greatly commended the sayd gentleman and laughed to scorne him who vndertooke the person of a prince of his blood This Duke pinched to the quicke and did extremely persecute diuers marchantes of the best townes of France but finally beginning with the marchants of Paris who hitherto were not accustomed vnto the rasor the whole citie tooke vpon them the matter and caused his commissions to be reuoked imprisoning some of his promoters whereat the rest vanished away like snow against the sunne for which cause he cōceiued so grieuous an hatred against the inhabitants therof that neither for dearth or plenty what abundance of corne wine or other victuals so euer there were within the coūtrey of Champagne or Bourgundy during his gouernement of either of them the said citie of Paris could euer come by any either for money or loue without plentie of letters of marte which were sweetely payed for and deerely bought howbeit by that meanes he neuer after durst deale with any whole estate or communalty not that he therefore quite quayled but still hauked after confiscations here and there and so lightely mette with one or other wherefore his whole rigourous force he executed ouer the inhabitants of his owne iurisdiction whom he euen flaied with al extremitie which was the cause that King Henry through his fathers aduice would neuer after commit vnto him any matter of weight although his two eldest sonnes the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine did beare great sway for he was at that staye that cōducting his children vnto the court gate he there left them and so returned backe againe whereof I doubt whether the father or children ought most to haue bene ashamed Finally this man dyed through poyson and as became a good Christian pardoned those persons who mistaking him for an other had hastened the course of his dayes His childrē did his brother Cardinal Iohn aduāce who seing him selfe furnished with many benefices chose Charles to be his successour whom a fewe yeres he maintained in the college of Nauarre from whence he was preferred to the gouernment of the Dauphine For although in France were no want of men farre more meet to vndertake such a charge and execute that function yet did the credit of his vncle Iohn procure this fauour at the handes of the great King Francis together with some tokens of his quick wit and capacitie herein al which notwithstāding during the reigne of the said great King Francis they were not of any estimatiō For this Charles was simplie named lord of Reims his brother Frācis Earle of Aumale their father being yet liuing the rest of the brethrē were forced to preferre thrust thē selues forward with might maine Again King Francis was not ignorant that these men might stirre vp coales and procure some broiles vnder pretence of the counties of Prouence and Anjou and so trouble the state vpon which causes he credited them no further then needes he must In deede he so highly honoured the beautie of their eldest sister as that he permitted her at the entrie of Queene Eleanor to be attired in Princesse araye although afterward perceiuing these strangers to preuaile as if they had alreadie bene Princes of France he denied the wife of the Marquise of Maine of the mantel royal It is not also vnknowen how the same King toward his end made but smal accompt of the Constable who therefore withdrew him self vnto his owne house the chiefe occasion of which displeasure arose of that that through the commendation of the said Constable his sonne the Dauphine Henry had reteined into his fauour the said Lords of Guise the consequence whereof he doubted Their alliāce also vnto the daughter of the great Seneschal of Normandie whom al that time the said Dauphin kept caused that the same King Francis who before had highly fauoured her did now also disdaine and mislike her This Ladie who was called the great Seneschal was daughter vnto the late lord of S. Valliers and with her owne maydenhead redeemed her fathers life but afterward to the great reproche and slander of our France after she was halfe spent was giuē to the Dauphine Henrie whose hearte she so stedfastly wonne as that finally she was created Duchesse of Valentinois and in effect became Queene of France Wherupon the house of Guise accompting her as a conuenient bridge by the which they might passe ouer into France did think it meete to take holde of so good an occasion although it were in effect but an homelie shift and therefore procured the marriage of their thirde brother afterward Duke of Aumale vnto the yongest daughter of this said Seneschal by whose meanes they the further insinuated them selues into King Henries fauour vpon whom in the meane time they practised two seueral drifts wherein we may as in a glasse behold the rest of their behauiours toward the estate of France First by meanes of this Seneschal they presumed so farre as to attempt to wrest from the Dauphine Henrie a promise of restauration vnto the counties of Prouence and Anjou as part of a dowrie toward this their brothers marriage Howbeit as God doeth for the most part euen by the simplest persons abate the pride and crueltie of the mightiest so likewise did he now cause the onely countenance of the Lord de la Chesnay to force thē most shamefully and euen as it were in despite of their hearts to release this grant being in this only respect to be accompted happie that through the throwing of the same into the fire they did also therewithal consume and reduce into ashes the assured proofe and manifest detection of their trayterous fellonie considering that in case King Francis had but once had anie inckling of the same it would haue bene the vtter extirpation and vndoing not onlie of them selues but of the great Seneschal also Let vs now therefore proceede vnto the second point which was this On the one side King Francis not long before his deceasse was much accompanied with two persons of whome he made great accompt The one was the Cardinal of Tournon chanceler of the order and Master of his chappel The other was the Lord Annebaut Marshal and Admiral of France and besides both these there was the Constable also who notwithstanding he came not to the court yet did he reteine the office of great Master of France On the other side the Dauphine was entangled with the Ladie great Seneschal vpon whom two of the brethren of Guise did continually attend namely Francis Earle of Aumale and Charles Lord of Reims because of the alliance aforesaid al which notwithstanding yet was he most addicted vnto the Lord of S. Andrews whose father had bene his gouernour Now then seing that the sicknes whereof the late King Francis the first died was long and in most of the phisitions opinions in maner incurable the Lords of Guise persuaded the aforesaid Dauphine that so sone as he had gotten possession
of Lorraine Loued he the Duke of Alenson Nay but contrariwise at the Kings departure into Poland he defrauded the said Duke of the lieutenantshippe conferring the same to his nephue the Duke of Lorraine and vnder colour thereof gouerned more malepartly then euer before But al these iniuries do require a more exact discourse which hereafter we will looke vpon Thus therefore hauing scorned Henrie and al his they haue replenished his house with abominations and his realme with troubles they haue destroyed the mightie entrapped the meane sort and brought al things into such confusion that in mans iudgement the kingdome is past al hope of restauration or being reduced to anie smal forme of the pristinate and auncient glorie In this Prince Henrie the seconds life time also they began to note out such of his seruants as displeased them dispersing some of them abroad bringing others into displeasure remouing frō the King his faithful counsailers bringing in their own minions bondmē through whose meanes this Prince was persuaded that the Lords of Guise were his most trustie and faithful seruants who sowed dissension among the other Princes and great Lords to the end that drawing the one partie vnto their side they might with the lesse labour destroy the other All these particularities shal better be seene hereafter in their order whereby these iniuries shal plainely be perceiued At this present thus much we wil say which also al true Frenchmen wil stand vnto that considering the breuitie of King Henries life he did them in so short time more good then anie King his predecessor did euer vnto al his whole houshold together he suffred more he bare more with them indured more sorowe grief vnduetiful behauiours losses and hinderances by them then euer master friend or father susteined at the hands of their seruants companions or children For besides that while he liued they infinit waies and times turned away from him seking the destruction of both his bodie and soule to their powers they haue also contaminated his house marred his children and consumed his people euen at his death they haue shewed what regard in his life time they had vnto him We heard before how the eldest brother perceiuing the death of the great King Francis at hand scorned him calling him yoncker They al now haue bene nothing behind but haue vttered many more signes of disobedience and of their trecherous hearts toward King Henrie at his death who was their especial friend natural Lord and mightie benefactor What a sight was it to the French nation bewayling the so vntimely and vnlooked for death of their Prince to beholde at the same instant of his deceasse the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine with ioyful countenances taking their yong King and nephue and transporting him from the Tournelles vnto the Louure Yea there was one who semed to name that day and that not impertinently the Euen of the feast of three Kings For there was no man so ignorant but that viewing these Lordes on horsebacke might wel iudge that France should now haue the King inheritour King in name only and the two Lords of Lorraine Kings in effect or at the least two craftie and cruel tyrants a since they haue manifested them selues Moreouer it is the duetie of the great chamberlaine to take the charge ouer the dead Kings corpes vntil it be buried Now the Duke of Guise was great chamberlaine for he had euen in maner forcibly taken the same office from the house of Longueuille Who then letted the Duke of Guise and Cardinal of Lorraine hauing a King at their deuotion yea if we may so say at their commandement from doing their dueties but that needes they must presently forsake the corpes as some filthie carrion What may be said of them that so shamefully abandoned the corpes of their King and Lord nothing caring or thinking vpon the garde and burial of the same for the which cause both the Constable and al other the Kings trustie faithful seruants remained stil behind Yea if they had but stayed vntil the bodie had bene colde and assuredly dead or at the least if they had but shewed some countenance of sorow Howbeit peraduenture this inhumanitie proceded of that they had gotten some inckling that King Henrie was minded to driue them away presently after the triumphes and feastes were ended or rather their owne ambition permitted them not long to deferre the discouerie of that which their hearts conspired which was vnder the name of their nephue Francis to raigne ouer vs waiting better occasion to proceede Well peraduenture they dealt better with Francis the second and so behaued them selues that now they deserued to haue their former offences concealed Let vs therefore see whether it be so or not This yong Prince being sixteene yeres old at the most reigned scarce seuenteene moneths fully but we may say and lye not that neuer Realme in seuenteene moneths space was so shaken as our poore France all through these mens ambition yea I dare affirme that in case God for the iust punishment of our sinnes had prolonged the said Francis reigne other seuenteene moneths the house of Valois had vtterly lost the crowne and the whole nobilitie might well haue prepared them selues vnto death or other strange bondage and violences The people the officers of iustice and euen the Clergie them selues could haue assured them selues of no other then most horrible tyrannie To the end therefore that all this may the more euidently be perceiued let vs marcke the ordering of the Realme in the said seuenteene moneths space First they rauished the King out of the handes of the Estates of the Realme and officers of the crowne conueying him euen at the houre of his fathers death into the Louure with his brethren mother and wife There they so warely watched him and diligently kept him that no man might come neere him vnlesse some of the Guisiās were at hād At the same time also began they to be called the Kings kepers They driue away the Constable and others they send away the Princes of the blood one to carie the order into Spayne an other to conduct the lady Elizabeth another to confirme the peace in Flanders and finally vsed them as we shal see comming to speake of their dealings toward sundry Princes of the blood They take or rather wreste from them the dealings in the affaires of estate for when the Parliaments had sent their deputes to the King he gaue them to vnderstand that his two vncles the Cardinall of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise had the whole dealinges commanding that thence forth all men should resorte vnto them in all matters touching the estate of him and his Realmes and dominions charging all men to obey them as him selfe Here you see them by their owne instrument declared Kings for this yong Prince being of no experience and miserable in that he was lincked in to such companie said and did nothing
be decreed against thē also lest their absence should bewray to all the world the difference betwene their furious and vnlawful gouernement that of the Princes of the blood of the Constable of his eldest sonne Montmorency of the brethren of Chastillon also lest by meanes hereof the cause and roote of the cōtagion which infected the cōmon wealth should be cut of which was the thing that they feared more then the plague for they saw that vnlesse they tooke some order it would be knowen that them selues were the very causes originals of disorder But which most troubled them they had a womā to gouerne whose stedfastnes they did greatly suspect by reason the Admiral was nere to the yong king her sonne to whom she seemed to yealde as much as she could passe withal for the mollifying of the Princes and Estates They douted also lest so soone as their backs were turned to the Courtward that they had giuen ouer the dealings in the affaires there would come in infinite complaints the verifying wherof neither the Quene mother neither other their friends could denie seing that the crime of treason walked to fast abroad These occasions therefore caused the Guisians to forsake ouerthrow al good lawes and vsual orders put in practise as funerals The Cardinall sought to excuse him self by the King of Nauarre and the Chastillons saying that they had so cōcluded in the counsail chamber because there was not money ynough to bestow vpon so charitable a deed although the foure score thousand frankes which he his brethren had gotten out of the money that came out of Poictou had ben more then sufficient and in deed they were openly taxed therefore For whē Sansac la Brosse had brought the body vnto S. Dionice there buried it without any solemnitie or royal ceremonies two dayes after the buriall there was founde pinned vpō the veluet hearsecloth which couered his body a litle paper with this writing Ou est messire Tāneguy du Chastel mais il estoit Frācois signifying VVhere is master Tāneguy du Chastel but he was a French man. Hereat euery mā at the first did but laugh but afterward thinking better vpon the matter they found it to be other then it was taken for This Tāneguy was charles the seuēths chief chamberlein bestowed 8000. franks vpon his masters funerals which he was not paied again vntil three yeres after he layd out this money whē he saw that al mē had abandoned his masters corps by reason al the Lords had drawen to his sonne Lewis the eleuenth who was newly entred into his kingdome being as then in the low countreis whither before through his fathers displeasure he was gone This writing therfore was interpreted as a lamētatiō made in the name of King Francis seeing him self forsaken destitute of such a chamberleyn as Tanneguy was and then saying as if he reuoked that Tāneguyes good nature dutie was not so wonderfull because he was a French man no straunger wherein the Authour seemed to note the Duke of Guise because he had wrested the office of Great Chamberleyn from the house of Longueuille Now haue we seene the euill entrie of the Guisians during the reigne of Francis the first also howe in the time of Henrie the second their ambition replenished al Germanie and Italie with blood howe their couetousnes set to sale as it were to the most giuer the lawes all iustice howe through infinite exactions it emptied the purses both of rich and poore whereof folowed innumerable calamities Then howe in the time of Francis the seconde it was to be doubted whether bare greater sway in them either rapine or crueltie True it is that the crueltie made the greater shew as we haue alreadie shewed and will agayne hereafter But in the tyme of Charles the ninth the aforesayde vices togyther with many more also all their shadowes of vertue did then as by day appeare In this place cōmeth into sight so many to true discourses that I am euē in a perplexitie not knowing which to take the number of those which presently do appeare is so infinite Of one thing I am sure and that is this that at this day there is no French man hauing any knowledge in worldly affayres but that he is able to make an other Legende of the particular actes of these Guisians in case he will take so much leysure as to gather togither all that he knoweth wherefore I hope to be excused although I doe onely set in hande this worke which requireth both more hands and wittes King Francis being dead as is aforesaid and the Cardinal when he was euen readie to giue vp the Ghost hauing procured him to vtter these words Lorde forgiue me my sins impute not vnto me whatsoeuer my officers in my name and authoritie haue done The Guisians minded to followe a new counsayle which was to put of their lyons skinne that they could no longer keepe without manifest daunger of being drawen to flaying and to put on the foxes cace Nowe therefore they determined to folowe their hunte through the Queene mothers meanes They promised her that if she will fauour them they will set to their handes to keepe her in the chiefest degree Also the more to put this hammer into her head they doe alleadge vnto her that the Princes through her wincking at matters being so euill dealt withall can do no lesse then wishe her harme seeking all meanes to bring her downe to the ende to set vp the Constable and the house of Chastillon whereby afterward to make more alterations That the estates will disgrade her vnlesse she goeth out at the back doore to meete them also although then the Guisians were excluded yet haue they so many seruants friends that for a long whyle they could withstand the Princes In the meane time that she should retayne her authoritie that when her children should come to age the gouernment of the Princes their partakers should vanish away The Queen being as crafty as they knew how to take hold of this proffer and so to get in betwene both parties that bending sometimes one way sometimes an other to this present she hath kept the place to the confusion of those who had thither lifted her Hauing thus found so good an attourney who at once reconciled them to the King of Nauarre and gaue forth speaches that she would mainteine the Guisians against all their enemies and misreporters they beganne somewhat to assure them selues Now therefore remained no more to doe but to beate downe first the Prince of Conde who would not be handled as his brother the King of Nauarre then Montmorency and then the Chastillons Hereupon came to sight the goodlyest determination for their purpose in the worlde They perceiued the number of Protestantes still to increase in all partes of France also that the Prince of Conde and the Chastillons were openly of that profession for
A LEGENDARIE CONTEINING AN AMPLE DISCOVRSE OF THE life and behauiour of Charles Cardinal of Lorraine and of his brethren of the house of Guise Written in French by Francis de L'isle Imprinted 1577. Francis de L'isle vnto the Reader THE most reuerend Cardinal of Lorraine friendly reader did in his life time long feede vs with a vaine hope of a view of the Legend of the life of his brother the Duke of Guise who was slaine before Orleans the which we haue with great deuotion diligently waited for in ful assurance that among so manie learned men as the said Cardinal had alwaies at commandement he would chuse out one of the quickest wit and capacitie who might frame some worke worthie the sight of our France which long time hath seene fewe deuises pleasant vnto the eye or delectable in the eare We knowe also that the Cardinal was not destitute of sufficient store of remembrances requisite for the beautifying of such a labour But after much attendance we finally haue found our selues frustrate of our expectation through the deceasse of the said Cardinal who hath left vnto vs the making of the Legendarie as wel of his owne person as also of the aforesaid Duke of Guise and the rest of the brethren whereby diuers haue bene occasioned to thinke euil of this his said promise and to suppose that himself was fully resolued to feede them in hope through doubt least his flower potte should haue bene discouered the filthines and abhomination whereof would haue yelded him and al his progenie most stincking and abominable in the sight of our whole nation Not wasting anie longer time therefore in the disputation or arguing vpon the causes which haue moued him thus to cast dust in our eyes neither making anie accompt of his lies and glosings it is requisite that my selfe should yelde a reckoning of mine owne doings and display the causes which haue moued me to vndertake to ease the saide Cardinals heyres if so be he hath anie for my selfe neither am neither wil be counted in their number of such their labours as they should haue susteined by writing this Legende comprehending the liues not onely of the Duke of Guise and of the Cardinal of Lorraine but also of al the rest of the brethren which neuerthelesse are not displayed at ful but only in part Some yeres therefore are passed since that thinking vpon the miserable calamities of our France which I did see daily to encrease not that I was so blinde as not to beholde how God being prouoked through the iniquities of the French Nation did stretch forth his arme against them yet marking with what stones and weapons he endeuored to humble vs and asswage our pride I found that the house of Guise among others were as his chiefest instruments whose crafts and cruelties exercised ouer both great and smal and therefore alreadie published in sundrie pamphlets ought not still to lie scattered abroade in hazard of perishing in the pit of silence or by being neuer detected vnto the posteritie This was therefore one of the causes that moued me by litle and litle to begin to serche among my writings and papers for some bookes and remembrances correspondent vnto such as the Cardinal in his life time made so great accompt of as to lay them for the most part vpon his table and then to say as he did in the time of Francis the second at an assemblie of the chiefest estates of the realme at Fontainebleau that the same were the crownes of his life which should yelde him immortal Out of the which I began to collect certaine places and notable matters hopinge thereby somewhat to assiste a certaine friende of mine who began happily with this piece of worke But when he gaue wholy ouer this labour to the intent the better to tend vnto things of greater importance which one day I hope shal come to light also that the murders of S. Bartlemew so bloodily celebrated had euen lighted in the necke of their other driftes for therein the said Lords of Guise were in maner chiefe doers I thought it not amisse to set forth before such as are thereof ignorant part of their life and maners seing that them selues do delite in the continuation of the same and that the wicked man must both heare and see things which he would not because himselfe committeth such as he ought not Now am I so farre of through these remembrances collected here and there as anie who haue read or perused such discourses as within these fiftene yeres haue bene published may at the first blush perceiue from restraining the desires and pennes of such as haue in their hands other more large ample or exact Legends of the race of the Guisians that contrariwise I do most heartily desire them no longer to defraude our France the common mother of vs al of such remembrances and warnings as ought often to be set before her eyes the which the house of Guise both haue and yet do endeuour to plucke out of her head whereby them selues may afterward conduct and order al thinges after their owne pleasures and ambitious appetites Manie times haue I wondered at the dulnesse of diuers French men who otherwise do professe but ouer much knowledge and vnderstanding and yet in the meane time do seeke to persuade vs that whatsoeuer commoditie we haue doeth proceede onely of these men from whome in deede most of our inconueniences do arise For had not priuate affection bleared the eyes of their vnderstanding I dare say they would be of an other minde and that whensoeuer it shal please God to take out of their sight the looking glasse of ambition reuenge and such other pretences as doe dazel their sight themselues wil willingly eschewe and detest that filthines which now they do cherish and worship In respect of those who daily with me do behold these euils them do I wish to consider how or in what maner they may be able to procure anie remedie thereunto and to the same earnestly to set their hands as the lawe of Nature bindeth them As for such matters as herein my self haue entreated vpon at the first I supposed I might haue reduced into ten or twelue leaues of paper al that I minded thereof to publish but being once shipped I was sodainely caried away into so marueilous a sea of affaires that before that I can recouer any hauen I shal be constrained through innumerable rockes and perilous goulfes to make a long and tedious nauigation And as those who hauing once forsaken land can hardely in a great while recouer the same although both with oares and sayles they doe what so lyeth in them euen so I being entred so farre into this Guisian sea must wil now endeuour my selfe to come to as speedy a hauen as possibly I may and yet after such maner as I hope your selues though that I take not land so soone as you would wish wil neuertheles hold me excused
euer any man of what estate coūtrey or condicion so euer he were might clime vnto in France To him onely aboue al other I say is the whole generation of Guise bound beholding for their descent from a Princesse of France and daughter of Vendosme because that he the said constable was the motioner of the marriage betwene their father and mother who alreadie nothing hoping or once thinking vpon anie so good hap had begonne to cast his eye toward another Ladie of farre meaner estate and calling Againe the onely request and peticion of the Constable were of sufficient force in their behalfe at the returne of King Francis out of Spaine to keepe free their father out of prison for his leading of the Kings power and forces into Lorraine without the said Kings loue or leaue yea and to restore him againe into fauour Again after the deceasse of the Kings daughter who was Queene of Scots and that the King of Scots was desirous to take another wife in France the Constable was the only preferrer of the said Lords of Guises sister the late Queene mother vnto Marie Stuard how Queene who by his meanes was preferred before many other both more marriageable and meete for such a man then her selfe Howbeit I can not denie but that it was necessarie to send her into places vnknowen for that whiles she remained at Nancy she endeuoured to haue forsaken the court of Lorraine and haue yelded her person vnto the Abbot of Beaulieu great vncle vnto the late Duke of Bouillon yea had not the Countesse of Lignanges warned the Lady Rene of Bourbon of her determination she had assuredly departed with the said Abbot into his cloyster of Beaulieu For the which practise the afore named Abbot was rewarded with the natural courtesies of this race for after that vpon their fidelities he had yelded him self into their clawes and that it seemed they had forgotten the wantonnes of their said sister they procured his murder at vnwares accompanying their cruelty both with periurie and great ingratitude For notwithstanding the house of Sedan hath alwaies stood the race of Lorraine in great steade yet haue the Lords of Guise in diuers wise since persecuted the same Now therefore to returne vnto their ingratitude towarde the Constable King Henrie the second comming vnto the crowne in the yere 1546 and hauing as is aforesaid committed the whole regiment therof vnto his good gossippe the Constable did shortly after take the Earle of Aumale his brother the Lord of Reims and the Lords of Sedan and of S. Andrewes and present them vnto the said Constable with these wordes Gossippe these schollers do I giue vnto you to the end they may learne of you and obey you as my selfe I pray you traine them vp in my affaires so that vnder you during your life they may do me seruice And then turning vnto them he said I do giue you this man for your father and Scholemaster him loue and honour doing whatsoeuer he shal command for my selfe do accompt him my father and the most deare friend and faithful seruant which euer my father had or my selfe may haue Afterward the said Lords of Guises father at his next meeting with the Constable said vnto his sonnes Behold your father for my selfe hath he also created him honour and serue for we al be bound so to do The testimonie also of the late Cardinal their vncle which he gaue in the presence of the Cardinal of Lenoncourt describeth more plainely their dueties vnto the Constable for it was pronounced in his absence and they practising some conspiracie against him Take heede sayd he of displeasing that man for had not he bene both your father and whole kindred had had enough to do neither should your selues haue euer atteined vnto that estate wherein you are now placed nor your sister neither euen my self am in his debt for mine owne promotion and for whatsoeuer fauour cōmoditie or credit that I haue reaped at the hands of the late king Al which admonitions were neuerthelesse not of sufficient force to restraine them frō practising as wel openly as priuately the ouerthrow of the said Constable notwithstanding that so long as King Henrie liued their driftes came but to smal purpose in deede during the raigne of Francis the second they were euen with him and paid for their scholing as hereafter more at large wil appeare We haue alreadie spoken of the marriage of their brother the Marquise of Maine vnto the great Seneschals daughter which was the first roote of their hatred against the Lord of Chastillon afterward Admiral of France the which through new occurrences hath since so encreased that finally they haue brought both him al his brethren vnto their ends not yet ceasing from practising the vtter extirpation of al his race and familie vnlesse them selues may first be dispatched and made away To begin therfore at the foundation of al these euils which since haue almost subuerted the whole estate of France we are to vnderstād that the Constable seeking the prefermēt of his nephues did about eightene yeres since procure vnto the eldest brother of the house of Chastillon the degree of a Cardinal which in that time through ignorance and superstitious zeale was greatly desired among al estates and afterward did by al conuenient meanes aduance as it were steppe by steppe the other two brethren Iasper and Francis into al commissions and offices of warfare both by sea and land by meanes whereof they hauing obteined great credite among the whole nobilitie it was an easie matter for the Admiral then but Lord of Chastillon as wel through the support of his said vncle the Cōstable as also in respect of the debates and quarels that then were prosecuted betwene the Lords of Dampierre S. Andrewes to insinuate him selfe into the especial fauour of King Henrie then Dauphine This the Earle of Aumale perceiuing who in those daies was in least reputation with King Francis he thought it meete for the atteining of the said Dauphines good wil to ioyne in familiaritie and straight league with the said Lord of Chastillon which familiaritie eche of them so firmely obserued for the space of foure or fiue yeres that these two Lords could not liue one without an other but as a token of their more mutual agreemēt did for the most part apparel them selues daily in like sutes of raimēt In the meane time it so fel out that the father of these Lords of Guise purposing the preferment of his familie by al meanes possible sought to ioyne his third sonne the Marquise of Maine in marriage vnto the yongest daughter of the great Seneschal the mother being as then the Dauphines harlot Of this marriage the Earle of Aumale could in no wise like and for that cause fearing to prouoke the Dauphine against him selfe he brake the matter vnto his companion the Lord of Chastillon desiring him as his especial friend to giue him some
of Lorraine neuer found surer or more stedfast foundations then the same which their cousins of Guise had laid in intent to ouerthrowe them For King Henrie tooke charge of the childe and afterward made him his sonne in lawe committing his Duchie into the hands of his vncle the Earle of Vaudemont Hereunto adding their practises against the towne of Metz what farther testimonie shal we neede For what mischief is there which this poore towne hath not suffred within these fewe yeres both within and without being vnder colour of protection bereaued of her libertie dismembred from the Empire for the most part destroyed and as a fulnesse of al miseries reduced into the bondage of the Cardinal who vnder a borowed name hath yerely wrested therout at the least a hundred thousand francks leauing vnto our King nothing but the dishonour of surprising the same vnder pretence of defence the charge of keeping of it with inestimable expenses the losse of great numbers of Frenchmen and the hatred of the Empire which yerely reneweth the decree of the recouerie of the townes of Metz Thoul and Verdun expressing therein their desire at the first opportunitie to restore the same to their former liberties For soone after ensued the siege of Metz aforesaid whereas the Cardinal fearing his brothers skinne and seeking to exalte him aboue al men procured to be sent vnto him most part of the Princes and great Lords of France for his more assurance and at the price of their bloods to raise him as it were vnto the shoulders of Victorie it selfe But what neede we to purchase the triumphe with the offence both of God and man or at the charge of the Kings honour and treasure Also how sweetely haue we paied for this so valiant defence of a forreine towne which neuer offended vs vnlesse it be an offence to giue ouer hastie credence vnto the wordes of a Cardinal therein brought vp whome she accompteth as her bishop and pastor yea to speake truely the Frenchmen haue dearely bought the exchange thereof through the burning and spoyle of Picardie euen vnto Noyon when as vnder the conduct of the third brother of this race and sonne in lawe vnto the great Seneschal Duchesse of Valentinois the French nobilitie receiued the sorest wound that euer it had since the battaile of Pauie because that without anie reasonable cause they were trained thereunto as to a butcherie rather then a battaile For in the same conflict wherein the said harebrained Duke of Aumale the third brother was through his owne default taken prisoner there were slaine about two hundred French gentlemen among whome were sundrie great Lords as the Lords of Rohan S. Forgeu Nancay la Motte Dusseau the Baron of Couches of Castres beside diuers other Lords of name Had our whole realme susteined that only losse through the conduct of these men yet were this sufficient to procure al men to detest them Shortly after this ouerthrowe ensued the siege of Metz aforesaid from whence the Emperour being forced to depart the Duke of Guise attributed to him selfe the whole glorie which the Princes and great Lords of France whome the Cardinal had procured the King to send thither had dearely paide for whervpon it is wonderful to see how the Guisians triumphed Wel to proceede what did the next yeres following bring with them other then two double irrecuperable losses namely the vtter sacke and spoyle of Tirwin and Hesdin the two keies of Picardie by reason whereof the Cardinal sang out his triumphes scoffing at the French nobilitie who said he through default of his brothers assistance were ouerthrowen by the enemie persuading the King that he had no man but of that race who was sufficient to guide the affaires both of peace and warre Howbeit the imprisonment of the third brother whome the Marquise of Brandebourge held did somewhat restraine the course of his brags wherefore they sought with speede to withdrawe him home to the end the one might heaue forward the other and yet were them selues vnwilling to disbourse anie penie of al their briberies and theftes either to take anie compassion of the French nation which was deuoured to the hard bones They inuented therfore an other reasonable honest shift as they supposed which was to borowe the Kings name and authoritie whereby they might vnder pretence of heresie vexe and torment whome so euer they thought best to the end to meete with some confiscations For it seemed not sufficient for him through his temeritie and rashnes to be the cause of the death of so manie great Lords and gallant French gentlemen at his owne taking but now his ransome must be gathered out of the liues of such as remained not forbearing the wiues of such good and vertuous Captaines as in the meane season ventured their liues and goods in the Kings seruice Whereof the Lord of Teligny might haue bene a sufficient witnes had he not shortly after lost his life in King Henries seruice For during the imprisonment of the Duke of Aumale the vertuous Ladie of Teligny was vniustly accused of heresie at the instance of a Sorbonist one of the Cardinals stalions as are the rest of our masters his companions who be men ignorant of all goodnes and honour as fierce cruel and seditious as any aliue vsing religion as a cloke to couer their peruersitie in this respect altogether like vnto the Cardinal of Lorraine the setter of them on worke at the cost of the Kings honour who for that cause incurred the euil wil of many In this fetch they disclosed an other of their sleightes for what with their spunge which was laid close to King Henries ribbes namely the Duchesse of Valentinois this prisoners mother in lawe who by al meanes robbed him on the one side them selues who ruled the common purse they wholy spoyled the King both of the loue and of the goods of his subiectes araying them selues in the same persuading him that nothing was wel done but what them selues did Yea they waxed so impudent as to affirme that their brother had verie wel discharged his duetie also that they whom he had led to the slaughter had in maner betraied him insomuch that the whole fault was imputed vnto the dead and he the suruiuer who had disobeyed the Kings commandement who sent him word not to hazard any thing after his deliuerie returned to the court where by the meanes of his mother in law he was as much or rather more cherished and made of then any of the lustiest lieutenants that the King had Thus did they on the one side laugh King Henry to scorne whome in the meane time they had so artificially bewitched that he accompted him selfe to haue none more assured or faithful seruants then the said lords of Guise except the Constable whom therefore they hated to the death as they afterward declared in diuers wise These warres of Metz were nothing in respect of those of Picardie wherof the house of Guise
office of some such person as hath leysure to deuise some politike discourses and reueale the blindnesse of the French Catholike Gentlemen who in professing them selues men of experience and practise haue suffered a priest to baffulle them who was more cowardly then a woman and who also in his sleeue in the coÌ„panie of his familiar friends with open throate scorned them as in place conuenient we shal hereafter see The Duke d'Aumale was vpon the borders of Bourgundy Lorraine accompanied with great troupes ouer whom he commaunded and there wayted to stoppe the passage of the Reistres who came to the protestants ayde Wherein he had as good successe as in other his martiall deedes For his souldiers openly sayde that he had more fleshe then witte or courage And in deed notwithstanding he were in a conuenient couÌ„try for his footmen of whom there were a great number and those trayned soldiers yet did he nothing worth the speaking of but sundrie tymes was in dauÌ„ger of being wel beaten yea he refused to meet with his enemies in a place greatly to his aduauntage But to say the trueth the Cardinall was also one cause of these kinde of dealings for he minded not that they shoulde so soone come to handy blowes but hoped eyther to winne the straungers or els to finde them at a better aduantage and so sought more and more to shuffle the cardes wherby he might meete with the better game As for the yong Duke of Guise through his great fauour with the Duke of Anjou proceeding of their straight acquaintance besides that he was great master he was now highly aduanced His vncle also placed about him many captaynes who at Poictiers stood him in good stead The Marquise of Maine his yonger brother was then through his youth of no countenance The great Prior and the Marquise d'Ellebeufe his vncles were dead a while before neither were they greatly regarded as men hauing no more witte then their brother the Cardinal of Lorraine had bestowed vpon them neither were they factious but as he taught and commaunded them But at all aduentures we haue extended this matter farre enough in this first parte of the legende of the lordes of Guise We will therefore permit the readers to take breath and giue our penne some respite whereby to proceede in the reste namely of the behauiours of the Cardinall and his adherents in the third Edict of pacification also of their meanes to atteine vnto the murder at S. Bartlemewes daye also of such things as of their partes haue since chanced to the confusion of King Charles and his estate Also of the euill pranckes which they haue played with King Henrye the third now reigning with all the princes of the blood the great Lordes the Nobilitye the Iustices the Clergie the people as well of the one as of the other Religion their fautours and friendes yea and one of them selues with an other Here before we haue seene parte of their dealinges vnder Francis the first Henry the second Francis the second and Charles the ninthe but the sundry particularityes which shal be set downe in the other bookes following will shew that in this first parte we haue only touched the matters and described as it were the entrye into the bloody villainous and accursed palace of the Guisians Let this therefore be the beginning of a greater worke I would to God that by this that is past the Frenchmen might though somewhat late and to their cost know part of those instruments wherwith the Lord for their offences hath scourged them to the end that returning vnto him as they ought they might receiue soner then I hope for some rest and ease FINIS The genealogie of the house of Guise â—e preâ—ment of 〈◊〉 house of â—ise 〈◊〉 Franâ—â—ateth â—ouse of â—e 〈◊〉 house â—uise do â—le the â—dinal of â—rnon Their gratituâ— toward Constaâ— The original of the malice of the Guisiâ—ns against â—he Admiâ—al of Chastillon The practises of the Duke of Guise for getting of a wife The Guisians sought to expell Katherine de Medicis Their great â—es grouÌ„ded vpon an â—arlot Charles made Cardinall The Guisians dealing with Cardinall Iohn their vncle â—heir quaâ— for the â—uchie of â—niou â—hey â—ught to â—come the â—rinces feâ—wes â—meaâ— of the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 toâ—â—he 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 â—aâ—â—f the â—ine Marie â—e of The taâ— of Calaiâ— â—e peace â—cluded â—o the kiÌ„g â—payne The Carâ—nals pursiâ— against tâ— ProtestaÌ„â— â—he Cardiâ—â—l ioyneth â—ue with â—e Parliaâ—ent of â—aris The behauâ—ours of the Guisians toward the person of King Henry â—eir behaâ—urs toâ—rd Franâ— the seâ—d Of the enterprise of Amboyse Warres in â—cotland by â—he Guisians â—eanes at â—e cost of â—rance â—he Guisiâ—s resist 〈◊〉 order â—ew ruines â—f the â—ealme â—he assemâ—ly at FouÌ„â—â—inbleau â—the assemâ—e of the â—tates â—he Guiâ—â—ans make â—ing Franâ—s the 2 â—rsworne 〈◊〉 vnfaithâ—l vnto his â—ne blood Their practises with strangers fâ— the destrâ—ction of France The Guisians practises broken â—heir beâ—â—uiour at â—e death of â—rancis the â—conde The Guisians behauiours in the time of Charles the ninth The estates â—t Orleans The Guiâ—â—ans called accompteâ— â—he poliâ—es of the â—uisians â—erewith bring the â—alme inâ— trouble Commotions of the Catholikes The Ediâ— of Iuly â—actises to â—rthrowe 〈◊〉 King of â—uarre The estatâ— at Pontoise The diâ—tation 〈◊〉 Poissy The Ediâ— of Ianuaâ— â—f the TriuÌ„â—â—irate and â—e capituâ—tion of the â—me â—e voyage Sauerne 〈◊〉 beginâ— of the trouâ— â—he first â—oubles The triuâ—â—uirates râ—queste The Câ—nall prâ—reth thâ— be proâ—med reâ— who doâ— withstaâ— his prâ—ses The Cardâ—nals policâ— for the maâ—â—taining of his TyraÌ„â— The Carâ—â—nal goeth the Counâ— The siege of Bourges Rouen The battaiâ— of Dreux The Duâ— of Guise death The first pacificatâ— The Guâ—â—â—ans behaâ—ours betâ— the first 〈◊〉 second tâ—bles The Artâ—cles of thâ— Councill which thâ— Cardinalâ— propouÌ„deâ— thereby agayne to trouble tâ— Realme The Cardâ—nalles entrâ— into Pari◠〈◊〉 letter to 〈◊〉 Duke Aumale The Duâ— d'Aumalâ— letter of â—spiracie â—e Cardiâ—â—lles praâ—ses new sleigâ— for procâ—ring of tâ—bles The seconâ— ciuil warre The secoâ—â— Edict of â—â—cification The Cardinals practâ—ses for thâ— third troubles The Kinâ— Edict of Cardinaâ— deuising to what Other of the Cardinals sleighâ— for kindlinâ— of the thiâ— ciuil warrâ— The leaâ— of the Câ—tholiks Counsâ— the deâ—tion oâ— Franâ— The third ciuil warâ—