Chapter I: How the King of France cajoled the English after the Duke (1)

of Burgundy’s Death, for fear they should have interrupted him in the Conquest of the Territories belonging to the said Duke.—1477.

They who shall read these Memoirs hereafter, and have a better knowledge of the affairs of this kingdom and its neighbouring States than I have, may perhaps wonder that, from the Duke of Burgundy’s death to this time, which is little less than a year, I have not said a word of the English, nor of their suffering the king to seize upon those towns which were near them, as Arras, Boulogne, Hesdin, Ardres and several other castles, and to lie so many days before St. Omer. The reason of it was, because, in cunning and artifice, our king was much superior to King Edward, who was indeed a brave prince, and had won eight or nine battles in England, in which he had been always present himself, and had fought constantly on foot, which redounded much to his honour; but the two kings were placed in different circumstances, and the English king depended not so much upon his diligence or understanding, for upon the success of one battle he was absolute master till another rebellion disturbed him. In England, when any disputes arise, and occasion a war, the controversy is generally decided in eight or ten days, when one party or other gains the victory; but with us, on this side of the water, affairs are managed quite otherwise. Our king is obliged, whilst he is carrying on any war, to keep a watchful eye upon his neighbours, as well as over the rest of his kingdom; and particularly to satisfy the King of England above all, who must be quieted at any cost, and cajoled with ambassadors, promises, and presents, lest he should attempt anything that might interrupt our king’s designs. For our master was well aware that the nobility, commons, and clergy of England, are always ready to enter upon a war with France, being incited thereunto, not only upon the account of their old title to its crown, but by the desire of gain, for it pleased God to permit their predecessors to win several memorable battles in this kingdom, and to continue in the possession of Normandy and Guienne for the space of three hundred and fifty years[1], before Charles VII. gave them the first blow[2]; during which time they carried over enormous booty into England, not only in plunder, which they had taken in the several towns, but in the richness and quality of their prisoners, who were many of them great princes and lords, who paid them vast ransoms for their liberty; so that every Englishman afterwards hoped to do the same thing, and return home laden with spoils. But this fortune was not to be looked for in our king’s days, for he would never have ventured the whole kingdom upon the doubtful issue of a battle, nor have done anything so rashly as to dismount himself, with all his nobility, to fight on foot, as the English did at the battle of Agincourt[3]; and if he had been reduced to that extremity, he would certainly have managed his affairs with more prudence and caution, as may be presumed from the manner of his conduct when King Edward was in France.

The king accordingly found himself under an absolute necessity to caress and pacify the King of England, and the rest of his neighbours, whom he perceived inclinable to peace, in hopes of receiving his money; and therefore he paid a pension of fifty thousand crowns punctually in London, and allowed it to be called tribute by the English. He also distributed sixteen thousand more among the King of England’s officers that were about his person, particularly to the Chancellor[4], the Master of the Rolls[5] (who is now chancellor), the High Chamberlain, the Lord Hastings (a man of honour and prudence, and of great authority with his master, and deservedly, upon account of the faithful service he had done him), Sir Thomas Montgomery, the Lord Howard (who afterwards espoused King Richard’s interest, and was created Duke of Norfolk), the Lord Cheney, master of the horse, Mr. Chalenger, and a certain marquis[6], who was the Queen of England’s son, by her first husband. Besides these great presents, he was also very generous to ambassadors; and all who were sent to him from the English Court, though their messages were never so harsh and displeasing, he dispatched with such fair words and large presents, that they went away very well satisfied with him; and though they were certainly assured (at least some of them), that what he did was only to gain time to effect his designs, yet their private interest prevailed with them to wink at it, highly to the detriment and disadvantage of their public affairs.

To all the persons of quality above-mentioned, the king gave considerable presents, besides their pensions. To the Lord Howard, besides his pension, he gave, to my certain knowledge, in less than two years’ time, in money and plate, above twenty-four thousand crowns; and to the Lord Hastings, who was King Edward’s chamberlain, he gave at one time one thousand silver marks in plate; and all the receipts of every Englishman of quality, except the Lord Hastings, are still to be seen in the chamber of accounts at Paris. This Lord Hastings was at that time High Chamberlain of England (an office of great reputation, and executed singly by one man). It was with great difficulty and solicitation, that he was made one of the king’s pensioners, and I was the cause of it: for at the time when I was in the Duke of Burgundy’s service, I had brought him over to his interest, and he allowed him a pension of a thousand crowns a year.[7] Upon my telling our king what I had done, he employed me to try what I could do to bring him over to his interest; for he had been his particular enemy in the Duke of Burgundy’s time, after which he became a favourer of the young Princess of Burgundy, and was once like to have prevailed with the King of England to cross the seas again to assist that princess. I began our amity by letters; the king granted him a pension of two thousand crowns per annum, which was double what had been paid him by the duke, and sent one of the stewards of his house, called Peter Clairet[8], with it; giving him express orders to take his receipt, that hereafter it might appear upon record, that the lord chamberlain, chancellor, admiral, master of the horse, and several other great lords of England, had been at the same time pensioners to the King of France. This Peter Clairet was a very cunning man, and was privately admitted to the lord chamberlain, at his house in London; and having delivered his compliments from the king, he presented his two thousand crowns in gold (for to foreign lords of great quality the king never gave any other coin). The chamberlain having received the gold, Peter Clairet desired his lordship would be pleased to give him a receipt for it; the lord chamberlain scrupling to do it, he repeated his request, and entreated him that he would give him only three lines under his hand, directed to the king his master, lest his majesty should think he had embezzled it himself, for he was of a very suspicious temper. The lord chamberlain seeing he persisted (though his demand was but reasonable), replied, “Master Clairet, what you desire is not unreasonable, but this present proceeds from your master’s generosity, not from any request of mine; if you have a mind I should receive it, you may put it into my sleeve, but neither letter nor acquittance will you have from me; for it shall never be said of me, that the High Chamberlain of England was pensioner to the King of France, nor shall my receipt be ever produced in his chamber of accounts.” Clairet urged the matter no farther, but left the money, and returned his answer to the king, who was highly displeased at his not bringing a receipt: but he commended and valued the lord chamberlain above all the King of England’s ministers, ever after paid him his pension constantly, and never asked for his receipt.

In this posture were affairs between the King of England and our master: however, the King of England was earnestly solicited and urged to assist the young princess, and he sent several embassies to our master to remonstrate with him, and to press him either for a peace, or a cessation of arms. For some of the privy council of England, and of the Parliament (which is of the same nature as our three Estates), were persons of wisdom and penetration, who came out of the country, and were not pensioners of France like the rest, and these pressed hard, that the King of England would interpose vigorously for the Princess of Burgundy; urging, that we did but dissemble with them, and amuse them with hopes of a marriage, as it very plainly appeared: for at the treaty at Picquigny[9] the two kings had mutually sworn, that within the space of a year, the King of England’s daughter should be sent for; but though the King of France had permitted her to be styled the dauphiness, yet the time was elapsed, and the lady had not been sent for. But all the arguments his subjects made use of could not prevail with King Edward, for several reasons. King Edward was a voluptuous prince, wholly addicted to his pleasures and ease; and having been, in his former expeditions, reduced to great straits and necessities, he had no mind to involve himself in a new war on this side of the water: the fifty thousand crowns, too, which were punctually paid him in the Tower, softened his heart, and hindered him from concerning himself in this affair. Besides, his ambassadors were always bribed, and entertained so nobly, that they left the French court well satisfied, though the king’s answers were always uncertain, in order to gain time; for they were always told that in a few days the king would send ambassadors of his own, who would satisfy their master in every point which had been left in doubt.

As soon as the King of England’s ambassadors were returned, about three weeks or a month later, sometimes more, sometimes less (which in such cases is a great matter), the king our master would send his envoys; but always new persons, and such as had not been employed in any overture with the English before, to the end that if anything had been promised by their predecessors, but not afterwards performed, they might pretend ignorance, and not be obliged to give an answer. The ambassadors, therefore, who were sent into England, used their utmost endeavours to persuade King Edward of the good inclinations of the King of France, so that he might remain quiet, and not give the least assistance to the Princess of Burgundy: for both the King and the Queen of England were so desirous of the match with their daughter, that upon that account, not to mention several other reasons, the king was willing to wink at these proceedings, and take no notice of the remonstrances that were made to him by some of his privy council, who represented to him how prejudicial it would be to the interest of the whole nation. Besides, he was afraid the marriage might be broken off, as it began already to be laughed at in England, especially by such as were desirous of war.

But to clear up this matter a little more, the king our master never designed to effect this marriage, by reason of the disproportion in their years; for the young lady[10], who is now Queen of England, was much older than the dauphin, who is now King of France.[11] So that a month or two were spent in sending ambassadors from one court to another; and these artifices were made use of purely to gain time, and hinder the English from declaring war against our king: for certainly, had it not been in hopes of this marriage, the King of England would never so tamely have suffered our king to have taken so many towns, without endeavouring to have defended them; and had he declared at the outset for the young Princess of Burgundy, as our king was so fearful of bringing anything to a hazard, he would not have encroached so far upon the dominions of the House of Burgundy, nor have weakened it so much. My chief design in narrating these transactions is, to show the method and conduct of all human affairs, by the reading of which such persons as are employed in the negotiation of great matters, may be instructed how to manage their business; for though their judgment may be good, yet a little advice sometimes does no harm. This I have been assured of, that if the Princess of Burgundy could have been persuaded to marry Earl Rivers, the Queen of England’s brother, they would have succoured her with a considerable number of troops; but that marriage would have been very unequal, for he was only an earl, and she the greatest heiress of her time.

Many overtures and bargains were made between the Kings of England and France; among the rest the King of France offered, that if he would join with him, and come over in person, and invade the Low Countries, which belonged to the Princess of Burgundy, his majesty would consent that the King of England should have all Flanders for his share, and hold it without homage, and the province of Brabant besides, in which the King of France would engage to reduce four of the chief towns at his own expense, and afterwards deliver them up to the King of England. Besides, he proffered (to lessen his charge in the war), to pay ten thousand of the King of England’s troops for four months; and to lend him a large train of artillery, horses, and carriages, for their conveyance, upon condition the King of England would invade Flanders, whilst he made war upon Burgundy in another place. The King of England’s answer was, that the towns in Flanders were large and strong, and not easy to be kept when they were taken, and that Brabant was the same; besides which, the English had no great inclination to undertake such a war, upon account of the commerce that was betwixt them and the Low Countries; but since the king was so generously inclined, as to allow him a share in his conquests, he desired he would give him some of the places he had conquered already in Picardy, such as Boulogne, and others; upon surrendering up of which, he would be ready to declare on his side, and would send an army to his assistance if he would engage to pay it.

CH. II.—Of the Conclusion of the Marriage between the Princess of Burgundy, and Maximilian Duke of Austria, and since Emperor.—1477.

After this manner (as I have said before), transactions were managed between the two kings for no other purpose but to gain time, by which means the Princess of Burgundy’s affairs began visibly to decay; for of the few soldiers that remained after her father’s death, many revolted from her to the king, especially after the Lord des Cordes had quitted her service, and carried several others along with him. Some were forced to leave her because their estates or abodes lay very near or within the towns which had declared for the king; others left her in hopes of preferment; for in that respect no prince was so noble and generous to his servants as our master. Besides, commotions and factions discovered themselves daily in the great towns, and particularly in Ghent, which wanted to have everything its own way, as you have already heard. Several husbands were proposed to the Princess of Burgundy, and every one was of opinion there was a necessity of her marrying, to defend those territories that she had left to her, or (by marrying the dauphin), to recover what she had lost. Several were entirely for this match, and she was as earnest for it as anybody, before the letters she had sent by the Lord of Humbercourt and the chancellor to the king were betrayed to the ambassadors from Ghent. Some opposed the match, and urged the disproportion of their age, the dauphin being but nine years old, and besides engaged to the King of England’s daughter; and these suggested the son of the Duke of Cleves. Others recommended Maximilian, the emperor’s son, who is at present King of the Romans.

The princess herself had conceived an extreme hatred against the king, ever since he had basely given up her letters; for she looked upon him as the occasion of the death of her two principal ministers of state, and of the dishonour and shame that was put upon her, when the letters were delivered to her publicly in her council, as you have heard before. Besides, it was that which gave the Gantois confidence to banish so many of her servants, and to remove her mother-in-law and the Lord of Ravestain from about her, and put her maids of honour into such a consternation, that not one of them durst open a letter without first showing it to the Gantois, nor speak to their mistress in a low tone. This made the princess carry herself very distantly to the Bishop of Liege, who was of the House of Bourbon, and a great promoter of this match with the Dauphin, which certainly would have been very honourable and advantageous for the princess, had it not been for the extreme youth of the dauphin; but the bishop was unable to effect his object, so he removed to Liege, and that affair was laid wholly aside. Without dispute, it would have been a very difficult matter to have managed that negotiation to the satisfaction of both parties; and I am of opinion that whoever had undertaken it, would have gained but little credit by it in the end. However (as I have been informed), a council was held about it, at which Madame de Hallewin[12], first lady of the bed-chamber to the princess, was present; and being asked her opinion about the dauphin, she replied, “That there was more need of a man than a boy; that her mistress was capable of bearing a child, which was what her dominions wanted more than anything else;” and this opinion prevailed. Some condemned the lady for answering so plainly, others commended her, alleging that what she spoke was purely in relation to marriage, and the necessity of her lady’s dominions, so that now the only talk was, who should be the person. I am verily persuaded, that if the king had been inclined to have had her marry the Count of Angoulesme[13], who is now living, she would have consented to it, so desirous was she to continue her alliance with France. God, however, thought fit to appoint her another husband, for reasons unknown perhaps to us, unless it were, that it might occasion greater wars and confusions on both sides than could possibly have happened, had she married the Count of Angoulesme, for by this match the provinces of Flanders and Brabant sustained great miseries and afflictions. The Duke of Cleves was at this time in Ghent with the princess, making friends, and trying all arts to effect a marriage between the princess and his son, but she had no inclination to it, for the character of the young gentleman pleased neither her nor any person about her court. At last a marriage was again proposed between her and the emperor’s son, the present King of the Romans, of which there had formerly been some overtures between the Emperor and Duke Charles, and a match concluded between them. The emperor had in his custody a letter written by the young lady, at her father’s command, under her own hand, and a diamond ring of considerable value. The purport of the letter was to acquaint his imperial majesty, that, in obedience to her father’s commands, she promised to accomplish the marriage with his son the Duke of Austria, in the same form and manner as her father the Duke of Burgundy should think fit to prescribe.

The emperor sent certain ambassadors[14] to the princess, who was at Ghent; but, upon their arrival at Brussels, letters were sent to them to remain there, and that commissioners should be sent thither to receive and answer their demands. This was only a contrivance of the Duke of Cleves, who was extremely displeased at their coming, and endeavoured to send them back again dissatisfied; but the ambassadors continued their journey, for they had intelligence in the princess’s court, or, at least, with the Duchess Dowager of Burgundy, who had been removed from the princess, as you have heard before, upon occasion of the letter. This lady, as I have been since informed, advised them to proceed with their journey notwithstanding these letters, gave them instructions how they were to behave themselves upon their arrival at Ghent, and assured them that the young princess and the greatest part of her court were well disposed towards them. Upon this information the ambassadors advanced, and taking no notice of the orders which they had received, went directly to Ghent, at which the Duke of Cleves was highly offended; but he knew nothing as yet of the inclination of the ladies. It was resolved by the council that the princess should give them audience, and, after they had delivered their credentials, should let them know that they were very welcome, that she would acquaint her council with their desires, and order them to return her answer; but that she could not give any farther answer about it.

The ambassadors being admitted to a public audience, presented their credentials, and then delivered their embassy, which was only to remind her Highness that the marriage had been concluded formally between the emperor and her father, by her own consent and approbation, as appeared by the letter under her own hand, which they produced, and the diamond ring which they said had been sent as a pledge of the said marriage. Upon which the ambassadors insisted, that the young princess should be pleased to consummate the marriage according to the engagement and promise both of her father and herself; and then they conjured her to declare before the whole assembly whether she had written the letter or not, and whether she designed to make good her promise. The young princess, without consulting any, replied that she had written the letter and sent the ring in obedience to her father’s commands, and that she freely owned the contents of it. The ambassadors thereupon expressed their humble acknowledgments, and returned very joyful to their lodgings.

The Duke of Cleves was extremely dissatisfied with her answer, as being contrary to what had been agreed on in council, and he upbraided the young princess for having acted very indiscreetly in this affair. To which she replied, “That it was not in her power to do any otherwise, since it was a thing agreed on long before, and she could not gainsay it.” On hearing her answer, and finding that many about the princess were of the same opinion, he resolved to give over his own solicitations, and retire in a few days into his own country. And thus was the marriage concluded; and Duke Maximilian came to Cologne, where several of the princess’s servants went to meet him, and carry him money, with which, as I have been told, he was but very slenderly furnished; for his father was the stingiest and most covetous prince, or person, of his time.[15] The Duke of Austria was conducted to Ghent, with about seven or eight hundred horse in his retinue, and this marriage was consummated[16], which at first sight brought no great advantage to the subjects of the young princess; for, instead of his supporting her, she was forced to supply him with money. His armies were neither strong enough, nor in a condition to face the king’s; besides which, the humour of the house of Austria was not pleasing to the subjects of the house of Burgundy, who had been bred up under wealthy princes, that had lucrative offices and employments to dispose of; whose palaces were sumptuous, whose tables were nobly served, whose dress was magnificent, and whose liveries were pompous and splendid. But the Germans are of quite a contrary temper; boorish in their manners, and rude in their way of living.

It seems to me, that upon good and solid advice, and not without the particular grace of God, that law was made in France, whereby women are excluded from the succession, and no daughter suffered to inherit the crown, to prevent its falling into the hands of a foreign nation, or prince; which the French would hardly endure, nor, indeed, would any other nation; for there is no sovereignty whatever but at length revolves upon the natives. This may be seen in France, where the English had great possessions for forty years together, and at this present time have nothing left of all their conquests but Calais and two little castles[17], which cost them a great deal to keep; the rest they lost much more easily than they conquered it; for they lost more in one day than they had gained in a year. The same thing is observable in the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and other provinces, of which the French had possession for many years together; in all which there is now no monument of their power remaining but the sepulchres of their fathers. And, if it were possible for a nation to admit a foreign prince whose wisdom was great, and his retinue small and well-regulated, yet they could hardly be prevailed upon to receive him with a great train, or suffer that he should send for great numbers of his other subjects, upon pretence of making war upon his neighbours; because animosities will certainly arise among them, by reason of their diversity of manners and disposition, and the violences the new-comers will commit; for they cannot feel so much love and affection for the country as those who were born in it; especially if they aspire and aim at offices or employments which belong more properly to the natives. So that it is very requisite for a wise prince, upon his coming into a foreign country, to adjust all differences in his towns; and, if he be not master of this virtue (which proceeds more immediately from God than anything else), the rest, though called virtues, will be of no advantage to him: and, if he reigns long, he and all his subjects will find themselves involved in troubles, especially when he comes to be aged, and his ministers and servants have no hopes of amendment in his condition.

This aforesaid marriage was performed with great pomp and solemnity, but affairs were not placed by it in a much better posture; for they were both very young. Duke Maximilian was a person of no great knowledge, both in consequence of his youth, and of his being in a foreign country. Besides, his education had been but indifferent, and not serviceable for the management of great affairs; nor, if it had been better, had he a sufficient body of troops ready to have attempted anything considerable: so that his poor countries were involved in great troubles, which have continued to this day, and are like to continue. For which reasons, as I said before, it is a great misfortune to any country to have to seek a foreign sovereign; and God has been very merciful to France in establishing that law against the inheritance of the crown by a daughter.[18] A private or insignificant family may be much aggrandised by it; but a great kingdom, like ours, will always be greatly inconvenienced, and incommoded. A few days after the consummation of this marriage (if not at the very time of its negociation), the whole country of Artois was lost. (It will be sufficient for me to narrate the substance of events, and if I fail in terms, or the just computation of times, I hope the reader will excuse me.) The king’s affairs went on prosperously, without any manner of opposition, during the winter; only now and then some overture or proposition was made, which came to nothing; for both sides being high in their demands, the war could not but continue. Duke Maximilian and the Princess of Burgundy had a son the first year, namely, the Archduke Philip[19], who is now reigning: the next year they had a daughter, called Margaret[20], who at present is our queen; the third year they had a son, called Francis, after the name of Francis[21] Duke of Bretagne, who was his godfather. The fourth year the princess died of a fall from her horse, or a fever[22]; but it is certain she had a fall, and some say she was pregnant. Her death was a great loss to her subjects; for she was a person of great honour, affability, and generosity to all people, and she was more beloved and respected by her subjects than her husband, as being natural sovereign of their country. She was tenderly attached to her husband, and of singular reputation for modesty and virtue. Her death happened in the year 1482.[23]

In Hainault the king was possessed of two towns, Quesnoy le Comte and Bouchain, both which he restored; at which several persons were highly astonished, knowing his aversion to any peace, and how desirous he was to take all, and leave the house of Burgundy nothing; and my opinion is, if he could have done it undisturbedly, and destroyed or divided those territories at his ease, he would not have failed to have done so. But, as he told me afterwards himself, he surrendered those towns in Hainault for two reasons; the first was, because he thought a prince had more strength and importance in his own country, where he was anointed and crowned, than he could have out of his dominions; and these towns were not in his territory. The other was, because there had been solemn oaths and great confederacies between the emperors and the kings of France, not to invade or usurp upon one another’s dominions; and these above-mentioned places belonging to the empire were restored in the year 1478.[24] Upon the same account Cambray was delivered up, or put into a state of neutrality, the king being content to lose it; but the truth is, the inhabitants had received him at first upon those terms.

CH. III.—How King Louis, by the Management of Charles d’Amboise his Lieutenant, recovered many Towns in Burgundy, which the Prince of Orange had persuaded to revolt from him.—1478.

The war was still carried on in Burgundy; but the king could not accomplish his designs, because the Prince of Orange was chosen by the Burgundians to be their lieutenant, and was secretly assisted by the Germans, for the sake of his money, and not out of love to Duke Maximilian; for there was not a man in the whole country that espoused his interest, at least during the time I speak of. These Germans were Swiss troops in search of adventure, and the Swiss are neither friends nor well-wishers to the House of Austria. The Burgundians had little assistance from them, although their pay was good; and no prince could have paid them better than Duke Sigismond of Austria, Maximilian’s uncle, whose territories lay near, especially the county of Ferrete, which he had sold, not many years before, for ten thousand florins of the Rhine, to Charles Duke of Burgundy, and had afterwards repossessed himself of it, without returning the money: and he keeps it now by force. Sigismond was never a person of great penetration, nor was he very just and honourable in his dealings, and from such allies no great assistance is to be expected. He was of the number of those princes I mentioned before, who know nothing of their own affairs but what their ministers of state are pleased to represent; and they are always rewarded for their indolence and supineness in their old age, as Sigismond was in this case.

During these wars his ministers, who had the sole administration of affairs, engaged him on what side they pleased; and for the most part he entered into an alliance with the King of France against his own nephew, and in the end would have given his hereditary territories (which were very large) to a foreign family, and disappointed his own relations (for though he had been twice married, he never had any issue); but at last, about three years since[25], by the persuasion of another set of ministers, he conveyed all his estates to his nephew Maximilian (at present King of the Romans)[26], reserving only a pension of about a third part of the revenue, without any authority or power; but, as I have been informed, he has often repented of it since; and if the story be not true, it is at least very probable. And such is the fate of princes who live so carelessly, and like beasts; and who certainly are most highly to be condemned, upon account of the great responsibility and duty that God has laid upon them in this world. These errors and imprudent actions are not so much to be laid to the charge of weak and stupid princes, as of those who are endued with a sufficient share of sense and understanding, and yet squander away all their time in pleasure and folly; such princes have no claim on our compassion when any misfortune befals them. And, on the other side, those who divide their time according to their age, sometimes in council, and sometimes in festivities and diversions, are much to be commended; and those subjects are happy who have such princes to rule over them.

The war in Burgundy was carried on for some time by help of the little assistance they received from the Germans: yet the king’s forces were too powerful for them; for the Burgundians wanted money, and their garrisons were corrupted. The Lord of Craon, who was the king’s lieutenant in those parts, besieged Dole[27], the chief town in the county of Burgundy; which he presumed he should quickly make himself master of, upon account of the weakness of the garrison[28]: but his confidence proved much to his disadvantage; for, being surprised by a sudden sally, he lost some few of his men, and a great part of his cannon; which so highly raised the king’s displeasure against him, that, being vexed at this unfortunate action, he began to think of sending a new governor into the county of Burgundy, not only upon account of this misfortune, but for the great and excessive sums of money which had been exacted in those parts. However, before the Lord of Craon laid down the command of the army, he engaged and defeated a party of Germans and Burgundians[29], in which action Monsieur de Chasteauguyon[30] (the greatest lord in Burgundy) was taken prisoner; but besides that, nothing of importance was done that day. I speak only by hear-say; though, if we may believe report, the Lord of Craon behaved himself with a great deal of valour and intrepidity in that engagement.

As I was saying, the king, for the reasons above-mentioned, resolved to put a new governor into the county of Burgundy; but not to meddle with the profits or advantages of the Lord of Craon’s places[31]; he only deprived him of his guards, and left him but six men-at-arms, and a dozen archers to attend him. The Lord of Craon was grown very unwieldy, and retired well satisfied to his country seat, where he lived in great ease and plenty. The king put into his post the Lord Charles of Amboise, Lord of Chaumont, a valiant, discreet, and diligent officer, who at once endeavoured to dissuade the Germans from assisting the Burgundians, and to induce them to enter into the king’s service (not that he valued their service, but in order to facilitate his conquest of the rest of that country.) To this purpose the king sent to the Germans or Swiss (whom he styled _Messieurs des Ligues_), and offered them very handsome terms: first, a pension of twenty thousand francs, to be paid annually to their four chief towns, Berne, Lucerne, Zurich, and I suppose Fribourg, with their three cantons (or villages upon the mountains) Schwitz, which now gives name to the whole country, Soleure and Unterwald: secondly, twenty thousand francs per annum to particular persons, whose assistance he used in his negotiations; and he also made himself one of their burgesses, and their principal ally, and desired it might be declared in writing; but they made some difficulty of consenting to that, because, from time immemorial, the Duke of Savoy had been their principal ally; yet at length they consented, and promised to furnish the king with a body of six thousand men, to be employed continually in his service, upon condition that he should pay to each man four Rhine florins and a half every month; and that number of Swiss were retained in the king’s service till his death.

A poor prince could not have managed this affair, which turned so much to the king’s advantage at that time; though I am of opinion, in the end it will be a prejudice to the Swiss; for they are now so used to money (which was scarce with them before), especially gold, that it was like to have raised a civil war among them. Otherwise, nothing was capable of ruining or doing them any mischief; for their country is so poor and mountainous, and the inhabitants of such a martial temper, that few or none of the neighbouring princes could think it worth their while to endeavour to conquer them. When these treaties were agreed on, and all the Swiss in Burgundy had entered into the king’s service, the Burgundian power was utterly broken and destroyed; and to bring matters to a conclusion, the governor, Monsieur de Chaumont, after performing several notable exploits, besieged Rochefort[32], a castle near Dole, commanded by Monsieur de Vaudray, and took it by capitulation. He also besieged Dole (where, as I said before, his predecessor had been repulsed), and took it by storm. The newly enlisted Swiss designed to have got in and defended it; but a body of Frank archers getting in amongst them (not with any suspicion of their design, but merely from a desire of plunder), when they were entered, all of them fell to pillaging, and the town was burnt and destroyed.

Not long after he besieged Aussone[33], a very strong town; but he held intelligence with the garrison, and wrote to the king for offices for his friends before investing the town; which were readily granted. I was not upon the spot myself, yet I was well informed of what was done; both by the reports which were made to the king, and the letters which were sent to him, and which I saw, as I was employed by the king to return answers to many of them. Aussone had but a small garrison in it, and the chief officers being in treaty with the governor, in five or six days the place was surrendered; so that there remained nothing in all Burgundy for the king to take possession of, but three or four castles upon the mountains, to wit, Jou[34] and others; and he had the obedience of Besançon[35], which is an imperial town, not at all, or very slightly, subject to the county of Burgundy; but, being seated as it were in the middle of it, paying a sort of obedience to the prince of that country. The governor took possession of the town, and the inhabitants having paid him the homage which they were accustomed to pay to the princes who formerly had possession of Burgundy, he immediately quitted it. After this expeditious manner was the whole province of Burgundy subdued; and the king watched the business very closely, fearing the governor desired some place might still hold out, in order to continue longer in his command, and not to be moved into another country to serve the king upon some other expedition: for Burgundy is a plentiful country, and he managed it as if it had been his own inheritance, so that the Lord of Chaumont, as well as the Lord of Craon, made his fortune there.

This province for some time continued in peace, under the administration of the Lord of Chaumont; but afterwards several towns rebelled, as Beaune[36], Semur[37], Verdun[38], and others. (I was then present, having been sent thither by the king with the pensioners of his household. This was the first time the pensioners had any officer to command them, and since then they have never been without one.) Which towns were reduced by the wisdom and conduct of our general, and the indiscretion of the enemy. By this one may plainly see the vast difference there is between men; which proceeds from the grace of God, who gives wise ministers of state to that nation He designs to support, and imparts to the prince that governs it wisdom to choose them; and He has made, and does still make it appear, that in all things He will maintain our monarchy, not only in the person of our late master, but of our present king. Those who lost these places the second time were strong enough to have defended them, had they assembled their forces sufficiently soon, and thrown them into the towns: but they gave the governor leisure to draw his troops together; which they ought not to have done, for, having intelligence of his strength, and knowing the country was entirely in his interest, they ought to have thrown themselves into Beaune; which was a strong town, and more defensible than the rest.

The very day on which the governor marched out to invest a little town called Verdun, upon information of their weak condition, the Burgundians entered it, in their march to Beaune. They were in all, both horse and foot, six hundred choice men out of the county of Ferrete, commanded by several good Burgundian officers, of whom Simon de Quingy was one. They halted at a time when they might have got into Beaune; which, if they had done, the place had been almost impregnable; but for want of good counsel, they stayed a night too long, were besieged in Verdun, and taken by storm: and after that, Beaune was reduced, and all the rest; the loss of which towns the Burgundians could never recover. I was at this time with the king’s pensioners (as I said before) in Burgundy; from whence I was summoned by the king, upon an information he had received that I had favoured certain of the citizens at Dijon about the quartering of soldiers. This charge, with other little suspicions, was the cause why he sent me away very suddenly to Florence.[39] I obeyed him, as in duty bound, and, upon the receipt of his letters set out immediately for Italy.

CH. IV.—How the Lord of Argenton was sent to Florence during the Wars in Burgundy, and how he received Homage of the Duke of Milan, in the King’s Name, for the Duchy of Genoa.—1478.

The design of my going into Italy was, to adjust a difference between two illustrious families, very eminent in those days. One was the family of the Medicis, the other of the Pacis[40]; which last being supported by the Pope[41], and Ferrand King of Naples[42], endeavoured to cut off Laurence de Medicis[43], and all his adherents. They failed in their design upon Laurence de Medicis; but they slew his brother Julian[44] in the great church in Florence[45]; and with him one Franquein Noli[46], a servant of the house of Medicis, who threw himself before Julian in hopes to have saved him. Laurence was severely wounded[47], but made his retreat into the vestry of the church, whose doors were of copper, and had been given to the church by his father.[48] A servant[49], whom he had delivered out of prison only two days before, did him good service, and received several wounds which were aimed at Laurence. This assassination was committed at the time of high mass; and the moment appointed for its execution was when the officiating priest should begin the Sanctus. But it fell out otherwise than was designed; for, supposing all sure, some of the conspirators[50] ran to the palace to kill the senators who were there (which senate, consisting of about nine persons, has the whole administration of the affairs of that city, and is changed every three months); but they were ill supported, and having run upstairs into the palace, somebody shut one of the doors behind them; so that when they were got up, there were not above four or five of them, and those in such a terrible consternation, that they knew not what to say or do.

The senators and their servants that attended them, perceiving the astonishment of the conspirators, looked out of the windows, saw all the town in confusion, and heard Signor James de Pacis[51] and his accomplices crying out in the palace-yard, “_Liberta! Liberta! Popolo! Popolo!_” thinking by this means to have stirred up the people to take their part; but they were mightily mistaken, for the mob kept themselves very quiet; upon which James de Pacis and his adherents, despairing of success, betook themselves to flight. The governors and magistrates of the city, who were then in the palace, finding how matters went, immediately seized upon the five or six who had got up into the room, with a design to murder them and so get command over the city, and caused them to be hanged at the bars of the palace windows; and among them was the Archbishop of Pisa.[52] The senators finding the people unanimously declare for the House of Medicis, sent immediately to all the passes upon the road, to stop and apprehend all persons that were found flying, and to bring them before the senate. James de Pacis was presently apprehended, and with him an officer[53] of the Pope’s, who had the command of a brigade of men-at-arms under the Count Hieronymo[54], who was concerned in the plot. Pacis and his accomplices were hanged from the windows, but the Pope’s officer had the favour of being beheaded. Several more were discovered in the town (and amongst them Francisco de Pacis[55]), and all were hanged immediately; so that in the whole I think there were about fourteen or fifteen persons of quality hanged, besides servants who were killed in the town.[56]

Not long after this occurrence I arrived at Florence, in quality of an agent for the king, having made no stay since I left Burgundy, unless it were two or three days with the Duchess of Savoy, our king’s sister, who received me very graciously.[57] From thence I proceeded to Milan, where I continued two or three days likewise, to solicit supplies for the Florentines, with whom at that time the Milanese were in alliance. The Milanese granted them very freely, because it was their duty, as well as the king’s request, and sent them immediately a reinforcement of three hundred men-at-arms, and afterwards a greater number. In short, the Pope, immediately upon hearing of this tumult in Florence, excommunicated the Florentines[58], and caused his own army, in conjunction with that of the King of Naples, to march against them. The Neapolitan army was numerous, made a fine appearance, and had abundance of brave soldiers in it. They first besieged Castellina[59], not far from Sienna, and took it, with several other places; so that it was a great chance that the Florentines were not utterly ruined, for they had enjoyed a long peace, and were not conscious of their danger. Laurence de Medicis, who was the chief man of that city, was but young[60], and managed by persons of his own years; yet his judgment was of great authority among them. They had but few officers, and their army was but small. The armies of the Pope and King of Naples were commanded in chief by the Duke of Urbin[61], a wise man and a brave commander; with him there were likewise the Lord Robert d’Arimini[62] (who has since become a great man), the Lord Constantine de Pesaro[63], and several other officers, with two of the king’s sons (that is, the Duke of Calabria[64], and Don Frederick[65], both of them still living), and many other persons of quality. They took all places which they besieged, but not with the same expedition as we do in France, for they were not so well skilled in the art of taking or defending a town; but for encamping and supplying their army with provisions, and providing all things necessary for a campaign, they understood that better than we do. The king’s favourable inclination toward them was in some measure serviceable to them; but not so much as I could have wished, for I had no army with which to reinforce them beyond my own retinue. I stayed in Florence and its territories a whole year, and was nobly treated at their expense all the while, and with more civility at last than at first[66]; but being recalled by the king, I returned home. At Milan I received homage of John Galeas[67], Duke of Milan, for the duchy of Genoa; which homage was performed to me for my master by the duke’s mother, in her son’s name. After which I returned to my master, who received me very graciously, and admitted me more freely to his affairs than ever before, permitting me to lie with him, though I was unworthy of that favour, and many persons were more deserving of such a familiarity than myself. But he was so discreet and sagacious a prince, that no minister of his could possibly miscarry in any negotiation in which he was employed, provided he acted directly according to his master’s instructions, and added nothing of his own.

CH. V.—Of the Lord of Argenton’s Return out of Italy into France, and of the Battle of Guinegaste.—1479.