THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY MARCHES A LARGE FORCE TOWARD PARIS.—HE FIXES HIS QUARTERS AT ST DENIS.—THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING THIS MARCH, AND IN CONSEQUENCE OF IT.

The duke of Burgundy, to accomplish his expedition to Paris, on leaving Arras, made for Peronne, intending to enter France; but the inhabitants, who had before received the king's orders not to let him pass, sent to him the lord de Longueval, their governor, to excuse them for denying him entrance into their town. Although the duke was far from being pleased, he, however, pretended indifference to their conduct, marched his forces beside the town, and crossed the Somme at Esclusieu[31], and went to Roye in the Vermandois. He thence sent forward his brother the count de Nevers, who had joined him with a handsome company, to Compiegne.

The count treated so successfully with the townsmen of Compiegne that, notwithstanding the commands of the king, they consented to permit him to pass. The principal reasons for their assenting were the copies of the correspondence between the duke of Acquitaine and the duke of Burgundy, which were shown to them, and which contained the express wishes of the duke of Acquitaine for the duke of Burgundy to come to his aid.

The tenour of the above and of the certificate was as follows.

'To all who these presents shall see, Jean Clabault, esquire-keeper for the king of the seal of the bailiwick of Vermandois established at Roye, greeting.

'Know ye, that on the 23d day of February, of the present year 1413, the most puissant and noble prince my lord duke of Burgundy has exhibited to us, and shown three letters sealed and signed by the most excellent and puissant prince the duke of Acquitaine, which we have held, seen, and read, word by word,—the contents of which are as follow.

'Very dear and well beloved father, we order, that on the receipt of this letter, you lay all excuses aside and come to us, well accompanied for your own proper security; and as you fear our anger, do not fail coming. Written with our own hand, at Paris, the 4th day of December[32].' Signed, 'Louis.'

'The address was, 'To our very dear and well beloved father the duke of Burgundy.'

'Another letter was in these terms:

'Very dear and well beloved father, I wrote to you some time since, to desire you would come to me very well accompanied. I therefore entreat and order, that you hasten hither as speedily as may be, but well accompanied, for good reasons: do not fail, for I will bear you through the whole matter, as shall be seen. Written with my own hand, in Paris, the 13th day of December.' Signed by himself, 'Louis.'

'The superscription was, 'To our very dear and well beloved father the duke of Burgundy.'

'The third letter contained,—'Very dear and well beloved father, I have twice written to you to come hither, and you have not complied: I, however, write again, to order that you lay all other considerations aside, and come to me well accompanied for your own security: do not fail to come to me with all possible speed, notwithstanding any other letters you may receive from me to the contrary. We trust that you will instantly obey from the love you bear to us, and from the fear of our displeasure. We have certain causes to desire your company, which affect us in the strongest manner possible. Written with my own hand, this 22d day of December,' and signed by himself, 'Louis.'

'The superscription was the same as the foregoing.

'As a testimony that we have seen and read the above letters, we have affixed the seal of this bailiwick (saving the rights of the king and others) to this copy, which we have faithfully collated with the original, in the presence of Jean Billart, esquire-warden for the king in the provostship of Roye, and of the exempted lands of Charmy, and of the jurisdiction of Roye; and in the presence of Pierre de la Beane, comptroller of salt in Roye, of Nicholas d'Ardelchanons, of Roye, Jean Pellehaste, master Guillaume de la Garde, master Godefroy Baudun, Brissart, royal notary, on the day and year aforesaid, and thus signed, Brissart.'

On the third day, the duke of Burgundy left Roye, and went to Compiegne, where, having prevailed on the principal inhabitants to support his party, he took the road for Senlis, whither he had sent forward the lord de Robaix, to know if the townsmen would admit him. This they positively refused to do, in consequence of the orders from the king,—and the duke then took the road by Baron[33] to Dampmartin[34], whither the lords of Burgundy had advanced with a powerful force to meet him.

News was daily carried to Paris, to the duke of Acquitaine and the other princes of the blood, of the duke of Burgundy's march and approach to the capital. When the last intelligence came, the duke of Acquitaine was dining with a canon in the cloisters of NÔtre Dame in Paris; and the moment it was known, the king of Sicily, the duke of Orleans, the counts de Vertus, de Richemont, d'Eu, d'Armagnac, with many other great lords, attended by a numerous body of men at arms, assembled in the cloisters, where the duke of Acquitaine mounted his horse. This force was divided into three battalions, the van, center, and rear,—which done, they advanced to the front of the church of NÔtre Dame, and thence marched to the town-house, where they halted. The van was commanded by three counts, namely, those of Vertus, of Eu, and of Richemont, who rode together in front, followed close by their attendants, and at a little distance by the battalion.

In the center division were the king of Sicily and the dukes of Acquitaine and of Orleans, followed by a very considerable body of men at arms. The rear battalion was commanded by the count d'Armagnac, Louis Bourdon and the lord de Gaule, who, like the other commanders, rode all three in front of their men. The whole was estimated at eleven thousand horse. On their coming to the town-house, a trumpet was sounded, when the chancellor of Acquitaine made his appearance, and, by orders of the duke, told the people of Paris, who were following them, that he, as eldest son and heir to the king and kingdom of France, thanked them for their loyalty and affection, which they had now shown to him, and that he hoped they would exert themselves to the utmost of their power to oppose the duke of Burgundy in his wicked projects, who, in defiance of the king's positive commands, and in violation of the peace, had marched an armed force into the heart of the realm; that he affirmed and assured them, that he had never sent for him, nor written to him to come to Paris, notwithstanding he had declared he had received letters from him to the above purport.

The chancellor then asked the duke if he would vouch for what he had said, who replied, that he would vouch for it, as he had spoken nothing but the truth. After this had been said, they marched away in the same order as before, to the Place du Croix du Tiroir, where they again halted, when the chancellor from horseback, in front of the duke of Acquitaine, repeated to the numerous populace there assembled what he had before said in the Place de GrÉve, which speech was again avowed by the duke of Acquitaine, after which he retired to the Louvre. The duke of Orleans went to the priory of St Martin des Champs, the king of Sicily to the bastille of St Anthony, the count of Armagnac and Louis Bourdon to the hÔtel d'Artois, and the others elsewhere. Shortly after, the duke of Berry came from his hÔtel de Neelle to visit the duke of Acquitaine in the Louvre, and thence retired to the Temple, where he and his men had their quarters. The different lords went diligently about the streets of Paris to check any tumults that might arise,—and they had all the gates closed excepting those of St Anthony and of St James.

Notwithstanding they were so numerous in men at arms, they were very fearful of the populace rising against them, in favour of the duke of Burgundy, more especially those who lived in the quartier des Halles.

The duke of Burgundy advanced from Dampmartin to St Denis, which was open to him, for the inhabitants had fled. He there quartered his whole army, and lodged himself at the hÔtel of the Sword. His force might consist of full two thousand helmets, knights and esquires, from Artois, Picardy, Flanders, Rethel and Burgundy, with from two to three thousand combatants, archers, cross-bows and armed varlets. He was accompanied by sir John de Luxembourg, with all the vassals of his uncle the count Waleran de St Pol.

On the third day after the duke of Burgundy's arrival at St Denis, he sent his king at arms, Artois, to Paris, bearing letters to the king, the queen, the duke of Acquitaine, and the commonalty of the town,—in which he requested that they would permit him to wait on them, to explain the cause of his thus coming to St Denis, which, he said, was only with good intentions, no way to make war, nor to demand redress from any person, but solely in obedience to the commands of the duke of Acquitaine, whom he was bound to serve and obey.

When the king at arms arrived at the gates of Paris, he was led to an hÔtel,—when shortly after, a man came to him, whom he did not know, and told him to make haste to quit the town, or his person would be rudely treated. Perceiving that he should not be heard, nor allowed to deliver his letters, he was mounting his horse, when the count d'Armagnac advanced and said to him, that should he or any others come again to Paris from the duke of Burgundy, he would have their heads cut off. Upon this, he returned to his lord the duke of Burgundy, at St Denis, and related to him all that had passed, and how rudely he had been dealt with, which so much displeased the duke that he resolved, by the advice of his council, to march thither in person with his whole force.

On the morrow morning, therefore, the army was drawn up in the fields in battle-array as if they were about to engage an enemy, and thus marched to the gate of St Eustache, which was closed; and there they remained in battle-array for a considerable space, which was a handsome sight. The duke again sent his king at arms to the gate of St HonorÉ, which was also closed, to demand from those stationed over the gate that four of his most confidential knights, who were near at hand to the king at arms, might be admitted with him, to explain the causes of his coming, which tended to nothing but a solid peace. He was answered by those above the gate, that if he did not speedily withdraw, they would discharge bolts and arrows at him,—adding, that they would have nothing to say to the duke of Burgundy nor to his knights. Upon this, they retired to the army.

During this time, Enguerrand de Bournouville, with about four hundred combatants, had dismounted, and, with the standard of the duke, had advanced to the gate of St HonorÉ, to see if he could do any thing; for they had great hopes that the populace would rise in sufficient force to give them entrance through one of the gates, which, however, did not happen.

Enguerrand, nevertheless, said a few words to Bourdon, who was over the gate, but who made him no reply; and, finding nothing was to be done, he retreated to the main body. In his retreat, some cross-bows were discharged at him, and one of his men was wounded, although neither himself nor any of his companions had shown the least offensive intentions, by arrows or otherwise, against those of Paris,—for it had been forbidden them by the duke out of respect to the king and the duke of Acquitaine.

The duke, seeing the matter hopeless, marched his army back to St Denis, and caused letters to be written, which, during the night, some of his partisans affixed to the doors of the church of NÔtre Dame, of the palace, and elsewhere in Paris. He sent copies also to the principal towns in France, the tenour of which was as follows.

'We John duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders and Artois, palatine of Burgundy, lord of Salines and Mechlin, make known to all, that by virtue of several letters written and signed by the duke of Acquitaine himself, we came toward Paris, to employ ourselves for the welfare of the king, by command of my lord of Acquitaine, and withal to aid and deliver him from the servitude in which he is held at this moment; in which cause we shall cheerfully exert every power and influence which God may have granted to us in this world; and we signify to all the wellwishers of the king and of my lord of Acquitaine, that they shall be set (if we be able) at full liberty to exercise their free will and pleasure,—and those who have thus confined them shall be banished, that it may be known to all that we do not come hither on any ambitious schemes to seize the government of the kingdom, and that we have no desire to hurt or destroy the good town of Paris, but are ready to fulfil and maintain every article which we had sworn to observe in the king's edict.

'We are also willing to return to any of our territories, provided others who have sworn to the same ordinance do so likewise,—but they act contrary to it: and we will, that God and all the world know, that until we shall be sensible that my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine enjoy their full liberty, and that those who now manage public affairs have retired to their several countries, and my said lord the king is provided with honest, able, and notable counsellors and knights, as well as my lord of Acquitaine, we will never desist from our enterprise, nor quit the kingdom of France; for we had much rather die than witness my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine in such subjection.

'We cannot help being astonished that the citizens and loyal subjects of his majesty can be so hard of heart as to suffer him to remain in this disgraceful slavery; and we are the more surprised that, knowing how nearly we are related to him, they have refused to receive either our knights or our herald, or to permit any one from us to present our letters to my lord the king, my lady the queen, my lord of Acquitaine, or to the good town of Paris.

'And although we came before the walls of Paris without committing any hostile act whatever, by the command aforesaid, in order to treat of matters touching the peace and welfare of the kingdom, our men have been killed and wounded, without listening to any proposals which they might have made. The count d'Armagnac even told our king at arms, that if he should return again, his head would be struck off,—which is an insult hard to be borne, when we have come hither with our company, paying for all our expenses, as the near relation and neighbour of my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine, requiring the aid of all good and loyal subjects against those who have kept in servitude and in peril my said lord of Acquitaine, signifying to them, at the same time, that we should, in proper time and place, charge them with treason against their sovereign. Of this you need not doubt,—for, by the aid of God and our just cause in this quarrel, we will pursue and maintain it, with the utmost of our powers, and with the assistance of very many of the principal towns in the realm, who have attached themselves to us.

'Given at St Denis, under our privy seal, in the absence of the grand council, the 11th day of February, in the year 1413.'

When these letters were found posted in several of the public places of Paris, those who were disaffected to the duke of Burgundy had stronger suspicions of his conduct than before; and they took such precautions in the guard of the town that no inconvenience happened.

During the time the duke of Burgundy remained at St Denis, the lord de Croy, who had accompanied him, sent twenty of his most expert and determined men at arms, well mounted, to cross the Seine near to Conflans; thence they rode as secretly as they could, with lance in hand, to the town of Montlehery, where they lodged themselves in two inns near to each other, pretending to be of the Orleans party. Sir John de Croy, son to the lord de Croy, was prisoner, as has been before said, in the castle of that town, and had received intimation of their coming by a chaplain who had the care of him. He made a pretence of going to hear mass in the church that was hard by the castle, when these men at arms who were ready prepared, and on the watch, mounted their horses, hastened toward sir John, whom they instantly set on a led horse, and thence galloped briskly to Pontoise: they afterward took the road to the ford where they had before crossed the Seine, and made such good haste that they brought sir John safe to his father in St Denis.

This enterprise was highly praised by the duke of Burgundy and the lord de Croy: the principal leaders of it were Lamont de Launoy, Villemont de Meneat, Jenninet de Molliens, Jean Roussel,—the whole amounting to the number aforesaid. They were, however, sharply pursued by the garrison of Montlehery, but they could not overtake them by reason of the variety of roads they took.

The duke of Burgundy again sent Artois, king at arms, to Paris, with letters to the king of Sicily and to the dukes of Orleans and Berry, to notify to them the causes of his coming, and to request that they would suffer him, or at least some of his people, to speak with the king and the duke of Acquitaine; that he was come with good intentions, for he was willing punctually to keep all he had promised and sworn to, provided they on their part would do the same; adding, that they must allow the king and the duke of Acquitaine to rule and govern the kingdom, without keeping them in servitude, more especially the duke of Acquitaine, whom they detained to his great displeasure. But when the king at arms came to the gate of St Anthony, he was told that he would not be admitted, nor any letters received from him, and that if he did not hasten away, they would treat him disrespectfully. On hearing this, he considered for a few minutes, and then placing the letters at the top of a cleft stick which he stuck in the ground, made off as fast as he could to St Denis, when the duke was more discontented than ever.

Perceiving that he could no way succeed in his object, he deliberated with his council whether he should return to his own country, and within a few days retreated to Compiegne by the way he had come. In this town, and in that of Soissons, he left strong garrisons of men at arms and archers. He appointed sir Hugh de Launoy governor of Compiegne, with the lords de Sainct Ligier and de Forez, Hector and Philippe de Saveuse, Louvelet de Mazaheghen, and other expert men at arms, to the amount of five hundred combatants or thereabout.

In Soissons he placed Enguerrand de Bournouville, sir Colart de Phiennes, Lamon de Launoy, Guoit de Boutilliers Normant, sir Pierre de Menault, and many more warriors.

It was resolved by the aforesaid duke and his chivalry, and by the good towns above mentioned, that until the king and the duke of Acquitaine should be at full liberty, and until they should regulate their conduct by the counsel of such good men and true as they themselves should approve, and until the lords aforesaid, who thus kept them under restraint, and the troops in their pay should retire each to his own territory—as he, the duke of Burgundy, and those of his party, offered to return to their estates and countries—they would never change their resolution, and would yield no obedience to the command of the king, as issued by the advice of his present counsellors or their abettors.

This resolution the duke was to signify to the principal towns, and to all the well-disposed persons in the kingdom, and even to summon them in the names of the king and the duke of Acquitaine to unite themselves to his party for the more effectually accomplishing so desirable an object; for by so doing each person would acquit himself of his loyalty, and gain renown for life; and the duke promised to aid and support them to the utmost of his power, for the security of which he issued his especial letters.

After this, he departed from Compiegne, and returned to Arras. He sent his Burgundians, to the amount of about seven hundred lances, to quarter themselves in the Cambresis, and in Tierache, in contempt of the king of Sicily, whom he did not love, any more than sir Robert de Bar[35], who had refused to assist him in this expedition, although he was his liege-man.

He issued orders from Arras for the three estates of Artois to meet him the 2d day of May, more particularly the nobles, when a great parliament was holden on the state of his affairs. He there caused to be displayed by the lord d'Ollehaing the three letters the duke of Acquitaine had written to him, which being read, he declared on his faith, in the presence of all the lords, that they were written and signed by the duke of Acquitaine's own hand.

When those present had promised to serve him against all but the king of France and his children, he ordered his ministers to write to many of the principal towns letters of the following import, which were sent to Amiens. He then departed from Arras for his county of Flanders, to do the same.

'Very dear and good friends, being ever desirous that you and all other loyal subjects of my lord the king, the wellwishers of the duke of Acquitaine, dauphin of Vienne, should be advertised of whatever may affect his honour and estate, that of his realm and the public good, that efficient remedies may be provided according to the exigency of the case, we in consequence signify to you the very singular request of my said lord of Acquitaine, duly made to us by three different letters, written and signed by his own hand, containing in substance, that on the pleasure and service we were ever willing to do him, we should incontinently come to him as well and greatly accompanied as possible.

'We obeyed these his orders, as in duty bound, knowing the bondage and danger he was and still is in, from his confinement in the castle of the Louvre by certain persons, contrary to justice and reason, and to his sore and bitter displeasure. We marched an armed force in consequence, not through any ambition or lust of having any part in the government of the kingdom, nor to break or any way infringe the peace we have so lately promised and sworn to keep, which we are above all things desirous of preserving, but solely in obedience to the good will and pleasure of my lord the king and of my said lord of Acquitaine, and to obtain for him his just freedom. For this cause did we peaceably advance to the town of St Denis, without molesting or despoiling any person, but paying courteously for all that we had need of; and instantly on our arrival there, we sent by our herald, Artois king at arms, sealed letters addressed to my lord the king, my lady the queen, my lord of Acquitaine, and to the good town of Paris,—in which we notified our coming, not with any intent of warfare, or to infringe the peace, but by the orders of my lord of Acquitaine, and to obey his good pleasure (as the saying is), requesting at the same time to have audiences of my lord the king and of my lord of Acquitaine, to the performance of our duty, and to the accomplishment of their will and pleasure, to which we are bound.

'Notwithstanding this, the presentation of our said letters was most rigorously prevented by the count d'Armagnac and his adherents, without any reasonable cause, and through contempt and malice to us and our friends. The said count even told our herald, that if he did not instantly depart, or if any of our people should again return on this errand, he would have their heads cut off. In consequence, we marched in person from the town of St Denis, grandly accompanied by men at arms and archers, on the Saturday, the 10th of this month, February, to the walls of Paris, without doing harm to any person, but with the intent of amicably explaining the reasons for our thus appearing in arms, and with the expectation of receiving a more gracious answer than was given to our herald; but when we had arrived before the town, and had sent to the gate of St HonorÉ, which was the nearest to us, our herald, and after him four of our principal knights, to request an hearing, they were told, that if they did not immediately retire, the guards would shoot at them; and without hearing or saving any more, some cross-bows were discharged, which was, and not without reason, highly displeasing to us.

'Although all these disorderly acts were done without the knowledge or consent of the king, or of the duke of Acquitaine, and although several of our officers were made prisoners, we most patiently bore the whole, from our love of peace; and from our affectionate duty to the king and my lord of Acquitaine, we quietly returned to St Denis, where, during our stay, we permitted all sorts of provision to pass free to Paris, the same as before our arrival there. We have nevertheless had information, that through malicious instigations, contrary to the honour and interest of my lord the king, my lord of Acquitaine, and the public welfare, and against their will and intention, very many letters have been unjustly and wickedly issued, by which the king has, as we are told, banished from his kingdom us and all who attended us before the walls of Paris,—notwithstanding that neither we nor they have at present, or at any other time, neglected our duty to him, nor are we of those who formerly besieged him in the town of Paris, and who have, in many parts of his realm, damnably set fire to houses, slain his subjects, forced women, violated maidens, pillaged and destroyed churches, castles, towns and mansions, committing at the same time unheard-of cruelties and mischiefs.

'The advisers of this measure, proceeding in their wicked projects from bad to worse, keep my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine under their subjection and control.

'On this account, therefore, my very dear and good friends, and because such things are contrary to the articles of the peace concluded at Auxerre, and confirmed at Pontoise, we, who are of so great importance, cannot longer suffer them, more especially when we consider the dangerous state in which the king and my lord of Acquitaine are held. Deputations have been likewise sent from many of the great towns, such as Paris, Rheims, Rouen, Laon, Beauvais and others, who have solemnly sworn to support and assist all who shall maintain this peace, and strenuously to oppose those who shall infringe it. We affirm these things to you for truth, so that should you hear the contrary you may not give credit to it, but ever remain faithful and loyal subjects to my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine, such as you have ever been, and aid and assist us in the part we have taken, for we have the utmost confidence in your zeal.

'In truth, we expect, through the help of God, and other assistance, for the relief of my lord the king and my lord of Acquitaine, that we may obtain for them full and free liberty of government, such as they ought to possess, and that those who now keep them in bondage may be dismissed from their presence, to reside in their own countries, as we are ready to do, for the due observance of the said peace, and the common good of the kingdom, objects of which we are very desirous.

'Should there be any things which you may wish to have done, that are within our power, know for certain that we will, with God's pleasure, do them with a hearty good will,—and may he have you in his holy keeping! Written in our town of Arras, and sealed with our privy seal, the 27th day of February, in the year 1413.'

There was also written on the margin, 'The duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders and Artois; and that you, my very dear and good friends, may be fully assured of the authenticity of the letters from my lord of Acquitaine, mentioned in this paper, we send you with these presents true copies of the originals, under an official seal,' and signed 'Vignier.' This letter was drawn up on sealed paper, and had for its address, 'To our very dear and well beloved, the resident burgesses and inhabitants of the town of Amiens.'