Chapter XXIV: Book THE FIFTH (3)

As I was just taking horse, the Lord du Lude happened to be near; he was a person in some things very acceptable to the king, but he was too much addicted to covetousness, and scrupled not to abuse or delude any man, and, being easy and credulous himself, he was often imposed upon. He had been educated with the king in his youth, and knew very well how to humour his majesty, for he was a jocose man; he said to me, in a jesting manner (though the counsel was solid enough), “How now, sir, are you leaving the court, when you should now make your fortune, or never? Do not you see what great things fall daily into the king’s hands, which will enable him to advance and recompense his favourites? As for my part, I expect to be Governor of Flanders, and to be made up of nothing but gold.” He laughed all the while he was speaking to me, but I had no such inclination, for I was afraid it had come from the king: I replied, “That I should be very glad of any good fortune that befell him, and hoped the king would not forget me;” and so I departed.

Not above half an hour before my departure, a person of some quality came to me out of Hainault, and brought me news from several to whom I had written to persuade them to enter into the king’s service. This gentleman and I are nearly related; but he is still living, and therefore I shall not mention his name, nor the names of any of the rest. He immediately made offers to surrender all the chief towns and fortresses in Hainault; I waited at once on the king, and acquainted him with this overture: his majesty ordered the gentleman to be admitted to his presence, but told me, that neither he nor those he came from, were persons whom he had occasion to make use of. One he did not like upon one account, and another, upon another; all their offers appeared to him inconsiderable, and he was of opinion he should gain greater advantages without their assistance; so I left him, and he ordered the gentleman to confer farther with the Lord du Lude. The gentleman highly resented it, and left the court immediately, without any farther treaty, for the Lord du Lude and he would never have agreed: for he had undertaken the journey in hopes of advancing himself, and raising his own fortune, and the first question that the Lord du Lude asked him when he came in, was, “What the towns would give him to intercede with the king in their behalf?” Wherefore I am of opinion, that the king’s refusing to hearken to the overtures that were made him by these gentlemen, was God’s own doing; for I have since known that he would have refused no honour or employment to have gained them over to his side; but perhaps, God would not suffer him to be successful in all places, for the reasons above mentioned; or else He did not think fit to permit him to usurp the country of Hainault (which is a fief of the Empire), both because his title was not just, and by reason of the ancient oaths and alliances between the emperors and the kings of France. And he seemed afterwards to acknowledge as much; for when he had possessed himself of Cambray, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, in Hainault, he delivered up Bouchain[586], and restored Cambray to a condition of neutrality[587], as it is an imperial town. It is true, I was not upon the spot, yet I was well informed of all that occurred, and could easily understand it by my acquaintance and education in both countries, and I have since been assured of all this by those very persons who were chiefly employed in the affair.

CH. XIV.—How Master Oliver, the King’s Barber, not succeeding in his Designs upon Ghent, found out a way to secure Tournay for the King.—1477.

Master Oliver (as you have already heard) was despatched by the king’s orders to Ghent, with letters to the Lady of Burgundy, Duke Charles’s daughter, and full power to make certain secret overtures to her, if she would put herself under the king’s protection. This was not the main design of his errand, for he knew it would be a difficult thing to have a private conference with the young lady alone; and, if he had one, it would be no less difficult to persuade her to do what he wanted. His chief business was to bring about some innovation in the city of Ghent, knowing it had been always inclinable to change, and had been kept in subjection under Dukes Philip and Charles by means of fear, for the citizens had lost many of their privileges in their wars with Duke Philip[588], by the articles of peace; besides, another of their privileges was taken from them by Duke Charles (and that was about the election of their magistrates), upon occasion of an offence they committed on the first day of his entrance into their town as duke. As I have mentioned this already, I shall say no more about it in this place. These passages added much confidence to Master Oliver the barber, who, following his instructions, tampered with some persons whom he judged most tractable, and offered them not only that all their old privileges should be restored, but that new ones should be added. These overtures were not made in their Town-hall, nor publicly, but in private, as I said before, for he had a mind to try first what he could do with the young princess; but they guessed his design.

After Master Oliver had been some days in Ghent, he was conducted to his audience in the best garb he could possibly procure; and he delivered his credentials. The Lady of Burgundy was in her chair of state, the Duke of Cleves on one hand, the Bishop of Liege on the other, and several other persons of quality attending her. After the lady had read his credentials, she bade him deliver his message; his answer was, that his instructions were to deliver it only in private. They replied, that was a custom never practised among them, and certainly could not be introduced now with a young lady that was fit for marriage. He persisted in saying, that by his orders he could communicate his business to nobody else. Upon which they threatened to compel him by force, and put him into a terrible consternation. I fancy when he delivered his letters, he had not provided himself with a speech, for, indeed (as you have heard) that business was only secondary; however it may be, Master Oliver left the assembly without any farther conference. Some of the council had a very contemptible opinion of him, both in respect of the meanness of his profession, and the uncomeliness of his demeanour and language; but more especially the citizens of Ghent (because he was born in a pitiful village near that city), put many affronts upon him, in consequence of which he took to flight suddenly; for he was informed that if he had stayed a little longer, they would have thrown him into the river: and truly I am of opinion that would have been his destiny.

This Master Oliver assumed the title of Count de Meulant, which is a small town near Paris, of which he was captain. When he had made his escape out of Ghent, he fled to Tournay, which town, though neutral, bore a great affection to the king, for it had formerly belonged to his predecessors, and paid him 6000 Parisian livres a year: in all other respects it was free, entertaining all comers, and it is a fair and strong town, as everybody in those countries knows very well. All the revenues of both their clergy and townsmen lie in Hainault and Flanders, for it borders upon those two countries; and upon that account in the wars between Charles VII. and Duke Philip of Burgundy, they paid constantly 10,000 livres per annum to the said duke, and I have known them give an equal sum to Duke Charles; but at this time, when Master Oliver came to them, they paid nothing, but enjoyed great quiet and repose.

Though the management of the affair which was committed to Master Oliver’s discretion was far beyond his capacity, yet certainly he was not so much to be blamed as those who employed him in it; for though his success was such as might have been easily presaged, yet he gave proof both of courage and conduct in what he did; for knowing that the town of Tournay lay so nearly, as I said, between those two provinces that it would be easy to make inroads into either, if he could contrive to put a French garrison into it (to which the townsmen were always averse, having all along preserved their neutrality, and connected themselves neither with the one nor the other), he sent privately to Monsieur de Moüy (whose son[589] was bailiff of the town, but not resident there) to come to him at a certain hour with what forces he could draw out of St. Quentin, and whatever other troops he could assemble. Monsieur de Moüy came to the gate at the appointed hour, where he found thirty or forty men, and Master Oliver at the head of them, who boldly commanded the barrier to be opened, and partly for love, and partly for fear, they obeyed him. Monsieur de Moüy marched with his detachment into the town, with which the people were well enough satisfied; but the magistrates were not pleased with it, of whom seven or eight were immediately sent to Paris, and never dared to return during our king’s reign.[590]

As soon as these forces had made themselves masters of Tournay, a more considerable body was sent to reinforce the garrison, and many barbarous incursions were made into Hainault and Flanders, in which many fine houses and villages were plundered and burnt, more to the prejudice of the inhabitants of Tournay than of anybody else; and these cruelties they continued so long, that at last the Flemings rose up in arms, released the Duke of Guelders out of prison, where he had been confined by Duke Charles, made him their captain, and invested Tournay[591]; but they did not continue the siege long, for they retired suddenly in great disorder and confusion, and the Duke of Guelders undertaking to secure the rear, and not being timely supported, was defeated, many of his men slain, and he among the rest, of which I shall give you a more particular account in another place.[592] And thus far the king’s affairs were crowned with success, and his enemies over-reached by Master Oliver’s management; and perhaps a man of greater rank and penetration could not have managed them with so much success. But I have said enough already of so politic a prince’s employing so inconsiderable a person to conduct so important an affair; and certainly God had infatuated his understanding at that time; for, as I said before, had he not looked upon everything as likely to be easily executed, and given too great a loose to his passion and vindictiveness against the Duke of Burgundy’s family, there is no question but all, or the greater part, of their dominions had been at this day under his power and government.

CH. XV.—Of the Ambassadors whom the Lady of Burgundy, Duke Charles’s Daughter, sent to the King, and of the Delivering up of Arras, Hesdin, Boulogne, and the City of Arras, to the King by the Assistance of the Lord des Cordes.—1477.

The king being in possession of Peronne, which was surrendered to him by Master William Bisches (a person of obscure parentage, born in Molins-Engilbert, in Nivernois, but enriched and advanced afterwards by Charles Duke of Burgundy, who had given him the command of that town, because it was near a house called Clery, which the said Bisches had purchased, and fortified very strongly); the king, I say, in this very town received an embassy from the Lady of Burgundy, consisting of the principal personages of her court. In my opinion, it was not prudently done to employ so many, and send them all together; but their terror and consternation were so great, they knew not what they did. The chief of the ambassadors were one Messire William Hugonet[593], the chancellor (a wise and notable man, who had gained a considerable fortune and vast reputation under Duke Charles), and the Lord of Humbercourt, whom we have frequently mentioned in these Memoirs, a person of such consummate prudence and dexterity in the management of great affairs, that I do not remember any man who exceeded him. There were likewise the Lord de la Vere[594] a great man in Zealand, the Lord of Gruthuse, and several other noblemen, besides ecclesiastics and burgesses of great towns.[595] Before they were admitted to an audience, either public or private, the king tampered with them, and tried all manner of ways to bring them over to his party. They all of them returned him very humble and respectful answers, as became people under affliction; but those whose estates were remote, and out of danger from the king, refused to gratify him in anything, unless a marriage were first concluded between the Dauphin and the Lady of Burgundy. The chancellor and the Lord of Humbercourt having been long in authority, and desiring to continue to possess it, and having their estates near the king’s dominions (one in the duchy of Burgundy and the other in Picardy, near Amiens) were inclined to accept the king’s offers, upon condition the said marriage proceeded, which they would endeavour to promote with all their power and interest, and, when it was consummated, would engage themselves entirely in his service. Though this was certainly the better method for the king, yet he was mightily dissatisfied, because they did not join themselves immediately to his party; but he dissembled this feeling as much as he could, intending to make use of them in other affairs. The king already held a correspondence with the Lord des Cordes, who advised his majesty to press the ambassadors to send orders to him as Governor of Arras, to deliver up that which they called the city of Arras, between which and the town there were walls, ditches, and gates, which were formerly kept shut against the city; but now the case was altered, and the city shut out the town. After many arguments and difficulties had been started by the ambassadors, being at last convinced it would be for the best, and contribute much to the hastening of a peace, they consented, especially the chancellor and the Lord of Humbercourt; and letters were immediately despatched to the Lord des Cordes to discharge him of his trust and command him to deliver up the city to the king. As soon as the king had got possession of it[596], he threw up works before the gate of the town, and such other places as he thought would be convenient; upon which the Lord des Cordes marched with his garrison out of town, and every man went whither he pleased, and took what side he liked best.

The Lord des Cordes looking upon himself to be free from the service of his mistress, by virtue of the discharge which the ambassadors had sent him, resolved to swear allegiance to the king, and enter into his service for the future, since his name and arms were taken from a place on this side of the Somme, not far from Beauvais; for his name was Philip de Crevecœur, second brother to the Lord of Crevecœur; and indeed the territories which the house of Burgundy had possessed upon the Somme in the time of Dukes Philip and Charles returned, of course, to the king in pursuance of the treaty of Arras, by which they were then entailed upon the said dukes and their heirs male only, and Duke Charles had left only this daughter. By that means the Lord des Cordes became the king’s subject immediately, and would not have been to blame in putting himself and all that belonged to him into the king’s service, had he not taken a new oath to be true to the young Lady of Burgundy.[597] I know there are various reports of this affair, and it is a matter of contest to this very day, and therefore I will say no more about it; only this I can affirm, that he was educated, advanced, and put into places of great trust and power by Duke Charles: his mother[598] had some share in the education of the young Lady of Burgundy; and he was Governor of Picardy, Seneschal of Ponthieu, Captain of Crotoy, Governor of Peronne, Montdidier, and Roye, and Captain of Boulogne and Hesdin for the duke when he died; and at this present time he holds the same governments for the king, in the same manner and form as our master confirmed them to him.

After the king had added some new fortifications to the city of Arras, he marched to besiege Hesdin, carrying the Lord des Cordes with him, who had been the governor of it but three days before, and the garrison consisted of none but his own soldiers. At first, they declared they would keep it for the young princess, alleging that they were bound to do so by their oath of allegiance, and they fired their guns upon us for several days; but at last they were prevailed upon by their old master (for to speak plainly, there was a very good understanding between them), and the town was delivered to the king, who marched from thence to Boulogne, where his success was the same, though, perhaps, it did not surrender so soon by a day. However, this had been a very dangerous way of proceeding, had those that held the towns for the young princess been able to have assembled any forces in the country (and the king, in the relation he afterwards gave me of this affair, admitted as much himself); for there were some in Boulogne who, perceiving the juggle, endeavoured to throw a body of troops into the town, and if they had succeeded in their design, they would have defended it in earnest.

Whilst the king lay before Boulogne (which was about five or six days), the townsmen of Arras, finding they were deceived, and enclosed on all sides with great numbers of soldiers and abundance of artillery, laboured to procure forces if possible, that might garrison the town; to which purpose they wrote letters to Lisle and Douay. At Douay there were some few horse commanded by the Lord of Vergy[599], and others, whom I have forgotten, who had escaped from the battle of Nancy, and were returned thither. These gentlemen resolved to throw themselves into Arras, and in order to effect it, assembled a body of about 200 or 300 horse, good and bad, and about 500 or 600 foot. The inhabitants of Douay, having at that time more pride than sense, forced this party to march at noon-day, in spite of their unwillingness, and all that could be urged to the contrary: which certainly was a great piece of folly and indiscretion, and the design failed accordingly; for the country between Douay and Arras is as flat as one’s hand, and not above five leagues, so that if they had deferred their march till night, they had certainly effected their design. When they were in the midst of their march, those who were left in the city (to wit, the Lord du Lude, John du Fou[600], and the troops of the Marshal de Loheac), having intelligence of their motion, resolved to sally out, and rather venture an engagement, than suffer them to get into the town; for they knew that if once this reinforcement got into the town, they would never be able to defend the city. Their enterprise was bold and perilous, but they performed it bravely, and the whole party from Douay was defeated, most of them killed, or taken prisoners[601], and the Lord of Vergy was among the latter.

The next day the king arrived at Arras in person, and was highly pleased with their victory; he took the prisoners into his own custody, and caused several of the footmen to be put to death as a terror to the rest, who he knew were not numerous in those parts. The Lord of Vergy was kept prisoner a long time, as he could not be induced to swear allegiance to the king, though he was kept in irons, and confined very closely; at length, at the importunity of his mother, after he had been a prisoner a year or more, he submitted to the king’s good pleasure, and I think he acted very prudently, for the king restored to him all his own lands, and all that he had any pretensions to, gave him a revenue of above 10,000 livres a year, and other considerable employments besides. Those few that escaped in this action, got into the town. The king caused his artillery (of which he had a very fine and large train) to be brought, with which he fired briskly upon the town; and the walls and fortifications being very weak, and scarce any soldiers in garrison, his batteries did the town considerable damage, and threw the inhabitants into terrible consternation. The Lord des Cordes had a party in the town, and after the delivering up of the city, it was impossible to think of defending the town any longer. Upon this consideration they capitulated, and surrendered upon terms[602], but their articles were not performed, for which the Lord du Lude was partly to blame; for several citizens and other persons of quality were put to death[603] in the presence of the Lord du Lude and of Monsieur William de Cerisay[604] (which was much to their private advantage); for the Lord du Lude told me himself he got at that time 20,000 crowns, besides rich furniture and furs, and the poor town was fined 60,000 crowns more to the king, which was an excessive tax; but I suppose this was remitted, for the citizens of Cambray lent the king 40,000, which was repaid punctually afterwards; wherefore I presume all these taxes were restored or remitted.

CH. XVI.—How the Citizens of Ghent, having usurped Authority over their Princess upon the Death of the Duke of Burgundy her Father, sent Ambassadors to the King of France in the Name of the Three Estates of their Country.—1477.

During the siege of Arras, the Princess of Burgundy was at Ghent, in the power of a rash and inconsiderate people, which proved much to her disadvantage, but greatly advanced the king’s interest; for there is no losing without somebody being the gainer. As soon as the Gantois were informed of the death of Duke Charles, they thought themselves fairly delivered from their subjection, and seizing upon their magistrates[605] (who were in all twenty-six), they put most of them to death, under pretence of revenging the death of a person whom the day before the magistrates had caused to be beheaded: not but that the person deserved it, if they had had power to have done it; but the duke being dead, who gave them their power, their authority, of course, expired with him. They also put to death several substantial citizens besides, and others who had been friends or favourers of the duke’s interest, of which number there were some in my time, who, in my presence, used their utmost endeavours to dissuade Duke Charles from destroying a great part of Ghent, which the duke otherwise would have done. These tumultuous citizens forced the young princess to restore and confirm their ancient privileges[606], which Duke Philip had taken away in the peace of Gavre, and also those that Duke Charles had deprived them of afterwards. They made no other use of their privileges, but as a cause of quarrel with their prince, and their chief inclination was to encroach upon and weaken him. During the minority of their princes, and before they are fit to manage affairs of state, they are extremely fond of them; but when once they are in possession of the government, they hate them as mortally. Thus it happened to this young princess, whom they guarded very carefully, and loved very tenderly, till she came to the government. Had not the citizens of Ghent preferred their own seditious designs before the public interest, it may be easily presumed they would have bethought themselves of defending their country, and put a strong garrison immediately into Arras, and perhaps into Peronne, upon the death of their master; but they could think of nothing but contriving tumults and innovations at home. However, as the king lay before Arras, ambassadors[607] came to him in the name of the three Estates of the provinces belonging to the said princess, for there were certain deputies of the three Estates at Ghent; but the citizens, having the young princess in their power, managed matters as they pleased. The king admitted them to an audience; and among other things, they told his majesty that the overtures which they made tended to a peace, and proceeded from the sincere desire of the princess herself, who was resolved to be entirely guided by the advice and consent of the three Estates of her country; and they desired that the king would desist from his hostilities in both Burgundy and Artois: that a day might be appointed, on which they might meet to treat about an accommodation; and that, in the meantime, all warfare might cease on both sides.

The king now thought he had entirely gained his point, and supposed his affairs would have taken a much better turn than they did. He had certain information that a great part of their best soldiers were killed or dispersed, and many others had revolted from the princess, and in particular the Lord des Cordes, for whom his majesty had a great esteem, and not without reason, for he would not have been able by force to have got that in a long time which, as you have heard, he got in a few days, by holding correspondence with him. Upon this account he did not much regard the requests and demands of the ambassadors; besides, he was informed, and well knew himself, that the Gantois were a people of so turbulent and seditious a temper, that they would so trouble and confound their rulers that no orders or direction could be given for carrying on the war against him; for no man of sense, or any that had borne authority under their former princes, was consulted in anything, but rather persecuted, and in danger of being killed. But their hatred was most bitter against the Burgundians, on account of the great power they had exercised in former times. Besides, it was not unknown to the king (whose foresight in state-affairs was as great as any man’s in his kingdom) what the custom of the Gantois had been in all ages, and how desirous they are to lessen the power of their princes, provided it brings no inconvenience upon themselves; for these reasons, the king resolved to foment and encourage the divisions which existed amongst them already; for the persons with whom he had now to deal were brutes, and townsmen for the most part, who had not the least acquaintance or knowledge of state-affairs. Our king knew well enough how to take advantage of their ignorance, and did whatever was proper to advance his own object, and destroy his enemies.

The king took hold of that expression of the ambassadors, where they said, “That the young princess was resolved to do nothing without the advice and approbation of the three Estates of her country;” and told them that they were misinformed, not only of her resolution, but of that of other people; for he was assured she intended to manage her affairs by means of certain persons, who had no inclination to peace, and that what they proposed, he knew would be disowned by the princess. The ambassadors were extremely concerned at this, and as persons not used to manage such important affairs, replied with some warmth, that they were certain of what they said, and if it were necessary, would produce their instructions. It was answered, that if the king pleased, letters could be produced under such a hand as they would not dispute, importing that the princess would commit the administration of her affairs to no more than four persons; they persisted in stating the contrary. Upon which the king caused a letter to be produced (which the Chancellor of Burgundy and the Lord of Humbercourt had brought to him when he was at Peronne), part of it written by the hand of the young princess, part by the Duchess Dowager of Burgundy[608] (widow of Duke Charles, and sister to Edward, King of England), and part by the hand of the Lord of Ravestain, brother to the Duke of Cleves, and nearly related to the said princess. Though this letter was under three several hands, yet it ran only in the name of the young princess, and had been so contrived, to give it greater weight. The contents of the letter were to recommend the chancellor and the Lord of Humbercourt, and their whole negotiation, to the king; to let him know that the intention of the princess was to have her affairs wholly governed by four persons only—to wit, the duchess dowager her mother-in-law, the Lord of Ravestain, the chancellor, and the Lord of Humbercourt; and to desire the king that what affairs soever he should be pleased to communicate to her, might pass through their hands, and be addressed to nobody else.

When the Gantois and the rest of the ambassadors had seen this letter, they were highly incensed, and the king’s commissioners well understood how to improve and take advantage of their passion. Finally, the letter was given into their hands, and they were despatched without any other material answer; nor did they indeed desire any other, for their thoughts were so wholly fixed upon their domestic divisions, and the reconstruction of their whole system, that they had no leisure to think of anything so foreign as the loss of Arras, though that, in my opinion, ought to have concerned them more nearly. But they were for the most part citizens, as I observed before, and unacquainted with public affairs. They returned immediately to Ghent, where they found the young princess, and with her the Duke of Cleves, her near kinsman by the mother’s side. He was very old, and had been educated in the Duke of Burgundy’s court, and for a long time had enjoyed a pension of 6000 Rhine florins, so that he as often waited on the princess to receive his annual allowance, as out of cousinly affection. The Bishop of Liege and several other great persons were with her at the same time, to advance their particular affairs. The Bishop of Liege’s business was to get off the payment of a tribute of 30,000 florins, or thereabouts, which his subjects had to pay to Duke Charles by agreement between them after the wars, which I have mentioned before; all which wars having been undertaken in the behalf and quarrel of the said bishop, there was no necessity that he, whose interest doubtless it was to keep the Liegeois poor and humble, should solicit that favour for them; for though his country was rich and extensive, he had nothing but some little demesnes of his own and his ecclesiastical revenue to maintain him. This bishop (who was brother to the two reigning Dukes of Bourbon, John II. and Peter II.) being a man addicted wholly to pleasure and a luxurious way of living, and scarce able to distinguish good from bad, took into his councils Master William de la Marck[609], a noble gentleman and a brave soldier, but a man of a cruel and malicious temper, who favoured the citizens of Liege[610], and had been always an enemy to the Duke of Burgundy’s family, and to the bishop himself. The Princess of Burgundy gave this De la Marck 15,000 Rhine florins, partly on the bishop’s account, and partly to induce him to espouse her interest; but it was not long before he openly declared both against her and his master the bishop, and by the assistance and favour of our king would have made his own son[611] Bishop of Liege; after which he encountered, defeated, and with his own hands slew the bishop in battle[612], and ordered his body to be thrown into the river, where it was found three days after.

The Duke of Cleves also was at Ghent, soliciting a marriage between his son[613] and the young princess, which he thought might be convenient for many reasons; and truly I think it might have succeeded, had the young gentleman found favour in his person with the young princess and her ministers; for he was of her own family, held his duchy of the Dukes of Burgundy, and had been educated in their court; but perhaps the knowledge and character they had received of him caused his rejection.

CH. XVII.—How the People of Ghent, upon the Return of their Ambassadors, put the Chancellor Hugonet and the Lord of Humbercourt to Death, against their Princess’s Consent; after which they, in conjunction with some other Flemish Troops, were defeated before Tournay, and the Duke of Guelders, who commanded them, was slain; and the Duchy of Burgundy was placed in the hands of the King of France.—1477.

As soon as the commissioners returned to Ghent, a council was called, the Princess of Burgundy was placed in her chair of state, with her servants attending her, to receive their report. They began with repeating their instructions from her highness, and insisted chiefly upon what they thought would serve their own turns best. They told her that, as they were giving his majesty an account of her highness’s resolution to be wholly advised and directed by the counsel of the three Estates, the king had made answer that he was positively assured of the contrary, and offered to show letters from her to that purpose. The princess was extremely surprised and angry; and, presuming her letter had not been seen, strenuously denied it; upon which the person that spoke (who was the Pensionary either of Ghent or Brussels) put his hand into his bosom, produced the letter publicly, and delivered it to the council, by which he showed himself to be a person of no honour or conscience, to have treated a lady of her rank and quality in such a rude and disrespectful manner; for, granting she had committed an error, she ought not to have been vilified or confronted with it in a public assembly. It is not to be supposed but she was strangely confounded, for she had professed the contrary to everybody. There were present at the same time the duchess dowager, the Lord of Ravestain, the Lord of Humbercourt, and the chancellor.

The Duke of Cleves and others had been hitherto entertained and amused with hopes of marriage, but, upon this discovery, all of them were highly incensed, and dissensions began now to break out and discover themselves. The Duke of Cleves had all along taken the Lord of Humbercourt to be his friend, and believed him willing to promote his marriage with the princess; but this letter convinced him to the contrary, and made him entirely become his enemy. The Bishop of Liege had a quarrel with him before, for what he had done against him at Liege (where the Lord of Humbercourt had been governor), and William de la Marck was his adversary also. The young Count of St. Paul[614], son to the Constable of France, mortally hated both him and the chancellor, upon account of their having delivered his father into the king’s hands at Peronne, as you have already been informed. The Gantois had a spite against them, not that they had ever injured them in the least, but merely on account of the great authority which they had borne; and certainly they were as deserving of the power they exercised as any ministers of state that ever had the administration of affairs in their time, having always discharged their trust faithfully and honestly, as good and loyal servants to their master.

In short, the letter having been shown in the morning, the very same night[615] the chancellor and the Lord of Humbercourt were arrested by the people of Ghent; and although they had been informed of their design, they had no power to attempt making their escape, as it often happens in such cases. I question not but the Duke of Cleves and their other enemies, whom I mentioned before, were very active and instrumental in seizing them. With them they also secured Monsieur William de Clugny[616], Bishop of Therouenne (who died afterwards Bishop of Poictiers), and put them all three together into custody. The people of Ghent, contrary to their old method of revenge, proceeded legally, as they pretended, against them, and appointed lawyers to interrogate them, one of whom was of the house of La Marck[617], a mortal enemy to the Lord of Humbercourt. Their first question was, why they had commanded the Lord des Cordes to deliver up Arras?[618] but that they did not much insist on, though indeed they had committed no other action that was criminal; but their rage did not stop here, for the citizens were not in the least concerned to see their prince divested of such a town, nor were their prudence and penetration so great as to foresee the ill consequences that would attend the loss of so important a place. They insisted more particularly upon two points; the one was, certain bribes, which it was urged they had lately taken in a certain cause between a private person and the city of Ghent, upon account of which the chancellor had given judgment for the city; but to that charge of bribery they made a good defence, by alleging that their cause was good, and their judgment was fair and just: and as for money, they had never demanded it, or ordered it to be demanded, but the townsmen had offered it of their own accord, and they had accepted it. The second article of their charge was, that during their tenure of authority under their late master Duke Charles, they had done many things contrary to the privileges and statutes of the town of Ghent, and whoever did so, was condemned to die by their charter. But this charge was of no force nor validity against them, for they being neither subjects nor natives of that city[619], were not bound by their privileges; and if Duke Charles or his father had infringed or encroached upon those said privileges, it was by their own act and deed, and they had consented to it by articles of agreement that had been drawn up between them, after numerous wars and dissensions; and the remaining privileges which were confirmed to them (which, indeed, were greater than was necessary for their advantage) were still preserved inviolably, without the least diminution. Notwithstanding the defence of these two worthy and eminent persons to the two charges that were brought against them (for the chief one, which I have mentioned before, was not insisted on), they were both condemned to death by the magistrates of the city of Ghent, assembled in their Town-hall, for infringement of their civic privileges and receiving bribes. After judgment was given, the two lords were astonished at their cruel sentence, and not without reason, for being in their enemies’ hands, there was no possibility of escaping. However, they thought fit to appeal to the King of France in his court of Parliament at Paris, hoping at least it would defer their execution for some time, and, in the meanwhile, give their friends an opportunity of exerting themselves to save their lives. Before sentence was passed, they had been put upon the rack, contrary to all law and justice. In six days’ time their whole process was finished, and when sentence was given, in spite of their appeal, they allowed them but three hours for confession and the settlement of their temporal affairs, upon expiration of which they were brought upon the scaffold[620], which had been erected in the market-place.

As soon as the Princess of Burgundy (since Duchess of Austria) had received the news of their condemnation, she came herself in person to the Town-hall to beg their lives; but, finding she could not prevail, she ran into the market-place, where all the people were assembled together in arms, and saw the two prisoners upon the scaffold. The young princess was in mourning, with her head dressed merely with a simple kerchief, on purpose to move pity and compassion, and, in this posture, with tears in her eyes, and her hair dishevelled, she begged and entreated the people to have pity upon her two servants, and restore them to her again. A great part of the people would fain have complied with her request, and were willing they should be saved, but others violently opposed it, and they were at push of pike one with another. At last, those who were for the execution, being the stronger party, called out to the executioners to do their office, and immediately both their heads were struck off, and the poor princess returned to her palace very sad and disconsolate for the loss of the two persons in whom she chiefly confided.

After the Gantois had committed this exploit, they removed from about the Princess the Lord of Ravestain and the duchess dowager, Duke Charles’s widow, because both of them were mentioned in the letter which the chancellor and the Lord of Humbercourt had delivered to the king, as you have heard; so that the citizens had now the sole authority and management of the poor young princess; and well may she be called poor, not only in respect of her great loss of the important towns which had been taken from her, which were irrecoverable by force, by reason of the great power and strength of the king, who was now in possession of them (though by favour, friendship, or composition, she might still hope to have them restored); but her greatest misfortune was that she was in the power of the mortal and inveterate enemies of her family. Their actions, however, in the main proceeded rather from folly than cunning, the generality of them being stupid and heavy mechanics, who have the sole power and administration of affairs among the Gantois, though they be persons of no experience in politics, and no knowledge in the government of a state. Their cunning consists chiefly in two points; one is always to desire and endeavour to weaken and retrench the power of their prince; the other is, that when they have beep guilty of the least false step, and find themselves not able to defend it, never any persons seek peace with so much humility and submission as they do, nor give more liberally to purchase it; for this I will say of them, never any people understood better how to make their applications, and where to place their bribes, than the Gantois.

Whilst the king was busy in subduing the towns and places above mentioned in the marches of Picardy, his army was in Burgundy, under the command, apparently, of the Prince of Orange[621] (who is still reigning), a native and subject of the county of Burgundy, but one who had recently, for the second time, become an enemy of Duke Charles, so that the king made use of him, because he was a powerful noble in both the county and duchy of Burgundy, and was likewise well connected and greatly beloved. But the Lord of Craon was the king’s lieutenant, and had the real charge of the army, and was the person in whom the king reposed most confidence; for he was a man of great wisdom, and thoroughly devoted to his master, though somewhat too fond of gain. This Lord of Craon, when he drew near Burgundy, sent forward the Prince of Orange and others to Dijon, to use persuasion, and require the people to render obedience to the king; and they managed the matter so adroitly, principally by means of the Prince of Orange, that the city of Dijon and all the other towns in the duchy of Burgundy, together with many in the county, gave their allegiance to the king. But Aussonne and some other strongholds held out for the Princess Mary.

Large estates were promised to the Prince of Orange for that service, and furthermore, that all the towns in the county of Burgundy should be placed in his hands, which came to him in succession from the Prince of Orange his grandfather[622], and concerning which he was in litigation with his uncles, the Lords of Chasteau-Guyon[623], who he said had been favoured by the late Duke Charles. For their cause had been solemnly argued before him for several days[624], and the duke, by advice of many learned clerks, gave judgment against the prince, at least so he stated; for which cause he left the duke’s service, and joined the king. But notwithstanding his promises, when the Lord of Craon found himself in possession of the places above mentioned, and had in his hands all the towns and estates to which the prince laid claim as part of his grandfather’s succession, he would not give them up to the Prince of Orange for all the solicitation he could make. Wherefore the king wrote to him on several occasions without any dissimulation, for he knew well that the Lord of Craon was on bad terms with the Prince of Orange; but the king was afraid of displeasing the Lord of Craon, for he had all the country under his control; and his majesty did not think the Prince of Orange would have courage to stir up Burgundy to revolt, as he afterwards did to a very great extent. But for the present, I will leave this subject till a more convenient place.[625]

After the Gantois had taken the government of the young princess into their hands, and caused her two favourites to be beheaded, and removed such persons from the court as they thought obnoxious to them, they began to assume the power of appointing and displacing all officers, both civil and military; and they plundered and banished all such as had served the house of Burgundy in any remarkable way, without any respect to their merit or character; and their malice being more particularly aimed at the Burgundians, they banished them all, as if they had laboured and studied as much to force them into the king’s service as his majesty did to allure them; and he used all the ways of fair words, great presents, and large promises, besides the terror of his forces, which were very numerous in their country, to gain them over to his interest. To begin their authority with a piece of novelty, they released the Duke of Guelders out of prison, who had been committed by Duke Charles, and endured a long confinement for reasons previously mentioned. The towns of Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres, having assembled an army among themselves, they made the Duke of Guelders general of it, and sent him with orders to burn and demolish the suburbs of Tournay; but that enterprise proved little to his advantage. It had been better for him and themselves, too, if they had sent a body of 200 men to have reinforced the besieged garrison of Arras, or 10,000 francs to have paid those troops that were there already (provided they had arrived in time), than ten such armies, though it consisted of 12,000 or 14,000 well-paid men; because, all they could hope for by this expedition, was to burn a few pitiful houses of no importance to the king, as they paid him no tax; but their knowledge in state affairs was not deep.

The Duke of Guelders having invested Tournay, ordered the suburbs to be set on fire. There were in the town about 300 or 400 men-at-arms, who sallied out and fell upon the rear of the besiegers, and they at once began to fly. The Duke of Guelders, being a valiant prince, thought to restore the fight and give his men opportunity to retreat; but, not being vigorously sustained, he was knocked off his horse, and himself, with a good number of his men, slain, though in the action there were not many of the king’s soldiers engaged; and therefore with this loss the rest of the Flemish army retreated. The Princess of Burgundy (according to report) was very well pleased with their misfortune, and so were all those who had any kindness for her; for she was credibly informed, that the Gantois had resolved to force her to a marriage with the Duke of Guelders; being assured, that by fair means they could never have prevailed with her, for the reasons mentioned in a previous part of these Memoirs.

CH. XVIII.—A Digression, serving to demonstrate that Wars and Divisions are permitted by God for the Punishment of wicked Princes and People, with various Arguments and Instances which happened in the Author’s Life-time, chiefly intended for the Instruction of Princes.

I cannot understand why God has preserved the city of Ghent so long, which has occasioned so much mischief, and which is no good either to the public, or the country wherein it is seated, and much less to its prince. It is not like Bruges, which indeed is a place of trade, and of great resort for foreigners of all nations, in which more commodities and merchandise are disposed of than in any other town in Europe, so that to have had that town destroyed, would have been an irreparable loss; but it seems to me, that God has not made any created being in this world, neither man nor beast, nor anything else, but He has set up some other thing in opposition to it, to keep it within just bounds of fear and humility. In this respect Ghent is admirably well situated, for certainly the countries round about it are the most luxurious, the most splendid, and the most addicted to those pleasures to which man is inclined, of any country in Christendom; yet they are good Christians, and to outward appearance God is religiously honoured and served. But it is not the house of Burgundy alone that has a thorn in its side; France has England as a check: England has Scotland; and Spain, Portugal (I will not mention Granada[626], for they are enemies to the true faith, though otherwise Granada has given the kingdom of Castile much trouble to this very day.) The princes of Italy, who generally have no other title to their territories but what they derive from Heaven (and of that we can have no certain knowledge), and who rule their subjects with cruelty, violence, and oppression in respect to their taxes, are curbed and kept in check by the commonwealths and free states in Italy, namely, Venice, Florence, Genoa, Bologna, Sienna, Pisa, Lucca, and others; which are in a great many respects diametrically opposite, they to the princes, and the princes to them; and all keep a watchful eye over one another, that neither of them may grow too powerful for his neighbour. But to come to particulars in relation to the state of Italy. The house of Arragon has that of Anjou to curb it; the Visconti Dukes of Milan have the house of Orleans, and though they be feeble abroad, their subjects hold them in great dread. The Venetians (as I said before) have the princes of Italy, but more especially the Florentines, in opposition against them; and the Florentines, the neighbouring commonwealths of Sienna and Genoa. The Genoese are sufficiently plagued with their own bad government and treachery towards each other, not to mention their factions and parties, the Fregosi, the Adorni, the Dorias, and others; but this everybody knows so well, that I shall insist no longer on it.