Chapter XI: Part 11

Page 376. line 2. _Pierre d'Oriole._] Pierre d'Oriole afterwards lord of Loire and chancellor of France in 1472. He was at first mayor of Rochelle and being sent on frequent deputations to king Charles VII. attached himself to the court where he rose through the offices of maitre des Comptes and general des finances to the high dignity of chancellor. He was reckoned the best lawyer in France, and till age impaired his powers, was remarkable for his laboriousness and exactness. But upon his growing remiss with the increase of years, Louis deprived him of his chancellorship and gave him the post of first president of the chamber of accounts which he held with honour till his death in 1483. Du Clos.

Page 376. line 7. _Sir Charles de Melun._] Charles de Melun, lord of Nantouillet, lieutenant-general of the kingdom of France, and, in 1465, appointed grand master. He was at first high in his master's confidence and esteem but afterwards became suspected, and was accused by his enemies of treasonable practices and ended his days on a scaffold.

Page 376. line 9. _John Balue._] This extraordinary person was born at Angle in Poitou and is reported to have been the son of a miller. Entering into the church he attached himself to the service of Jacques Juvenal des Ursins, bishop of Poitiers, who had so much confidence in him that he made him his executor, an office in which it is suspected he found means to enrich himself considerably. He afterwards dealt very largely in simoniacal contracts while under the patronage of Jean de Beauveau bishop of Angers whom he followed to Rome in 1462. On his return, he attached himself to the court, where the penetration of the king soon found out his uncommon abilities and advanced him to the rank of a counsellor of parliament. He had also the administration of the royal charities, and is called by historians, but improperly, grand almoner of France, an office which was first created by Charles the 8th. Of his subsequent life several particulars will appear in the course of this history and many more may be seen in Du Clos.

Page 392. line 5. _William Charretier._] Chartier. This prelate was celebrated for his virtue and probity; but did himself no good by meddling in affairs of state for which he was by no means fit. When the confederate princes menaced Paris previous to the battle of Montlehery, he gave his advice to admit them within the walls of the city. His opinion, fortunately for Louis was over-ruled; but the king never liked him from that time, and when he died in 1472, Louis took the whimsical measure of sending his complaints against him to the provost of Paris in order to have them recorded in his epitaph. Du Clos. See also, vol. ix. p. 124. where this incident is mentioned.

Page 403. line 9. _Lord de Rambures._] James son of Andrew II; died after 1488 leaving by Mary de Berghes daughter of John lord of Cohan, Andrew the third, lord of Rambures his son and successor.

Page 404. line 8 from the bottom. _Lord de Craon._] This lord de Craon was George de la Trimoille, second son of George count of Guines and Boulogne and brother of Louis, first prince of Talmont. He was governor of Burgundy in 1474 and died without issue in 1481.

Page 410. line 19. _Poncet de Riviere._] Poncet de la Riviere, Bailli de Montferrand, commander of franc-archers, &c. &c. an officer of distinguished merit, but not connected as some have supposed, with either the ancient house of the viscounts de Riviere in Gascony, or with that of Rivers in England. See Morery.

Page 424. line 9. _Staves._] It was in coming out of the house of a lady of bad fame (probably this very Jeanne du Bois) that the _bishop_ was thus attacked. The trimming he received proved of some service to him; for from this time he addicted himself wholly to business and assumed a gravity of deportment which was more suitable to his ecclesiastical dignity. Du Clos.

Page 424. line 19. _Lord de Villier-le-bôcage._] Raoul, lord of Villiers-au-bocage, third son of John the fourth, lord of Crequy. He died in 1472 without issue.

Page 429. line 4. _Lord de Broquemont._] Qu. Braquemont? William de Braquemont lord of Campremis died some time after 1480, and in him the family was extinct.

Page 430. line 2 from the bottom. _Bishop of Evreux._] A mistake--the bishop of Evreux was the most unlikely person in the world to be concerned in this business. It is evidently the bishop of Bayeux who is here meant.

_H. Bryer, Printer, Bridge-Street, Blackfriars, London._

Transcriber's note: Original spelling, including possible inconsistencies, has been retained.