Chapter XXVIII: Book THE FIFTH (7)

[548] The pretensions of the house of Anjou to the kingdom of Naples date from the will of Joan I., Queen of Naples, made on the 23rd of June, 1380, in favour of Louis I., Duke of Anjou, and brother of King Charles VI. of France.

[549] Suffron de Bachier, councillor and steward to King René.

[550] According to the Chronicle of Lorraine, Campobasso acted in just the opposite way. He undertook the defence of Suffron so strenuously that the duke, “who was armed, and had his gauntlets on, raised his hand, and knocked the count down.” Calmet, vii. 118.

[551] Oliver de la Marche (ii. 420.) also states that “the Duke of Lorraine intrigued with the Swiss to induce them to come to Nancy; and the King of France secretly furnished him with money to obtain their assistance, that they might do to the Duke of Burgundy that which he did not dare to undertake himself.”

[552] “On Saturday, the 4th of January, the Duke of Lorraine arrived at St. Nicholas with 10,500 Swiss.” Molinet, i. 231.

[553] Alphonso V., surnamed the African, was the son of Duarte I., King of Portugal, and Eleanor of Arragon. He was born in 1432, and succeeded his father in 1438. He married his cousin Isabella, the daughter of Don Pedro; and he died on the 28th of August, 1481. He was the first King of Portugal who possessed a private library.

[554] Ferdinand V., surnamed the Catholic, was the son of John, King of Navarre and Arragon, and Juana Henriquez. He was born on the 10th of March, 1452, and ascended the throne of Spain in 1474. His first wife was the celebrated Isabella of Castile. He died on the 23rd of January, 1516.

[555] The mother of Duke Charles, Isabella of Portugal, was aunt to King Alphonso V.

[556] He arrived at the camp before Nancy on the 29th of December. Lenglet, ii. 221.

[557] Robinet le Beuf, a Norman knight, from the neighbourhood of Evreux, was valet de chambre to Louis XI. in 1466. In 1471 he was appointed one of the gentlemen of the king’s household, and held that office until 1488, when he was killed in the battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier.

[558] In the letters of naturalization granted to this person by Louis XI. in 1477, he is designated as “George de Bicipat, surnamed the Greek, Knight, native of Greece, Captain of our great ship and of our town and Castle of Touque, and our well-beloved and trusty councillor and chamberlain.” Pierre de Lailly mentions him as George Paleologo de Bicipat. In previous editions of Commines he is erroneously called George Leger.

[559] Juana, daughter of Henry IV., King of Castile, and Juana, Infanta of Portugal, was born in 1462. She was twice betrothed, first to the Duke of Guienne, and afterwards to her uncle, Alphonso V. On the 15th of November, 1480, she took the vows in the convent of Santa Clara at Santarem, and she died at Alcacova in 1530.

[560] He died in 1474.

[561] Isabella of Castile, daughter of Juan II., and Isabella of Portugal, was born on the 23rd of April, 1451. In 1469, she married Ferdinand the Catholic, King of Arragon, and she died on the 20th of November, 1504.

[562] His name was Thierry, a draper in the town of Mirecourt. Calmet, vii. 122.

[563] Oliver de La Marche (ii. 420.) says he had not 2000 fighting men.

[564] Before the battle, says Molinet (i. 229.) he inquired how many men there were in his army. “The Count of Chimay, a very eloquent, wise, and discreet man, told him in gentle and amiable language, that the captains had made inquiries, and that there were not more than 3000 men in a condition to fight. ‘I deny what you say,’ replied the duke, in great anger; ‘but if I were to fight alone I would fight all the same. You are what you are, and show clearly that you are sprung from the house of Vaudemont.’ The count prudently and gently replied, that his deeds should show that he was sprung from an honourable line, and that, although he saw no chance of overcoming the enemy, he would remain faithful to the duke.”

[565] Conde-Northen, or Contghen, in the arrondissement of Metz, and department of Moselle.

[566] At the Pont de la Bussiere, half a league from Nancy. Molinet, i. 233.

[567] “In that battle were slain, among others, the Lord of Bièvre, the Lord of Verun, and the Lord of Contay; and among the prisoners were the Lord Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy, and his brother Baldwin; Philip de Croy, Count of Chimay; the Count of Nassau, and the Count of Challane; the Lord Josse de Lalain, Sir Oliver de la Marche, the Lord of Croy, the eldest son of the Lord of Contay, the eldest son of the Lord of Montagu, and other noblemen.” Molinet, i. 236.

[568] “The Duke of Burgundy was knocked off his black horse, and fell into a ditch near St. Jean.” Lenglet, iii. 493. “A knight named Claude de Bausemont, came up with the Duke of Burgundy, and gave him a lance thrust; others then charged him suddenly, and he was put to death in a meadow near St. Jean.” Calmet, vii. 133. “A page came to the Duke of Lorraine, and being interrogated, declared plainly that he had seen the Duke of Burgundy thrown from his horse, and killed in a certain place which he was ready to point out. On the following morning the page, with many notable personages, went to the field, and found the body of the Duke of Burgundy quite naked, lying on the ground among other corpses; and he had received three mortal wounds, one in the head from a halberd, which clove his skull in two, another with a pike in the groin, and a third in the buttock.” Molinet, i. 234. By order of the Duke of Lorraine, the body was buried with great magnificence in St. George’s Church at Nancy.

[569] A hundred and four years only, as Philip the Bold was created Duke of Burgundy in 1363, and Philip the Good died in 1467.

[570] “Philip the Good left his son 400,000 crowns of gold in cash, 72,000 marks of silver in plate, not to mention rich tapestries, splendid jewels, gold plate adorned with precious stones, and his large and valuable library; besides which, he died worth 2,000,000 gold pieces in furniture alone.” Oliver de la Marche, ii. 267.

[571] The ordinance instituting this postal service is dated at Luxies (now Lucheux) near Doullens, on the 19th day of June, 1464. Duclos, v. 220.

[572] The king’s first design was to seize them, as is proved by the subjoined letter, addressed to the Lord of Craon:—“My Lord Count, my Friend—I have received your letters, and heard the good news which you tell me, for which I thank you as much as I am able. Now it is time to employ all your five senses so as to get the duchy and county of Burgundy into my hands; and with that view, with your band and the Governor of Champagne (if the Duke of Burgundy is really dead) throw yourself into that country, and as you love me, take care that your men of war keep as good order as if you were in Paris, and tell them that I wish to treat them and keep them better than any of my own kingdom; and that with regard to our god-daughter, I intend to complete the marriage which I have already negotiated between the dauphin and her. My lord count, I do not intend that you should enter the country or mention what I have stated above, unless the Duke of Burgundy is dead; and in that case, I beg you to serve me according to the confidence I have in you. Farewell. Written at Plessis du Parc, on the 9th of January. Signed Louis, and countersigned De Chaumont.” Molinet, ii. 2.

[573] Pierre d’Oriolle. See a previous note.

[574] In the list of the duke’s household, this physician is named Master Lope de la Garde. With reference to the page, one of the manuscripts of these Memoirs speaks of him as “a Spaniard, named Don Diego;” other authorities state that he was an Italian, of the house of Colonna.

[575] An abbey of regular canons of the Augustinian order, at about five miles to the north-west of Arras.

[576] Jean de la Vacquerie, a native of Picardy, was admitted a councillor of the Parliament of Paris on the 12th of November, 1479; he became fourth president of that body on the 30th of May, 1480, and first president on the 27th of February, 1481. He died in July, 1497.

[577] Margaret of Flanders, daughter of Louis II., Count of Flanders, and Margaret of Brabant, was born in April, 1350, and married Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, on the 12th of April, 1369. She died on the 16th of March, 1405.

[578] John, surnamed the Good, was son of Philip VI. of France, and Joan of Burgundy. He died on the 8th of April, 1364.

[579] Charles of Anjou, King of Naples, Count of Maine, Guise and Provence, was the son of Charles of Anjou and Isabella of Luxembourg. In 1480, he succeeded to all the estates and dominions of René, Count of Provence and King of Naples and Sicily. He appointed Louis XI. his heir by a will dated on the 10th of December, 1481, and he died on the day following. Anselme, i. 236.

[580] By a treaty concluded on the 29th of August, 1475. See book iv. chap. viii. of these Memoirs.

[581] In the third chapter of his sixth book, Commines especially mentions the Count of Angouleme.

[582] This personage will be familiar to all who have read Sir Walter Scott’s novel of Quentin Durward. Oliver le Mauvais was valet de chambre and chief barber to Louis XI.; in October, 1474, he received letters of nobility from that prince, authorizing him to change his name of Mauvais to that of Le Dain. On the 19th of November, 1477, the king conferred the estates of the deceased Count of Meulant on Oliver le Dain and his heirs; and to this gift he added the Forest of Senart in October, 1482. On the 21st of May, 1484, Oliver was hanged “for various great crimes, offences, and malefactions.”

[583] The village of Thielt.

[584] The name of Robinet d’Edinfort or De Dampfort occurs in the list of gentlemen of the king’s household for the years 1471 and 1474.

[585] Allouagne, in the arrondissement of Bethune and department of the Pas de Calais. The Lys rises near Bethune, and falls into the Scheldt, at Ghent.

[586] Bouchain was surrendered about the 20th of May.

[587] On his first visit to Cambray, Louis XI. had effaced the imperial arms from the public buildings of the town, and substituted the arms of France in their stead; but he afterwards directed the authorities to restore the holy imperial eagle, saying, “We wish you to be neutral, and to continue in your former condition. We are viscount of your city, and intend to maintain our jurisdiction and rights over it. But in regard to our arms, you may take them down some evening, and put up your bird again, and you may say it had flown away for a time, but returned to its place just like the swallows which return with the spring.” Molinet, ii. 154.

[588] First of all by the treaty of Gavre in 1453, and afterwards in 1467. See book ii. chap. iv.

[589] Jacques, Lord and Baron of Moüy, councillor and chamberlain of the king, Master of the Waters and Forests of Normandy and Picardy, and Captain of St. Quentin and Ribemont.

[590] This is a mistake. At the end of May, 1483, three months before the death of Louis XI., the Governor of the Bastille, in obedience to the king’s orders, sent the prisoners home, after having required them to swear that they would do nothing to the prejudice of his majesty. Gachard’s Analectes Belgiques, i. 472.

[591] With 700 or 800 horse.

[592] “François de la Sauvagière, a very valiant man-at-arms, charged the Duke of Guelders so roughly with a lance, as he was drawing off his men, that he bore him to the ground. Notwithstanding this, he defended himself as best he could, like a bold and valiant knight, full of virtuous courage; but it was of no avail. He received two wounds in his head, and another in his throat, and finally his death blow. Then he shouted, ‘Guelders!’ and spoke never a word more.” Molinet, ii. 68. This was in June or July, 1477.

[593] William Hugonet, Lord of Saillans, Epoisses, and Lys, and Viscount of Ypres, was beheaded at Ghent on the 3rd of April, 1477. He had been appointed Chancellor of Burgundy on the 22nd of May, 1471.

[594] Wolfert de Borselen, Lord of La Weer, in Holland, Count of Grand-Pré, chamberlain of Louis XI., and Knight of the Golden Fleece. He married 1. Mary of Scotland; and 2. Charlotte of Bourbon; and he died in 1437.

[595] To those mentioned by Commines, we may add the Bishop of Tournay, the Bishop of Arras, the chief Echevin of Ghent, the High Bailiff of Ypres, and the son of the Burgomaster of Bruges. The ambassadors set out at the beginning of February, and returned towards the end of the month.

[596] He entered the city on Tuesday, the 4th of March, 1477; and the town capitulated on the 4th of May. Lenglet, ii. 141.

[597] The young duchess had confirmed him in all his estates and offices, and furthermore bestowed on him the captaincy of Hesdin. But at a chapter of the order of the Golden Fleece, held at Bois-le-Duc on the 8th of May, 1481, he was expelled the order, “on account of his crimes, demerits, falsity, treason, and disloyalty.”

[598] Margaret de la Tremouille.

[599] Guillaume de Vergy, Baron of Bourbon-Lancy. Louis XI. appointed him his councillor and chamberlain, and gave him the Castle of Vergy and the estate of St. Dizier. He held the commission of captain of fifty lances in the standing army of Charles VIII. After the death of that monarch, he entered the service of the Emperor Maximilian, who appointed him Marshal of Burgundy in 1498. Philip of Spain made him lieutenant and captain-general of Guelders and Zutphen in 1504, and he died in 1520.

[600] Jean du Fou, councillor and chamberlain of the King of France, Captain of Cherbourg, and chief cup-bearer to Louis XI.

[601] Molinet (ii. 25.) says there were 400 or 500 prisoners, including several men of rank.

[602] It surrendered on the 4th of May. The king entered Arras on horseback, not by the gate, but by the breach in the wall. He rode to the market-place, where he thus addressed the citizens: “You have been very uncourteous to me, but I pardon you. If you are good subjects to me, I will be a good lord to you.” Molinet, ii. 26.

[603] Three days after his arrival, the king inquired who had been most hostile to him in Arras during the siege. Some envious person named Pierchon du Chastel, who was thereupon beheaded, together with an archer who had taken aim at the king, and would have shot him, had not a butcher prevented him. Molinet, ii. 26. The king changed the name of the town from Arras to Franchise, and colonised it with artificers from other towns. See Vaissette, v. 53.

[604] Guillaume de Cerisay was, in 1475, prothonotary and secretary to the king, and clerk of his court of Parliament. In 1479, he was appointed Mayor of Angers.

[605] A short time after the death of Duke Charles, the citizens of Ghent rose in arms, and seized several notable burghers, to wit, Roland Van Wedergraet, who had been chief echevin of the city; John Serssanders, who had been second echevin; Peter Hurribloc, one of the lords of the council-chamber of Flanders, Peter Boudins, Oliver de Grave, and John Vander Poucke; which six persons were condemned and beheaded. The reason of this was, that they had been connected with the government of the city during the year 1468, when peace was made with Duke Charles, on occasion of the excesses committed by the Gantois against the duke on the day on which he made his joyful entry into their city ... “and had granted letters under the great seal of Ghent, that if in future any persons should attempt to excite any sedition or tumult in the town, they should be mulcted of life and fortune, and their children be deprived, in perpetuity, of the freedom of the guild to which they had belonged.” See the Bulletins de l’Académie Royale de Bruxelles, vol. vi. part ii. p. 227.

[606] The letters-patent by which the Princess Mary restored their privileges to the Flemings are dated at Ghent on the 11th of February, 1477.

[607] These ambassadors were, for Brabant, the Lord de Berssele, the Mayor of Louvain, and the Pensionary of Brussels; for Flanders, the Abbot of St. Peter’s at Ghent, the Lord of Moldeghem, M. de Dudzeele, and the Pensionary of Ghent; for Artois, the Abbot of St. Bertin, Jean de Beaumont, and Louis Lemire; for Hainault, the Lord of Ligne, and the Pensionary of Mons. They set out on their mission towards the end of February, 1477.

[608] Margaret of York.

[609] William de la Marck, surnamed William with the Beard and the Wild Boar of Ardennes, was Count of Aremberg, Lord of Aigremont and Seraing, sovereign mayor of Liege, and prime minister of the Bishop of Liege, Louis de Bourbon. He obtained his surnames from peculiarities in his personal appearance; for he endeavoured, by the length and growth of his beard, to conceal the circumstance that had originally procured him the denomination of the Wild Boar. This was an unusual thickness and projection of the mouth and upper jaw, which, with the huge projecting side-teeth, gave that resemblance to the brute creation which, joined to the delight that De la Marck had in haunting the forest so called, originally earned him the title of the Boar of Ardennes. He affected to delight in this surname, and endeavoured to deserve it by the unvarying cruelty and ferocity of his life; and to complete the resemblance, he usually wore over his shoulders a strong surcoat of dressed boar-skin. He was beheaded on the 18th of June, 1485. Readers of “Quentin Durward” will remember Sir Walter Scott’s admirable description of this monster and his crimes.

[610] He had excited the Liegeois to revolt against Duke Charles of Burgundy and the Bishop of Liege in 1468.

[611] John de la Marck, Lord of Luman. After the death of Louis de Bourbon, three candidates were nominated to the vacant bishopric of Liege by the electors. One of these candidates was John de la Marck. Pope Sextus IV. decided against him, but directed that the successful candidate should allow him a pension of 1800 golden crowns a year.

[612] The bishop’s murder took place in 1482. In the months of August and September of that year, La Marck entered into a conspiracy with the discontented citizens of Liege against him, and was aided therein with considerable sums of money by the King of France. By this means, and by the assistance of many murderers and banditti, who thronged to him as to a leader befitting them, La Marck assembled a body of troops, whom he dressed in scarlet uniform, with a boar’s head on the left sleeve. With this little army he approached the city of Liege. Upon this the citizens, who were engaged in the conspiracy, came to their bishop, and, offering to stand by him to the death, exhorted him to march out against these robbers. The bishop, therefore, put himself at the head of a few troops of his own, trusting to the assistance of the people of Liege. But as soon as they came in sight of the enemy, the citizens, as before agreed, fled from the bishop’s banner, and he was left with his own handful of adherents. At this moment, La Marck charged at the head of his banditti with the expected success. The bishop was brought before the profligate knight, who first cut him over the face, saying, “Louis de Bourbon, I strove long to obtain your favour, but you would not receive me; now I have found you;” then murdered him with his own hand, and caused his body to be exposed naked in the great square of Liege, in front of St. Lambert’s Cathedral.

[613] John II., surnamed the Clement, born on the 23rd April, 1458; married Matilda, daughter of Henry III., Landgrave of Hesse; and died on the 15th May, 1521. He is said to have had sixty-three illegitimate children; an enormous number even in those licentious times!

[614] Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of St. Paul, Marie, and Soissons, was created a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478, and died on the 25th of October, 1482.

[615] On the 19th of March, 1477.

[616] William de Clugny was at this time suffragan to Henry of Lorraine, Bishop of Terouenne.

[617] Everard de la Marck, Lord of Aremberg and Neufchâtel, a younger brother of the Wild Boar of Ardennes.

[618] The convention in pursuance of which Louis XI. occupied Arras was not the work of Hugonet and Humbercourt only, but of the embassy of which they were members; and their conduct had been not only justified, but highly praised by the States-General, who, on hearing their report, sent other envoys to thank Louis XI. for the suspension of hostilities which the said ambassadors had obtained by means of the said convention. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Gantois should have laid little stress on this charge. See some valuable remarks on this subject by M. Gachard, in the sixth volume of the Bulletins de l’Académie Royale de Bruxelles.

[619] The chancellor was a Burgundian, and Humbercourt a native of Picardy. They were, therefore, quite beyond the jurisdiction of the Gantois.

[620] They were beheaded on the 3rd of April, 1477.

[621] John II., Prince of Orange, son of William VII., Prince of Orange, and Catherine, daughter of Richard de Bretagne, Count of Etampes. He succeeded his father in 1475. Having abandoned the cause of Louis XI., and joined the Duchess of Burgundy, the King of France issued a decree against him, on the 7th of September, 1477, by which he was declared guilty of high treason, and banished the realm. He died on the 25th of April, 1502.

[622] Louis de Chalon, Prince of Orange, son of Jean de Chalon, Baron of Arlay, and Marie de Baux. He died on the 13th of December, 1463, aged seventy-five.

[623] Louis and Hugh de Chalon, Lords of Chasteau-Guyon, were children of the above-mentioned Louis de Chalon, by Eleanor of Armagnac.

[624] This cause had already been argued by his father, William VII. of Orange, before Duke Philip the Good.

[625] In previous editions, the two preceding paragraphs have been placed at the beginning of the sixth book. They are here restored to the position they occupy in the manuscripts and in the original French editions of these Memoirs.

[626] Granada was at this time a Moorish kingdom. At the beginning of the eighth century, the Saracens invaded Spain, and maintained their footing there until 1492, when they were finally expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella.

[627] As Louis XI. did after the death of his father, Charles VII.

[628] The first session of the Estates, at their meeting at Tours in 1483, was held on the 14th of January; their last occurred on the 14th of March following.

[629] The author in this reflection on the exorbitant power of women, seems to point at the Princess Anne, Countess of Beaujeu, sister of Charles VIII., and Regent of France during his minority.

[630] Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III., King of England. The battle of Poictiers was fought on the 19th of September, 1356; it was one of the most glorious achievements in English history, and one of the most splendid exploits in the life of its illustrious hero. The Black Prince was a man of whom his country was justly proud, and his early death has only served to add additional lustre to the brilliancy of his life. His character is thus eloquently summed up by an old writer: “And thus fell this victorious prince, in whose fall the hopes of all England seemed to be cast down; while he lived, they feared no invasion, they doubted no warlike encounter. He never marched against any whom he overcame not, never besieged any city which he took not. All nations, both heathen and Christian, dreaded his fortune and conduct in war, as of another Hector; nor did his wisdom any way come short of his courage, both which were equalled by his exemplary justice, clemency, liberality, piety, and moderation—virtues but seldom sincerely embraced by persons of high condition. He was a prince of whom we never heard any ill, nor received any other note than of goodness, and the noblest performances that magnanimity, generosity, courage, and wisdom could ever show, insomuch as what praise can be given unto virtue is due unto him. He was of so obliging a character that he won the hearts of all mankind, especially of those who delighted in martial performances; and in general he was a prince of such excellent demeanour, so valiant, wise, and politic in his doings, that the very perfect image of knighthood appeared most lively in his person.” Barnes’s History of Edward III., pp. 883, 884.

[631] “The statement of Commines with regard to the leather money current in France after the payment of the king’s ransom appears to me very erroneous; as it is certain that the king, on his return from England, coined so much gold and silver money that the silver mark was worth only five livres, and the gold mark sixty livres; which would have been impossible if there had been so great a dearth of those two metals in France as Commines would have us believe.” Leblanc’s Traité des Monnaies, p. 277.

[632] By the terms of the treaty of the 29th of August, 1475. See note, book iv. chap. viii.

[633] On the 9th of April, 1483, “he died of apoplexy, say some; but others say that he was poisoned by drinking some good wine of Challuau, which Louis XI. had given him.” Lenglet, ii. 169.

[634] Charles VIII. of France.

[635] Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, was born at Brussels on the 10th of January, 1470. In July, 1483, she was married to the Dauphin, afterwards Charles VIII. at Amboise. After having been considered Queen of France for ten years, she was sent back to her father on the 12th of June, 1493. She afterwards married John, Infante of Castile, in 1497, and Philibert, Duke of Savoy, in 1501. She died on the 1st of December, 1530, after a widowhood of twenty-six years.

[636] The Princess Elizabeth.

[637] Westminster Abbey.

[638] Robert Stillington was appointed chancellor on the 20th of June, 1467. He appears to have been of humble origin, but he gained a great name at Oxford, where with much applause he took the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was a zealous legitimist, and on the succession of Edward IV. he was a special favourite with that prince, who successively made him Archdeacon of Taunton, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Keeper of the Privy Seal, and finally Lord Chancellor. He held this last office for six years, with the exception of the few months when Edward was obliged to fly the kingdom, and the sceptre was again put into the feeble hands of Henry VI. He resigned the chancellorship from ill health on the 8th of June, 1473. After the coronation of Henry VII., Stillington showed his never-dying enmity to the house of Lancaster, by taking up the cause of Lambert Simnel; but being detected in this conspiracy, and expecting no mercy from the king, he fled for refuge to Oxford. The university consented to deliver him up on condition that his life should be spared; and he was conducted to Windsor, where he remained a prisoner till his death, in June, 1491. See Lord Campbell’s Lives of the Chancellors, vol. i. pp. 385-391.

[639] Habington mentions two ladies whom public rumour indicated as having been seduced by the king, Lady Elizabeth Lucy and Lady Eleanor Butler. Lord Campbell indignantly denies the charge brought against Stillington by Commines, but has adduced no evidence in support of his denial.

[640] Richard III. was proclaimed king on the 22nd of June, 1483.

[641] The English parliament, at a meeting held at Westminster, on the 23rd of January, 1484, declared that the marriage of Edward IV. with Elizabeth Woodville had been effected in contravention of the customs of the Anglican Church, seeing that, by a previous contract, the King had plighted his troth to Lady Eleanor Butler, and that consequently, Edward and Elizabeth had lived in adultery, and their children were evidently bastards, and as such unable to inherit the crown.

[642] Henry, Duke of Buckingham, was son of Humphry, Earl of Stafford, and Margaret, daughter of Edmund, Duke of Somerset. He married Catharine, daughter of Richard Woodville, Earl of Rivers. Being detected in a conspiracy against Richard III., he was beheaded at Salisbury on All Saints’ Day, 1483.

[643] Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, afterwards Duke of Bedford, was the son of Owen Tudor, and Catharine of France, widow of Henry V., King of England. He married Catharine, the widow of the Duke of Buckingham, and died on the 21st of December, 1495.

[644] Pierre Landais, the treasurer and favourite of the Duke of Bretagne, had made overtures to Richard III. for the surrender of the Earl of Richmond.

[645] The Battle of Bosworth Field, fought on the 22nd of August, 1485.

[646] Anne Neville, daughter of the great Earl of Warwick.

[647] James III., son of James II., King of Scotland, and Mary of Guelders, ascended the throne of Scotland in 1460, at the age of seven years. He married Margaret, daughter of Christian I., King of Denmark. He surrounded himself by ministers sprung from the lower ranks of the people, and the Scottish barons, in indignation, hanged the unworthy favourites upon the bridge of Lauder, in 1482. In 1488, they rebelled again, gave the king battle at Sauchie, and slew him in his flight on the 11th of June, 1488.

[648] James IV. succeeded his father, at fifteen years of age. He made terms with the Scottish nobles, and married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., King of England. He thereby secured peace and tranquillity for his country for many years; but Henry VIII. forced him into an alliance with France, war was renewed between England and Scotland, and James IV. fell on the battle-field of Flodden on the 9th of September, 1515.