p. 201 he says that No-gent-le-Roy is situated on the River Eure betwixt Dreux and Chartres which is true Then he adds Dreux or Drocum is upon the Blaise c. The worst Map in the World might have shewn him that those three Towns are seated on the same River It 's true Moreâ—y has lead him into that mistake but what his pardonable in the compiler of a great Dictionary who is â—irâ—d out by the length and tediousness of the Work and distracted by the â—ariety of matters is not so in a Geographer Besides that there is a River call'd Baise in Guienne but no River Blaise in all France A Vocabulary of this Authors Faults would make up a small Volume and therefore I shall only add an instance or two more P. 309 he calls twice after Robbe Briancon a Bishoprick Neither Morery nor any other Author that I know of mentions any such thing For the Brianconnois were ever as they are still a dependency of the Caturiges and the Prelate of Ambrun P. 320. He puts after Robbe Serres in Viennois that is in the Northern part of Dauphiné tho it lies in Gapencois or in the South of that Province This as true as what he says p. 17 that at the beginning of this War the French King put 700000 Men in Arms and that he alone has more Religion Merit Glory Revenus and Soldiers then all the Crown'd Heads of Europe together without excepting his dear Ally the Turk The former Description of France being so faulty I let the Reader judg what trouble I have been at in chusing the best and including what ever seem'd to me most essential in the Compass of this Book It is divided into two parts whereof the first is an introduction to the Second a general survey of the whole Country and an explication of several Offices and terms that can scarce be fully undeâ—stood without it Tho this part be very short yet you will find there several things concerning the French Monarchy and Politicks the power of their Parliaments the state of their Nobility and Gentry the increase of Popery the breaking up of the Reformation the causes that retarded its progress and have altogether eclips'd it in that Kingdom all which is not easily to be met with any where-else The second contains an Historical and Geographical Description of the twelve Great Governments into which France uses to be divided besides Lorraine and the County of Burgundy There I treat of the different Revolutions of Each Government of its ancient Inhabitants of its Gaulish and Latin names and other Antiquities of its borders extent subdivisions Air Climate Fertility Rivers Lakes Mountains natural Curiosities c. I set down the distance of the Capital Cities from Paris or from each other and of the most considerable Towns in each Government from their Capital their Latin names Antiquities Lords and Titles their Civil and Ecclesiastical Government with the several Changes they have undergone their most remarkable Buildings Trade Inhabitants the Great Men they have produc'd their Soyl and Territory c. Books newly Printed for T. Salusbury at the Kings-Arms next St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street THe Reformed Gentleman or the English Morals rescued from the Immortalities of the present Age shewing how inconsistent those pretended Genteel Accomplishments of Swearing Drinking Whoring and Sabbath-breaking are with the true Generosity of an Englishman With an account of the proceedings of the Government for the Reformation of Manners By A. M. of the Church of England bound in 8. Price 1 s. 6 d. 2. An Essay against Vnequal Marriages in 4 Chapters 1. The Introduction 2. Against old Persons Marrying with Young 3. Against Persons Marrying without Parents or Friends Consent 4. Against Persons Marrying against their own Consent By S. Sufford in 12's bound Price 1 s. 20. The safety of France to Monsieur the Dauphin or the Secret History of the French King proving that there is no other way to secure France from approaching ruin but by deposing his Father for a Tyrant and Dostroyer of his People Done out of French 12. bound price 1 s. 21. The History of the late great Revolution in England and Scotland with the Causes and Means by which it was accomplished with a particular account of the Extraordinary Occurences which happened thereupon as likewise the settlement of both the Kingdoms under their most serence Majesties King William and Queen Mary with a List of the Convention 8. bound price 5. s. A General and Particular DESCRIPTION OF FRANCE PART I. THE Method I shall observe in this Description is To give at first a General View of this ancient and large Kingdom To speak of its old and modern Bounds and Divisions Of its Soil Inhabitants Government Policy Magistrates Religion c. And then to give a Particular Description of each of its Provinces CHAP. I. Of the ancient and modern Bounds and Divisions of France Of her Mountains Ports Rivers and Forests FRANCE has not changed her ancient Limits to the South West and North seeing as Gallia of old it has to the West the Ocean of Aquitain to the North the British Ocean as far as Calis by which Sea it is divided from England the Mediterranean Sea on the South which is also called the French Sea with the Pyrenaean Mountains that part her from Spain As to her Limits on the East and North-East they are very uncertain especially in this time of War Before the late Conquests it was bounded by the County of Burgundy Elzas the Dukedom of Lorrain and Barrois and part of the Spanish Netherlands viz. the Province of Luxembourg Hainault Brabant and Flanders But at present the French King is Master of all those Countries except of a little part So that his Kingdom has almost recover'd its ancient Limits on that side viz. the Rhine and the Mouth of the Meuse Her Form is almost round and in a manner oval so that she is as broad as long and may be of 25 days Journey in length from Brest to Strasbourg and of as many in breadth from Dunkerque to Perpignan that is 250 Leagues which make about 1000 Leagues in circuit The ancient Galli called Celtae transplanted themselves into Asia where they gave their Name to a whole Country called Galatia Gallo-Graecia or Gallia Minor and now Chiangare being part of Natoly or Less Asia Another Colony of the Gallick Nation having passed the Alpes conquered a good part of Italy which made the Romans to distinguish them into Cisalpins and Transalpins However the Country on this side the Alpes retained the ancient Name of Gallia and falling afterwards under the Power of the Romans was divided by Augustus into four Parts viz. Gallia Narbonensis called also Gallia Braccata because of the Braccae a kind of broad long Coats the Inhabitants wore The other Parts were the Celtick Gallia or that of Lyons the Belgick and the Aquitanick which had all three the common Surname of Gallia Comata because the
who makes the 25th and these are the Archers of the Guard du Corps who wear Hoquetons or white Cassocks covered with gilt Silver-Shells whence they are commonly called Hoquetons The three French Companies have been instituted by three several Kings and wear upon their Arms and Cassocks the Livery Colours and Devices of the Reigning Kings Those that are called Exempts of the Guards precede the other Archers they wear neither Hoquetons nor Cassocks and command the Guards in the absence of their Officers They carry a Stick as a Mark of their Power and Employment The hundred Switzers wear the King's Livery with a Halbert and are cloathed after their own Country fashion These four Companies have their Captains who are all qualified Lords And besides these the King has a Regiment of Switzers and another Regiment of French Guards with all their Officers These make as 't were a small compleat Army kept ordinarily with a Company of Musqueteers or Horse-Guards whom King Lewis XIII had instituted and whose Head he was During the Minority of the Kings which ends so soon as they are 14 years old a Regent or Protector was provided by the General States of the Kingdom or by the Court of Parliament of Paris He was commonly the King 's nearest Kinsman or the Queen his Mother as Queen Catherine of Medicis was to King Charles IX Queen Mary of Medicis to King Lewis XIII But since the Monarchy is become Absolute the Will of the deceased King has only been regarded And Ann of Austria Mother to K. Lewis XIV now Reigning carried the Regency against the Princes of the Blood who disputed it with her though they had the Parliament of Paris on their side whence ensued a bloody War in which the Queen and Cardinal Mazarine got the better of the Princes Patents Edicts and Arrests are expedited under the Name of the King with this Title By the King and Queen-Regent The Queens of France have often been Crowned whereof History gives several Examples They were anointed with another Chrism than that of the Holy Ampoule Queen Mary of Medicis was Consecrated and Crowned at St. Denis in the year 1610. on the 13th of May by Cardinal de Joyeuse In their Widowhood they have been formerly called White Queens but that has not been used for some Ages There is no sharing in the Royal House and Succession since the Third Stock of the Kings of France so that second Brothers must be contented with a Patrimony in Land bearing the Title of Dutchy Peerdom and County They may have in their House such Officers as the King himself has viz. Chancellor Secretary and others with the Title of Grandees and they are stiled Your Highness as if they were Sovereign Princes The youngest Sons of the French King subscribe only with the proper Name as well as the King himself but their Posterity take their Title of the principal Country that makes up their Portions as being henceforward accounted a separate Branch of the Princes of the Blood The Daughters of the French Kings have not any other Portions than Sums of Money instead of Lands which they have had heretofore It is They alone who properly are called Dames or Ladies in France The Princes of the Blood who become Church-Men keep the Rank belonging to their Birth and not to the Ecclesiastical Order The King 's Natural Sons have no share in the Succession either of the Crown or of the Royal Patrimony but have an Entertainment at the King's Pleasure They do not bear the Surname of France but that of the Land given them or of the Branch which they come from as now the Duke of Longueville is called of Orleance He or his Predecessors being descended from Lewis Duke of Orleance Brother to King Charles VI. The Duke of Engoulême was called de Valois as being born of Charles IX of the Branch of Valois The Duke of Vendosme and his Issue bear the Name of Vendosme because of that Land which King Henry IV. gave to their Fore-father CHAP. V. Of the Chief Officers of the Crown and Kingdom THE greatest Office of the King's House is that of Grand Master of his House before whom all the Officers that serve therein take the Oaths and whom they are to obey There is a Chief Steward of the Household and a Steward of the Household in Ordinary and others that serve quarterly having a Stick in their Hands set in Silver gilt at both Ends. They precede the Serving Gentlemen when the Kings Meat goes by There is a Grand Provost of France or Provost of the Houshold which is a very ancient and authorized Office Justice is exercised under his Name by two Lieutenants the one in a long and the other in a short Gown by Serjeants and by fifty Archers cloathed in Hoquetons or Cassocks of Livery that follow him attend the Court and prosecute the Guilty six Leagues thereabouts He also makes the Procedures of criminal Causes betwixt the Officers of the King's Houshold and others that follow the Court and when the King is on his March he sets a Price upon Bread Wine Flesh Hay Oates and other Provisions The Place of great Chamberlain is also very ancient honourable and priviledged He is Superintendant of the King's Chamber of his Cloathings and Moveables He lyes at the King's Feet when he holds his Bed of Justice or at the General States of the Kingdom when the Kings used to call them There are four Chief Gentlemen of the King's Chamber that serve quarterly a Master of the Wardrobe a Master of the Ceremonies a Leader of Ambassadors who all take the Oaths in the King's Hands There was formerly a Grand Queux or a Great Master of the King's Kitchin but this Charge is now abolished there having been none since Lewis of Prie Lord of Buzancoâ—â— who died under Charles VIII An. 1490. There are yet four Masters Queux or Cooks who serve quarterly in the King's Kitchin The Great Master of the Pantry and the Grand Butler or Cup-bearer of France do discharge their Duty but in great Solemnities as at the King's Coronation and the like but there are Gentlemen of the King's Table and Cup-bearers in ordinary who make the Assay of the Meat and Drink that is presented to the King There is a great and little Stable of the King the Gentlemen of the Little pass upon the King when he is on Horseback The Great Master of the Horse is constituted upon them all and bears the Sword in a Velvet Scabbard marked with Flower-de-Luces on great Solemnities before his Prince The Marshals of France judge of all Military Causes and have their Lieutenants and Provosts to inform against and seize upon Vagabonds and Deserters They ordinarily wear a Stick as a Badge of their Dignity and when they receive it from the King they take the Oath of Allegiance to him in the High Court of Parliament at Paris The Seat of their Jurisdiction is at the Marble-Table in the Palace of
Town which has been ruined by the Wars It seems to have been considerable in the sixth Century since Sigebert first King of Austrasia erected it into a Bishopprick but Papole Bishop of Chartres form'd such a Powerful Opposition to it in the fourth Council of Paris in 573 that Promotus the new Prelate was forc'd to stand off his Right and to lead a private Life Another Maâ—k of the former Greatness of this Town are its Arms three Half Moons with these Words Extincta revivisco besides many Ruins There is an antient Abby of Cisternians founded by Charlemaign and several Collegiate and Parochial Churches Chateaudun has an Election and Royal Seat of Justice on which depend the Chastellenies of Montigny le Guanleon Courtalin Monlitard Lesclers and Rubetan according to du Chesne but I find none of them in the most accurate Maps The other Towns of Dunois are Alluye Bonneval Cloye Moree Freteval all upon the Loire Oucques Marchenoir Pathay Bagnolet on the East Dangeau Brou-St Romain Anthen la Bazoche-Gouet on the West side of that River Romorantin or Remorentin Rivus Morentini a Town and a Castle seated on the River Saudre Salera eight Leagues South-West of Blois is the Capital of Sologne has the Title of a County and is the Seat of the Election for that little Country In 1597. the Monks who suspected Henry IV. all his life for having been once a Protestant taught a young Maid called Martha Brossier to counterfeit one that is possest of the Devil and under that pretence spread many things to the King's disadvantage The Cheat succeeded in many places of the Diocess of Orleans whither they carry'd her but making bold to bring her to Paris the Parliament took notice of it and the pretended Devil was confin'd to her own Country In 1560. Francis the XI published here an Edict against the Protestants under the Name of Hereticks Du Chesne derives the Name of Romorentin from Roma Minor and pretends it to be a Work of the Romans because of some old Ruins The learned Mr. Pajon Minister of Orleans who so ingeniously defended the Reformation in his Answer to the Prejugez legitimes of that famous Jansenist Mr. Nicole was a Native of Româ—rantin Millansay a Burrough and a Castle call'd by Duchesne Militia Caesaris lies 2 Leagues Northwards The other places of Sologne are la Ferte-Aurain on the Beuvron Chatillon and la Ferte-Imbaut on the Saudre St. Aignan and Menetou on the Cher and Nansay on the Raire Of Proper Orleannois ORleannois properly so call'd is situated between Berri Gatinois the Country of Chartres and Blaisois Orleans is the antient City of Genabum or Cenabum mentioned by Cesar Strabo Ptolomy and other antient Geographers It 's true that the Description he makes of it may in some manner be applied to Gien Beaugency and Gergeau because of the Proximity of those places to Orleans and their Scituation on the Loire But he who shall consider that the Chartrains Carnutes had two considerable Cities in their Country viz. Autricum and Genabum whereof the first is incontestably Chartres shall not doubt but Genabum is Orleans This may be prov'd First From a continued Tradition of the antient Historians of the French who all agree in taking Genabum for Orleans And secondly From that there never was any other Town so considerable as Orleans under the Jurisdiction of the Chartrains In this Town then it was that Cesar took his Winter Quarters and made it one of his chief Magazines for his Army In 450. that barbarous Prince Attila King of the Huns so deservedly call'd the Scourge of God as well as Lewis XIV laid Siege to it and the Inhabitants afraid of his Threatnings and Cruelties would have surrendred themselves had they not been â—ncouraged by St. Aignau their Bishop with â—he hope of an unexpected Succours And so 〈◊〉 really fell out for Thierry or Theodoric King â—f the Goths fearing lest Orleans being taken â—ttila should pass the River Loire and enter â—nto his Dominions came to the Relief of the Besieged and charg'd the Huns in the Rear so â—ffectually that he forc'd them to raise the â—iege and to withdraw into the Plains of Sologne Secalaunicis Campis and not Cataâ—aunicis for Chalons in Burgundy lies sixty â—eagues from thence where Aetius the Roman â—eneral assisted with the Goths and Burgundiâ—us under Thierry and the Francs under Meâ—veus lever'd them Battle defeated Attila â—nd kill'd 180000 of his men Childeric â—ourth King of the French and Successor to Meroveus having defeated Gillon or Aegidius â—he last General the Romans had in Gaule took Anger 's Orleans and whatsoever remain'd in â—heir Possession on this side the Loire But Clovis his Son pushed his Conquests so far into Aquitain by the defeat of Alaric King of the Goths that after his death Orleans became the Head and Title of a new Kingdom the Portion â—f his second Son Clodomir This Prince â—eigned but thirteen years having been kill'd â—n his Pursuit of the Burgundians in 524. In â—im began and ended the Kingdom of Orleans â—or Clotarius his Brother who had spoused his Widow made away his Issue And tho' after â—otarius's death France was again divided â—â—to four parts yet Orleans was no more the â—ead of a Kingdom for Gontran to whom it fell to share chose Chalons for the Seat of hiâ— Empire and most of his Estates having formerly belong'd to the Burgundians he took hiâ— Title from thence And thence undoubtely iâ— comes that Fredegarius reckons Orleans iâ— Burgundy During the weakness of Charlemaign's Successors this Town with several other Estate became the Property of Hugh the Great Dukâ— of France and Burgundy Count of Paris c Father to Hugh Capet the Head of the thirâ— Race of the French Kings This was apparently the cause that Robert Son and Henrâ— Grandson to Capet made oft their residence iâ— Orleans and that their Successors did neveâ— separate it from the Crown till Philip of Valoiâ— gave it in Portion to Philip his fifth Son deaâ— without Issue in 1375. Lewis second Son tâ— Charles the V. got it afterwards and waâ— Grandfather to Lewis the XII who ascendeâ— the Throne after Charles VIII since that it haâ— been several times the Portion of the youngesâ— Sons of those Kings as 't is now enjoy'd bâ— Philip of France Lewis the XIV's Brother As to the Ecclesiastical State St. Altin iâ— reckoned the first Bishop of Orleans and in thâ— sixth Century five National Councils were kepâ— here in less than forty years viz. in 511 533 538 541 and 549. for settling the Ecclesiastical Discipline the Election Rights and Limitâ— of the Metropolitans The Prelates of thiâ— Church on the day of their inthronizatioâ— have the Priviledge of delivering a Prisoneâ— and of being carry'd to the Cathedral on thâ— Shoulders of the five ancientest Barons oâ— their Diocess viz. those of Yevre-le Chastel Sulli Cheray Acheres and Rougemont Gregory of Tours relates that when King Gontran made his solemn Entrance
by this great General In the Division of Augustus Berry was made a part of Aquitain and continu'd so under the French During the weakness of Charlemaigne's Successors the Governors of this Province made themselves Sovereigns and had the Title of Counts of Bourges till Harpin undertaking a Journey into the Holy Land sold his Estate to the French King Philip I. for sixty thousand golden Pence This Lord turning a Monk at his return this County was united to the Crown till the year 1360 that the French King John erected it into a Dutchy and Peerdom for his youngest Son John who dying without Male Issue Berry return'd to the Crown King Charles VI. gave it in portion to his fifth Son Charles since the VII of that name King of France and because during the Wars with the English this Province stood firm to his Int'rest his Enemies call'd him contemptuously King of Bourges Since that time Berry has often been the portion of youngest Sons Daughters and Queen Dowagers of France This Province is about 28 Leagues North and South and as many East and West being divided into two Parts almost equal by the Cher and water'd by a vast number of other Rivers which make this Country very pleasant and fertile in all the necessary Conveniencies of Life It especially abounds in Corn and the Pasture-Ground is so excellent that the Wooll and Cloth of Berry out-do all the others in France The Name of Berry is derived from a Latin word us'd in the decay of that Tongue Biturium More antient Authors call the Berruyers Bituriges Cubi to distinguish them from the Inhabitants of Bourdeaux Bituriges Vivisci who seem to be a Colony of the former Bourges Avaricum Biturigum and in latter Ages Biturigae Bituricae Betoricae lies 19 Leagues South South-East of Orleans upon the River Eure or Yeure Avara or Avera whence the Latin Name of this City Avaricum seems to come It 's seated in a Soil fertile in Fruits and Wine that is not so delicate but more healthful than that of Orleans The River Eure divides it self into three Branches one of which serves to cleanse the Town and withal to Dyers Tanners and the like the other refreshes the Ditches that surround the Walls and the third runs along the Suburb of St. Peter These three Branches being joined and the Eure encreased with the Waters of the Oron Vtrio the Aurette Avara Minor and the Moulon Molo near the Monastery of St. Sulpice this River begins to be Navigable The Situation of Bourges is not only convenient but also very strong for besides these Rivers and Ditches it is defended by broad and deep Marshes surrounded with good Walls fortified with eighty Towers so that three Camps would needs be required to besiege it on all sides as one at Bourbon's Gate the other at Oron's Gate and the other at the Gate of St. Privatus Cesaer observes that he could not shut it up with Trenches and laid siege to it only on that side that was between the River and the Marsh Nevertheless he took it partly by Storm and partly by Stratagem having raised two high Towers whence his Soldiers leaped on the Wall which so frighted the Garison and Inhabitants that they retir'd to the great Market and thence endeavoured to make their escape thorough the Gates but the Romans having master'd them spar'd neither Sex nor Age they were so incens'd at the Murther of their Fellow Soldiers in Gien This was the Cause that of 40000 People that were in this City 800 hardly could save their Lives by retiring into the Army of Vercingentorix General of the Gauls In the V. Century Bourges was taken from the Romans by the Visigots and from them by Clovis and made part of the Kingdom of Orleans under Clodomir and of that of Burgundy under Gontran his Nephews Desiderius or Didier General of Chilperic the first King of Paris or France took it from the last in 583 and burnt it almost intirely Charlemaign repair'd it and Phillip August fortified and adorn'd it with a Castle call'd the Great Tower which was almost quite ruined in 1651. It was cut Diamond wise on the outside and rais'd so high that from the top the Country might be viewed four Leagues round about There has been seen a long time a Wood or Iron-Cage where the jealous King Charles the VIII kept Lewis of Orleans Prisoner who nevertheless succeeded him In 1412 the Duke of Burgundy brought the French King Charles the VI. before Bourges whither the Duke of Orleans and his Confederates had retir'd and laid siege to it with an Army of 100000 Men but in vain for at last both Parties were glad to accept of the Mediation of the Duke of Guyenn then Dauphin of France In 1562 The Count of Montgommery Commander of the Protestants under the Prince of Conde seiz'd on this Town May 27 but left Governour therein one Yvoy a Man of no great Courage and Trust who surrendered it the same Year to the Duke of Guise and therefore it remained in the Power of the Leaguers till 1594 that it was reduced by the French King Henry the IV. Notwithstanding these various Changes Bourges is still a considerable City being of an Oval Figure with seven Gates and as many Suburbs Its Walls seem to be a Roman Work being still almost intire and so strongly built that it requires a great deal of Labour to pluck some few Stones out of them It has seventeen Parochial and seven Collegiate Churches three Abbies a College of Jesuites and a vast number of Monasteries besides the Cathedral of St. Stephen said to be buiâ—t in 254 and the St. Chappel founded by John Duke of Berry Brother to the French King Charles the V. and therefore depending immediately on the See of Rome That Duke was buried there in 1417 and there is still his Crown with several Vessels of Gold and Silver curiously wrought There are likewise shewn the pretended Bones of a certain Giant call'd Briat said to have been 15 Cubits high The Romans had here a Pallace which K. Pepin repair'd and called there an Assembly of his Barons in 767 but I know not whether it be the same which the Dukes of Berry made afterward use of and is now the Seat of the Presidial Besides the Bailiwick Bourges has a Generality to which the Elections of Chateau-Roux and la Chastre in Berry and St. Amand in Bourbonnois are resorting as also a Chamber of Acompts for all the lands depending on this Dutchy erected by the said Duke in 1379. It s University is famous for the Civil and Canon Law the best Lawyers in France having taught here in the last Age and the beginning of this such as Alciat Baroâ— Duarenus Baldwin Conti Hortomun Cujus c. It was founded by the French King Lewis the IX re-establisht by Charles Duke of Berry Brother to Lewis the XI and endow'd with many Priviledges by Pope Paul II. in 1464. But now I am
that Court where their Power is very considerable since the Suppression of the Charge of Lord Constable upon whom they were formerly depending However this Power is somewhat counterballanced by their great Increase in Number of late years The Lord Chancellor is the Head of all the Courts of Justice and presides in all the King's Councils in his Absence Besides he cannot be destituted but by Death or Trespass And therefore the Kings to keep this great Minister in awe have a Lord Keeper of the Seals whom they cause to discharge the Chancellor's Functions by giving him the Seals in which Occasion the Chancellor retains no more but the bare Name of his Office He has under him the Masters of the Requests who serve quarterly judge the Differences between the Officers of the Crown and prepare such Matters as are to come before the King 's Great Council This Council is now a Soveraign Court of Justice whose Sentences are executed throughout the whole Kingdom it 's composed of the Chancellor and eight Masters of Requests From this Court issue all the Placates Ordinances and Proclamations There are also a Council of State a Council of the Exchequer a Privy-Council to determine Appeals and Contests about the Jurisdiction of Judges and the Cabinet Council who manages all the Affairs and is as the Soul of the Realm Besides the twelve ancient Peers of France there are near a hundred more created since two or three Centuries but though they have the Priviledge to sit in the Parliament at Paris and not to be judged by any other Court yet they fall short of the Lustre and Power of the first Peers The Knights of the Order of St. Michael instituted by Lewis XI in 1469 are in no extraordinary Repute and this Order is now only considered as a step to that of the Holy Ghost instituted by Henry III. in 1570 whose Knights are fewer in number and more respected it being given as a token of special Favour and to such as are already of St. Michael's Order and considered by their Birth or Merits I supersede to speak of the Lord Admiral the Vice-Admirals and Rear-Admirals Of the Generals Lieutenant Generals Masters de Camp Collonels c. Of the Masters of the Ordnance of the Lord Treasurers Counsellors and Secretaries of State of the Ambassadors Lord Almoner Under Almoners Chaplains in Ordinary and other Officers either Civil Military or Ecclesiastical who are little or nothing different from the like in England But I must not forget to speak a word of the King's Confessor who though he has originally no more Power than the Clerk of the Closet here yet through the superstitious Condescension of the late Kings and the shrewd Management of those cunning Politicians Cotton Annat and La Chaize are become so powerful as to get into their Hands the Direction of the most important Affairs of the Kingdom under pretence of Conscience When the Jesuits were recalled into France King Henry IV. was advised to take one of these Fathers for his Confessor who should be as an Hostage for the Fidelity of the whole Club. But this very Caution proved his Ruine for Father Cotton whom he pitched upon having first seduced his Queen laid his Plot so well with Spain and his Fellow-Jesuits that the King was murthered by Ravaillac And that Henry's Ghostly Father and Queen had a Hand in this horrid Business can hardly be doubted after the Insinuations the sincere Mezeray gives of it There are two Charges in France the like I don't know that we have in England or at least they are not here in such a Consideration as in that Kingdom The Officers who discharge them are always Counts or Dukes or Princes of the Blood and are called the Great Huntsman and the Great Falconer of France They have large Appointments Gifts and Profits and several Officers under them whose Places are at their Disposal The Captain General of the Hunting-Nets and the Great Wolf-Hunter keep likewise an honourable Rank and all four are sworn by the King himself I shall finish this Chapter with mentioning the Way of administring Justice in France Suits are for the most part commenced before the ordinary Judges of the Place which are called Royal or Seigneurial according as the Town or Village depends â—mmediately upon the King or a private Lord except in some particular Cases or when one of the Parties concerned is exempted from their Jurisdiction Thence â—hey are brought before the Baylives or Seâ—eschals who are Chief Justices of a certain Precinct called Baylwick Vriguory Provostship or Seneshalship These Baylives are Noble Men who bear a Sword instead of a Gown and seldom discharge their Office themselves but have two Lieutenants under them one for Civil and the other for Criminal Causes The last and Supream Jurisdiction is â—he High Court of Parliament each of which is composed of ten twelve or fifteen Presidents and well near eighty or an hundred Counsellors The Power of this Court â—s yet very great because of the many Noble and Priviledged Men whose Causes immediately resort to it But it was much greater in times past especially that of the Parliament of Paris which was in some manner a standing Assembly of the General States For no Edict or Proclamation of the King had the Force of a Law before â—t was â—enteriné or ratify'd by them and they might reject such as were not in their Judgments fit for the Publick Good A Boldness of which History furnisheth us with several Examples even under the most powerful and respected Princes as Lewis XI Francis I. and Henry IV. But the late Ministers Richelieu Mazarin Colbert and Louvois have so far undermined the Authority of these Courts that they not only dare not reject any of the King's Edicts but dare not so much as make use of the Word Enteriné their Style being now Lû verifié en Parlement That is Read and acknowledged for a true Writing or Order of the King The Intendants are the Men whom the Promoters of Arbitrary Power have made a special use of to bring down the Power of Parliaments They are a kind of Overseers whom the French Kings began to send into the several Provinces of their Dominions fifty or sixty years ago and who under pretence of setling the King's Revenues reconciling Differences about it or seeing Justice well done have considerably encroached upon the Jurisdiction of Parliaments without that the Complaints of the last were ever regarded at Court The preposterous Zeal of these Magistrates against the Reformed was none of the least Causes of their Decay for as often as any Suit wherein both Churches seemed to be concerned came before them we were sure to get an Arrêt de Partage or that the Protestant President and Counsellors would give their Voice in favour of the Defenders whereas the Roman Catholicks would decide for the Plaintiffs how ill grounded soever their Actions might be This of course brought the Decision of the
said to yield to none of that Country in well breeding and comeliness but to those of Montpellier The late Governours of Languedoc as the Duke of Montmorency and the Prince of Conti have kept here their ordinary Residence and the States of the Province have been consequently held here which has much contributed to the enriching and beautifying of this Town The other places of this Diocese are Marseillan Florensac Castelnau Montagnac Le Pouget Gignac Ville-Magne Loupian and Meâ—e the Mesua of Pomponius Mela tho the Island he speaks of seems rather to be Lates Lodeve seated between Mountains near the meeting of the Rivers Solondre and Lergue not far from the Cevennes and the Borders of Roâ—â—rgue and Gevaudan lies almost 9 Leagues North of Pesenas and 13 of Agde It s antient name in Latin is Forum-Neronis and then Leuâ—eva both known to Pliny and its Bishop kept already the 4th or 5th rank among the Suffragans of Narbonne at the beginning of the 5th Century Lodeve is not now very big for it has suffer'd several devastations during the Wars of the Goths then of the Albigeois and lastly during the Civil Wars between the Prâ—testants â—â—d Roman Catholicks and the Duke of Montmorency took it in 1585. This Town had formerly the Title of a Viscounty which one of its Prelates Raimond Guilhen Brother to the Lord of Montpellier bought off from Viscount Geldin whence it comes that the Bishops of Lodeve are Lords of it appoint the Magistrates and take the Title of Counts of Montbrun a Castle near it And 't is asserted that 800 Noblemen depended on and made homage of their Lands to this Prelate who on this account was Sirnam'd the Noble Bernard Gui and John Plantavit de la Pause Bishops of Lodeve have published Chronicles of their Church Denis Briconnet and Francis Bosquet are likewise in the number of Authors The Diocese of Lodeve comprehends besides the Towns or Burroughs of Las Ribbes S. Michel Ganges Brisac S. Jean de Buege S. Guillem ley Desert with a famous Abby of Benedictins founded by one of the Ancestors of the Princes of Orange Mont-Peyroux S. Jean de Foz S. André Clermont de Lodeve and Canet Of the Precinct of Nismes THis Precinct is not near so great as the ancient Territories of the Volcae Arecomici who extended themselves through the Dioceses of Montpellier Nismes Vzès and Lodeve enjoyed the Town of Pezenas and even some Lands beyond the Rhone Now it is restrained within the Episcopal Jurisdiction of Montpellier and Nismes and has the district of Beziers on the West Gevaudan and Vivarais on the North and North-East the Rhone on the East and the Sea on the South It s greatest length from Frontignan on the Pond of Maguelonne to the source of the Eraut is 17 Leagues North and South and its greatest breadth from Beaucaire on the Rhone to Anagne on the Eraut 22 Leagues East and West but in some places it is so very tarrow that it has hardly 4 or 5 Leagues Montpellier 3 Leagues South of the Sea 13 East of Pesenas and 14 North-East of Agde is call'd in Latin Mons-pessulus Mons-pessulanus Mons-peslerius and Mons-puellaris but every one may see that these are not old Latin names and likewise this Town is hardly known in History since 600 years though it be now the biggest and richest in Languedoc after Toulouse It is seated upon a Hill whose foot is wash'd by the small River Lez which receives there another Rivulet called Merdanson after it has serv'd to the uses of the Town The original of Montpellier is related thus There was formerly a strong and considerable City call'd Maguelonne Magalo in a Gulph nam'd by Pliny Laterna and by the French l'Etang du Tau de Lates or de Perraut The foundation of Maguelonne is uncertain for tho the Coast of Lower Languedoc has been sometime in the power of the Marseillois and Stephanus mentions Alonis as an Island belonging to them whose Inhabitants were call'd Alonites yet having no other testimony a small and far fetched resemblance of names can scarce prove them to be one and the same However it be sure it is that Maguelonne was an Episcopal City in the 5th and 6th Centuries and a famous Sea-port too which was the cause of its ruin For after the Saracens had conquered Spain they spread themselves in Lower Languedoc in 730 and threatned the whole Kingdom of France with a Barbarian Invasion when they were utterly routed by Charles Martel near Tours As this great Captain had observ'd that they commonly landed at Maguelonne when it had retaken this Town in 736 he raz'd it to the very ground and transferred the Episcopal See to Soustancion Sextatio almost a Mile East of Montpellier Soustancion is mention'd in the Geographical Tables of the Emperor Theodose and in the Travels of Aethicus but the Inhabitants finding the Situation of the place where now Montpellier lies more convenient and the Air sweeter began to build there Thus the new Village increas'd by degrees during 300 Years that the B. of Maguelonne kept their Seat at Soustancion But in 1060 Arnauld Julian one of these Prelates rais'd up the Walls of Maguelâ—nne fortify'd them with Towers and the Haven where the Saracens us'd to land being stop'd built another in a more convenient place Before this the Governour of Maguelonne had retir'd to a place call'd now Mauguio where he built a Castle under the name of Melgueil and having usurp'd the Sovereignty of his Government during the troubles of the French Monarchy he took upon him the Title of Count of Melgueil and Soustancion and coyn'd a kind of small Money call'd the Melgoris pence The Estates of these Counts pass'd in 1172 into the House of Toulouse by the Marriage of Ermessende their Heiress with Raymond VI. Sirnamed the Old and was confiscated upon his Son by Pope Innocent III. and the Council of Latran in 1215. In the mean while Montpellier increas'd apace for it appears by a passage of S. Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux that there was already a School or Seminary of Physicians in 1155 and in 1156 we find mention of its Baths which were farm'd by the Lords of that Town as being of a considerable Revenue However the first Institution of its University is commonly ascrib'd to the Disciples of Averroes aâ—d Avicenne in 1196 and its perfect establishment is said to have been made but in 1220. About this time the Lords of Montpellier were in great esteem This Lordship was first detached from the Patrimony of the Counts of Melgueil to be the Portion of Eustorgia a Daughter of that House She had a Son call'd Fulcran who became Bishop of Lodeve and two Daughters who bequeathed their Estates to the Church of Maguelonne in 975. These Prelates sold Montpellier to a Gentleman nam'd Gui on condition that he should keep it as a Fee of the Church and defend it against the Saracens The French Kings and the succeeding Bishops of Maguelonne
2 Sollicitors or Advocates General and 4 Secretaries This Soveraign Court of Justice nobilitates its Members and has the same Rights and Privileges of other Parliaments of France The Dean of Trevoux is Counsellor born in it The other Chastelnies are Beauregard Monmerle Toissey Lans Chalamont Chatelet S. Trivier Ville-Neuve Amberieu and Lignieu CHAP. XX. Of the County of Burgundy Or Franche-County THe County of Burgundy or Upper Burgundy call'd also Franche-County hath Switzerland on the East Bresse Bugey and Gex on the South Lorraine on the North the Dutchy of Burgundy and part of Champaign on the West It s extent is from 46 d. 10 m. to 41 d. of Latitude which take up about 47 Leagues from Dortans to Fontaine le-Chaste and between 26 d. 20 m. and 28 d. 28 m. of Longitude which make up about 33 Leagues from the Frontiers of the Bishoprick of Basil to Autrey beyond Gray It abounds in Corn Wine Cattle Horses Woods and Salt-Springs Here are to be found several Quarries of black Marble Jasper of divers Colours and fine Alabaster with some Mines of Iron and Silver This Country is water'd with several considerable Rivers and Brooks as the Saone the Dou the Lougnon the Soubre and of ex-the Louve c. which abound with various soâ—ts cellent Fish among which the Carps of Saone the Pikes of the Dâ—u the Barbel-Fish of the Lougnon and the Trouts of the Dain are in great esteem The course of these Rivers has been already described in the Government of Burgundy All Criticks and Geographers agree that Franche-County was anciently inhabited by the Sequani who were so powerful as to dispute the Empire of the Gaules with the Autunois which was the occasional cause of Caesar's Conquests as may be seen in the Description of Autun This great Captain and Historian ranks the Sequani as well as the Helvetii or Switzers among the Celtae or Galli properly so called But Augustus added these two Nations to the Belgick Gaule as he did also those who dwelt betwixt the Loire and the Garumne to Aquitain and gave to the Country of the Sequani the name of Maxima Sequanorum because it was one of the greatest Provinces of the Gaules taking up all that space that is included betwixt the Rhone Mount Jura the source of the Rhin and the Saone from Basil or rather August Augusta Rauracorum to Lyons This Country was conquer'd from the Romans by the Burgundians and from them by the French During the decay of that Monarchy under the second Race of their Kings it made for a little while part of the second Kingdom of Burgundy Then its Counts made themselves Sovereigns and their Posterity enjoy'd it from the end of the 10th Century to 1369 that Margaret Heiress of this Country married Philip the bold Duke of Burgundy of the Royal Blood of France And therefore this Province being originally the Portion of a Princess remain'd to Mary Daughter to Charles the Rash last Duke of Burgundy and to her Heiâ—s the Kings of Spain till Lewis XIV seiz'd upon it in 1674 and kept it by the Peace of Nimeguen Franche-County is said to have got this name from one or two of its Counts Renald I. and III. who refused to make Homage to the Emperours pretending that their Country was altogether free from that Subjection Whatever be of that this County is now divided into three Bayliwicks bearing the names of Vesoul Dole and Poligni or highest middle-most and lowest Franche-County Of the Bayliwick of Vesoul THe Bayliwick of VESOVL or Amont or Highest Burgundy County is situated in the North part of this Province VESOVL Vesullum Capital of this Division is seated on a â—ittle River which emptieth it self into the Saone 21 Miles North of Besancon in a Soil fertil in excellent Wine It had formerly a good Cittadel Gray Gradicum Castrum upon the Saone 9 Leagues North of Dolo and 10 North-East of Dijon It was formerly a place of great strength but Lewis XIV having surpriz'd it in 1668 â—az'd its Cittadel and all its Fortifications Beaune les-Nonnes lies a Mile North of the Dou and 7 Leagues North-East of Besancon Luxeuil Luxovium is a little Town towards â—he Frontiers of Lorraine and Mount Vauge â— Leagues North-East of Vesoul The Abby of Lure or Luders Lutera is situated on a little River which emptieth it self into the Lougeon towards the Frontiers of Lorraine 15 Leagueâ— North-East of Besancon In this Bayliwick towards the borders of Elzas is included the small Country of Mouâ—beliard called by the Germans Monpelgart In Latin Mons-Beliardi or Mons Peligardi The Capital of the same name is situated on the river Halle which emptieth it self into the Dou. It 's built at the foot of a rugged Rock on which is a Castle and a strong Cittadel This County formerly belong'd to the Dukes of Wirtemberg who were also Lords of the Imperial Abby of Lure and all the Inhabitants professed the Reform'd Religion The other places of note in this Bailywick are Fougerevil-la-ville and Le Chastel Faueougney Jussey Pont and Port sur Saone Chemilly Mâ—ntjustin Rup Rey Montboson Grammont Rougemont Isle S. Loup Pesme Cromarcy c. Of the Bayliwick of Dole THE Bayliwick of Dole call'd also thâ— Middlemost is situated in the middle oâ— this Province extending it self from the Frontiers of the Dutchy of Burgundy eveâ— to those of Swisserland about the River Lâ—agnon Dou Duâ—is and Louve Lupa Besancon Vesontio Visontio and in lattâ— ages Chrysopolis or the Golden City lies upoâ— the Dou 22 Leagues East of Dijon It waâ— formerly the Capital of the Sequani and a â—â—ace of so great strength and consequence that when the Romans had it into their power they planted there a Colony fortify'd and adorn'd it with several buildings whereof there remains but some few names in and about â—he Town In 274. this plantation rais'd a Triomphal Arch in honour of Aurelian the Emperour but some years after it was plunder'd and ruin'd by the Alamanni under their King Crocus so that it was in a pitiful condition in 366. It had scarce been repair'd when the Fandals besieg'd it in vain in 406. The Burgundians were more successful in 413. but Attilae destroy'd it a second time in 451 or 452. it was afterwards rebuilt in the form it has now somewhat different from what it was in the â—omans time The River Dou separates it into two parts of which the biggest resembles a Peninsula and is clos'd up by a hill whereon the Cittadel was built Besancon has still an Archbishoprik of which Belay and the titular Bishop of Lausanne and Basil are suffragans The Chapter is compos'd of a Dean an Archdeacon a Singer a Treasurer two Under-Singers 43. Canons and 24 Chaplains The Churches of St. Stephen and St. John pretend both to the dignity of Cathedral there are eight Parishes besides the Abbys of St. Vincent and St Faul several Colegiate Churches and Monasteries and a Coledg of Jesuits The