Thibaut Count of Blois But some time after she was brought to Bed the King being inform'd of all Eleonor's Galantries resolv'd to vacate his Marriage To which purpose he assembl'd the Clergy of France at Boisgency where Alegrin his Chancellor set forth the reasons that mov'd the King to desire a separation and easily obtain'd what his Master desir'd because the Queen made no opposition However Lewis that he might come off with Honour surrendred back to her the Dutchy of Aquitaine and the Earldom of Peitou which she brought him in Dowry and only kept the two Daughters which He had by her Eleonor after this Divorce retir'd to Poitiers where she was visited by Henry Duke of Normandy the King of England's Son Who thô he were a Prince whose Person was no way inviting and had the worst colour'd Hair in the world yet she fail'd not to admit of his sedulities and to hearken to the proposals of Marriage which he made her because he was Heir presumptive to the Crown of England Henry was well inform'd of all the disorders of her past life but his eager desire to joyn Guyenne and Peitou to the rest of those Dominions which he was to inherit prevail'd over all other Considerations He espous'd Eleonor which so enrag'd Lewis that he suffer'd no opportunity of Revenge to escape him So that a War was kindl'd between the two Princes so soon as Henry came to the Crown which lasted till an end was put to it by the Marriage of Henry the King of England's eldest Son with Margaret the Daughter of Lewis and Elisabeth of Castille his second Wife And thô the affianc'd Princess were but five years of Age she was put into the hands of the King of England for a farther confirmation of the Alliance When she came to be of age proper for the consummation of the Nuptials the King of England refus'd to deliver her to his Son for fear he should become too potent and go about to dethrone him with the assistance of France Thereupon Henry impatient to enjoy his youthful Spouse that was to secure him his Succession to the Crown of England the Princess being design'd to the Heir of the Kingdom he stole her away and fled into France to the King his Father-in law From thence he wrote to his own Father demanding England or the Dutchy of Normandy as an Earnest of his Succession and upon the King's refusal resolv'd to obtain his Pretensions by force of Arms. Queen Eleonor also engag'd Richard Duke of Aquitain and Jeoffrey Duke of Bretagne her Brothers to take part with Henry and Lewis oblig'd William King of Scotland to invade England on that side while he sent Robert Earl of Leicester with a powerful Army to make a descent into the Island out of France So that a Man would have thought that the King of England assail'd on every side must have been overwhelmed by so many Enemies But Heaven protected him His Son Henry dy'd in a short time after and Peace was concluded between England and France and the Marriage of Richard who was become Heir to the Crown by the death of Henry with Alice the Daughter of Lewis was the Seal of that Union But in regard the Princess was very young she was put into the hands of the King of England as her Sister had been till she came to years of maturity and Queen Eleonor was shut up in close imprisonment to prevent her contriving new troubles at Court. In the mean time King Henry shew'd himself so extreamly complaisant to the Princess Alice that it was look'd upon to be an effect of love and the Princess answer'd him with a frankness pardonable as her years however Richard grew jealous to that degree that he could not find in his heart to marry her when he came to the Crown Queen Eleonor also whom he set at liberty so soon as he saw himself seated upon the Throne confirm'd him in his aversion and negotiated a Match between him and Beranguelle the Daughter of Don Garcias King of Navarre whom she carry'd to Richard then in Palestine where he espous'd her This anger'd Philip surnam'd the August King of France who at the same time had made a voyage to the Holy Land but he would not shew his resentment there for the injury done his Sister because he would not give the Infidels an opportunity to take advantage of the division of the Christians But so soon as he return'd into France he enter'd the Territories of the King of England in revenge At length Eleonor after she had been the cause of many mischiefs in both Kingdoms where she had worn the Crown ended her days at Poitiers in the Fourscore and fourth year of her age Mary of Moravia Mistress to Philip surnamed the August Anno 1192. PHILIP the August after the death of Isabella of Hainault his first Wife marry'd Isembourg or Eudelberge the Daughter of Waldemar the Great King of Denmark but found so little pleasure in the enjoyment of her that after the first Night he never would Bed her again However he endeavour'd a long time to combat this aversion but not being able to surmount it he imparted the secret of his disgust to William Bishop of Beauvais who told him that in regard there was a near affinity between him and the Queen it would be no difficult thing for him to disannul the Marriage if he would summon an Assembly of the Prelats of his Kingdom The King relish'd this Proposal and having sent for all the Bishops of France and amongst the rest for the Archbishop of Rheims who presided in the Assembly the sentence of Separation was pronounc'd Some time before the King had seen the Portraicture of Mary Agnes the Daughter of Bertol Duke of Moravis which appear'd so charming to him that he had always the Idea of her in his sight Therefore when he saw himself at liberty he sent to demand her in Marriage and having obtain'd his desires he espous'd her with a more then ordinary Magnificence Anno. 1198. Isemburg would not be present at the Nuptial Ceremony but secretly left the Court with a design to retire into Denmark But when she came to the Frontiers of France she bethought her self of the fault she was about to commit in abandoning the Justice of her Cause she return'd back again and shutting her self up in a Convent sent an account of her misfortune to King Conuie her Brother He being astonish'd at Philip's inconstancy sent to his Ambassador then residing in Rome to make his complaints to Pope Celestin and to demand Justice of him Celestin immediately dispatch'd away two Cardinals the one a Priest and the other a Deacon to make inquiry into what had past in the dissolution of the Marriage and to make use of all the Authority of the Holy See to oblige the King to take Isemburg again in case he had no lawful cause of separation So soon as the two Legates arriv'd at Paris
of his Death for he was mortally wounded by a wild Bull that had broke from the Toils wherein he had been entangl'd as if he had design'd to revenge the Death of Gosswind whose Ruin he had been the cause of by his incestuous Love Clotaire's Incestuous Amour Anno 560 CLOTAIRE reunited the Kingdom of France which had been divided after the Death of Cloâ—is He had Marry'd Isgend of whose Family or place of Nativity the Historians speak not a word However she had a Sister that far exceeded her in Beauty for whom she besought the King to provide a Husband and to that purpose sent for her to the Court but Clotaire found her so amirable that he could not endure to part with her He took so great a delight in her Conversation that at length he perceiv'd in himself an affection for her much more tender then it became him to have for the Sister of his Wife For some time therefore he contended with his Incestuous passion and strove to vanquish it But finding at length that the more he withstood it the more is encreas'd he resolv'd to speak to her Heregoud trembled at the King 's first imparting his mind to her and for some time avoided coming into his presence but afterwards she grew less scrupulous and accustom'd her self to listen to his Allurements and in matters of Love when a Virgin begins once to hearken she is not far from droping into the share so that when she once forceas'd to be deterr'd with the horor of the Crime that accompany'd the King's Love she soon surrendred her Fortress and became the Mother of Chilperick who Reign'd after his Father in Normandy and Paris But when Clotaire had satiated his Lust that same disgust that usually follows Enjoyment open'd his eyes and made him sensible of the wrong he had done Ingoud by violating the conjugal Vow that he had made her in devoting himself to her Sister Thereupon he submitted to the Remonstrances and Reprimands of Pope John III. who constrain'd Heregoud to betake her self to a Nunnery Some time after the King having buri'd the Queen his Wife espous'd Chinsiu or Chimsen for the Historians are not agreed about her Name The Amours of Cherebert King of Paris AFTER the Death of Clotaire the Kingdom of France was divided and Paris fell to Chereberts share who was the eldest He had marry'd Ingeberge 〈◊〉 Princess extraordinary Virtue and who Lov'd him tenderly she saw to her grief how the King spent all his time in Hunting and never came near her till late in the Night of which she made most grievous complaints to Meroflede and Marcoâ—efe her Maids of Honour in which the most consided They were Sisters and tho' they were of no higher extraction then the Daughters of a Câ—mber of Wooll yet the Queen disdain'd not their attendance about her Person because they were endow'd with particular Talents Marcouefe had spent her Youthful Years in a Convent and had also enter'd into Vows but in regard she pretended a constraint upon her she had â—â—â—â—â—â—ded her self under the Queen's protection She 〈◊〉 learnt all sorts of Needle-work in the Cloister and she had a lively Wit polish'd with much Learning She was serious yet she had so many charms in her conversation that it was a difficult matter to be tyr'd with her Company On the other side Meroflede was of a lively frolick disposition danc'd with a goodly grace sung most charmingly and plaid upon several Instruments Now these two Young Lady 's propos'd to the Queen as the neatest course she could take to divertise the King with courtly â—easts and Banquets thereby to retain him longer in his Palace They also study'd a sort of Pastoral wherein Meroflede prov'd so successful that the â—ing gave her a thousand praises he took so much delight in her conversation and found the Air of it so quaint and delicate that he could by no means forsake her company Insomuch that he very seldom went a Hunting unless it were upon a set match Meroflede who was Ambitiois forgot the Duty which she ow'd her Mistress and ply'd all her Artifices with so much diligence to keep possession of the King's Heart that a length be obtain'd the utmost of his desires But being a wanton as she was she could not be content with one single tho' so noble a Conquest She would be continually ensnaring with her purloining glances all that were so daring as to seek their Thraldom in her looks Marconefe who was no less Beautiful nor no less witty then her Sister tho' more reserv'd Stomack'd a preferment that seem'd so injurious to her However for some time she stifled her Vexation in her Breast not breaking her mind to any person whatever But when she saw the Meroflede let her self loose to others besides the King she discover'd her Infidelity to him after so discreet and so ingenious a manner as if her intention had been only for her sisters sake to reform the Errors of her ill conduct On the otherside Cherebert lodg'd in Marconefe's Breast all his vexations and sorrows for Merofledes wanton and no less wandring humour and found so much Judgment in her arguments and her councils that he thought he might be far more happy with her then with her Sister and therefore he attempted to gain her affection wherein the speed of his success was answerable to the eagerness of his pursuit Marconefe spar'd for nothing for indeed her emulation was so great to deprive her sister of Cherebert's Heart that she prevented his desires to the end she might compass her ends Meroflede on the other side was soon sensible of this alteration and did all she could to regain his affections Cherebert gave ear to her reproaches bore 'em patiently and endeavour'd to justify himself and finding charms in both unwilling to loose either he made it his business to perswade one Sister that he was intirely devoted to her and the other that she was the only Mistress of his affection All this while he was so enthral'd to his passion for these two Ladies that he neglected the Government of his Dominions and altogether slighted Ingoberge And she unfortunate Queen acknowledg'd soon the fault she had committed in drawing off the King from the pleasure of Hunting to make him sensible of amorous delights and found her self more unhappy then she was when the King forsook her company only to wage War against the wild Beasts of the Forest So that after she had in vain attempted to reclaim him by her caresses and her complaisance she had recourse to St. Germain at that time Bishop of Paris who had gain'd a high reputation for his piety and begg'd of him to lay before the King the wrong he did her in making her such ill returns of her kindness But the remonstrances of that Prelate were so far from moving him that they rather serv'd to render the Person of Ingoberge more hateful to him For from that time forward he
they call'd together an Assembly of the Clergy wherein the Motives to the annulling the King's Marriage with the Princess of Denmark were strictly examin'd But tho' the Prelates assembl'd saw well that the sentence of Separation that had been pronounc'd was slight enough yet they durst not attempt to revoke it for fear of the King's Indignation However Pope Celestin being dead Innocent III. his successor at the solicitation of the Danish Ambassador sent into France the Cardinal Sta Sabina with order to make use of all the most effectual means to oblige the King to a reconciliation with Isemburg When the Legate arriv'd he assembl'd a Council at Lyon and cited the King together with all those that had pronounc'd the sentence of Separation to make their appearance but Philip instead of appearing sent a Herald to Protest the Nullitie of whatever should be done to his prejudice and to appeal as from an improper Judge to the Pope or the next General Council But for all that the Legate went on and by advice of the Prelats assembl'd Excommunicated the King and Interdicted the whole Kingdom Philip enrag'd at these violent Proceedings caus'd the sentence of the Assembly to be declar'd void by a Decree of his Parliament of Paris upon the motion of the Advocate-General and to punish the Bishops who had been so daring as to deal so unworthily by him he seiz'd upon their Temporalties In the mean time well understanding that Isemburg had been the occasion of all these troubles he sent her to the Castle of Estampes with a prohibition not to stir from thence upon pain of being declar'd Guilty of High Treason Mary of Moravia who was a Woman of great virtue and very nice in her sentiments was afraid that all Europe would look upon her as the cause of the Divorce in regard the King had so often given her in publick such transcendent marks of his affection She was desirous therefore to be gratefull and willingly would have resign'd her own Life to have appeas'd these troubles provided that the King her Husband's honour might not be wounded by the accommodation She besought him therefore several times that he would permit her to retire into a Convent But his passion for her was too violent to consent to such a separation and he was too haughty to give his Enemies an occasion to think that he submitted out of any sentiments of fear But as it impossible for Princes long to conceal the most secret emotions of their Souls the favourers of Isemburg had found out that the violent proceeding of the Legat had not a little contributed to exasperate Philip against any reconciliation with that unfortunate Princess Presently therefore they acquainted the Pope with the King's inclinations who yielding to their reasons sent into France two new Legats Octavian Bishop of Ostia and John Bishop of Velitri with Orders to make use of gentler means Those two Legats after they had assembl'd another Council at Soissons immediately took off the excommunication that had been thunder'd out against Philip. Mary likewise laid hold upon this opportunity to beseech His Majesty to take Isembergh again and she assail'd him with arguments so pathetically moving and so judicious that at length he consented Thereupon he sent for Isemburgh to his Palace but the more generous Mary had appear'd to him the more it griev'd him to have separated from her So that after he had remain'd about forty days with Isemburg he sent her to a Monastery The two Legats having notice of this so sudden and unexpected change summon'd a new assembly to meet at Soissons Mary therefore afraid of the fresh troubles into which the King was about to precipitate himself would return to him no more and press'd him so earnestly that she might have leave to retire that at last with his consent she betook her self to the Abby of Boissy But it was not without an extream violence upon her self that she took this resolution She lov'd Philip sincerely and it was meerly to procure him that repose of which he was going to deprive himself for her sake that she could prevail upon her self to loose him for ever And the combat she had in her mind before she could obtain this victory over her self reduc'd her to such a low condition of Health that at length she sunk under the weight of her affliction and dy'd within a Month after her retirement from Court Just before her death she wrote to Philip beseeching him to take Isemburg again and to live lovingly with her The King not able to refuse her this complacency at a time when she gave him such transcending marks of her Love took Horse and rode alone to the Convent where Isemburg lay He sent for her out of the Abby and taking her up behind him carry'd her back to his Palace where he liv'd with her after that in perfect Conjugal society nor did she die till many years after in the Reign of St. Lewis The Pope was also so glad of this reconciliation that to comfort Philip for the loss of Mary he legitimated the two Children he had by her The Intreagues of the Court of France under the Reign of Philip the Fair. PHILIP the Fair had Three Sons who reign'd successively after him Lewis whom he made King of Navarre in his life time and who marry'd Margaret the Daughter of Robert Duke of Burgundy Philip Count of Poitou who marry'd Joan the Daughter of Otheliu Count of Burgundy and Charles de la marche who marry'd Blanche the Daughter of the same Count. These three Princesses were endow'd with all the Graces both of Body and Mind and being of a gay Humor their Courts were always full They drew to 'em all the young Persons of Noble Rank and Quality and their usual divertisement was Hunting whither they went sometimes with the Princes their Husbands but generally alone with the Officers of their Houshold and such Ladies as were wont to be the companions of their Pastimes more especially Philip and Walter de Launoy of whom the one was Squire to the King of Navarre the other to the Count de la March never left 'em upon these occasions They might well be lookt upon for two of the most compleat and handsomest Lords in the Court and they were persons of that brisk and lively Wit that 't was impossible to be tir'd with their Conversation The two Princesses Margaret and Blanche so well lik'd their jolly Humours that without stopping at Esteem they proceeded even to Love The two Lords who had great experience in that Passion and had met with very few hard-hearted Ladies easily perceiv'd the progress they had made in the Hearts of those two Ladies and the Conquest was so illustrious that without reflecting upon the fatal consequences of Intreagues of that Nature they thought of nothing so much as to pursue and preserve it They dextrously wrought upon the Princes to declare their Minds and having drawn from their own Lips