken him prisoner and threatened his life, she persuaded her brother, the Dauphin, to forbid them to do him any injury, and taking up arms herself she besieged and took their castles and forced them to set him at liberty.

The next calamity that happened was the death, at Blois, of the Princess Isabelle, Duchesse d’OrlÉans, in giving birth to her first child. The young duke was overwhelmed with grief, and the only consolation he seemed to find at first was in the infant daughter who survived.241 In her “Life of Isabelle de Valois,” Miss Strickland declares that the second marriage of Isabelle had been an extremely happy one, and remarks upon the talents and virtues of the young Charles d’OrlÉans, the well-known poet, of whose despairing verses on the death of Isabelle she gives a translation, also of a later poem, which she declares to have been written on the same subject.242 The young duke gave the rich dresses belonging to her to make vestments for the abbey of St. Denis, where prayers were said for her.

But none of the misfortunes that befel the royal family or the country stopped the gaieties of the court. The King was at the Palais for Christmas and sent for the Queen, who was at Vincennes, to come and join him and bring the Duc d’Aquitaine, who had hitherto remained under her care. The princes went to meet her and various splendid entertainments took place when she arrived. She formally gave the Duc d’Aquitaine into the care of the King, who appointed the Duke of Burgundy his governor. Nothing, however, could be done in council without consent of the Queen. The Ducs de Berry and Bourbon, disapproving of the overweening power of Jean Sans-peur, left Paris and retired to their chÂteaux.

Jeanne, Duchesse de Bretagne, who had a son in this year, was very anxious that her brother the Duc d’Aquitaine should come and attend her “lever.” He was not allowed to do so, but a seigneur was sent instead, with splendid jewels as presents for her.243 The monk of St. Denis in his chronicle tells us that in the early part of July there was a strange omen in Hainault. Innumerable flocks of birds of prey assembled and fought in the air, as if leagued against each other. Storks, herons, and magpies attacked rooks, crows, and jays, and a fierce battle ended in the victory of the former, the ground being strewn with the bodies of the latter, and causing people “of learning and experience” to say that bloody battles would soon be going on.244

It was a tolerably safe prediction to make at that time, more especially as the death of Louis had not, as the Duke of Burgundy supposed it would, annihilated the party of his opponents. On the contrary the OrlÉanists married the young Duke Charles, now a widower, to Bonne, daughter of Bernard, Comte d’Armagnac, one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. He claimed descent from Clovis and had married a daughter of the Duc de Berry. Brave, liberal, unscrupulous, a faithful friend, and a relentless foe, he was the man chosen by the princes to take the leadership of the party which none of them were capable of holding themselves. From this time the name of the party changed from OrlÉanist to Armagnac, and the strife became fiercer and more desperate than it had ever been under the leadership of the more gentle, easy going Louis.

The royal family and court had sustained a great loss in the death of the Duc de Bourbon, who died in August, 1410, on his way to help the Armagnacs at the head of his troops, for he had never for an instant been persuaded to condone the murder of his nephew by the Duke of Burgundy. The lofty character and noble life of Louis II., Duc de Bourbon, stand out conspicuously amidst the corruption and depravity with which he was surrounded during his later years. When the court and rule of his brother-in-law and sister had fallen to his nephews, Isabeau, and the brothers of Charles V., the Duchesse de Bourbon withdrew from court and lived almost entirely with her children on their own estates in the Bourbonnais, where he also spent a great deal of his time, although obliged to be frequently at Paris and elsewhere with his nephews, to whom he was always a good friend and who were extremely fond of him. The only letter existing in the handwriting of Charles VI. is to him. As a son, brother, husband, father, soldier, statesman, and ruler, he was idolised, and after his death his funeral train, as it travelled through the country was followed by crowds of people weeping and lamenting. He had, with the consent of the Duchess, intended after this last expedition to retire to the monastery of the CÉlÉstins at Vichy, and after his death two knotted cords were found under his clothes, which he wore secretly. He knew he could not recover, received the last sacraments and prayed constantly, dying peacefully at the age of seventy-three, leaving a stainless name and a heroic example.245

Meanwhile the dissensions amongst the different members of the royal family only increased. The marriage of the Duc d’Aquitaine with MarguÉrite de Bourgogne had turned out as badly as possible. He slighted and neglected her and made open love to other people. One of the ladies of the Queen’s household especially was his mistress, he wore her colours and device to the great indignation of the Duke of Burgundy, who took the part of his daughter. Isabeau seems to have done the same, for it is frequently mentioned that the Duchesse d’Aquitaine was with the Queen while the Duke was elsewhere.

There was open war between Burgundians and Armagnacs. The Duke of Burgundy had placed his own people in the household of his son-in-law, and tried by all means to gain influence over him, which seemed to be easy enough, and to retain it, which was not easy at all, as no dependence whatever could be placed on any friendship, affection, or opinion of his lasting a single week. The Comte de Clermont, Duc de Bourbon by the death of his father, was like him, an OrlÉanist. In company with the Ducs de Berry and OrlÉans, the Comtes d’AlenÇon and Armagnac, and the Sire d’Albret he had entered into a treaty with the English, offering, among other concessions, to restore to them the duchy of Aquitaine. This treaty was discovered and the above-named princes, who had taken refuge in Bourges, were besieged there by the Burgundians about the end of June, 1412.

But the Duc d’Aquitaine began to get tired of these constant quarrels of Burgundians and Armagnacs, for whose sake the kingdom, which was his own inheritance, was being wasted and destroyed, and he resolved to put a stop to the war. To the consternation of his father-in-law he forbade the gunners and engineers to fire any more, or to demolish or destroy the walls, gates, or fortifications of Bourges, saying that the war had gone on long enough. The Duke of Burgundy said that the sooner it was finished the better, only it must be by the complete subjection of the Armagnacs. To which the Duc d’Aquitaine rejoined that he would doubtless welcome their submission to the King, his father, but that in any case this had gone on too long already, to the detriment of the kingdom; that the discredit would fall upon him, the heir of France, and that the opposing party were his uncles, cousins, and near relations, against whom he refused any longer to fight. The Duke of Burgundy was obliged to submit, the siege was raised and peace for a short time restored.246

The princes and court returned to Paris, where the usual amusements and festivities began again. The Duc d’Aquitaine was the leader of all the follies and dissipation that went on. He was as extravagant and licentious as his uncle Louis d’OrlÉans had been, without his intellect or charm.

Louis d’OrlÉans, in spite of his countless infidelities, lived on good terms with his wife, but the Duc d’Aquitaine seems not only to have been unfaithful, but brutal. He was not without cultivation, spoke Latin almost as well as French, and was exceedingly fond of music, but he cared nothing for the affairs of state, spent his nights in balls, suppers, and entertainments, and stayed in bed all day. His life seemed even more full of dissipation and debauchery than those of his father and uncle, while it was not redeemed by any of the gallant, warlike deeds of a soldier’s life, such as had won them popularity even in early boyhood. Every one complained of the Duc d’Aquitaine; his father-in-law was indignant at his behaviour to his wife, very serious apprehensions were entertained for his health amongst the members of the royal family, the people pointed to the example of his father, whose manner of life had caused his madness, and predicted that if he went on so he would lose his reason in the same way, and even the Queen several times threatened that unless he reformed his conduct in some degree the succession to the throne should be transferred to his brother Jean, Duc de Touraine, who, in the charge of his father-in-law, the Comte de Hainault, was being better brought up.