THE KING OF SICILY SENDS BACK THE DAUGHTER OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.—THE DUKE WRITES LETTERS TO THE KING OF FRANCE, CONTAINING REMONSTRANCES, AND OTHER MATTERS.

On the 20th day of November, in this year, the king of Sicily sent back to the city of Beauvais, Catherine daughter to John duke of Burgundy, who had been betrothed to Louis, the king of Sicily's eldest son, according to treaties that had been entered into between the two parties, and in consequence of which the duke had caused her to be most honourably escorted to Angers. But the king afterward sent her back, attended by the lord de Longny, marshal of France, and others, to the amount of six score horse, knights, esquires, ladies and damsels, belonging to the duke of Burgundy, who had sent them for that purpose. By them she was conducted in great sorrow to Amiens, and thence to her father at Lille, who was much vexed on the occasion, and conceived thereat a mortal hatred to the king of Sicily, which lasted all their lives.

Shortly after, this lady Catherine of Burgundy, who was, for her tender years, a very gracious lady, died in Ghent, without ever having been married.

In this same month, the duke of Burgundy sent letters to the king of France at Paris, containing his respectful salutations, his complaints and his accusations against his enemies, the contents of which were as follow.

'John duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders, of Artois, and palatine of Burgundy: my most-redoubted and dear lord, I recommend myself most humbly to you, being perpetually desirous, as is right, to hear of the good estate of your health,—and may God, in his gracious pleasure, continue it to you in the best possible manner, according to your good desire and wishes! I most earnestly supplicate you, my most-redoubted and beloved lord, that I may as often as possible be ascertained of this from yourself, for God knows how much I wish your prosperity; and I cannot have greater joy in this world than to hear satisfactory news of you,—and may God, out of his holy grace, grant that I may alway hear such as may be agreeable to you, and such as I may wish for myself! Should it please you, my most redoubted and dear lord, to know how I am, I was in excellent health on the departure of these letters, thanks to God,—and may he alway continue you in the same! Most dear and redoubted lord, I presume that it is in your good remembrance, that by your proclamation, issued by advice of my most redoubted lord the duke of Acquitaine, your son, and by my advice also, and by that of many lords of your blood, and of your grand council, and at the earnest and humble request of your daughter the university of Paris, and of the clergy of the said city, of the provost of merchants and the sheriffs, and in general of other good people of your said city, were notified certain ordinances, as well of your grand council aforesaid, as of many other great lords and counsellors, of myself, of the university aforesaid, and of the clergy of the aforesaid city of Paris, for the effecting of peace and union among the lords of your blood, as the only means for the reparation of the miseries the whole kingdom suffered under, which was in thorough desolation, and must have been destroyed if God had not inspired you with a desire of peace. By these means, each loyal subject of your realm may have the hope of sleeping in peace and tranquillity, as was most notably said and explained in your presence, and before many of the princes of your blood and others, by a very able knight, counsellor to my very dear lord and cousin the king of Sicily.

'Nevertheless, my most-redoubted lord, although I had sworn to observe this peace in your presence, with a loyal faith and the most upright intentions, as several who attended might have noticed; and notwithstanding, because I did suspect that after my departure some persons might imagine various strange matters, tending to the infraction of the peace, I sent to you, as soon as I could, letters, to assure you of my cordial intentions of maintaining the object of your ordinance,—and in greater confirmation, I sent to you some of my confidential servants, principally on this account, as it may please you to remember; yet notwithstanding this, my most dear lord, and that I have not committed any act to infringe your ordinance, whatever accusations have been brought against me by some people, who (saving the honour and reverence always due to you) have spoken contrary to truth: many things have, in like manner, been done against the sense of your ordinance, to the contempt, prejudice, and scandal of myself and mine, who have been pointed out in the aforesaid ordinance.

'I am, therefore, the less bound to proceed according to your will and that of your very dear son, my redoubted lord, and of the princes of your blood, and members of your grand council; but I am pressed thereto from the instigations and extraordinary importunities of some who have for a long time been contentious, and are still the same, in very strange manner,—whom may God, out of his holy grace, reclaim, and bring to a proper sense of duty, as there is great need, and which I most earnestly desire.

'For a fuller declaration of the above, it is true, my most-redoubted lord, that at the instigation of some persons, shortly after I had sworn to the observance of the peace, several skirmishes with armed men were made in Paris, near to my hÔtel, which seemed to have been conducted and done in contempt of me, to the prejudice of my character and of the persons of my adherents; for since I quitted Paris, no such things have taken place, nor have any congregations of armed men been heard of; but what is worse, if I were to believe what some have told me, it was intended to lay hands on my person before I departed from Paris, which is no sign of good peace or union.

'It is a fact, that before and since I left Paris, several of your good and faithful servants, and some of mine, have been arrested and imprisoned without having done any thing to deserve such treatment, and others have been obliged, by force and treacherous conduct, to quit Paris.

'It is also known, that all who had shown any affection or attachment to me were deprived of their offices, honours and estates, without any thing being proved to their prejudice, excepting that they were too good Burgundians, and this is now daily continued. Should they declare, that such things were done by me during the time I was at Paris in the service of your majesty, and that I was constantly in the habit of making such changes, to this a good and true answer may be given; for supposing this were so, if the terms of your ordinance be considered, they will appear founded particularly on peace, union, and affection; and these late changes that have taken place have been caused by a spirit of revenge, which is the reverse of love and peace, and a strong mark of division. It would therefore have been more conformable to the meaning of your ordinance, and more to the advantage of your realm, if such offices had been filled by persons fairly selected, and not through any spirit of revenge.

'By reason of this same spirit, scarcely any of your servants, my most redoubted lord, or those of my lady the queen, or the princes of your blood, or the university, could venture to speak with those known to be attached to my person and honour, for fear of being severely punished.

'There have also been many assemblies holden, in which harangues have been made highly prejudicial to my honour and contrary to truth, (saving the honour and respect due to you,) and in which expressions have been uttered as having been said by me, but too confusedly for their meaning to be well understood, and positively contradictory to the peace made at Chartres as well as at Auxerre, and against the terms so lately sworn to, which may be of very bad example, and contrary to the doctrine of Cato, tending to provoke dissensions and warfare, which may ultimately, which God forbid, prove of the greatest detriment and destruction to your kingdom.

'Many letters have been published in various places, as well within as without your realm, making very light, to all who shall peruse them, of your honour, my most-redoubted lord, of that of my lord of Acquitaine, of several princes of your blood, of the university, and of many of the principal inhabitants of Paris.

'If it should be advanced by some of the writers of these letters, that they have been published to clear their own honour, which had been stained by other letters, they ought at least to have kept to the truth, and not have laid the blame on those who were well inclined to keep the terms of your edict.

'I have likewise been charged, contrary to the truth, with having entertained men at arms in direct violation of your ordinance, and with having by such means greatly injured and harrassed your subjects. The fact is, what I have before told you, and of which I have sent you information, that by your orders I had a command of a thousand men at arms with my lord and uncle of Berry and others, to whom you had given orders to oppose several enterprises that were undertaken by some of the free companies even at the gates of Paris, to your great disgrace and scandal. Instantly after the proclamation of your edict, I countermanded them, nor have I ever since summoned any, or quartered them on the country.

'Should any bodies of men at arms throughout the realm say that they belong to me, they have neither had my summons nor are they under my command, and I am perfectly ignorant of their intentions; but as there are yet several free companies that still keep harrassing the country, they may perhaps have assembled to drive them out of it.

'It is a well-known fact, my most redoubted lord, that there are some who have for a long time maintained, and do so still, large bodies of men at arms, between the rivers Loire, Seine, and Yonne, and elsewhere, directly contrary to your ordinance, to the utter ruin of your people, for they make in their pillage no distinction between churchmen and others; and this also is laid to my charge, as they alledge that they keep these bodies under arms for fear lest I should raise a large force and march it against Paris, in direct violation of your ordinance: but this, saving the reverence due to your majesty, is a falsehood; for I have not done this, nor ever thought of doing what would be displeasing to you, in any manner whatever,—nor will I alter this conduct, but, so long as I shall live, will remain your true and loyal relation and obedient subject.

'It is a fact, that several, as I have been informed, have publicly declared, contrary to truth, that I maintained in Paris murderers and assassins, ready to put them to death. In answer to this, my most dear lord, I affirm for truth, that I not only never did so, but that I never thought of such a thing; but these are not the first aspersions they have cast upon me.

'Many have been banished merely from hatred to me, who declare that they were not deserving such punishment, and are ready to prove it, if they be assured of personal security, and of having fair justice done them. I do not say this from any desire to screen from punishment the wicked or such as may have displeased you, my most-redoubted lord, my lady the queen, or my lord of Acquitaine, but in behalf of those who have been so ill treated from contempt to me.

'I must also complain, that several persons have gone to the houses of my poor servants in Paris, which are adjoining to my hÔtel of Artois, and have ransacked them from top to bottom, under pretence that letters had been sent thither by me, to be delivered to different persons near to the market-place, to excite them to raise a commotion in your city of Paris, and particularly in the markets,—for which cause many of the wives of my faithful servants have been very harshly treated, and examined at the ChÂtelet on this subject. May it please you to know, most-redoubted lord, that I never have written myself, nor caused to be written by others, any thing that was contrary to your ordinance.

'Those who make such accusations against me act wickedly, for they may give you and others a bad opinion of me; and those who know Paris are well aware that neither the inhabitants of that or any other quarter would, for their lives, act any way that would be to your dishonour. With regard to me, may God no longer grant me life, when I shall act contrary to your good pleasure!

'I now come to the heaviest charge against me. It is reported, but contrary to truth, saving your reverence, that I have entered into a treaty of marriage with England, and that, as the marriage-portion of my daughter, I am to transfer the castles of Cherbourg and Caen, with other places mentioned in the said treaty, to the great prejudice of you and your kingdom. Such things I have neither done nor even thought of; and I wish to God that all within your realm had always been as loyal in the preservation of your person and progeny, your crown and dignity, as I have been, and shall ever be, during my life.

'Other acts, that shall at a proper opportunity and place be declared, have been done contrary to your edict, prejudicial to my own honour and to that of my friends,—but those are already touched upon, and what remain are not only directly against the spirit of your edict, but tend to throw upon my person the utmost possible dishonour; and they are the most effectual means of depriving me not only of your good graces but of those of my lady the queen, and of my lord of Acquitaine, whose happiness and prosperity I have ever desired and shall anxiously promote above all earthly blessings.

'However, my most-redoubted lord, I do not write these things to you, as meaning in any way to infringe your ordinance, or to violate the peace of the kingdom, which has of late been so sorely harrassed, in various ways, that the most perverse mind should feel compassion for it.

'Should any persons now affirm, that I have intentions of avoiding or disobeying the true meaning of your ordinance, I positively declare, that I have never had such thoughts, nor have ever wished to give any opposition to its being carried into full effect; but on the contrary, I have supported it as much as any of your kindred or subjects have done throughout the realm. It is nevertheless very true, that I have sought for the means of keeping this peace firm and inviolate in your whole kingdom, foreseeing events that might possibly happen should it be infringed. I therefore most humbly supplicate you, my most-redoubted lord, that you would be pleased to redress the above causes of complaint in such wise that those who have been injured may not have further reason to grieve, and that your ordinance may be fulfilled to your own welfare and honour as well as to the good of your realm, so that every one, as has been before said, may sleep in peace and tranquillity,—to the accomplishment of which I am ready to offer all my corporal and worldly effects, together with those of my friends, and every power that God may have granted to me, according as it shall be your good pleasure to dispose of them.

'And, my most dear and redoubted lord, I beseech the blessed Son of God to have you in his holy keeping, and to bless you with a long and happy life. Written in our town of Ghent, the 16th day of November.'

These dispatches were presented, by Flanders king at arms, to the king, who received them very kindly; but those who governed him were not well pleased thereat, and would not suffer the king to make any answer in writing. The chancellor of France told the herald, that the king had very favourably received what his lord the duke of Burgundy had written, and would consider of it and send an answer at a proper time and place. After this, the king at arms left Paris, and returned to his lord in Flanders.

Notwithstanding the letters which the duke of Burgundy had written to the king of France in his justification, those who had the management of the king did not in the least abate the rigour with which they were proceeding against the duke. A few days after the departure of Flanders king at arms, there was a great assembly of theologians holden at Paris, by the bishop of Paris and the inquisitor of the faith, to consider on certain propositions maintained before some of the princes of the royal blood and the duke of Burgundy, and by him supported, against the late Louis duke of Orleans, through the organ of master John Petit, and to declare whether such propositions be not heretical and erroneous.

Many were much troubled at this meeting, lest the duke of Burgundy should be displeased with them for attending it, and that in time to come they might suffer for it. Here follows the form of a schedule that was delivered to some of the doctors in theology.

'On the part of the bishop of Paris, the inquisitor and council of faith duly assembled—reverend doctors, be it known, that we have sent to you a schedule containing certain propositions, with their reprobations; and we require from you, under pain of forfeiture, that you deliver your opinions thereon publicly, in writing or by speech, whether these assertions, which have brought notorious scandal on the king's council and on the catholic faith, are erroneous and damnable, that we may proceed thereon as the canon law requires.

'On Wednesday, the 20th day of this month of December, will the first proposition be considered, namely, 'Any tyrant legally may and ought to be put to death by any vassal or subject, even by lying in wait for him, by flatteries and adulations, notwithstanding any confederation entered into between them, and after oaths having mutually passed, and without waiting for the sentence of any judge whatever.' This proposition, thus stated generally for a maxim, is, according to the common acceptance of the word 'tyrant,' an error in our faith, contrary to the doctrine of good morals, and contrary to the commandments of God: 'Non occides propria auctoritate;' Thou shalt not kill of thy own authority; and in the 26th chapter of St Matthew, 'Omnes qui accipiunt gladium gladio peribunt.'

'This doctrine tends to the subversion of all public order, and of each prince and sovereign, and opens a road for all licentiousness and every consequent evil, such as frauds, violations of oaths, treasons, lies, and general disobedience between vassals and lords, distrust of each, and consequently perdurable damnation.

'Item, he who shall pertinaciously affirm this error, and the others which follow, is an heretic, and ought to be punished as such, even after his death. 'Notatur in decretis questione quinta,' the other proposition.—St Michael, without any orders or command from God, or others, but moved solely by his natural affections, slew Lucifer with everlasting death, for which he is receiving spiritual riches beyond measure.

'This proposition, however, contains many errors of faith,—for St Michael did not slay Lucifer, but Lucifer slew himself by his sin, and God put him to an everlasting death. Beside, St Michael did receive orders from God to thrust Lucifer out of paradise: 'Quia omnis potestas est a Deo; et hoc sciebat Michael, quia constitutus erat a Deo princeps, quem honorem non sibi assumpsit. Nota quomodo Michael non est ausus inferre auditum blasphemiÆ, sed dicit, imperet tibi Dominus: in epistola JudÆ.'

'God might also have given him more spiritual riches, and the power of receiving them: therefore he did not obtain such riches through his natural affection.

'With regard to the other proposition,—Phineas killed Zimri without any command from GOD, or from Moses, and Zimri had not committed idolatry. This proposition is contrary to the book containing this history, according to the reading of learned doctors, and according to reason and the nature of things. You will see in the 25th chapter of the book of Numbers, 'Dicit Moyses ad judices Israel, Occidat unus quisque proximos suos, qui initiati sunt Beelphegor et ecce unus, &c. glosa. Josephus dixit, quod Zimri et principes in tribu Symeon duxerant filias,' &c. Again, Moses, without any orders, slew the Egyptian, so that this assertion is contrary to the text of the Bible, Actuorum vii. according to the explanation of learned doctors, and according to reason. Textus,—'Estimabant, autem intelligere fratres, quoniam Deus per manum ipsius daret salutem Hierusalem,' &c.

'Judith did not sin in flattering Holofernes, nor Jehu by falsely saying that he would worship Baal. This is favourable to the error of those who have declared that lies may be lawful on some occasions. St Austin writes thus against such doctrine to St Jerome, 'Si inquit admissa fuerint vel officiosa mendacia tota scripturÆ divinÆ vacillabit auctoritas.' The other case brought forward to support the proposition, that Joab killed Abner after the death of Absalom, is contrary to the text expressed in the holy Scriptures, I Regum iii. cap. where it is said, that long before the death of Absalom Joab slew Abner.

'The assertion, that it is not perjury to commit such actions, although oaths of fellowship may have been given on both sides, is false, for it is gross perjury, and unprofitable to such as may swear to treacherous alliances: it is fraud, deception, and clear perjury; and to maintain that such actions are lawful is an error of faith.'

When these propositions had been fully discussed, they were condemned as heretical opinions, and errors against the faith.