of Justice But Charlenain made them ordinary and I observe that there were Intendances fixed and prpetual but no Intendants that were so Neither do I find that they hadany iâ— Aquitain nor in Lombardy He most commonly joyned in such Commissions 〈◊〉 Count and a Bishop Seldom do we find two of either of these qualities joynd in the same Commission they were called Missi Dominici and their Jurisdicton Missaticum The People found them Lodging and a certain quantity of Proision They took care chiefly to publish the Kings Orders and put them in Excution to hear the Peoples Complaints and do them right to punish the Cont or Bishop if they were faulty to reform and reverse unjust Judgments and coâ—pel the refractory to obey And if they wanted strength or power to effect it hey gave notice to the King They likewise drew up into Writings and Dâ—ds such Grants of Lands as the King and the Church bestowed in Benefice They roe their Circuits Four times a Year in January April July and October They coâ—d not keep Courts but in those Months and in Four different places if they thâ—ght fit They summoned the Counts and were forced to let them hold alâ—the rest They Elected Sheriffs with the consent of the people as also Aâ—oyers and Notary's The Sheriffs were if I mistake not the Assessours of the Câ—nts â—hose that were Free-men were only obliged to be at Four Assizes or Pleadings a â—ar This was a most Christian Method that the cause of the Poor was the firâ—of all determined the Kings business next then what belonged to the Church and last of all that which concerned the People in general The Centenier had not power of Condemning to death The King gave Audience one day in every Week before whom were brought only such Causes as concerned the Grandees who had no other Judge but himself or such whom the Commissioners or Counts had refused to do Justice to or had adjudged contrary to Law The licentiousness in times of War had made most part of the Frenchmen turn Thieves and Robbers and some of them false Coyners The greatest difficulties the Judges met withal were to suppress these disorders Those that made counterfeit Money had their hand cut off the other accomplices escap'd only with a Whipping They were forced to reduce all their Money to one sort of species and to punish such as harboured a Thief with the same severity as the Thief himself and that was the loss of an Eye for the first fault the loss of the Nose for the second and the third cost them their life Even in those days drunkenness was very frequent particularly in the Armies since they were fain to punish such as forced another to drink and he that made himself drunk was Excommunicated and Condemned to the Pennance of drinking Water only for a certain time The Law permitting every one to take his own satisfaction or revenge for an affront or injury unless he chose rather to accept of a certain Sum of Money Taxed by Law Murthers were very frequent Charlemain Commanded the Judges to be very careful in agreeing such as had any thing of a quarrel and if any appeared too obstinate to bring them before him There was three sorts of restraint the one was imprisonment another was a Guard set upon them the third was bail or caution who obliged themselves to answer for the Parties Homicide committed on a Clergy-man cost them much dearer then upon any other of equal condition for they were to pay 800 Sols of Gold for killing a Bishop 600 for murthering a Priest 400 for a Deacon and as much for a Monk Year of our Lord 814 The Method of making War and arming themselves was much changed since the Reign of Clovis They had as much Cavalry as Infantry almost and they used great Launces which they darted or retained in their hands after they had struck their blow They were Armed Cap a Pie their very Horse were barded so that a Squadron seemed to be all of Iron The Infantry had no Cuirasses on Armour but cover'd themselves admirably well with their Bucklers They also began to learn the use of Engins in some Sieges Whoever deserted the Army without leave incurred Capital Punishment Every one was obliged to carry Three Months Provision and Arms and Cloatâ—s for Six to be reckoned from the time they went beyond the Marches or Limâ—ts of their own Country This when they came from Aquitain hitherward wa the Loire to those that went thence into Spain it was the Pyrrenean to thoâ—e of Neustria when they made War on Germany it was the Rhine and to thoâ—e in the Provinces beyond that River when they were to march far into Germany it was the Elbe which were thus set as their Limits or Frontiers The Solders were allowed to take nothing but in an Enemies Countrey Those Lords tat led them were responsable for their pilfering and they were disbanded presenly in the Field if they did not justly punish them When the Captains cameo Court they were presented with some Gifts or Regalia and it was the Queenâ—d the care and charge of such distributions or in her absence the grand Chambriar â— Chamberlain Though the Demeasnes of the King and those of the Church were inalierble they had been necessitated either to reward such as had served them or to â—tain such as could do them mischief to bestow upon several but it was â—ly for life and by title of gratification wherefore they were called Benefiâ— which term remains only in the Church Which had of two sorts the onef such Goods as are effected to such as deserve which at the present we call a Beâ—fice and the other certain Lands which they gave to Seculars to hold of 〈◊〉 during Life There were even in those times Arts and crafty ways to confound the demeasnes of the Crown with the Lands of particular People and this substraction was accounted for a Crime since it was punished with Banishment and Confiscation of Goods There were besides another sort of Lands which were called Dominicates appropriated to Dominus which was the King but which were Rented by particular Men at about the Ninth of the Profits These were ordinarily only some little Farmes or petty Portions of Lands perhaps lopp'd off from the greater ones belonging to the Crown which could not all be set to the most advantage The Levying of Moneys was of three sorts either by Poll or upon the fruits and growth of the Earth or Merchandize and Goods for Traffique But of the last kind the Carlovinian Princes took none but of the Trading Merchants For every one besides sent his Goods up and down in Carts or any other ways for his own Families use without paying the least Toll no more then those that supplyed the Kings Household or even those that went to the Wars We may again in some other place according as occasion requires take a summary Notice of certain Laws and
in the Kings House or in the Houses of great Officers and Trained up to all noble Exercises more honourably then Pages are in these days The Kings Revenues consisted in Lands or Demeasns and in Imposts which were taken only of the Gauls for it was thought odious to take any of the French Some of them were levied in Moneys others in Goods When they made the Division of Lands into Acres or Furlongs the Kings for their shares had much of the best especially about and near the greatest Cities They made their Residence and built them Palaces in the most pleasant places and especially near some great Forests for they delighted in Hunting and made a general one every Autumn In all those places which they called Villae Fiscales they had Officers or Servants who were named Fiscalins and he that commanded them Dom stick There they laid in Stores of Provision as Wines Wheat Forage Meat especially Venison and Pork Amongst the Lords they always chose out some to eat at their Table and that was one step towards the highest Employments They only took the Quality of Illustrious which was common to all the Grandees of the Kingdom Sometimes the Title of Dominus was given them which was likewise ordinary to all that were any way considerable also of most Glorious most Pious most Clement and Precellentissime The Kings wrote their names under that of the Bishops when they wrote to them On the contrary Pope Gregory I. and the Emperor Mauritius preposed theirs before that of any Kings Gregory II. did not do so The Popes and Councils stiled them sometimes their Sons and sometimes the Sons of the Catholick-Church Their Male-Children in their young age were named Damoiseaux and at their Birth they gave some Fiscalins their Freedom in all the Lands and Houses belonging to the King their Father They oft took Wives of mean Birth and servile Condition on whom they did not bestow the Title of Queen till after they had born Children nor always then neither The Daughter of a King had that Title as soon as they were Married They had their Dower in Lands some Possessions in proper which their Kindred inherited their share of the Houshold Goods and great Officers just the same as the Kings had Oft times the Sons of France before they came to Reign were called Kings and the Daughters Queens There were but two Conditions of Men the Free or Ingenuous and the Slaves Amongst the Free there were Nobles who were so by Blood and by Antiquity not by Exemptions and amongst the Nobles the Grandees optimates I believe that those they called Majores were the Noble and the Minores those that were not so One knew not then what People of the Gown or Robe meant all the French made profession of bearing Arms Justice was rendred by People Armed their Battle-ax and Buckler hung upon a Pillar in the midst of the Malle In the Kings House it was the Count of the Palace that administred it sometimes the King himself took the Seat together with the Bishops and the Grandees and having heard Causes of highest concern pronounced Sentence himself In Villages the Centeniers in Cities the Counts and Dukes that gave Judgment without any thing of Pleadings or Writings They were called in general terms Judges and Seniors The Kings gave them these Offices for time and frequently continued them for Money Sometimes it was left to the People to chuse them and perhaps it was their Right There were no Degrees of Jurisdiction all judged without appeal because they took Cognisance of nothing but what was proportionable to their Degree It is true the Parties had a way of carrying their Complaints to the King if they believed they had not been judged according to Law but if the Complaint were not made good they were condemned is * Persons of Quality to a pecuniary Mulct the other to be Whipp'd The Counts and Dukes had Viguiers or Lieutenant-Generals who did Justice in their absence and several petty Viguiers which administred it in the Country They had Assessors whom they called Rachinbourgs they sat on every eighth or every fifteenth day according to the multiplicity of Affairs But the Dukes held the Grand Assizes from time to time where the Bishops of the Province were bound to be present There were likewise a kind of Commissary's or Envoys some for the King others for the Dukes who went about to visit the Provinces In their Proceedings and Publick Acts they counted their Terms by Nights As the Galls governed themselves according to the Roman Rules and Laws they were forced to have Judges that understood them and the French might perhaps imitate and follow them in many of their Contracts for the Salick Law was not extensive enough to comprehend and regulate every particular case The same Counts and Dukes as judged the French led them to the Wars There were no other Soldiers but the Militia They commanded those of the nearest Provinces or of any Province as they thought fit those that failed were put to a Fine they gave Letters of Dispensation to such as were grown over-aged in the Service In all the Provinces and particularly on the Frontiers they had Magazines of Provisions and Forage but as I believe they had no pay but their Plunder which was brought together and so shared always equally amongst them They put those into the condition of Slaves or Servants whom they took Prisoners of War as likewise such as were sent them for Hostages if they broke their Faith The great ones that were accused of any Crime were judged Militarily by their Equals the Execution was performed with a Sword or Battle-Ax sometimes by Dukes and Counts themselves Often times their Kings would not wait till Judgment was given their Wrath or Covetousness made Death go before any Sentence As for the People of a meaner Stamp they were extended on a Stake and were either Strangled or Whipp'd In some places they were Hanged on a Gallows or they were branched upon a Tree For lesser Crimes they were condemned to grind like Mill-Horses to dig Vineyards to work in Quarries and sometimes they were Branded with a hot Iron When a Man was accused for a Crime of State they tore off his Military Girdle and his Clothes and dressed him all in Rags Between Private Persons they might seek their satisfaction with their Swords and do themselves justice whence proceeded infinite Murthers if the King did not prevent it Murtherers bought their Lives with their Money and the punishment of most Crimes unless they were Crimes of State were pecuniary and determined by the Law The whole Kindred were liable to the payment if the guilty Person were insufficient When the Parties wanted Evidence to prove the Fact they came to a Combat either in Person or by those Champions they could procure This they said was to determine a Cause by the Judgment of God Almighty The Ordeal-Trial by red hot Irons
Rainfroy that he might have a name under which he might still hold the Government took Daniel out of the Monastery caused him to be instaled in the Throne by the Grandees according to custom and named him Chilperic It is not certainly known whose Son he was some believe him to have been Childeberts others Thierry 's and others again the Son of that Childeric who was Assassinated by Bodillon Anno 673. If these last are in the right he was at least Forty four years old when he began to Reign and indeed he must have been of some years since he had been a Clerk and had stayed time enought to let his Hair grow long again Chilperic II. King XIX POPE GREGORY II. Who S. six years during this Reign CHILPERIC II. King in Neustria with Rainfroy his Mayre CHARLES Mayre or Prince in one part of Austrasia THEODOALD Vnder the Regency of Plectrude in the other part BY vertue of a League contracted the foregoing year Rainfroy and Ratbod Year of our Lord 716 did both assult Charles on each side Ratbod being entred into the Country as far as Colen met him in his way it was in the month of March The Battle was very bloody on either hand but disadvantageous to the last and this was almost the only misfortune or defeat he met with in his whole Life After this Victory the Frisons and the Neustrians joyned their Forces sacked all Year of our Lord 716 the open Country and besieged Colen Plectrude who was in the Town with her Nephews found means to make them withdraw again by giving them Money In the mean time Charles having rallied his Men together laid an Ambuscade for Rainfroy at his return where he beat and plundered a Party of his Army This was in the Ardennes at the place named Amblave from the River which passes there near the Abby of Staulon The following year he in his turn made an irruption into Neustria Rainfroy with Year of our Lord 717 his Childeric came against him and gave him Battle at the Village of Vinciac in Cambresis upon a Sunday the 20th of March. The success being a long while doubtfull ended in favour of the last he put Rainfroy to the rout and pursued him very near to Paris At his return Austrasia owned him for their Head Colen opened him her Gates and Plectrude was constrained to give him up his Father Pepins Treasure together with his Grand-children Theodoald Hugh and Arnold whom he kept under a strong Guard Though he had all these Advantages he yet wanted the name of a King he Year of our Lord 717 therefore gave that Title to one Clotaire who was of the Blood Royal. Some make him the Son of Thierry III. not long since deceased perhaps he might be the Son of Clovis II. Son of Dagobert RAINFROY Mayre CHILPERIC in Neustria CLOTAIRE in Austrasia CHARLES MARTEL Mayre RAinfroy finding little Assistance from the Frisons had recourse to the Aquitains Year of our Lord 718 who during these Troubles had taken to themselves the liberty of electing a Duke his name was Odon or Eudes This Duke and Rainfroy having joyned their Forces nigh Paris took their March to find out the Enemy in Austrasia Being come near Soissons they were much amazed to hear that he was come to meet them himself and was very near at hand And indeed he Charged them so furiously that he routed them and gave them Chace even to Paris Eudes retired himself into Aquitain and carried Chilperic and his Treasure with him Charles pursuing him over-ran Orleannois and Tourrain at his pleasure This Victory put the whole Kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy into his hands Year of our Lord 719 His Clotaire did not long bear the Title of King he died the same or the following year His Tomb is at Coucy in Vermandois After his death Martel governed some months without any King but knowing the People were too much accustomed to that name to be without it he sent to Eudes to profer him a Peace and to send back Chilperic Eudes accepted the Conditions and sent him to him with many Presents Charles causes him to be owned for King thorough all the three Kingdoms that so he only might be Mayre Pope Gregory II. calls him Duke and Mayre of the Palace of France which shews that he held himself as an Officer of the Kingdoms and not of the King CHILPERIC alone MARTEL sole Mayre OF all the People who being Tributary's to the French had revolted the Saxons were the most Potent They had not only thrown off the Yoak but had likewise imposed it upon the Bructeri the Attuari and the Toringians Martel carried his Forces thither three or four times to quell them but that honour was reserved for Charles the Great It is worthy our taking notice that they were divided into several distinct People and that they had almost as many Dukes as there were several Countries belonging to them The Saracens pretended that Septimania or Narbonnensis Prima having been part Year of our Lord 721 of the Kingdom of the Visigoths ought to be an Augmentation to their Conquests Zaman Governor of Spain under the grand Emir Isic or Gizit took Narbonna and put in a Garison but having besieged Thoulouze Duke Eudes began to bestir himself defeated his Army and drove him bravely thence Ambissa Successor to Zaman Conquered Carcassonna Nismes and all the rest of Provence as far as the Rhosne Chilperic did not live two years after his Re-establishment and Reigned in all but Year of our Lord 721 five or six dying in the City of Noyon either in this year 721. or in the year before He was buried in the same place Thierry II. King XX. POPES GREGORY II. Who S. near Ten years during this Reign GREGORY III. Elect 731. in Apr. S. Ten years Three Months of which about Seven in this Reign THIERRY II. named de Chelles aged about Six years CHARLES Duke and Maire of France IMmediately after Charles who would ever have an Image wherewith to amuse the People caused Thierry or Theoderic the II. Son of King Dagobert the II. to be Installed by an Assembly of the Grandees Year of our Lord 722 Rainfroy was abandoned by Eudes but had not yet laid down the Title of Mayre of Neustria and for this cause Charles besieged him in Angiâ—rs He secured himself for this bout by the strength of the place but the year after he was forced and slain or at least degraded of his Mayership and reduced to a private condition Year of our Lord 733 During these Four or Five years Charles had divers Wars with the Saxons the Almans and the Bavarois In the year 725. he reduced Hubert Duke of Bavaria Year of our Lord 725 and all that Countrey and carried away with him Bilitrude and her Neece Bilichilde Some are of opinion that this Bilitrude is the same before-mentioned Plectrude that had retired her self to this place to procure him fresh troubles She must
others But the Popes durst not shock these Kings so rudely It was good Policy not to make so many Enemies at once to keep France in reserve as a Refuge against the Emperors and bring down the Germans first because they troubled them most The Peace between the two Kings Lewis and Henry was of no long duration The Friends of the late Duke Robert and William his Son declared for Lewis and the Earls of Anjou and of Flanders served him zealously as Thibald Earl of Champagne served Henry who was his Uncle Year of our Lord 1119 Baldwin Earl of Flanders being wounded upon an assault of the little Castle of Bures in Caux did so inflame his Wound with his Debauches that he died of it at Aumale Charles surnamed the Good Son of his Sister and Camut King of Denmark succeeded him in the Earldom of Flanders and maintain'd himself there courageously notwithstanding that Clemence of Burgundy Mother of Baldwin who was again Married to Godfrey Earl of Louvain endeavoured to make it fall into the hands of a Bastard of Flanders named William of Ypres who had Married her Neece After a world of Ravages Firings Sieges Surprizes and Plunderings of Places after two great Battles fought betwixt the two Kings one in the Plain of Bâ—eneville near Noyon on Andelle where the French had the worst the other near Breâ—euil where the success was doubtful Pope Calixtus as the common Father being come expressly Year of our Lord 1120 to Gisors brought them to agree by persuadin them to restore what places they had taken to each other Thus the Dutchy remained to Henry who gave it to his eldest Son William surnamed Adelin in wrong of William his Nephew This Peace did not put an end to his grief and troubles For a few weeks after he lost his three Sons and with them above Three hundred Gentlemen the flower of Year of our Lord 1120 his Nobility and his best Captains It was a strange misfortune They being Embarqued at Harfleur to go into England their Seamen who were drunk split the Ship as they were getting out of Harbor And at the same time his Nephew's Friends and Partisans stirred up new Disturbances in Normandy and re-engaged the King of France to uphold them Which renewed the Desolations of that Province In Anno 1119. died Alain surnamed Fergeant Duke of Bretagne Son of Hoel who departed this Life Anno 1084. His Son Conan surnamed the Gross or Ermengard succeeded him This Alain if we believe the Historian of Bretagne prescribed certain Forms and Rules for the doing Justice in his Country where before it was administred very confusedly For he Establisht a Seneschal at Renes to whom he would have all Persons to resort unless those of the County of Nantes who had one likewise and began to hold an Assembly or Parliament which judged of Appeals from the Seneschals of Rennes and Nantes for in Matters Criminal there lay no Appeal There were no certain and fixed Officers no more then any certain times for sitting They afterwards made a President in the absence of the Chancellor and a Master of Requests Year of our Lord 1123 The death of Hugh III. of that name Duke of Burgundy to whom succeeded Odon his eldest Son who Married Mary the Daughter of Thibauld Earl of Champagne Year of our Lord 1123 The War grew hotter in Normandy betwixt the French and King Henry and was ca ried on with various success But Henry found nothing more troublesome then his Domestick Officers and Servants who had framed a Conspiracy against his Life He could confide in no body he trembled at the approach of all that came near him he died a thousand times a day for fear they would Murther him and in the night shifted Beds five or six times and changed his Guards not thinking he was safe in any place believing there were none but Enemies about him Year of our Lord 1124 The Emperor reconciled himself with the Pope and laid down the Investitures But his Wrath still boiling in him would needs discharge it self upon France Year of our Lord 1124 He had Married Matilda Daughter of the English King for that reason as likewise for the Resentment he conceived because Lewis had protected Pope Calixtus he raised a very great Army to destroy and lay that City of Reims flat with the ground where Calixtus had held the Council against him Lewis on his side resolved to draw all the Forces of his whole Kingdom together even to the very Priests and Friers so that in a short time he had 200000 Men out of the Isle of France Champagne and Picardy only The Emperor having information of these prodigious Levics found it safer for him not to come into the Country of Messin but retire At his return Triumphant Lewis brings back the Martyrs Holy Standard called the Oriflamme and deposites it again in St. Denis whence he had taken it rendred Solemn Thanks to those Glorious Saints carried their Shrines upon his Shoulders which had been taken down and exposed on the high Altar during all the time of the War and made or confirmed several Grants to that Abby especially the Fair of Lendit out of the City for they had one already within Vpon this occasion we may observe the difference there was between the Forces of France and the Kings For when he made a War for himself he could have only the People of those Countries properly in his own possession and they served but unwillingly but when it was the Kingdoms Cause or Concern all the Forces of France were in action every Lord came in Person and brought all his Subjects along with him Year of our Lord 1125 The Emperor Henry being dead the Princes of Germany brought in Lotaire Duke of Saxony who likewise retaining the Kingdom of Burgundy as united to the Empire Renold Duke of Burgundy refused to acknowledge him For which he would have deprived him of his Earldom and have bestow'd it upon Bertold Duke of Zeringhen and this begot a bloody War between these two Houses who fought till the time of Frederick I. who Married Beatrix the Daughter of Renold This year 1126. the King received the Complaints made by the Bishop of Clermont Year of our Lord 1126 concerning the Usurpations and Tyrannies of Robert Earl d'Auvergne and going Year of our Lord 1126 thither in Person forced the Earl notwithstanding the Rocks and Castles of his High-Lands or Mountains to submit to Reason Five or six years after the repeated Violences of the same Earl engaged him to make a second Expedition and besiege Montferrand The Duke of Aquitain came to relieve his Vaslal but having from the height of a Mountain taken a view of the great Strength and Forces the King had with him he sent to offer him all Obedience and brought the Earl as far as Orleans to demand Pardon and submit to all that should be injoyned him Year of our Lord 1126 Death of
Canons out of their Churches put the Curats from their Parishes and consiscated and plundred all their Goods Then against the Laity vexing and loading the Citizens with new Imposts and unheard of Exactions tiercing or thirding the Gentry that was taking away Thirds of their Revenues and of all their Goods which had never been heard of in France The Interdiction lasted Seven Months during this time Philip sollicited the Pope so earnestly that he gave order to his Legats to take it off upon condition he should take Isemburge again and in six Months six Weeks six Days and six Hours he would have the Case of her Divorce decided by his two Legats and the Prelats of the Year of our Lord 1200 Kingdom the Friends and Relations of that Princess being assigned to defend her The Assembly was held at Soissons by Isemburges choice King Canut sent the ablest people in his Kingdom to sollicite and plead her Cause After twelve days jugling and proceeding Philip had intimation that Judgment would be against him he goes one fair Morning to fetch Isemburge from her House and setting her up on Horse-back behind him carries her thence having order'd notice to be given to the Legat not to give himself so much trouble about examining whether the Divorce he had Decreed were good or not since he owned it and would have her for his Wife Nevertheless he used her but little better then before nor did shew any more kindness besides some little Civilities to her Year of our Lord 1200 Besore the years end Agnes her Rival died having been five years with the King She had two Children by him One Son and One Daughter whom Pope Innocent III. Legitimated Died likewise Thibauld Earl of Champagne who had then only One Daughter a Minor The King would have the Guardianship-Noble but soon after the death of Thibauld his Wife was brought to bed of a Post-humus Son who had his Fathers Name and the Surname of Great The Daughter lived not long after the birth of the Posthume In those times Usury and Uncleanness Reigned bare-faced in France God raised up two great and virtuous Men Fulk Curate of Neuilly in Brie and Peter de Roucy a Priest in the Diocess of Paris to Preach against these Vices with so much power and efficacy that they reclaimed a great many Souls from those Sins and Follies Now it hapned that a few Months before the death of Thibauld Fulk who had this gift of perswading People to what he approved by his earnest Exhortations knowing there was to be a great meeting of Princes Lords and Gentlemen at a Year of our Lord 1120 Turnament or Justs at the Castle d'Ecris between Braye and Corbie went thither and exhorted them so earnestly effectually to undertake the voyage to the Holy Land that the Earls Baldwin of Flanders Henry d'Anguien his Brother Thibauld de Champagne Lovis de Blois his Brother Simon de Montfort Gautier or Gualtier de Brienne Matthew de Montmorency Stephen du Perche and several other Lords Crossed themselves nevertheless they could not set forwards till two years afterwards The reconcilation between the two Kings seemed perfect and sincere This year they conferr'd at Andeley Nay Philip had the the King of England with him Year of our Lord 1201 to his City of Paris and Treated him with all the magnificence and all the demonstrations of friendship he could desire But John had begun to contrive his own unhappiness by casting off his Wife Avice or Avoise Daughter of the Earl of Glocestre to Marry Isabel only Daughter of Aymar Earl of Angoulesme and Alix of Courtenay whom he ravished from Hugh le Brun Earl de la Marche to whom she was affianced From that time the said Lord sought all manner of ways to revenge himself for that injury He began to hold private intelligence with Philip he endeavour'd to make an insurrection in Poitou and Rodolph his Brother Earl of Eu began to commit Hostilities on the skirts of Normandy John chastised them for their Rebellion bydepriving them of their Lands especially some Castles in the County d'Eu They make address to the King of France their Sovereign Lord and demand Justice of him Upon this difference the two Kings saw one another near Gaillon where Philip who had laid his design spake high and summon'd John to appear in his Court that right might be done not only upon the complaint of Hugh but likewise of Prince Arthur who demanded Maine Anjou and Touraine Year of our Lord 1201 The Earl of Flanders and the other Lords that had taken the Cross departed for the Holy Land and as in those times there were but few Vessels upon the coasts of Provence they had taken their way by Venice where they hop'd to find a great many well fitted and there Thomas I. Earl of Savoy and Boniface Marquis of Montferrat joyned them But the Venetians would not furnish them with Vessels till they had first employ'd their Arms to recover the Cities of Sclavonia especially that of Zara for the Republique from whom they had withdrawn themselves to own the King of Hungary which retarded them above a year in those parts Year of our Lord 1201 In the year 1195. Isaac Angelus Emperour of the East had been deprived of his Empire his Sight and his Liberty by his own Brother Alexis And the Son of that Isaac likewise named Alexis had made his escape into Germany flying to Philip of Snevia pretended Emperour who had Married his Sister This young Prince having notice that there was an Army of the Crossed at Venice went thither to implore their assistance Several difficulties hindred them from going into the Holy-Land besides the Venetians hoped to find it better for their purpose to make a War in Greece because the spoil and plunder promised more gain and seemed more certain to them and more-over all the Latine Christians were ravish'd to meet with this occasion and opportunity to revenge the Treachery and Outrages the Greeks had practised since the beginning of the Holy-War They concluded therefore to turn their Arms that way upon condition the young Alexis would defray the charges of their expedition allow them great rewards and submit the Greek Church to the Obedience of the Pope To provide for the expences of his War King Philip endeavour'd to accustom the Clergy to furnish him with Subsidies and they excused themselves upon their Liberties and for that it was not lawful to employ the Moneys belonging to the Poor in prosane uses they only promis'd to assist him with their Prayers to God Now it hapned that the Lords de Coucy de Retel de Rosey and several others went and pillag'd and invaded their Lands they fly to the King for protection who in their own coin assisted them with Prayers to those Lords but as they understood one another they proceeded to worse dealing Then the Prelats redoubled their intreaties and besought him to employ his Forces
the King in case he would surrender them which being denied they acknowledged Edward to be King of France and gave him their Oaths of Fidelity then did he begin to take that Title upon him in all publick Acts and to put the Flowers-de-Lys in his Coat of Arms and in his Seals However I find that the year before he had by a Declaration forbid any to call Philip by the name of King of France but only Earl of Valois Year of our Lord 1339 Having shortly after passed over into England to recruit himself with Money there was nothing done in all this year but sacking or plundering and some skirmishes that were not decisive In the mean time the King by his Craft and Money together had found means to take the Emperour off from the English Interest Insomuch as he repeated his Title of Vicar of the Empire which he had sold at so dear a rate to him Year of our Lord 1340 But whatever skill they did make trial of in tampering with the Flemmings they could not be brought over again and their Earl not daring to return into that Countrey nor put any trust in Artevelle kept himself within l'Isle The Pope upon the Kings request had put their Countrey under Interdict and all their Priests obey'd very exactly which did at first cause a great consternation but the King of England sent some that were less scrupulous amongst them who opened the Churches and officiated boldly Year of our Lord 1340 The Duke of Normandy this was John the eldest Son of Philip after he had made strange havock in Hainault laid Siege to the Castle of Thin-l'Evesque on the Sambre because it did much incommode the City of Cambray The French and Flemmish Armies were there once more near each other but the Flemmish now withdrew themselves without blows the besieged observing their retreat set fire to the place and made their escape As soon as the King of England had recruited himself with Money and Men he came and landed a Second time at Scluse and overthrew the French Fleet that lay Year of our Lord 1340 upon that coast in wait thinking to hinder his attempt The discord between their Admirals there were two of them was the main cause of their defeat Year of our Lord 1340 This advantage having abated the edge of their courage King Philip retired and distributed his Army in the several Garrisons The King of England sent to defie him in single combat one to one or else a hundred on either side or both Armies in a pitch'd battle He was answer'd That a Lord accepts of no challenge from his Vassal Some days after he besieges Tournay which was reduc'd to great distress but the long and vigorous defence of the besieged saved the place by the Truce that was then made Year of our Lord 1340 Mean time the Flemmings were cut in pieces before St. Omers Robert d'Artois who Commanded them was not only in danger of losing his Life there but afterwards being pursued by the Populace who cry'd out he had betray'd them was forced much wounded as he was to make his escape to the King of England Year of our Lord 1340 The French Garrisons were drawn together in a Body to relieve Tournay Philip had made divers attempts for that purpose had lost all hopes of succeeding in it when on the suddain Edward condescends to a Truce whether by the mediation of the Widdow Jane Countess of Hainault who was his Sister and Mother of the Queen of England at that time retired to the Convent of Fontenelles or as Villain tells it because of the desertion of the Duke of Brabant whom the King had gained by his Money and besides being unwilling that City should fall into the English hands went away from them with all his Forces It was to last from the Twentieth of September to the Five and twentieth of June following and was again prolonged at an Assembly which shortly after was held at Arras upon the earnest desires of the Popes Legats Year of our Lord 1341 John II. Duke of Bretagne dying this year 1341. upon his return from Flanders whither he had attended the King that War which he so much apprehended broke out in his Countrey and kept it in a flame for two and twenty years space For John Earl of Montfort being very liberal of those Treasures he had in Limoges secur'd himself of the best Soldiers and of the Cities of Brest Nantes Rennes Hennebond and Avray Then foreseeing his Antagonist would have recourse to the King of France his Uncle he goes over into England where he contracted a secret Alliance with Edward and also did homage to him Year of our Lord 1341 During this progress Charles de Blois comes unto the King as to his Sovereign Lord. The Dutchy was a Fief of the Crown of France ever since the Dukes Peter de Mauclere and John le Roux his Son had acknowledged it to be held of the Crown and moreover it was a Pairrie Philip the Fair having grac'd it with that Title in Anno 1277. in recompence for that John II. had brought him Ten thousand Men to the Siege of Courâ—ray Besides both of the contenders had presented their Petitions to the King to be admitted to do homage which no doubt but either of them would have performed in any manner required and for this reason the King Year of our Lord 1341 referr'd it to the judgment of the Pairs who caused both parties to be summon'd to make out their Right and Titles The Duke of Bretagne appeared but finding by the very first words the King spake to him that not only his Cause but likewise his Person was in danger he makes his escape one fair night into Bretagne with three more himself disguised like a Merchant â—aving left all his Officers at Paris who put a good face upon it as if their Master were not sled but kept his Bed for some indisposition The better to cover his evasion he left a procuration with one of his people to act and carry on this Cause before the King and Pairs and produce what Deeds and Papers were necessary to maintain his Right His adversary had done the same but either of them notwithstanding without power of concluding on any thing but only for debating and putting their Arguments and Titles into a method to instruct the Judges Year of our Lord 1341 Upon these imperfect proceedings the Pairs received Charles de Blois to homage and threw out Montfords Petition Immediately Charles and his friends were putting themselves into a posture to execute the Decree the Duke of Normandy entred into Bretagne with an Army and having forced Chantoceaux besieged Nantes where Montford had shut up himself The Nantois terrified at the misfortune of Two hundred of their Burghers taken in a Salley obliged Montford to surrender himself to the Duke who sent him to Paris where he was confined to the great Tower of the Lovre Thus one
would have guessed the business had been at an end but his Wife Margaret Daughter of Robert Earl of Flanders a wise and couragious Princess who made good use of her Head in Council and of her Sword upon occasion as well as the deepest Politician or the bravest Soldier of her time could have done upheld that ruined party and not only so but even raised it again by her heroick Virtue She retired to Brest fortify'd her places put her Son who was but four years old in a place of safety having sent him into England and pressed King Edward so earnestly for the assistance he had promised to her Husband that he sends it by Sea to her It came inde ed somewhat too late to preserve Rennes but early enough to save Hennebond whit her he was retired It was however too weak to maintain the cause the Enemies were Masters of the Field and took the Towns but Charles de Blois I cannot tell by what motive gave her some respite by a years Truce during which this Princess goes over into England to represent the state of her Affairs there Year of our Lord 1342 In the Month of April of this year 1342. hapned the death of Benedict XII This good Pope moreconcerned and affectionate for the exaltation of the Holy See then of his own Family left a vast Treasure to the Church and nothing at all to his kindred but good instructions for the saving of their Souls Peter Roger Native of the Village de Rose in Limosin and Arch-Bishop of Rouen succeeded him by the name of Clement VI. This Man behaved himself quite contrary he scrupled not at all to make use of his Wealth to enrich his Relations and restored the Nipotisine very prejudicial to to the Church Year of our Lord 1342 The Countess Margaret acted so successfully at the Court of England that she brought back a powerful supply commanded by Robert d'Artois The Naval Forces of the Genoese and Spaniards which were under the Command of Lewis of Spain Brother of Alphonso who was Constable set upon them smartly and might well have hindred their Landing if a sierce Wind had not obliged him at night to put out to Sea fearing his great Vessels should run aground their Ships being smaller got to Port near Vannes Robert d'Artois being landed besieged that City and carried it by Assault which he made upon them in the night presently after another very hot one which he had given them in the day time But after that the Captains of the contrary party knowing he had sent the greatest part of his Army to besiege Rennes and that himself staid in Vannes they came and besieged him and press'd so hard upon him by repeated Assaults that they regained the place Himself was hurt in the last attaque and with much ado saved himself by a postern and got to Hennebond from thence he went into England where he thought to find best Chyrurgeons he died of his wounds in London detested of all good and loyal Frenchmen and passionately regretted by Edward who promis'd him to revenge his death And in effect he landed soon afterwards in Bretagne where all at one time he besieged Vannes Rennes and Guincamp protesting he did not intend to break the Truce made with the French but only he would defend and protect the Lands of a Pupil he meant Montfort's Son to whom he had promised his Daughter in Marriage On the other hand the Duke of Normandy thought he did not infringe it if he assisted Charles de Blois his Cousin German Year of our Lord 1342 After divers exploits of War on either part the Duke hemm'd in Edward before Vannes both by Sea and Land Now as the English were reduced to hunger and the French extreamly incommoded with the Autumn Rains they were glad on both sides to get out of these straights by a Truce for two years which was concluded betwixt them only for Bretagne The Legats of the new Pope brought this about and withal got the promise of both Kings that they should send to Avignon to the Holy Father there to determine all their Disputes by a firm and lasting Peace Year of our Lord 1343 The Twenty eighth of January hapned the death of Robert the Wife King of Naples who left his Kingdom to Jane Daughter of his Son Charles and the Sixteenth of September that of Philip King of Navarre Charles his Son who since ws surnamed the Bad came to the Crown under the Guardianship of Queen Jane of France his Mother Year of our Lord 1343 The Duke of Normandy and the English Deputies met at Aviguon to Treat about a Peace and although they could not come to an agreement in any one thing yet nevertheless it was believed they would conclude a Peace at last because the Popes Mediation was pleasing to both Princes But here an unhappy accident falls in their way and not only stopt their proceedings towards a Peace but set them at farther distance then ever they were and overwhelmed France with a deluge of woes Year of our Lord 1344 Oliver de Clisson and Ten or Twelve Lords Bretons of the French party having accompanied Charles de Blois to a Turnament that was held at Paris the King caused them to be all made prisoners upon some suspition of their holding intelligence with the English and soon after beheaded without any Trial or Hearing of their Case to the great astenishment of all the World and indignation of the Nobility whose Blood till then had never been shed but in Battle and indeed this too severe King who revenged even his own mistrusts did so alienate the affection of his Grandees that they served him but very ill when he had need of them upon great occasions Year of our Lord 1344. and 45. The death of these Lords of Bretagne enraged the King of England he was almost like to have done the same to Henry Lord of Leon of Charles de Blois his party whom he held a prisoner but upon the humble intreaties of the Earl of Derby he gave him his Life and Liberty upon condition he should go and declare to King Philip that the Truce was infringed by this Murther and that he was now going to begin the War anew as he quickly did as well in Guyenne by the Earl of Derby assisted by the Gascon Lords under his obedience as in Bretagne by Montforts party till he could go himself and carry a War into the very heart of the Kingdom Year of our Lord 1344 The people of France had liberally granted to King Philip very notable Subsidies of Money for his Wars he raised them by much and which was worse he setled a new one upon Salt for which cause Edward by way of railery called him the Author of the Salique Law This impost which makes the Sun and Water to be sold so dear was the invention of the Jews mortal enemies to the name of Christians as the word or term Gabel denotes
night and go towards Burgundy Fear is an evil Counsellor all were of that opinion the Lord of Contay only hindred that retreat which would have turned to a rout The next day they had certain intelligence that the King was decamped and gone to Corbeil and a few hours after they were assured the Breton was arrived at Estampes Thus the Field was left to the Charolois which filled his head with so much pride that it may well be said that day was the cause of all his misfortunes The next day the King fearing to be hemm'd in descended directly to Paris along the Seine The same night he supped in the company of the principal Ladies of that City to gain their hearts by the power of that insinuating Sex and to have a Party amongst the Beauties to oppose the intrigues of those that were for the interests of the Princes He also highly commended the Fidelity of the Citizens and to allure the People he caused to be proclaimed in all the Suburbs an abatement upon Wines from a fourth part to an eighth part and a general revocation of all Imposts the five great Farmes only excepted These favours being against his will did not last long no more then the establishment he made of a Council of eighteen persons six of the Parliament six of the Body of the University and six of the chiefest Citizens by whose Counsel and advice he promised to be governed according to the remonstrances of the Clergy the Parliament and the University The danger past he kept nothing of all this but a mortal hatred against those that had made the proposition and particularly against the Bishop who first mentioned it in the name of the rest This was William Brother of Allen Chartier a man of great vertue and hugely zealous of the publick good ✚ Being in want of money he made great borrowings amongst his Officers Which was the first occasion of making employments vendible for he set aside those that had refused to lend him what he demanded About fifteen days after having well provided for the security of the City he went into Normandy to raise men and Money In the mean time the Count de Charolois marching to meet the Breton took the House d'Estampes to refresh his Soldiers and dress the wounded which were to the number of almost two Thoúsand At the end of three days the Breton arrived having with him the Counts of Dunois and Dammartin the Mareschal de Loheack the Lords de Bevil de Gaucour and d'Amboise 800 Men at Armes and six Thousand Light-horse It hapned one day that Monsieur a young Prince who had but a faint heart seeing the wounded men who were carried thorough the Streets of Estampes and the sick that crawled up and down let fall some expressions which signified his repentance for that enterprize The Count de Charolois heard it and perhaps he heard likewise that the Bretons upon the rumour that had been spread how the King was slain in the Battel of Montlehery had consulted of a means to rid themselves of him that they might govern the new King alone upon which he imagined that he might be left betwixt the Hammer and the Anvil and in this apprehension he sent to Edward King of England to treat of an Alliance with him and desire to have his Sister Margret His design was but to entertain him with hopes that he might make no League with the King for he mortally hated the House of York and was for the interest of Lancaster nevertheless by over-acting the dissembler he engaged himself so far as to compleat the marriage and took the Order of the Garter Year of our Lord 1465 When the Princes had staid two Weeks at Estampes they resolved to return before Paris to try a second time whether they could move them to declare themselves for the publick good Having therefore foraged the Country of Gastinois they passed the Seine over a Bridge of Boats between Melun and Montereau At this passage John of Anjou Duke of Calabria and Lorrain the Son of good King Rene and a great Captain joyned them with the Forces of both Burgundy's He had but eight hundred Horse but of the very best and amongst his Foot which were but few five Hundred Swisse the first that were seen in France When all the other Lords were come with their Forces there were near a Hundred Thousand Horse in that Army The Burgundian had his Quarters at Charenton and was lodged in his Castle of Conflans the Dukes of Berry and Calabria at St. Maur and the rest at St. Denis and the places thereabouts In this multitude of principal Officers there was no Head considerable enough to command this vast Body they staid three days before Paris without doing any thing Perhaps they might have forced it by assaults had they undertaken it for there were but five hundred Lances and some Bands of Archers however they rather furnished themselves then starved the City to a Compliance It is true they narrowly missed the gaining of it by Treaties and Intreagues For some out of a desire to see the Blockade at an end and the rest for fear of some sad event gave Ear to certain Letters brought them by the Heralds from the Brother of their King They sent Deputies to him from the Chiefest of the Clergy the Parliament the University and the Citizens The Bishop was Speaker At their return notwithstanding the contrary orders of the Count d'Eu who was Governor it was concluded at their Town-Hall that they should desire the King to Assemble the Estates that the Princes might come into Paris in small companies and that they should be furnished with Provisions for their money The King being informed thereof returned to Paris the 28 th of August and broke off this project Had he staid two days longer he might perhaps have found the Princes in Paris and the Gates shut against him Had that hapned he had resolved to have retired to Lewis Sforza Duke of Milan his good Friend who had sent him a relief of seven or eight Thousand Men that mightily harrassed the Duke of Bourbons Country Year of our Lord 1465 After his Arrival no day passed without Skermishings unless upon some Truces which were renewed divers times for four and twenty hours only There had been a Conference agreed upon by Deputies the third of September which was held at Mercers Grange From that hour there was nothing but bargaining to debauch people the Confederates grew jealous of each other that Party disunited and the Kings grew strong and better fortified and Confirmed It was resolved the Council of Sforza Duke of Milan should be followed which was to dissolve the League at what price soever and for that purpose to grant to every one in particular almost whatever he demanded The King had very near made an agreement which each of them excepting only about the Appenage for his Brother they being obstinately bent to have Normandy allowed him
for this was to assure him that they had Infallible Intelligence how to surprize the Dukes Towns and make his Subjects revolt in the very Heart of Flanders Upon the hopes of these great advantages he sent an Usher of the Parliament to Summon him even in the very City of Ghent to give satisfaction to the Count d'Eu from whom he detained some Lands belonging to the County of Pontieu In stead of appearing upon the Summons he levy'd Soldiers at half Pay but having been at this charge three Months seeing no Body moved he thought it was only a huffe and dismissed them The House of Burgundy spared their People so much that they kept up no Militia nor Garrisons in their Towns they thought that by Treating their Subjects well they were Guard good enough However when he had laid down all his Arms he received divers informations that all was ready to overwhelm him John de Chaalons Prince of Orange and some of his Domestick Servants for sook him Baldwin one of his Bastard Brothers he had eight Plotted to poyson him the Breton renounced his alliance and the Constable Seized upon the City of Saint Quentin Then he that had feared nothing began to apprehend every thing He got together with much ado three hundred Horse with which he advanced to cover his other Cities on the Somme But upon sight of him those of Amiens turned their backs and received the Kings Forces Abbeville would have done as much if Desquerdes had not hinderd it He retired therefore to Arras with more hast then he went forth and sent a private messenger to the Constable to pray him not to push things forward to extremity He received for answer that unless Monsieur would declare for him he could not be served in it But that he was ready to embrace his defence if he would give his Daughter in Mrrriage to him A Note from Monsieur conveyed to him in a piece of Wax assured him the same thing and the Breton gave him intelligence that all his Towns even Bruges and Ghent were upon the point of revolting and that the King was resolved to besiege him whithersoever he went But the more they will force him the more he stands out against them Not being followed so closely as he might have been by the King he resumes his Courage gathers up Men takes the Field and having gained Pequiny presents himself before Amiens and Fired his Guns at the Town to invite the Constable to give him Battel But finding the great numbers of men coming which the King got together at Beauvais he retreated back and wrote a very Submissive Letter to him which in gross discovered the Artifices of those that Animated the King against him The King who found he was as little secure as the Duke amongst such double dealing People agreed to a Truce for a year the 12 th Day of May. St. Quintin remained the Constables and was at last the cause of his ruine The Treaty Signed the King went into Touraine Monsieur to his Apennage of Guyenne and the Burgundian to Flanders During this War Edward of York with a Moderate assistance which the Burgundian and secretly furnished him withal for he apprehended to offend the Earl of Warwick had by the favour of the Duke of Clarence his Brother whom he had regained by the intrigues of a Woman re-enters England gained two Battels one against Warwick who was killed on the spot the other against young Edward Son of King Henry and the Queen his Mother in which that Prince was slain The Queen became a Prisoner to the Conqueror whom afterwards King Lewis redeemed by a ransom of 6000 Crowns Thus Edward re-establisht himself in his Throne and maintained it till his Death Year of our Lord 1471 Sigismond Duke of Austria having need of Money which that House hath ever been in great scarcity of till the time of the Emperor Charles V. engaged his County of Ferreie for a Notable Sum to the Duke of Burgundy The Duke puts ☜ in a very courteous Governor he was called Hagembach who laying great exactions was the first cause of the Germans hatred towards his Master Year of our Lord 1471 Pope Sixtus the IV. this was Francis de la Rovere Elected in the Room of Paul II. to follow the example of his Predecessors Sollicited the Christian Princes to unite themselves against the Turks For this purpose he sent the Cardinal Bessarion a Greek by Birth and a person of great merit to the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy The Cardinal having seen the Duke first the King was so much offended at it that he made him wait a long time before he would admit him to his presence and giving him Audience he rallied with him and treated him as a Grecian Beard The Truce displeased the Duke who had made it by compulsion neither was it to the good liking of Monsieur nor the Breton nor the Constable thus all four sought to re-unite themselves rogether The marriage of Monsieur was the only tye that could be secure the Burgundian promised it though he had no mind to it and upon this foot they renewed their League The Constables solliciting the other Princes to enter into it the Duke of Bourbon gave notice of his practices to the King who wisely dissembled it contriving to be quit with them by the same method For he every day pared away somewhat of his Brothers Apennage threw one rub one day and another the next Debauched his Friends from him corrupted his Servants and got them to reveal all their Masters secrets By the Treaty of Constans John Court of Armagnac had been restored to his Lands the King had caused them to be again Seized on in the year 1468. And had given them to Monsieur with the Government of Guyenne Monsieur being discontented had caused that Count to return put him into possession of his Estate and by his means and with the assistance of the Counts de Foix and the Lord de Albret he raised Men either that he might not be Surprized or to undertake something Year of our Lord 1471 Whatever his designs were they were blasted by a detestable and cruel remedy He loved a Lady Daughter of the Lord Monsereau and Widdow of Lewis d'Amboise and had for Confessor a certain Benedictine Monk Abbot of St. John d'Angely named John Favre Versois This wicked Monk poyson'd a very fair Peach and gave it to that Lady who at a Collation put it to steep in Wine presented one half of it to the Prince and eat the other her self She being tender died in a short time the Prince more robust sustained for some while the assaults of the Venome but how-ever could not Conquer it and in the end yielded his Life to it Year of our Lord 1471 Such as adjust all the Phenomena's of the Heavens to the accidents here below might have applied to this same a Comet of extraordinary Magnitude which was visible four score days
Party And the King spared the Lives of some who were so only out of Interest The Montmorencies Cossé and Biron were in the black List but Montmorency's absence he being at Chantilly secured the Lives of his Three Brothers the Prayers and Tears of the beautiful Chasteau-neuf Monsieurs Mistriss saved Cossé his Allie and Biron Great Master of the Ordnance having loaded and levell'd or appointed some Culverins at the Gate of the Arsenal stopt the impetuous Torrent of the Massacrers and let in some of his distressed Friends amongst others James second Son of the Lord de la Force who being then but Ten or Twelve years old had craftily hid himself between his Fathers and his Eldest Brothers Corps Murther'd in bed where they all three lay together When the Admiral was kill'd they threw his Body down into the Court the Duke of Guise who stood below wiped the Blood off which cover'd his Face to know if it were he After that an Italian cut off his Head and carried it to the Queen Mother who causing it to be Embalm'd sent it to the Pope as the Huguenots say The Populace fell upon the unhappy trunck of his Body They first cut off the Hands and Privities then left it on a Dunghil in the afternoon they return to it again dragg'd it three dayes about the Streets then to the River side yet did not throw it in and at last to Montfaucon where they hung it up by the Feet with an Iron Chain and made a Fire underneath which half consumed it This miserable Relick hung there till the Mareschal de Montmorency got some to steal it away in a very dark Night and laid it to rest in his Chappel at Chantilly About Noon on the Sunday the Massacre first began a white-thorn growing in the Church-Yard called Sainct Innocents half wither'd and stript of all its Leaves put forth great store of Blossomes This wonder much heightned the phrensie of the People the Fraternities Marched along with Drums beating and strove who should Massacre most Huguenots in a day the King himself would needs see that Prodigy Most People would have it to be a Miracle and those of either Religions interpreted it to their own advantage The less creduloâ—s attributed it to the nature of the Tree which does many times Blossom when ready to die We might say that the same cause which heated the Peoples Brains and excited them to so much violence and fury was that which heated this Tree likewise whether proceeding from Vapours out of the Earth or the Influence of the Stars and Planets from above It had been resolved in the King and Queens most private Council to charge the Guises with all the Malice and Odium of these Massacres and report that the Admirals Friends intending to revenge the hurt he had received it begot so furious a Sedition that the King could not allay or hinder it and to this effect they had agreed and appointed that they should retire to their own homes as soon as ever the Chiefs of the Huguenots were dispatched Upon this Foot the King had written to all the Governours of Provinces commanding them to assure the People he would not break thâ— Edict of Pacification and in one Letter he said expresly That he was joyned with the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé to revenge the death of the Admiral his Cousin But the Guises apprehending as they had reason lest the Queen Mother should some time or other lay this Crime to their charge to ruine them insisted so resolutely upon it having the power in their own hands the Catholick Nobility the Duke of Montpensier and the Parisians to back them that they obliged him to change his Note and to send word every where That what had been done was by his Order to prevent the effects Year of our Lord 1572 of that detestable Conspiracy the Admiral and his Friends had plotted to destroy him and all the Royal Family as also the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé Wherefore upon Tuesday the Third day of the Massacre after hearing of Mass to return solemn thanks to God for the precious Victory obtained over Heresie and commanded Medals should be Coyned to preserve the Memory thereof he went and sat on his Royal Seat of Justice in Parliament where he owned the whole Action Some dayes after he sent orders to that Assembly to employ all the Authority of the Law to justifie it and to that end to proceed immediately without delay to make Process against the Admiral and his accomplices month September and October For this a Chamber or Court was purposely set up during the Vacation by whose Sentence the Admiral was declared Attainted and Convict of the Crime de Lesae Majestatis Chief Head and principal Author of a Conspiracy against the King and his Kingdom ordained that his Body if it could be found if not his Effigies should be drawn upon a Hurdle and hanged upon a Gaâ—lows at the Greve from thence carried to the Gibbet at Mont-faucon all Pictures of him to be mangled and trampled under Foot by the Hang-man his Armes dragged at a Horses Tail about the Streets of Paris his Estate Confiscated his Children declared Plebean and Ignoble Intestable and unworthy to hold any Office Dignity or Estate in the Realm his House of Chastillon razed and an Inscription set up there graved on a Copper Plate containing this whole Sentence and Decree against him It was added that from thence forward upon the Four and Twentieth day of August should be yearly observed a general Procession to render thanks to God for the discovery of that Conspiracy Briquemaut an old Gentleman and Arnaud de Cavagnes a Master of Requests and Chancellour of the Cause being taken after the Butchery in a House where they a while concealed themselves were declared his accomplices and Condemned to the same punishment They were drawn upon a Sledge to the Greve and Executed together with his Fantosme made of Straw in the Mouth of which they did not forget to stick a Tooth-picker The King and Queen Mother stood at a Window in the Town-Hall and beheld the Execution through a Tiffany Vail Two dayes after the King had been in Parliament he put forth an Edict whereby he assured the Huguenots that what had been done was not in hatred to their Religion but to prevent the wicked designes of the Admiral and therefore that every one of them should keep quietly in his own abode and not make any publick Assemblies but at the same time he wrote to the Governors of the Provinces and Cities that they should take the very same Course and Treat them as they had been at Paris During two Months this horrible Tempest run over all France more or less Bloody according to the disposition of the Countries and their Governours It was not so violent in Burgundy and Bretagne because there were few Huguenots nor in Languedoc and Gascongne because they were strong
to be Earl of Flanders his unfortunate end 296 Baldwin King of Constantinople comes into France to demand assistance 300 Baviere the Dutchy extinct by the death of Tassillon 103 Bearn Vicounty 315 Beatrix of Savoy 300 Belisarius conquers the Kingdom of the Vandals 24 Benefices the great ones at the disposition of the Popes That the same Ecclesiastick cannot in Conscience hold more then one 301 Perpetuated in their Houses 291 Benevent Dutchy made Tributary to the Emperor Lewis the Debonair 121 Bennet Archdeacon is elected Pope 186 His degradation and his death Bennet XI Pope does things with more mildness then Boniface his Predecessor 332 His death ibid. Benenger Roman Earl of Provence Rebellion of his Subjects 300 Berenger Duke of Spoleta 156 Berenger I. King of Italy 162 Crowned Emperor of the East 162 Forsaken of the Italians and dispossest Calls the Hungarians into Italy His death ibid. Berenger King of Italy with his Son Adelbert is abandoned of his Subjects 188 Banished into Germany ibid. Berenger Archdeacon of Anger 's an Heresiark and Head of the Heretical Sacramentaries his several Retractions and Death 229 Berenger Raimond Earl of Provence his death 303 Bernard King of Italy makes Oath of fidelity to the Emperor Lewis the Debonair 121 Appeases the Tumult of the Romans 121 Conspires against the Emperor his Uncle and is taken Prisoner 122 His death 123 Bernard Earl of Barcelona the Favourite of the Empress Judith 126 St. Bernard opposes Henry the Monk disciple of Peter Bruys in Languedoc 245 Abbot of Clervais in high esteem amongst the Prelats the Grandees and the People 243 Preaches the Croisado by command of the Pope 244 Acquires great Reputation to his Order 271 Causes Innocent II. to be owned 303 Bernard Saisset Bishop of Pamiez made Prisoner 326 Berthier Maire of the Neustrian Palace his unhappy end 69 Bertoald Maire of the Palace 42 Bertradi Daughter of Simon de Montfort Marries Foulques le Rechin who was Aged 222 She leaves her Husband to Marry King Philip though nigh of Kindred 222 Robert de Bethune Earl of Flanders his death 350 Bilicbild Queen of France 65 Blanch Wife of Lewis the Lazy 198 Blanch of Castille Widow of Lewis VIII and Regent of the Kingdom causes Lewis her eldest Son to be Crowned 295 Her death and burial 306 Blanch of France Queen of Castille 313 Blanch of Artois Queen of Navarre 316 Blanch of France betroathed twice and Married in fine to Rodolphus Duke of Austria 321 Blanch of Burgundy 324 Blasphemy Edict against Blasphemers 252 Beomond Prince of the Normands in Apulia 222 Boniface Bishop of Ments takes great care for the re-establishment of Ecclesiastical Discipline by the Convocation of divers Councils 112 113 Boniface Marquiss of Montferat joyns with the French in the Expedition to the Holy Land 256 Is made King of Thessaly ibid. Boniface VIII elected Pope 325 Endeavours to make Peace in Christendom ibid. Makes himself an Enemy to the King of France Philip the Fair divers causes of enmity 326 Arbitrator of the differences between the King of France the English and Flemings 328 Publishes a general Indulgence afterwards called a Jubile 328 Attributes the Temporal Power to himself as well as the Ecclesiastical 329 Disaffected to the French 329 Excommunicates Philip the Fair. 329 Is accused of Heresie and divers other Crimes 329 Ill treated at Anagnia by the French his death 332 Boson Brother of Queen Richilda 143 Is Crowned King of Burgundy defeated and vanquished in Battle 151 Bourges Archbishop takes the Title of Primat and that of Patriarch over the Archbishops of Narbona Bourdeaux and of Ausch 337 Bourgogue or Burgundy united to France and loses the Title of a Kingdom 22 Bourgogne or Burgundy Dutchy yielded by King Henry to Robert his Brother 214 Bourgogne Transjurane and the Kingdom of Arles pass into the hands of the Emperor Conrad and the Princes of Germany 215 Bourgogne or Burgundy County the Subject of a great Quarrel 238 Difference and a hot War between Reinauld Earl of Burgundy and Bertold Duke of Zeringben for the County ibid. Given to Philip the Fair. 324 The Bourgundians make themselves Masters of a part of Gall. Their Conversion to the Christian Faith 8 Of the Mariners Compass and its first invention 330 Brabant Chief of the Dukes of Brabant 210 Brittain Great subdued by the English Saxons 8 Bretagne casts off the yoak of the French 135 Loses the name of Kingdom and takes that of County then of Dutchy 144 In great trouble 184 Subjected to the Duke of Normandy 215 In great trouble 245 Bretons make great Incursions upon the Territories of the French and are brought to reason 56 Subjected to the Crown of France vanquished 123 Obstinate for their liberty 124 Brosse Peter de la a Barber advanced to a Supream Fortune endeavours in vain to ruine the Queen of France 318 Is Hanged ibid. Brunebaud banished to Rouen is set at liberty 35 Gets away the Huns by force of Money 42 Chaced by the Austrasians 42 Leads a Vicious Lewd Life 43 Her unhappy end 45 Bruno Archbishop of Colen 184 Bulgarians have a quarrel with the Avari and are totally vanquished 121 Ransack Panonia Superiora 124 Ransack Lumbardy 162 Burdin favourite of Henry V. Emperor confined to a perpetual imprisonment 274 C. Calistus II. Pope under the protection of France against the Emperor 236 Calistus III. Antipope 272 Canal begun for the Communication between the Rivers of Rhine and the Danube remains imperfect 104 Candia falls under the Dominion of the Venetians 263 Cardinals in great splendour 292 The Cardinals their growth and their authority 282 Fall from their so great power ibid. Carloman Son of Pepin King of Austrasia 95 His death 97 Carloman eldest Son of Charles the Bald revolts against his Father is punished 144 Carloman King of West France Aquitain and Burgundy 148 His death 156 Carloman Son of Charles Martel Duke and Prince of the French in Austrasia 86 He and Pepin shut up their Brother Griffin in a Castle 84 Bring the Duke of Aquitain and the Duke of Bavaria to reason who were revolted 86 Marches afterwards against the Saxons 86 Quits the World and takes on him the Habit of St. Bennet at Mount Soracie 87 Caroloman comes into France on behalf of Astolphus King of the Lombards and is shut up in a Monastery at Vienne and his Sons shaved Anno 754. 92 Caroloman Son of Lewis the German King of Bavaria 148 Great preparation for Italy without effect 146 His death 149 Carmelites their institution and establishment 339 Carobert King of Hungary 334 Castille in trouble and divisions about the Crown 316 Catares Hereticks 278 Celestine Pope lays down the Triple Crown or Thiara 325 Celibate of the Priests 288 Disorder falling thereon ibid. Cenobites 4 Chape or Mantle of St. Martin born at the head of their Armies 244 Thomas de Champeaux Doctor in Theology takes the Habit of a Frier at St. Victors 276 Chanons Regulars in esteem
and from whence came about Eighteen or Twenty good Friars who spread themselves in several Countreys where they are all at present prayed to as Saints nor the good Hermit Severin whom Clovis being long sick of a Fever caused to come from the Monastery d'Agaune that he might be healed by his Prayers Nor that other named Maixan who had his little Cell in that part of Poitou whereon there is built an Abby and at length a Town of his Name Clovis resetled the Bishopricks in Belgica bestowed great Possessions on the Church and built many The French who were Converted imitated his Pious Examples I do not know whether before his Reign there were many Parish Churches in the Countrey but since his time we find great numbers and likewise many Oratories in which the Sacraments were not administred We need not tell you that the Titles of Pope of Father of the Church of Beatitude and of Beatissimus of Holiness of Sovereign-Priest of Servant of the Servants of God of Apostolique were common to all the Bishops nor that almost every one of them erected Monasteries in their Episcopal Cities They often elected Widowers and Married Men provided they had been so but once and to a Maiden The Vote of the People passed in these things for a Call from God they were bound to obey and to live with their Wives as with their Sisters if they had any Children or Nephews that were Wise and Learned they often succeeded them Their Election was made by the Clergy of their Church and by the People the Confirmation by the comprovincial Bishops principally by the Metropolitan and never without him They were to have regard only to Merit oftentimes they considered his Birth and even in those early days there were some wicked enough to make use of Bribes and Corruption Simony is the most antient or first and will be the last of Heresies In all Ages it hath stuck like Rust on the Church the others did not make any great mischief in Gall during this age That of Eutyches did not extend so far but the Condemnation of him by the Council of Chalcedon was sent by Pope Leo I. who before had demanded the Suffrages of the Bishops the more to authorize that celebrated Letter which he wrote to the Council The Monk and Priest Leporius hatched an Heresie almost the same as that which Nestorius maintained since but having been for that reason expelled from his Church at Marseilles he retracted in Writing Anno 425. That of Pelagius a Monk of Great Britain who began to dogmatize towards the year 412. was first discovered by two of the Gallican Bishops named Heros and Lazarus who prosecuted his condemnation first in Palestine afterwards in Africa After St. Augustin had trampled that proud Heresie in the Dirt which made the Salvation of Man depend upon his own strength no body in France durst openly embrace it But in Provence there were Priests and Monks who framed a middle Opinion between that Error and the Doctrine of this great Bishop they were called Semipelagians As for Councils they were often held by Order from the Emperours and Kings Sometimes the desire of the Pope the request of a Metropolitan that of a single Bishop or the least occasion caused them to assemble It is not known in what place that was held which Anno 429. sent St. German and St. Lupus into England to oppugne the Errors of the Pelagians nor that which Anno 444. deposed Chelidonius Bishop of Besancon because he had been married to a Widow and had been assisting in Judgment of matters criminal but it is well known that the Council at Riez was held in 439. The first at Orange in 441. That of Vaison in 442. That of Angiers in 443. The second of Axles towards the year 452. The third of the same place Anno 455. That of Tours 461. That of Vannes 465. The fourth of Arles 475. That of Agde Anno 506. and that of Orleans the first that was celebrated under a French King Anno 511. All these Councils were composed only of the Bishops of the Province where they were held excepting that of Agde and that of Orleance whereof the first comprehended the three Aquitanes and the two Narbonnoises as yet subject to Alaric King of the Visigoths and the other of the three Aquitanes newly conquered by the French and the second third and fourth Lyonnoises for the first belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy At the third of Arles that Error was condemned which they call the Predestinati and there was another called at Lyon for the same purpose but both by the pursuit of Faustus de Riez who was a Semipelagian At the fourth of Arles was Treated concerning the difference of Foustus Abbot of Lerins with the Bishop Theodorus and there they made for the first time a notable breach upon the Authority of the Bishops in limiting their power over Monasteries they had ever had it entire even to that degree that they had the power of placing Abbots and to chuse them out of any of the Clergy In these Councils several Canons were made for Ordinations to prevent the encroachments the Bishops made upon one another to preserve the Rights the Priviledges and the Goods belonging to the Church To regulate the Functions of the Clergy hinder them from Pleading before Secular Judges Repress Usury and the liberty of running out of their Diocess To preserve the Chastity of Virgins and Widows touching Homicides and false Witnesses touching Penances and the Penitents touching the Holiness and Celibacy which the Priests and Deacons ought to observe To the same end tended the Epistles of the Popes Innocent Zozimus Boniface Celestin Leons Simplicius Felix Gelasius Anastasius Symmachus which they generally directed to the Bishop of Arles as their Vicar to be sent to the other Gallican Bishops As there were no great Bishopricks in Gaul the Gallican Church was much more submissive and subjected to those Bishops of Rome then the Eastern ones or those of Africk but yet much less then the Italians There was often recourse had to them upon the greatest occasions they were consulted withal touching the usages and meaning of the Canons and afterwards when they found that their Answers were held for Decisions they Ordained what they thought good even before they were consulted withal They made themselves immediate Judges of all Disputes between Bishops before the Cause had been brought to the Metropolitan intermedled in bounding their Territories and Jurisdictions deposed those that were not well Ordained or were Criminal and compelled them to trudge to Rome to prosecute their business before them The Power they had by the Primacy of their See to cause the Canons to be duly observed advanced them to this great Authority but the Bishops took great care they should not be infringed and themselves acknowledged they were obliged to walk by them Childebert I. King VI. POPES Year of our Lord 512 HORMISDA The 26 th of July 414. S.
Critiques have maintained that the Chronology did not agree but there is no appearance that so many Authors should or could have invented such a Fable without any necessity or ground to move them to it Cherebert King VIII POPE JOHN III. S. Ten years under this Reign CHEREBERT King of Paris aged Twenty years GONTRAN of Orleans and of Burgundy aged 36 years SIGEBERT of Austrasia aged Twenty five or Thirty years CHILPERIC of Soissons aged Twenty or Twenty five years THe Kingdom was for the Second time divided into Four for his four Sons which was the cause of infinite Civil Wars Murthers Treasons Plunderings and Calamities Before their shares were setled Chilperic the youngest of them had Year of our Lord 561 seized upon all the Fathers Treasure which was at Bresne and afterwards that at Paris but he was driven thence by the other three This done they drew Lots which gave the Kingdom of Paris to Cherebert that of Orleans and a good part of that of Burgundy to Gontran he resided at Chaalons that of Austrasia to Sigebert and that of Soissons to Chilperic Besides this each of them had a share in Aquitain as the four Sons of Clovis before Year of our Lord 562 had and also in Provence that so each of them and altogether might be obliged to maintain them with their joynt Forces The Austrasians had nominated for the Office of Mayre of the Palace a Lord named Chrodin he refused to accept of it considering that all the Grandees of the Countrey being his Kindred would have thought they might have taken the liberty of committing all sorts of violence on the People with impunity and that he could not have the severity to punish them for it He therefore advised them to Year of our Lord 565 make another choice and they relying upon his probity he recommended Gogon to them who was of his Educating and taking him by the Arms he puts them round his Neck in token that he owned him for his Superiour The Avarois a People of Hun flying the Tyranny of the Turks who were of the same Nation had forsaken their Native Soil and were come to the Service of the Emperour Justinian After his death being slighted by Justin they sought their Fortunes elsewhere and having penetrated into the heart of Germany they ravaged Turingia which belonged to Sigebert This King not fearing these Barbarians who were reckoned so terrible attaqued them neer the Banks of the Elbe and having mated them in a great Battle he sent them back again with shame to the Danube from whence they were come Chilperic in the mean time falls upon his Territory and ruined all the Countrey of Rheims Sigebert being come back repels him most vigorously and took his Son Year of our Lord 567 Theodebert prisoner with the Citty of Soissons In this same year the quarrel ended in a peace followed with the liberty of the young Prince but not a perfect reconciliation In 570. began the Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy their King Alboinus being Year of our Lord 570 Crowned at Milan this year after he had conquer'd all the Countrey from the Alpes to Tuscany excepting only the Exerchat of Ravenna which yet remained in the Empire The name of Lombards came either from their wearing of long Beards or that they were armed with long Bards which was a kind of Axe Their first Habitation was on the further Banks of the Elbe whence coming forth and having often changed their Dwellings Four hundred years together they in the end fixed themselves in Pannonia in the days of the Emperour Justinian From thence their King Alboinus a very War-like Prince and brought some Forces into Italy for the Romans Service in the time of the Funnque haarses Now they had takensuch delight in the Habitation so rich and fruitful a Land that that Great Captain being dead they all went thither with their Wives and Children in the year 568 under the Conduct of that King He likewise carried thither Thirty thousand Saxons who were willing to follow him and the remainder of the Gipedes whose Kingdom he had extinguish'd in Pannonia Year of our Lord 570 The Neighborhood soon set them together by the Ears with the French and begot a mortal Enmity between them As they were huge covetous and pussed up with their Victories they were not satisfied with the spoils of Italy but made frequent incursions into Rhetia and Provence In that very year some numbers of them in a body without a Head were sallen into the Countrey of Valais but instead of carrying away Plnnder they lost their Lives The year following they marched much stronger into the Kingdom of Burgundy Year of our Lord 571 and at the first in a bloody Battle defeated the Army which King Gontran had sent against them and slew their General This was Amat Patrician or Governour of the Province of Arles but when they would needs come again the Third time and had ransacked the Countreys about Ambrun the Patrician Mummole Successor to Amat insnared or surrounded them and having stopped all the ways by felling of huge Trees charged these Robbers so smartly that he destroyed almost the whole Army or made them prisoners Year of our Lord 562. and the following There was nothing more disorderly then the liberty which these Four Kings of France took in their Marriages Gontran after he had chosen a Servant for his Mistriss belonging to some Courtier from whom he had forced her espoused Marcatrude Daughter of Magnachaire whom he rejected in a short time afterwards to take one that waited on her she was called Austrigilda Bobilla Chilperic had repudiated Queen Andovere though he had three Sons by her for the love of Fredegonda one of the Women belonging to his Chamber Cherebert put away Ingoberge whom he had Married in the life time of Clotaire and Married with Meroflede Daughter to one that worked in Woollen and then afterwards with her Sister Marcovefe though she were under the Holy Veil and likewise with Theodegildus Daughter to a Shepherd King Sigebert on the contrary desiring a lawful Marriage and one well qualify'd espoused Brunechild or Brunehand Daughter of Atanagildus King of the Visigoths Sometime afterwards Chilperic follow'd his example and having for a short while quitted his Amours to Fredegonda demanded likewise Gelasuinta Sister to Brunebaud The Father consents to it but not without a great deal of repugnance and the obliging both himself and the chief Lords his Subjects to swear by many Oaths that he should never take any other whilst she was living Year of our Lord 570 Cherebert being gone into Xaintonge which was in his Lot dyed in the Castle of Blaye on the Garonne and was buried in the same place within the Church of St. Romain He was little less then Forty nine years and had Reigned Nine He had but three Daughters Berte by Queen Ingoberge and Berteflede and Crodielde by some Mistriss These two last were Veiled
was natural to see a Prince of Twenty six years to be amorous but it was a prodigy against nature that at that age he should have such a covetous heart as nothing could satisfie Nevertheless being in himself at the bottom very good the Remonstrances of St. Amand Bishop of Tongres somewhat allay'd the heat of his Covetousness He took Nantilda his first Wife again and lived with her the rest of his days Year of our Lord 631 Mean time he had a Son by Ragnetrude the same year that he Married her He sent to pray his Brother Aribert to come and hold it at the Font. Both of them met at Orleance for that Ceremony and the Child was Baptized by the Bishop St. Amand and named Sigebert Year of our Lord 631 Aribert was no sooner returned to Thoulouse but he died and his Son Chilperic who was yet in his Cradle survived him but a few days It was suspected that Dagobert had contributed to the death of that Innocent to regain Aquitain by seizure as he presently did DAGOBERT I. Sole King It is certain this King had a singular Devotion for St. Denis and his fellow-Martyrs and that he Erected a Church in honour of him to which he joyned a rich Abby But the subject or cause which we related elsewhere passes amongst the Criticks but for a Fable I cannot tell whether it be a truth that he unfurnished several other Churches of their most precious Ornaments to enrich this same Year of our Lord 631 It hapned this year that some French Merchants who Traded with the Sclavonians were Robbed King Samon having refused to repair this Wrong Dagobert would needs right himself by the Sword The King of the Lombards and the Duke of the Almains the first of which was Allied and the other Subject to France attaqued them joyntly on the one hand whilst the Austrasian French assaulted them on the other The first got the advantage and slew a great many of them but the Austrasians who were discontented with Dagobert because he had preferred his Residence in Neustria before that of Austrasia behaved themselves very cowardly For having besieged the Castle of Vagastburgh wherein the bravest of the Enemies had put themselves they raised it the third day and retreated in great disorder After this the Sclavonians were emboldned to make Incursions in Turingia and other Countries belonging to the French And Debvan or Dervan Duke of the Sorabes they were a People of Sclavonia who inhabited Mâ—snia drew himself off from the Obedience of the French to put himself under Samon There had been of a long standing a Colony of Bulgarians who had taken up their Quarters in Panonia where they were Allied or become Tributaries to the Avares who possessed the greatest part of that Province with that of Dacia It is disputed whether the ancient Bulgaria was in Sarmatia Asiatica along the River Year of our Lord 631 Volga otherwise called Rha or else in the European on the borders of the Euxine Now the Bulgarians being entred into a War with the Avares were vanquished and so trodden under foot that there were left but nine thousand who were forced to forsake the Country with their Wives and Children These Wretches having besought Dagobert to give them an abiding in some Corner of his Dominions he sent orders to the Bavarois to receive them and to quarter them separately in Villages and Burroughs till the Estates of the Kingdom had ordained how to dispose of them The Estates found the best Expedient would be to cut the Throats of them all in one Night and that was put in execution but too punctually One of their Chiefs having got some wind of it made his escape with seven hundred of them into Sclavonia that Country is yet called the March of Wenden between the Rivers Save and Drave Year of our Lord 631 The Visigoths in Spain made and un made their Kings as they pleased This year 631. the Government of Suintila who had Reigned ten years being uneasie and displeasing to them they cast their Eyes upon Sisenand who implored the Assistance of Dagobert promising him in Recompence the great Golden vasa or Vessel weighing 500 pounds and enriched with Jewels which Aetius had bestowed upon Torismond for helping him against Attila Sisenand being instated in his Throne by the assistance of the French could not refuse this Vessel to the Ambassadors but the Visigoths Way-laid them and took it away again from them by force Dagobert was offended and threatned the business was canvassed and in the conclusion he was contented with two hundred thousand pieces of Silver As he was raising great Forces to stop the Incursions which King Samon with his Sclavonians made into Turingia the Saxons came and profer'd to repel them at their own Peril and Charge if they would forgive them the Tribute of Five hundred Beeves which they owed to France The profer was accepted and they were relied upon to make good their Promise but either they wanted strength or perhaps faith to perform it and secure Turingia as was expected Thus it continued still exposed to the insolency of those Barbarians The Neustrians were too remote to defend them the Austrasians should have done it and they had strength more then enough to have accomplished it but being ill affected they did not much trouble themselves about it It was necessary therefore to regain their hearts and affections to give them a King that should reside amongst them DAGOBERT in Neustria and Burgundy SIGEBERT his Son in Austrasia Year of our Lord 633 Wherefore Dagobert having Assembled the Prelates and the Lords of this Kingdom at Mets he by their Advice and with their Consent makes his Son Sigebert King of Austrasia furnished him with a Royal Treasure that is to say rich Moveables Precious Vasa's or Vessels and Silver Coyn and left the Conduct of his Education of his Court and his State to Cunibert Bishop of Colen and to the Duke Adalgise Then the Austrasians counting themselves restored to their Liberty because they had a King stood up for their Honour and valiantly repulsed the Sclavonians Year of our Lord 634 The following year he had a Son born by Queen Nantilda who was named Clovis Nantilda considering that if her Husband should come to die without setling the Succession this Son would have no share solicited him so earnestly that he sent for the Lords of Austrasia and made them understand that he meant and intended that Neustria and Burgundy should belong to the Infant that was newly born but that all the Cities of Aquitain of Provence and of Neustria which had been joyned to the Kingdom of Austrasia should so remain united excepting the Dutchy of Dentelen which Theodebert the Young had taken from King Clotaire Year of our Lord 635 The Gascons who had possessed one part of the Novem-populania or third Aquitain had again began their Robberies after the death of Caribert There were sent twelve Dukes with the
deal with the Saxons the Huns the Lombards and the Saracens The Saxons a most Warlike and as yet Idolatrous Nation compounded of several People and such as had been invincible had they acted by a mutual agreement and consent gave him work and exercise enough for above Thirty Years during which time he made divers Expeditions against them always with advantage He never denyed them Peace and they broke again as soon as he was out of their sight But his Piety constant as their Malice was never wearied in forgiving them not so much out of a desire to allure them to his obedience as to bring them under the Yoak of Christ Jesus The highest part of his Care having no other end but the propagation of Religion He entred into Saxony therefore this Year and would try to terrify those Rebels by Fire and Sword but they were not afraid to bid him Battle somewhat neer Osnabrug Their Confidence was punished by a huge Slaughter of their men those that remained made their escape beyond the Veser He pursuing his Victory took in the Castle of Eresburgh demolished the Famous Temple of the false God Irmensul and broke his Idol It is supposed to have been the God Mars whence Mers-purg took it's name He afterwards pass'd the Veser compelled the Saxons to give him some Hostages and having rebuilt Fresburgh put a French Garrison into it Year of our Lord From the Year 767 to 771. King Didier not able or willing to give over the Design his Predecessors had formed to abate the Power of the Popes to make himself thereby Master of all Italy sowed a Schisme in the Church of Rome whereby to discompose and weaken them Pope Paul being dead Anno 767. Toton Duke of Nepet at his instigation enters into Rome and forced the Clergy to Elect his Brother Constantine who was not in Orders The following Year another Cabal Enemies to this Violence of Constantine's sets a Priest in the holy Chair named Philip But Crestofle Primicera this was the highest Dignity in the City next to the Prefect constrained both the one and the other to renounce the Popeship and caused Stephanus to be duly elected a Priest of St. Cecil's who was the fourth of that name Didier bethinks him of another method in the Year 770. he goes to Rome upon pretence of Devotion and by force of Presents gained Paul Afiarte Duke or Soveraign Judge in Rome to cause this Crestofle to be put to death and to banish or imprison for colourable reasons all such Roman Citizens as he knew to be most able and disposed to thwart his attempts Afiarte did according to his desire but Adrian who was chosen after Stephen stopt those unjust proceedings and not only eluded all the vain essays of the Lombard but was likewise the cause of his utter destruction After all other Experiments Didier employs Force seizes on several Cities of the Exarchat ravaged the Neighbourhood of Rome and the Year after to turmoil the Pope advances towards him upon pretence of Visiting the Sepulchre of the holy Apostles carrying along with him the Sons of the late King Carloman to oblige him to Crown them The Holy Father flatly refuses him and failed not to make use of this Motive to exasperate Charlemaine the more against the Lombards Year of our Lord 773 Betwixt these two Kings there were already some other causes of Enmity For in the Year 771. Charles had repudiated Hildegard the Sister of Didier saying she was infirm A pretence that did not please a great many good people particularly Adelard the King's Cousin who for this reason retired from the Court into a Monastery And Didier on his side had given a reception to Carloman's Widow and promised her his assistance and support to restore her Sons to the Inheritance or Kingdom of their Father These offences having inclined Charles's Mind to hearken to the Pope's Intreaties he was the more easily induced to pass over the Mountains but with so great and numerous Forces that it was evident it was not meant so much to assist him as to conquer Lombardy Having therefore Rendevouz'd his Army at Geneva he divided it in two Bodies his Uncle Bernard with one took his way by the Mount Jou and himself led the other by Mount Cenis Didier had fortified the Passages and in case they should be worsted himself was advanced with all his Forces neer Turin and in Year of our Lord 773 the Valley of Aost to observe and oppose the French even to the hazard of a Battle but some of their Army having stollen by him very silently and charging them in the Rear he was so much afraid of being hemm'd in that he cast himself into Pavia and Adalgise his Son whom he had made Partner of his Crown into Verona Those of Spoletta and Rietta had already forsaken him to joyn with the Pope When his Retreat was known all the Marca Anconitana and many other Cities followed their Example Charles with a part of his Army encamped before Pavia and sent the remainder before Verona And to demonstrate he did not intend to go thence till he had them in his power he ordered his new Wife Hildegard Daughter of Childebrand Duke of Suevia to come to his Camp and passed the Winter there even till Christmass at which time he goes to Verona to press that Siege forwards Adalgise apprehending to fall into his hands abandoned that City and fled to the Emperour of Greece The Veronese soon after yielded Year of our Lord 774 and gave up Carloman's Children and Widow they were carried into France what afterwards became of them is not mentioned that I know of Nothing remained but Pavia The Siege spinning out in length Charles had a desire to go and pay his Devotions at Rome at the good time of Easter The Pope made him a magnificent Entrance such as was accustomed to be made for the Exarchs He in return confirms all the Grants made by his Father and besides say some added that of Soveraign Justice and absolute Power in all those Countries So that to speak properly the Popes before this time held what they had from the French Kings from whom it must be owned they derive the best portion of their temporal Grandeur In length of time Pavia became so straightned not by any Attaques but by Famine and the people so ill disposed Hunoud the Fire-brand of this War having been knock'd on the head by the Women that Didier surrenders himself with his Wife and Children to Charles He was conveyed into France Cloister'd and Shaved and died soon after Thus was the Kingdom of Lombardy in Italy Extinguished after it had lasted some 204 Years Before his return into France Charles made a second Voyage to Rome where the Pope with 150 Bishops whom he had summoned to honour his Reception and likewise the Roman People conferred upon him the Title of Patrician which was the Degree the nearest to the Empire It belonged to the Emperours only
after to take the Field again with the assistance of the Frisons their Allies but they were as ill handled as before In fine their two Bravest Leaders Albion and Vitikind being disheartned by so much ill success gave ear to the Friendly persuasions which the King being touched with a real esteem for their great Courage had made use of to bring to their duty Having taken their Sureties they appeared before the Estates at Paderborne and thence followed him into France where they were Baptised in his Palace of Atigny He gave the Dutchy of Angria to Vitikind who from that day forward led so good and Christian a life that some have placed him amongst the Saints From him many do derive the descent of the Race of the Capetine Kings Year of our Lord 785 At this Assembly of Paderborn Lewis King of Aquitaine came to his Father with all his Forces He often sent for him and his Brother Pepin either when he wanted them or to call them to an accompt thereby to keep them in subjection Year of our Lord 786 After Easter in the Year 786. the Army went and fell upon Bretagne whose Princes thought themselves independent and had their little Kingdom apart These likewise were compell'd after they had lost divers strong Places to submit to the Grandeur of Charles and to send several Lords to him to take their Oaths of Fidelity But not believing themselves bound to do so they kept them no longer then till they found an opportunity to violate their Faith without danger Year of our Lord 786 In the mean time Adalgise Son of the unfortunate Didier was at Sea with an Army solliciting his Brother in Law Tassillon to fall into Italy at the same time as he should land for the same purpose having made sure of Aregisa Duke of Benevent who married his Sister Charles to prevent the execution of their Designes passes the Mountains the fourth time and having taken Benevent and Capova from Aregisa who would be called King forces him to give sufficient Pledges and renounce that vain Title He had seen the Pope at his passing by Rome upon his return he saw him again Year of our Lord 786 In this Voyage to please himself he brought into France the Gregorian Singing and the Liturgy or Mass that was used at Rome and would needs abolish the Musick and Service of the Gallican Church This change begot many difficulties and stirred up Persecutions against the Ancient Galls who persisted in keeping their own Customs This good Prince was so wedded to this Singing that he made it a considerable business and a main point of Religion whereas several of the Ancient Fathers held it as a very indifferent thing Year of our Lord 787 Whilst he was last at Rome Tassillon's Ambassadors came thither to intreat the Pope to reconcile Charles perfectly to him The holy Father and the King willingly hearkned to it But when the King press'd them to name the time wherein their Master would perform what he promised they replyed that they had nothing in Commission but to carry back his answer So that the King perceiving he did not walk uprightly resolved when he got again into France to make him speak clearly Having therefore held the Estates at Wormes he drew three Armies into the Field his Son Pepin's in Italy one of the Eastern French and a third which himself Commanded Year of our Lord 787 When Tassillon saw them all upon his Frontiers the first in the Valley of Trente the second on the Borders of the Danube and the other under the Walls of the City of Augsburgh not knowing which way to turn he came with all humility to begg his pardon and delivered up Thirteen Hostages whereof his Eldest Son Theudon was one Yet the hatred he had for the French and the correspondence he held with Adalgise his Brother in Law still prompted him secretly to sollicite the Bavarian to take up Arms and to joyn in League with the Huns his Neighbours who held Pannonia which is Hungary and Austria Part of these were led by his persuasions but the rest apprehending the Calamities of War gave the King notice hereof For which cause this Duke being a second time summoned to the Assembly of Estates which met at Ingelhenin and there accused by his own Subjects and convicted of Treason was by his Peers condemned to lose his Life Howbeit the King in favour of him as being neer of Kin commuted that punishment so that both he and his Son Theudon were only Shaved and sent to the Cloister of Loresheim and then to Jumiege And at this time The Dutchy of Bavaria was Extinguished and divided into several hereditary Counties Year of our Lord 788 Out of these ruines sprung a more powerful Enemy The Huns angry for the loss of their Allie and that the French were become their Neighbours began a most bloody War with them which lasted for Eight Years together This Year let them however know what the Event was like to be for they lost three Battles against them one in Friul and two in Bavaria At the same time Adalgise having obtained some Forces of Constantine the Emperor of Greece who was netled for that Charles had denied him his Daughter Rotrude in Marriage descended into Italy by Calabria imagining the rest of the Lombards would take up Arms in his Quarrel But he was mistaken in his reckoning Grimoald Son of his Sister and Aragise Duke of Benevent whom Charles had gratify'd with the Dutchy after the death of his Father Hildebrand Duke of Spoleta Vinigisa who was so after him and some other of King Pepins Captains fought him at his going forth of Calabria and obtained an entire Victory That unfortunate man falling into their hands alive was cruelly put to death as generally most Princes are that endeavour to regain their own when they suffer themselves to be taken Year of our Lord 789 Of the German People there was hardly any but those that Inhabited along the Baltick Coasts who did not acknowledge Charlemain or held themselves Enemies to the French and their Allies Those nearest to his Frontiers were the Wilses seated on the further side of the Elbe in the Southern part of the Country He built a Fort upon that River which he strengthened with two Castles and having made an inroad even to their Principal City which they called Dragawit brought such astonishment amongst them that they all submitted without striking one blow Their chief Head named Viltzan coming forth together with the most eminent of them to take the Oath of Fidelity and offer him pledges for Security Year of our Lord 790 He spent the Year 790. in his Palace of Wormes without undertaking any Military expedition He addicted himself to works of Piety sent great Almes to the Christians in Syria Egypt and Africa who groaned under the Saracen yoak and besought the amity of those Infidel Princes thereby to oblige them to treat the Christians more mercifully Year of
joyned with those of the County and together made Count Sance Duke of Gascogny To whom some years after succeeded Arnold Son of Emenon or Immon Count of Perigord In the year 841. whilst the Kings were in the Field to destroy each other Hochery or Oger one of the most Famous Commanders of the Normands who commanded a Fleet of 150 Ships Burnt the City of Rouen the 14 th of May and the Abbey of Gemiege some days afterwards and for Fifteen or Sixteen years together continued his Barbarities upon Neustria and more particularly upon Bretagne and Aquitain They had also taken their course by Bretagne to make a descent The revolt of that Province opening a gap for them Louis the Debonnaire had given the Government to Neomenes descended from the Ancient Kings of those Countries and younger Brother of Rivalon Father of Salomon Now Neomene having acquired some reputation for having made head against the Normans An. 836. began to think himself worthy of the Crown belonging to his Ancestors however his design did not appear till after the Battel of Fontenay when being incited thereto by Count Lambert he openly declared himself Soveraign and drove all the French out of Bretagne unless those in Rennes and in Nantes who held out This Lambert enraged because King Charles had refused him the County of Nantes which he desired and demanded as a reward for having fought valiantly for him at the Battel of Fontenay renounced his Service and Leagued himself with Neomene with whose assistance having beaten and slain Reynold Count of Poitiers to whom the King had given Nantes he remained Master of the City But being in a short time driven thence in a contest hapning between Neomene and himself he mischievously went and fetched the Normans and brought them up the River before Nantes which they took by Escalado on Saint Johns Festival cut the Throats of most of the Inhabitants who were gotten into Saint Peter's Church Year of our Lord 844 and Massacred the Bishop at the High-Altar while he was saying Mass carried away all that were left alive and from thence went and Burnt the Monastery of the Islands which was Noir Moustier Thus Lambert became Count of a ruined City and endeavoured to maintain himself there wavering betwixt the King and Neomene unfaithful to both and beloved by neither After the division made by the Kings Bretagne being a pretended Member of West France which fell to the lot of Charles the Bald that Prince having now no enemies at home turned his Sword that way thiuking to bring Neomene to obedience But he confidently comes towards him and meeting him on his March in the Road from Chartres to Mans charged him so smartly that he put his Army to the Rout and forced him to fly to Chartres on Horse-back This advantage redoubled the Bretons Forces who made inroads upon Maine Anjou and Poitou It seems nevertheless there was some Truce since upon King Charles's intreaty Neomene drove Count Lambert out of Nantes who went and Nestled himselfin the Lower Anjou and there Built the Castle of Oudon At the same time that Charles was defeated by Neomene a Civil-War infesting Denmark the Lords of those Countries who found themselves strong at Sea amongst others Hasteng and Bier Iron-sides fell upon West France and haing forced the Guards that defended the Mouth of the Seine went up that River with their Barks They Sacked all on the right and left Shoar and Year of our Lord 845 being unable to take Paris they destroy'd all that lay without the Island Plundred the Abbey of Saint Germain des Prez and Ruined the City of Melun When they were pretty well laden with spoil they were soon tempted with Presents made them by Charles to withdraw themselves but as they returned they ravaged Picardy Flanders and Friseland and took the City of Hamburgh however observing all Germany was rising up to expel them from thence they quitted it The Priests and all Religious Orders fled before them from place to place seeking out places of safety or at least hiding places to conceal and keep the Churches Treasure in as also their Holy-Relicks towards which their devotion did so much ✚ increase when that furious Storm was over that it occasioned sometimes bloody contests between the Citizens and Nobility when the one would have them restored and the other would detain them Year of our Lord 843 Whilst Lotaire had denuded Italy of all it's Forces to lead them into France the Dukes Radelchise of Benevent and Sigenulfe of Capoua quarrelling with each other without regarding young Louis his Son called the one the Saracens of Spain to his assistance the other those of Sardinia for those Barbarians had invaded that Island and gave them entrance into Italy where having Fortified themselves â—in many places they exercised their fury for twenty years together And An. 847. pillaged the Burrough of Saint Peter and the Church of that Prince of the Apostles Which obliged Pope Leo the IV. to enclose it with a wall and quarter the Corsicans there whom the Saracens had driven from their Island Year of our Lord 846 The Nobility respected their Kings so little that Connt Gisabert dared to Steal away the Daughter of the Emperor Lotharius and convey'd her into the Dominions of Charles to marry her which gave great cause of complaint to Lotaire and much trouble to Louis of Germany to appease his resentment In Guyenne the great ones raised Forces for their private quarrels and fought in despite of Pepin In Italy in the year 844. the Clergy and Citizens of Rome had the considence to elect Sergius II. Pope without the Emperors permission who nevertheless having sent Twenty Bishops and with them some Soldiers forced the Pope to render his devoir and to acknowledge him for his Soveraign It is a Fable that this Pope first changed his Name and that before his Election he was called Swines-snowt for it was Sergius IV. had that filthy Name and he whom we here mention was called Sergius as was his Father It is held by some that it was one Octavian introduced this mysterious change who would needs be named John He was the 12th of that name Year of our Lord 846 The French being entred into Bretagne intangled themselves unadvisedly in Boggs and Fenny-grounds where they received a second blow Year of our Lord 847 While Charles was preparing for a Third expedition against that Country the terror of the Normans obliged him to agree to a peace with Neomene which nevertheless did not hold long for he began immediately again to make his inroads Year of our Lord 847. And 848. upon France For which Charles taking revenge by Fire and Sword in Bretagne Neomene did the like to all the adjacent Countries and the Territory of Rennes which did not then belong to his petty Kingdom Hitherto he had not taken the Title of King or at least had not put on the Crown The custom of those times were
that he would have appeared there to answer them had he been called thereto They allotted four Metropolitans to Judge Wenilon who assigned him to give his appearance before them within Thirty days We do not find they continued this proceeding for he died peaceably in his Arch-Bishoprick in the year 865. It is a mistake if we believe this man to be the Subject of those ancient Fables of Ganelon so renowned for his Treacheries in the old Romances Such as understand the old French Tongue know that Enganner signifies to deceive and Gannelon a deceiver a Traytor The Fathers of this Council or perhaps of another held at the same place wrote likewise to the Bishops of Bretagne to exhort them to acknowledge the Metropolitan of Tours and sent them a Memorial to admonish King Salomon to obey Charles King of France his Soveraign which he took little notice of The two Brothers Lewis and Charles and their Nephew Lotaire being reconciled by the mediation of honest men had an enter-view at an Island on the Rhine near Andernac attended by an equal number of Lords who staid upon either hand of the River They shook hands and agreed to meet the following Autumn at a general Assembly which was to be held at Baste But they did not come there having adjourned the enter-view till the next Spring at the Assembly of Coblents At this place the Bishops who were then Masters of the Government through the weakness of the Princes and the little Credit of the Grandees who shewed no courage but in fighting one another and devouring the People contrived the agreement between these three Princes and drew up the Articles or Form to be observed in this Peace which the German first swore to and the two others after him This year 860. the Winter was so hard that the Adriatique Sea was Frozen and the Merchants of the Neighbouring Countries carried their Goods to Venice by Waggons Year of our Lord 860 In several places there was Snow observed to fall of the colour of Blood which will not seem wonderful to those that consider how often it hath Rained the same colour The Bretons continually infested the Territories belonging to Charles wherefore he gave the Dutchy that is to say the Government between the Seine and the Loire to Robert Surnamed the Strong or the Valiant to keep those Marches or Frontiers Which I was willing to observe because he was certainly The stock of that Glorious Race of the Capetines the which should we reckon their Original or Commencement but from this year would have eight hundred and odd years of Antiquity clearly made out from Male to Male and of crowned Heads an Honour which no Line on Earth besides can boast of This year the Bald made a Lord named Thierry Earl of Holland from whom are descended those that have Hereditarily held that Earldom but they have ever had a much limited Authority and such a one as could undertake nothing against the Liberty of that Country Baldwin Earl of Flanders having the support of the German took the confidence to come as far as Senlis and steal away Judith the Daughter of Charles his King the young Widdow of Eardulfe King of England He retired into the Country belonging to Lotaire whence he conducted her to his own and soundly beat those Soldiers under Charles's pay who would needs pursue them The Pope having excommunicated him at that Kings complaint the young Count was so startled that the following year he went to Rome and threw himself at his Feet the Holy Father touched with his submission and the Princesses tears interposed to obtain his Pardon Charles was advised to condescend Nor indeed could the fault be any other ways repaired The passion of King Lotaire bred a greater scandal He had married Thietberge Daughter of Huebert Duke d'outre le Mont-Jou and allied to Charles the Bald Year of our Lord 862 Now in the year 860. having some disgust against her and love for Valdrade Neece to Thietgaud and Daughter of Gontier this being Arch-Bishop of Colen the other of Treves these two Prelates Interessed and Flatterers having Assembled their Suffragans at Aixla Chapelle obliged them to dissolve the Marriage and immediately Lotaire publickly marries Valdrade The pretended Motives for this Sentence were a supposed Incest of Thietberges with her own Brother and the Bishop of Mets his assuring them that Duke Huebert who could do all things in that Court had forced the Prince to take Thietberge for Wife after the death of the King his Father who in his Life time said he had made him Marry Valdrade At this time Nicholas I. was Pope a Prelate of great capacity and one that carry'd it high He wrote concerning this to Charles who before sought to quarrel with Lotaire and indeed would have expell'd him to break this Match had not Louis the German King interpos'd and obliged them to meet at a general Assembly Lotaire appearing there promised to submit to the judgment of the Church and to elude Charles his pursuit appealed to the Pope praying to let this cause be judged by a Council of French Bishops to be held at Mets and whither his Holyness might send his Legats The Holy Father grants his request the Council was assembled in June The two Bishops Goutaire and Thietgaud served the passion of the young Prince his Year of our Lord 863 Presents corrupted the Popes Legats in a word the Council pronounced in favour of the dissolution The two Arch-Bishops had the confidence to carry this Sentence to Rome to have the Popes approbation But far from that he calls a Council in the Lateran Palace by whom they were deposed and both of them excommunicated and it was declared that all the other Bishops who were assisting at this false judgment should incur the same punishment unless they craved pardon by express Legats Thietgaud and Gontaire replied very smartly to the decree he published and framed another whereby they declared him excommunicate himself and contravening even said they the Holy Canons favouring the excommunicated and separating through pride from the society of the other Bishops Which did not a Year of our Lord 864 little encourage the revolt of Photius Patriarch of Constantinople and the obstinate resistance of Hincmar Arch-Bishop of Reims Nevertheless soon after Thietgaud submitted to the Sentence but could not obtain his absolution during the life of Nicholas But the Arch-Bishop of Collen regarded it not still continuing in his obstinacy Charles the Bald's subjects male-contented with his Government had made several Leagues against him he engages his Friends likewise to make one for his service and to meet in all parts of the Country under his Standards to be ready to Year of our Lord 865 March when ever he required it Valdrade had promised to go for absolution to Rome she went twice into Italy And twice repenting her having repented returned back The Pope having therefore Assembled his Church declared her
excommunicate and wrote very harsh Letters Year of our Lord 856 to young Lotaire threatning to deprive him of his Kingdom There is no craft nor submissions which this Prince did not put in practice to elude that Sentence But the Pope not valuing all those Arts sent a Legat into France named Arsenius who addressing himself to the German Louis called a Synod Year of our Lord 866 and taking upon him a Supream Authority declared to Lotaire that he must take his Wife again or remain excommunicated with all his Adherents The Kings his Uncles maintained this Sentence in such sort that for the time he was forced to obey But so soon as the Legat was departed France he began afresh to mis-use his Wife to threaten to make process against her for Adultery and prove that crime by combat The accused retires to the protection of Charles the Pope takes her business much to heart and excommunicates Valdrade and Duke Huebert Brother Year of our Lord 867 of this Queen rebelling against Lotaire plunders his Country kills his people and exercised all manner of cruelty till he was slain himself by Count Conrard Father of that Rodolph who was the First King of Burgundy beyond the Jour or Transjurain Salomon had fancied that the Kingdom of Bretagne though Neomene had obtained it rather by conquest then succession belonged to him because he was the Son Year of our Lord 867 of Rivalon eldest Brother to that King Thus having forgotten he was carefully and tenderly bred under his tuition he contrives a conspiracy against Herispoux his Son assaults him in the Fields then kills him in the Church to which he fled for safety and so puts the Crown all bloody upon his own head Neomene and he intitled themselves Kings of Bretagne and a great part of Gaule because in effect they possessed the Countries of Mayne and with that the lower Anjou which they had wrested from the French For this cause was Anjou divided in two Counties the one containing what is beyond the River Maine and held by these Breton Kings the other what lies on this side and remained to the French At the same time the Normans entring into Neustria by the Loire spread themselves all over Nantois Poitou Anjou and Tourraine Ranulfe Duke of Aquitain and Duke Robert the strong who was so called because he guarded those Marches against these Barbarians and the Bretons having attaqued them in a Post which they had fortified near the River were by misfortune both slain in the combat So that their Army wanting a Head though they got the advantage let those robbers get away from them Robert had two Sons very young Eudes and Robert whom we shall find to have reigned hereafter The Saracens tormented Italy no less Lotaire went thither with his Forces not only to assist the Emperor Louis his Brother but moreover by this means to deserve and gain the Favour of the Pope which was Adrian successor to Nicholas hoping in time to obtain the dissolution of his Marriage with Thietberge The Holy-Father received him very well because he assured him he had punctually obey'd to all that was enjoyned him but when both he and his came to receive the Holy Communion from his hands he obliged them all to swear it was true that he had quitted Valdrade Now it hapned shortly after that the most part of these Lords died of sickness or otherwise in such numbers and so suddenly as if they had been cut down by the Sword of an exterminating Angel and Lotaire himself was Seized with a Feaver at Luca which he drag'd along to Piacenza where he gave up the Ghost the 6 th of August Which some interpreted a divine Vengeance for the false and Sacrilegious Oath he and his Courtiers had made The Body of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament being a destroying Sword to the wicked and unworthy Communicant Year of our Lord 868 His youngest Brother Charles King of Provence endeavoured to reap his succession and was Crowned at Mets by the Bishop Adventius But he survived not long after and died without Issue He was Interred in the Church of St. Peter's at Lyons LOUIS in Bavaria and Germany CHARLES in West-France Burgundy and Lorrain LOUIS II Emperour in Italy Year of our Lord 868. And 69. Charles who then held a Parliament at Poissy informed of the death of Lotaire went and Seized on the Kingdom of Lorraine neither minding the Emperor Louis Brother of the two last Kings to whom it should have belonged nor the Mediation of the Pope who desired him by an express Legation to do his Nephew Justice The Bishops of that Kingdom being Assembled at Mets gave him the Crown And Hincmar the Arch-Bishop chief promoter of that Decree put it on his Head with the usual Ceremonies Lotaire had one Son and two Daughters by Valdrade The two Daughters were Berte and Gisele Berte was first wife to Count Thibauld Father of Hugh Count and Marquess of Provence and by her second Marriage to Adelbert Marquess of Tuscany Father of Guy and Lambert Gisele was Wedded to Godfrey the Dane who Reigned in Friseland the Son was named Hugh who when he came to Age contended for the Kingdom of Lorrain Hermentrude Wife to Charles the Bald dying at St. Denis the 16 th of October Year of our Lord 869 he married for the second time Richende or Richilda his Mistriss Daughter of Earl Buvin or Boves and the Sister to Thietberge Widdow of King Lotaire III. It was with some justice but without legal power that the Pope should take Year of our Lord 870 any cognisance of the difference about Lotaire He dispatched a second Embassy to Charles the Bald to exhort him to surrender it to the Emperor Louis otherwise he would Excommunicate him And he wrote to the Bishops that they should forbear all Communion with that King unless they would be cut off from the Church of Rome Charles reply'd modestly enough to the Legats but the French Bishops went a higher Note and the Arch-Bishop Hincmar wrote very smart Letters to Adrian His Nephew of the same name Bishop of Laon was of an other opinion and with much heat maintained all those Orders brought from the Pope He had Excommunicated a Norman Lord because he detained some Lands belonging to his Church whereof the King had given him the Benefice His proceedings were blamed and condemned by the Bishops at the Synod of Verberie he appealed to the Pope for which cause his Uncle having cited him before the Council of Attigny which consisted of the Bishops of twelve Provinces he caused his Equipage to be Plundred by the way and when he came to the Assembly forced him to renounce Year of our Lord 870 his Appeal The Pope made grievous complaint of it and would have brought the Process and the two Hincmars to Rome but the Arch-Bishop reply'd with force and hindred him This dispute went so far that the Bishop of Laon was deposed and clapt in Prison
Italy and at her second to the Emperor Otho I. LOUIS in France Conrad in Burgundy Arles Otho in Germany Lorrain HUGH and Lotaire his Son in Italy Year of our Lord 937. 938. The second year of his Reign Lewis Transmarine took the Government in hand and sent for the Queen his Mother to come to Laon to have the Benefit of her Counsel To settle his Authority the better he first began with some petty Rebels by little and little then falls upon Hebert himself whom he thought the more easily to overcome because he was grown odious for his Treachery against Charles the Simple And indeed he gained some places very quickly But Hugh fearing they would set upon him likewise joyned with Hebert who was besides his Uncle by the Mother And because he judged there would be little security in a person that had broke his Faith he armed himself likewise with the Alliance of King Otho by Wedding his Daughter named Havida The King on his side fortified himself in a more strict Union with Arnold Earl Year of our Lord 938 of Flanders a Mortal Enemy to Hugh Artold Arch-Bishop of Reims Hugh le Noir Brother of the Defunct King Rodolph and some others but this year Giselbert Duke of Lorraine being come to the assistance of Hugh the Great his Brother in Law Arnold and the Noir negociated a Truce till the first day of January of the following year between the King and that Duke As soon as that was expired the War began afresh Whilst the King was in Burgundy to divide it with the Noir Hugh le Blanc Hebert William Duke of Normandy over-ran and Burnt the Territory's of Arnold The Bishops censures had not power enough to stop them but the Kings Return gave them more cause of dread and made them renew the Truce to the Month of June Henry the younger Brother of Otho fancied to himself that the Kingdom of Germany belonged to him he being Born when his Father was a King whereas Otho came into the World before he was so Giselbert very powerful in Lorraine and who had married Gerberge Sister to these two Princes instead of behaving himself as a Mediator between them takes part with the Younger These two Brothers in Law thus Leagued sent to King Louis to put themselves under his obedience After which Otho having beaten and forced them at a passage over the Rhine the dispair they were under made Giselbert and some other Lorrain Lords come even to Laon to do him Hommage Louis wanted but very little of having the whole Kingdom of Lorraine surrender to him he got into Alsace and was well received every where But when he came to treat those as a conquered people who had voluntarily submitted to him it soon alienated their affections Year of our Lord 939 Mean time Hugh the Great Hebert William Duke of Normandy and even Arnold of Flanders not thinking it expedient for themselves that King Lewis should make himself so potent re-allied themselves with Otho who having quitted thâ— Siege of Capremont which was Giselbert's impregnable Fortress and joyned with them easily drove Louis out of Alsatia then laid Siege before Brisac a place very considerable in those days and where they shewed notable Feats of Arms. Whilst Otho was at this Siege a party of his especially the Clergy abandoned him But Giselbert and Everard were defeated by his men at their passage over the Rhine near Andernac where the last remained dead on the spot and the other that had been the Fire-brand of all these Wars was drowned This unhoped for advantage having ruined Henry's Party he grew wise and timely yielded Year of our Lord 934 himself up to the discretion of his Brother who sent him away Prisoner for some time In the interim Brisac surrendred and all Lorrain was his the Government whereof he bestowed upon Henry himself and soon after upon Count Otho The year following King Lewis thinking to strengthen himself on that hand or perhaps gain Vassals and Friends amongst the Lorrainers married that Kings Sister Gerberge the Widdow of Giselbert by whomshe had two Children Regnier Lambert Year of our Lord 940 Count Hebert of Vermandois had by craft and force got his Son but ten years of Age to be nominated Arch-Bishop of Reims which being contrary to the Rules of the Church the Clergy placed one Artold in that Episcopal See who by consequence was an Enemy to Hebert and a great friend to the King The contest about this Arch-Bishoprick begot a War which lasted 18 or 20 years and greatly molested all Champagne Year of our Lord 940 This year after some other inconsiderable actions Hebert with Earl Hugh and Wlliam Duke of Normandy besieged Reims The Inhabitants being terrified forsook Artold and opened their Gates to them Artold thorough the like fear suffers himself to be persuaded to renounce the Arch-Bishoprick and accept of an Abbey whereof repenting again the King embraces his defence and the quarrel revived again From thence the Confederates went and planted the Siege before Laon but upon the noise of the Kings March who was returning from Burgundy they retired towards Otho and having led him as it were in Triumph to the Palace of Atigny they put themselves into his protection King Louis having refreshed Laon retires into Burgundy His strength lay that way because of Hugh le Noir who together with William Count of Poitiers accompanied him King Otho having a potent Army pursued him thither and struck Hugh le Noir with so much terror that he made Oath never to employ his Forces more against Hugh le Blanc nor against Hebert who were his new Vassals Year of our Lord 941 The next year Louis notwithstanding besieges Laon wherein was Count Hebert but it was to his own great dammage for being surprised in his Legements by his base Subjects he beheld above one half of his men slain with his own Eyes and could not save himself but by a shameful flight After which forsaken of all his Neustrian Subjects he took shelter under Charles Constantine Earl of Vienne his Cousin German being the Son of Louis the Year of our Lord 941 Blind King of Italy and Arles and a Sister of Queen Ogina's Thence he had recourse to the Pope the Lords of Aquitain and to William Duke of Normandy The Pope sent a Legat to exhort the Lords of Neustria to be faithful to him those of Aquitain came and tendred him Hommage at Vienne and profer'd their assistance And William quitting the Associates treated him magnificently in his City of Rouen and served him with his Forces as did likewise the Bretons With these Forces he sought all opportunities to fight his Enemies but they were retreated on this side the Oise and having broken down all the Bridges would not come to any Engagement Therefore a Truce was made between them Year of our Lord 942 and by the mediation of King Otho a Peace was concluded by
which Hugh and Hebert submitted to their King Year of our Lord 942 There was a mortal hatred betwixt William Duke of Normandy and Arnold Earl of Flanders because this Last would constrain Herluin Earl of Monstreuil to become his Vassal and had taken his Castle whilst William on the contrary had espoused Herluin's quarrel and powerfully assisted him Arnold not being able to have his will of Herluin betook himself to base and treacherous means to compass it For having upon pretence of reconciliation procured an enter-view with William in an Island on the Somme right against Pequigny he caused him unhappily to be assassinated the 18 th of December An. 942. That good and vertuous Prince had just designed before he was murthered to take upon him the Habit of St. Bennet in the Monastery of Jumieges which he had begun to rebuild He left but one Son named Richard Born of Sporta his wife who was Daughter of Hebert Count of Senlis he Succeeded him in his Dukedom A great part of the Normans were yet Idolaters and there came every day new flocks of them from the North who encouraged them in their Superstitions After the Death of William they rebelled against his Son and would force him to Year of our Lord 943 renounce his Baptism Hugh the Grand allied to his Father assisted him against those impious revolters beat them in several rencounters and help'd him to destroy their Leaders their names were Setric and Rodard The King knowing that while the Normans were divided their little Duke Richard might easily be stript and that it would be a Noble act to recover so great and good a Country went to Rouen about Autumn and Siezed upon Richard's person under pretence of breeding him in his own Court The Burgher's at first took the Alarm and stood in his defence so that he was fain to shew him to the people and confirm the Dutchy to him but their first heat being spent he so managed the business that persuading them he would have a great care of his Education they suffer'd him to be carry'd away to Laon. When he had gotten him absolutely in his power Arnold Earl of Flanders whose interest it was to exterminate all the Normans by his Presents and Counsel easily inclined him to the resolution of incapacitating him for ever and resuming Year of our Lord 943 the Dukedom Before they came to the Execution of this Richard's wise Governor by name Osmond craftily drew him out of the Danger He stole him out of Court trussed up in a Faggot of Herbs and conveyed him into Senlis That City one of the strongest in those days was then held by Count Bernard Uncle to Richard by his Mother who kept that Pupil and would not surrender him either to the King nor to the Normans till he could see a little more clearly what was like to be the event of that War then threatned Year of our Lord 943 During these stirrs Hebert of Vermandois died at Peronne tormented with the gnawing remorse of his treacheries crying perpetually in his Agonies We were twelve of us that betrayed King Charles He had three Sons Hebert and Robert who shared his Lands and Hugues or Hugh pretended Arch-Bishop of Reims King Lewis who had that fault that he could not dissemble adventures rashly Year of our Lord 944 too early to ruine them His precipitate revenge drew great troubles upon him the other Grandees apprehending the like usage joyned all to defend them Even Hugh agreed with the Normans and King Otho made one and openly declared against Louis who for that reason reconciled himself to Hugh At first this Duke had embraced the cause of little Richard but the King promising he should share the Dutchy of Normandy with him and likewise have the Territory's belonging to the Bishopricks of Evreux Lysieux and Bayeux he not only abandoned the Pupil but also joyned with the King to ruine him They entred the Country therefore at the same time the King by the way of Rouen and Hugh towards Evreux Bernard Count of Senlis who had saved his Nephew did likewise preserve his Country by his wonderful Sagacity He advised the Normans to pretend a submission to the King to avoid the desolations of a War and afterwards easily persuaded him to reserve all that rich Province to himself and take away from Hugh those places which he had conquer'd so that by this Method he caused a new rupture between those Princes Year of our Lord 944 He afterwards omitted not to make those advantages he had designed for he engaged the discontented Hugh to undertake once more the protection of Richard and to promise him his Daughter Emine who was not however married till Sixteen years after And more-over this little Prince being still dispossessed he so craftily contrived his affairs that he restored him And thus it was There was a Chieftaine or Norman King named Aigrold who being come some years before from Denmark had taken his Habitation in Constentin This Prince having consulted with Bernard revolts against Lewis and sends to summon him to set the little Richard at Liberty Upon this news Bernard counterfeiting great zeal assures the King that all Normandy was united for his service and by these plausible pretences obliges the King to go thither in person to suppress that Pâ—rat His Army and Aigrold's being near each other Aigrold seems to be afraid and demands a Confâ—rence the King agrees to it and to that end goes to the Village of Crescenville in the mid-way between Caen and Lisieux The train was so well laid that the Norman finding himself the stronger cuts off all that came with him Seizes upon his person and sends him Prisoner to Rouen Year of our Lord 944 In this rencounter Herluin Earl of Monstreuil the principal subject of the quarrel between the deceased William and Arnold was slain by Aigrold in revenge for that although he had always been protected by William nevertheless he had ingratefully sided with Arnold to oppress Normandy and it's little Duke Year of our Lord 945 In vain did Queen Gerberge implore the assistance of King Otho her Brother for the deliverance of her Husband He refused to apply any other means but only his mediation By vertue of a plenarie power Signed by the Bishops at his desire and by all the French Lords he decreed with them at a Conference held at St. Clair sur Epte That Louis should restore Richard to his Dutchy and receive hommage and from that time he should be set at Liberty and give his second Son and two Bishops for security But Louis getting out of the hands of the Normans remained still under the power of Hugh who upon I know not what pretences detained him at least a year under the guard of Thibault Earl of Blois his Cousin German and would not let him go till he had gotten the City of Laon of him In the mean time King Otho who had conquer'd the County of Burgundy whether he
Bishops together who having heard his Reasons were of opinion upon consideration of the publick good that he might take her for his Wife notwithstanding the Canonical Obstructions which was a kind of Dispensation Abbon who was Abbot of Fleury a vehement Man not having been able to dissuade him from this match bestirr'd himself with much heat to have it dissolved The Pope to whom Robert had made no Application Excommunicated the Bishops that had authorized it and the two Parties that were Contracted if they did not separate forthwith Year of our Lord 1003 The King not giving Obedience to a Sentence which appeared to him contrary to the good of his Kingdom the Pope by an unheard-of Proceeding put the whole Nation under an Interdiction To which the People so humbly submitted that all the Kings Domestick Servants excepting only two or three forsook him and they threw whatsoever was left at his Table to the Dogs no body thinking it lawful to cat of that Meat he had but touched These Severities and not a Monstrous Birth by his Wife whom the Miracle-mongers say was delivered of an Infant with the Neck and Feet resembling a Goose constrained him to part from her but that was not till two or three years after and we find that they made a Journey to Rome either to defend their Cause before the Pope Year of our Lord 1006 or to crave his Pardon However it were the Marriage remained Null I cannot forget one memorable Example of the Soveraign Power and the extream Rigour of the Pope it was Silvester II. Guy Vicount of Limoges was cited to Rome by the Bishop of Angoulesme because he had detained him Prisoner in a Castle The two Parties appeared The Cause pleaded upon the very Easter-day the Pope pronounced that Guy for Reparation of his Crime should be tied to the Necks of two Wild-horses and his Body thus torn and bruised thrown on the Dung-hill which was to be put in Execution three days after In the mean time Guy was delivered up into the hands of the Bishop but the Prelat being moved with pity pardoned him and stealing away in the night generously brought him thence into France again with him About this time Henry Duke of Burgundy Brother of Hugh Capet died without Children Now by the induction of Giselle his Wife Widow of Adelbert as above King of Italy and Son of Berenger II. he left his Dakedom by Will and Testament to Otho-William surnamed the Stranger issue of that Woman by her first Husband Year of our Lord 1003 who finding himself already Earl of Burgundy beyond Soane named Franche-Comte and besides assisted by Landry Earl of Nevers his Son-in-Law and Brunon Bishop of Langres whose Sister he had Married took possession of all Burgundy by vertue of that Grant But King Robert to whom this Dukedom belonged lawfully as Heir to his Uncle led a powerful Army thither with the aid of Richard II. Duke of Normandy suppressed the Usurpers Faction took Auxerre by Composition and Avalon by Battery the Walls as 't is said falling down miraculously before him and at length forced out Otho-William and confined him beyond the Saone where he became the Stock of the Earls of Burgundy Year of our Lord 1004 Otho Son of Prince Charles Duke of the Lower Lorrain being dead without ever Marrying King Henry gave his Dukedom to Godfrey Count of Verdun Bouillon and Ardenne without any regard to the Sisters of the Defunct who were Married Gerberge to Lambert Earl of Brabant and Hermengarde to Lambert Earl of Namur From these issued the Dukes of Brabaut and the Earls of Namur Year of our Lord 1005 c. Baldwin Earl of Flanders already an Enemy to the Emperor undertook the Quarrel of these Daughters The Emperor came to the Relief of Godfrey whom he had invested with this Fief and the King of France embraced Baldwin's Party who was his Vassal The Emperor in vain besieged Valenciennes and then Gaunt Finally this War being made at the Charge and Expence of the Flemming he agreed with the Emperor and restored Valenciennes Year of our Lord 1008 Afterwards the Emperor desiring to make use of his Valour in the great Troubles brought upon him by the Rebellion of the German Princes gave him that City again and withall the Island of Walcheren being part of Zeland whence proceeded a long and bloody Contest between the Flemmings and the Hollanders these pretending that Zeland appertained to them by vertue of a certain Grant which they alledged had been made to them by the Emperor Lotrire Son of Lewis the Debonnaire Year of our Lord 1007 I think we ought to place in the year 1007. the Marriage of Robert with Constance surnamed Blanch Daughter of William V. Earl of Arles Provence and Toulouze a Beautiful Princess but Haughty Capricious and Insupportable We must observe that the Authors of those times frequently called Provence Aquitain whether out of ignorance or because of its City of Aix Aquae Sextiae Year of our Lord 1009 The Saracens at the instigation of the Jews in France demolish the Temple of Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre which re-inflames the Devotion of the Western Christians and their hatred against the Jews whom they Banish or knock on the Head every where Year of our Lord 1009 10 c. The good King Robert addicted himself intirely to works of Piety Charity Mercy and Justice re-edified old Churches or built new ones and fed great numbers of poor People in all the Cities throughout his Kingdom He kept above Two hundred in his House whom he led every where having no aversion to see them even under his Table to touch their Ulcers and make the Sign of the Cross over them whereby they were oftentimes made whole He delighted to Sing in the Quire and Compose Words and Notes for the Songs and Responses in honour of God or his Saints The Church hath preserved some of them which they make use of to this day This year 1012. was seen towards the farther Southern parts a Star of an extraordinary magnitude which seemed to dart its bright Rays into the beholders Eyes It appeared for three months together sometimes contracting its self other while seeming much greater as if it took new Fire then again as it were quite extinguished Anno 1003. a Comet had likewise been observed which kept near the Sun and appeared but seldom which was about the break of day Eight years before viz. Anno 995. another had been observed upon St. Laurences-day And in 981. also another yet about Autumn Which I take notice of to shew that these Phenomena are not so rare as to make so much noise about them Year of our Lord 1013 The King having bestowed the Archbishoprick of Bourges upon Goslin his Natural Son Abbot of Floury the Clergy of that Church made great opposition saying That the Holy Canons admitted no Bastards to the Prelacy Which occasioned many Tumults that were not allaied till five
years afterwards The Earl of Sens Raynard II. of that name called the Bad using much violence against Leoteric his Archbishop and all the Clergy within his Territory the Year of our Lord 1015 King besieged his City and took it deprived him of his Earldom and rejoyned it to his Demeasns The Burgundians having Rebell'd and divers Lords plundering and committing Robberies in the Province by means of their Castles and Fortified places the King Year of our Lord 1015 went thither and pulled down and destroy'd all those Nests and Dens of Thieves His eldest Son whose name was Hugh a Prince accomplish'd both in Mind and Body giving very great hopes though he were not yet Ten years old He caused him to be Crowned at Compiegne on the day of Pentecost in the year 1017. and afterwards his name was put to all Acts with that of his Fathers Year of our Lord 1017 ROBERT and HUGH his Son Year of our Lord 1018 THe Duke of Aquitain at his return from his third or fourth Pilgrimage to Rome those that made most were the most esteemed found his Country enriched with a new Treasure The Abbot of St. John's de Angery having lighted on the Scull of a Man in a Wall the Report was spread that it was the Head of St. John Baptist The People of France Lorrain and Germany who in those days ran with much Zeal after all sorts of Relicks flocked thither from all parts King Robert the Queen the Duke of Normandy and a great number of other Lords brought their Offerings thither The Kings was a Scollop-shell of Gold which weighed Thirty pounds an admirable Present in such times when Gold and Silver were fifty times more scarce then in our Age. The Danes or Normans beyond Seas having not quite forgotten their custom of Piracy did yet sometimes make Descents in England and on the Coasts of France They had Conquer'd a great part of England and at last made some Kings there This year they landed in Poitou being perhaps informed of the great Crowds of Pilgrims that came to see the Head of St. John and indeed they carried away a great many good Prisoners All the Country Armed to drive them thence The Duke of Aquitain going to attaque them twenty or thirty of his most considerable Gentlemen fell into Holes cover'd over with Branches and green Turfs which the Normans had digged about the Avenues to their Camp This accident disheartned the rest from going on however the Normans fearing a ruder onset dislodg'd in the night and got into their Vessels but they were forced to give them what Ransom they pleased to demand for the Prisoners they had gotten Gefroy Duke or Earl of Bretagne for in those times the Dukes took indifferently the Titles of Earls dying his eldest Son Alain III. of that name succeeded him in his Dukedom and Eudes his second had the Earldom of Pontieure in Partage Alain espoused the Princess Avoise Sister of Duke Richard and by that means Normandy and Bretagne hitherto great Enemies were united in Alliance and Amity Year of our Lord 1020 21 c. There was a War begun from the year 1017. between Richard Duke of Normandy and Eudes or Odon Earl of Champagne and Chartres because Eudes would not give up the City of Dreux granted him in Dowry with Matilda the Sister of Richard who was lately dead so that Richard had built the Castle of Tilleres from whence he made incursions on the Country of Dreux Eudes put himself in a posture to surprize the Garison having with him the Counts Valeran de Meulan and Hugh du Mans but he was soundly beaten and put to the rout Year of our Lord 1022 The War growing hotter he raised so many Enemies against the Norman Duke that that Prince fearing to be overwhelmed sent to Lagman or Lacime King of Sueden to assist him and also Olaus King of Norway who being landed in Bretagne and having forced and sacked the City of Dole marched towards the Chartrain Country All France upon remembrance of their former Desolations fell into an extream apprehension and dread and the King bestirr'd himself with so much activity to quench this Flame that he brought the two Princes to an Agreement and satisfied the Northern Kings who returned again after the Norwegian had received Baptism at Rouen having the name of Robert give him at the Sacred Font. The Emperor Henry and King Robert desiring cordially to take away all cause of difference between them agreed upon an Interview at the River Meuse Whilst the Courtiers on either side were making several Scruples about the Place the Manner and such like trivial Circumstances and Punctillios and the two Princes on the contrary had it in their thoughts to outvye each other in Civility Henry passes the River early in the morning and pleasantly surprizes Robert who the next day repays his Visit in the same manner Both Treated one the other Magnificently and offered each very rich Presents to the other but Robert took only a Book being the New-Testament and a Reliquary or Shrine wherein was a Tooth of the Martyr St. â—incent which was enriched with Precious Stones and Henry a pair of Ear-Pendants Year of our Lord 1024 This last being dead at Bamberg the German Princes elected Conrad Duke of Wormes who could not go to Rome to receive the Imperial Crown till the year 1027. At first the Italian Princes and Prelats hating the Teutonick Nation who Treated them Peremptorily ruling as it were with a Rod in hand refused to obey and sent into Year of our Lord 1025 France to profer King Robert the Kingdom of Italy for his Son Hugh Upon his refusal they Addressed themselves to William Duke of Aquitain very well known in Rome by his frequent Pilgrimages He hearkned to the Proposal understood their Methods sent some thither to found them throughly and after went himself When he was amongst them he found nothing of all they had promised every one demanding of him instead of giving to him they propounded no Conditions but such as were very ridiculous so that finding they had a design upon his Purse and feared his Power he laughed at them and left them The imperious and proud Humour of Queen Constance gave the King perpetual trouble and displeasures who used all means to soften her One day being offended and angry with a favourite of his named Hugh de Beauvais who upheld the Husbands Spirit against her undertakings she makes her complaint to Fulk Earl of Anjou her Cousin intreating to Revenge her The Count sent twelve of his own Country Gentlemen who taking their opportunity when this Favourite was Hunting with the King seized on him and cruelly cut off his Head in the Kings presence without any regard to his Intreaties Year of our Lord 1025 The King was forced to put up this Affront for fear of a greater mischief and withall to endure this Step-mother should Treat his Son King Hugh with the
to St. Omers But as he was retreating towards Monstreuil Eustace Earl of Boulogne who had a great Body of Reserves took Robert and carried him to St Omers He that Commanded the place surrendred it to deliver Richilda for which the King was enraged that he sacked and burnt the City Year of our Lord 1071 The same year Richilda though still assisted by the French lost another Battle in which Eustace Earl of Boulogne being made prisoner his Brother Chancellor of France and Bishop of Paris to obtain his freedom obliged the King to intermedle no more in that dispute Nay which was more he made him Marry Bertha the Daughter of Florent I. Earl of Holland and Gertrude of Saxony who had taken Robert for her second Husband By this means he was engaged to maintain the Cause for his Father-in-law who by his assistance defeated Richilda's Army the Fourth time and so remained Master Year of our Lord 1071 of Flanders Roger Brother of Robert Guischard Duke of the Normans in Puglia was by his Brother sent into Sicilia which was possessed by the Saracens he conquerd d the City of Panormus and Messina which opened him a way to become Master of the whole Island Year of our Lord 1073. and 4. After the death of Baldwin the Regent King Philip being arrived to the age of Adolescency ran into many disorders and vexations with his Subjects Whereupon Pope Gregory VII who sought but the occasion to constitute himself the Judge and Reformer of Princes wrote to William Duke of Aquitain that together with the Lords he should make him some Remonstrances and Declare that if he did not amend he would Excommunicate both him and all the Subjects that obey'd him and would place the Excommunication upon St. Peters Altar to re-aggravate it every day Year of our Lord 1076 The death of Robert I. Duke of Burgundy his Son being deceased before him had left two Sons Hugh and Otho the first of these succeeded his Grandfather Year of our Lord 1077 After William the Conquerour had entirely subdued England suppressed the Rebellion of his Son Robert and quelled the Manceaux he went into Bretagne to reduce them to his Obedience and laid Siege to Dol. The Duke or Earl Hoel implored the Kings help who marching in person to his assistance made them raise their Siege A Peace immediately follow'd but was broken almost as soon again upon another Year of our Lord 1076 score which was for that the Conquerour in the Kings Presence having given the Dutchy of Normandy to his Son Robert before he went to invade England Robert would take possession of it the Father hindred him and the King justified the Son in his demands This was the subject of a new War The Father besieges his rebellious Son in the Castle of Gerbroy near Beauvais In a Sally the Son wounds him and turned him off from his Saddle with his Lance but Year of our Lord 1077. 78. and the following coming to know who it was by his voice he helped him up again with Tears in his eyes and the Father at length overcome by the sentiments of nature and the intreaty of his Wife and Barons gave him his pardon and quitted the Dutchy to him then returned into England Gozelon Duke of the Lower Lorrain who in favour of Baldwin Earl of Monts Year of our Lord 1077. and 78. the Son of Richilda had fought and defeated Robert the Frison being a while after this Victory assassinated in Antwerp the Emperour detained the Dutchy of the lower Lorrain and gave only the Marquisate of Antwerp to Godfrey Duke of Bouillon the Son of Adde Sister of Gozelon and Eustace Earl of Boulongne but Twelve years after for his great Services he gave him the said Lorrain Year of our Lord 1080 The Lords of Touraine and of Maine extreamly pressing Foulk Rechin by force of Arms to set Gefroy his Brother at liberty this barbarous Man rather then release him chose sooner to give the County of Gastinois to King Philp that he might maintain him in his unjustice Some time after his own Son named Gefroy likewise and surnamed Martel moved Year of our Lord 1080 with the miseries of his Uncle forced his Father to set him free but whether it were the Melancholy he had contracted or some Drink they had given him he could never relish the sweetness of his liberty The famous Robert Guischard Prince of the Normans in Puglia after he had gained Year of our Lord 1085 two Naval Victories one over the Venetians and the other over the Greeks died this year 1085. He had two Sons Boemond and Roger the eldest being then upon the coasts of Dalmatia with a Navy his younger Brother seized on the Dutchies of Pouille and Calabria for which the Brothers were contending till the time of the first Croisado or Holy War when the French Lords passing that way to the Holy Land brought them to an agreement Their Uncle Roger held Sicily with the Title only of Earl Year of our Lord 1085 Upon complaints about the vexations and ill Treatment Duke Robert shewed to his Norman Subjects his Father the Conquerour comes over out of England to chastise him but his paternal tenderness did easily admit of a reconciliation The death of Guy-Gefroy-William his Son William VIII aged but 25 years succeeded him Year of our Lord 1086 King Philip a very voluptuous Prince being disgusted with Berthe his Wise made use of the pretence of Parentage which was between them and having proved it according to the course then in use caused his Marriage to be dissolved by authority of the Church though he had a Son by her named Lewis about Five years old and a Daughter named Constance He banished his Divorced Wife to Monstreuil upon the Sea-side where she lived a long time poorly enough Year of our Lord 1087 This Divorce according to Rule and a judicial Sentence being made he demanded the Daughter of Roger Earl of Sicilia named Emma who was conducted as far as the coasts of Provence however he did not Marry her the reason is not given Year of our Lord 1088 William the Conquerour become crazy was under a strict regiment of Dyet at Rouen to pull down his over-grown fatness which did much incommode him The King rallied at him and asked when he would be up again after his Lying in the Duke sent him word that at his Uprising he would go and visit him with 10000 Lances instead of Candles and indeed as soon as he could he got on Horseback he destroy'd all the French Vexin and forced and burnt Mantes But he over-heated himself so much in the assaulting of that place that it set his own Blood and Body on fire and brought a fit of Sickness so that he returned to Rouen where he dyed in a few days By his Will he gave the Kingdom of England to William called Rufus who was bat his Second Son Normandy to Robert who was
they held as what they produced how situated or some particularities of their Castles or such Office they bore Some there were that chose such things as preserved the memory of their brave Feats of Arms or some singular Adventure which had hapued to them or theirs and others in fine would have such as betokened their inclination not to mention those that would needs have their Coats out of a meer fantastical Humour and without any design These glorious Marks and Badges belonged otherwhile only to the Nobility and was not the least illustrious part of the Succession of their Noble Families Now at this time every one hath them the meanest villains are the most curious herein they have not only brought the ✚ Rebus's of the little Citizens Merchants Cyphers Shop-keepers Signs and Artists tools and implements into their Coats under the shadow of Crowns Helmets and Supporters but likewise by a confidence not to be endured they have made choice of the most illustrious things and given occasion to observe that there are no better Coats then the Arms of a Villain or Plebeian Year of our Lord 1096 97 98 and 99. From the first Croisade William Rufus King of England taking the opportunity of his Brothey Roberts absenc had seized on the Dutchy of Normandy Swoln with this increase of Power he promised himself to invade France because he saw the Excommunicated King languishing in the Arms of his Concubine who besides had but one lawful Son of 15 or 16 years of age and was destitute both of Money and Friends Nevertheless this young Prince surpassing his age did by his Courage and Virtue defend himself so well three years together that Rufus was forced to leave him in Peace and retired again into England In that Countrey letting himself loose to all sorts of infamous pleasures tiranny Year of our Lord 1100 and execrable wickedness both towards God and Man he perished in a tragical manner being as he was Hunting shot with an Arrow either designedly aimed at ☞ him or by chance which pierced his very Heart Henry his younger Brother got into the Throne during the absence of Duke Robert who was still in the Holy-Land Notwithstanding the Popes Excommunications the King had renewed society with Bertrade by the consent even of Foulk her Husband being so infinitely enchanted with that Woman that he was often seen at her Feet there to receive all her Year of our Lord 1098 99 and 1100. Commands as if he had been a Slave Some of the Belgick Bishops honour'd the Kings Adultery with the name of Marriage and on their great Feasts according to ancient custom placed the Crown upon her Head to shew or signifie they did not hold her to be Excommunicated but the Popes Legats denied to communicate with him and conven'd a Council at Poitiers in July where he was Excommunicated once more William Duke of Aquitain who feared the like Treatment having committed the like fault for he entertained a Concubine and had forsaken his lawful Wife affronted and abused the Prelats greatly and perhaps his Sorrow and Repentance for it afterwards prompted him to go to the Holy Land as we have observed The King constant in his Affections solicited the Popes Favour so earnestly that he sent some Legats to re-view the Cause Year of our Lord 1101 They assembled a Council at Baugency The King and Bertrade promised to abstain from each other till the Popes Dispensation and thus the Council broke up Year of our Lord 1102 without giving any Judgment The King continued with the recommendation of the Bishops to endeavour the obtaining a Dispensation in the Court of Rome in the end he had it he was Absolved in the City of Paris and his Marriage confirmed so officacious is constancy even in things not commendable The opposition of the Bishops served only to authorize the use of Dispensations from Rome which since have been very common in all matters and occasions Young Lewis whom they named the Prince of the Kingdom and was designed King by his Father it is not specified in what year took the Government of Affairs Year of our Lord 1102 3. and the following PHILIP LEWIS Surnamed the Gross designed King aged 19 or 20 years In those times the Rights of the French were such that they could not legally arrest the Lords nor punish them with death unless it were for Treason but only deprive them of their Lands I mean those they held of the King they called them Honours This was it that gave them Licence to arme to oppress the weaker to rob and plunder and above all usurp the Goods of the Church Year of our Lord 1100 Lewis had to do first with Bouchard Lord of Montmorency against whom he embraced the Cause of the Monks of St. Denis whose Lands that Lord had pillaged and having appeared according to an assignation in the Kings Court of Justice refused to obey the Sentence or Judgment given against him therein He forced him by destroying and burning all his Villages and his Castle it self to submit to Reason In like manner he chastifed Droco or Dreux de Mouchy and Lionnet de Meun who tyrannized this over the Churches of Orleans the other over those of Beauvais Also he humbled Matthew Count of Beaumont upon Oise Son-in-law to Hugh Earl of Clermont in Beauvoisis who having half of the Lands of Luzarches in Dowry had seized upon all and had devested the good Man his Father-in-law Year of our Lord 1103 He durst or would not intermeddle with the quarrel between the two Norman Brothers Robert and Henry The First upon his return from the Holy Land demanded the Kingdom of England of his younger Brother who had usurped it after the death of William Rufus The business after three years Negotiation and War was determined in this manner Robert An. 1107. having lost a Battle at Tinchâ—bray in Normandy was made prisoner by his cruel Brother who deprived him of Sight by placing a burning Bason of Brass before his Eyes whereof he dyed in Prison Thus the whole Succession of William the Conquerer remained in Henry the youngest of his three Sons Year of our Lord 1103 In the year 1103. Lewis passed into England to King Henry I cannot tell upon what design Bertrade his Mother-in-law who could willingly have sent him out of the World sollicited Henry to make him away and this Artifice failing she caused poison to be given him at his return into France which put him in great hazard of his Life Year of our Lord 1104 The King to rid himself of the trouble brought upon him by the Family of Montlehery agreed upon a Marriage with Guy Troussel betwixt Philip his Son and bertrade to whom he gave the Earldom of Mantes on condition that Guy should deliver him the Castle of Montlehery which he did Year of our Lord 1104 At the same time or a little after Guy Lord of Rochefort Uncle of Troussel entirely possessing the Kings
Popes Legat. Afterwards the Archbishop of Sens gave him leave to explain and make good his Propositions against St. Bernard But being come for that purpose to the Council of Sens he would or durst not dispute there but appeal'd to the Pope Being on his way towards Rome to pursue his Appeal he stopt at the Abby of Clugny and there led a holy Life in the Habit of St. Bennes which he had long before taken upon him These Prosecutions were carried on by the Zeal of St. Bernard Abbot of Clervaux a Burgundian Gentleman who had raised himself to so high an Esteem for several years before amongst the Clergy the Nobility and Common People that there hapned no Cause in Matters Ecclesiastical no considerable Contest no important Enterprize wherein his Judgment was not required together with his Counsel and Mediation To shew us that the Wise and Virtuous have a more natural ☞ Empire then that which proceeds from Power or the Institution of Man Year of our Lord 1141 The Clergy of Bourges had elected for their Archbishop one Peter de la Chastre a Person of singular Learning and Piety The King whether he did not like him or desired that Benefice for another refused to give his consent Peter would therefore have desisted but Pope Innocent enjoyned him to perform his Duty which the King obstructing it bred a great deal of trouble and grew to that height that the Pope Excommunicated the King and put the King under an Interdiction Thibauld Earl of Champagne a Lord of great Authority as well for his Power as his Vertues having intermedled somewhat too much about this business offended the King whose anger was yet more inflamed upon another occasion which was this Rodolph de Vermandois who was in effect the first Prince of the Blood but in those days that Title was not known those Princes being considered only according to the Year of our Lord 1141 42. dignity of their Lands caused his Marriage with Gerbete Cousin German to Thibauld to be dissolved upon pretence of Parentage that he might have Alix-Pernelle the Sister of Queen Alienor for his Wife The Pope at the instigation of Thibauld Excommunicated Rodolph and interdicted the Bishops that had pronounced the Divorce Lewis lays all upon Thibauld and enters his Lands in Hostile manner Thibauld has recourse to the Pope who to deliver him from that War which oppress'd him takes off the Excommunication but as soon as that was over he thunders it a second time and then the King more exasperated then before turns his Army into Champagne They take Vitry by force putting all to the Sword and setting Fire on the Church wherein three hundred poor innocent People were burnt who were got in to secure themselves Year of our Lord 1143 and 1144. At the recital of this Cruelty the Kings Bowels yearned and his Conscience was mightily troubled He mourned and dispairs St. Bernard had much ado to persuade him that he might obtain Mercy from God upon his Repentance In this Condition it was easie to persuade him to restore the Archbishop of Bourges to his See and procure a Peace for the Earl Year of our Lord 1143 and 1144. Fulk King of Jerusalem being dead Anno 1142. the Government being in the hands of Melisenda his Widow his youngest Son Baldwin and the Christians of that Country worse then the Turks their Affairs ran all into confusion so that Sangnin Sultan of Assyria tore the Principality of Edessa from them one of the four Members of the Kingdom of Jerusalem The King had before Vow'd a Voyage to the Holy-Land these sad Tidings moved both him and the other French Princes to carry them Relief St. Bernard the Oracle of those times being consulted with herein refers the business to the Pope who sent him orders to Preach the Croisade over all Christendom Year of our Lord 1146 Beginning with France he Conven'd a National Council at Chartres by whom he was chosen for Generalissimo of that Expedition but he refused the Sword and was content to be the Trumpet only He proclaim'd it every where with so much fervour so great assurance of good success and as they believed with so many Miracles that the Cities and Villages became Deserts every one listing themselves for this Service Year of our Lord 1147 The Emperor Conrad and the King were the first that took the Badge of the Cross with an infinite number of Nobility Each of these Princes had a Legat from the Pope in his Army Conrad led threescore thousand Horse he went away first and arrived at Constantinople about the end of March in the year 1147. Year of our Lord 1147 The King staid some while in France after him to receive Pope Engenius who by the Revolted Romans was forced to quit that Country He set forwards a fortnight after Whitsontide in the same year and having marched thorough Hungary and Thrace passed the Bosphorus so that the following Lent in Anno 1148. he got into Syria whilst on the other hand his Naval Force was put to Sea to meet him there Year of our Lord 1147 By Advice of his Parliament held at Estampes he left the Regency of the Kingdom to Rodolph Earl of Vermandois and Suger Abbot of St. Denis who was in great Credit at Court even from the time of Lewis the Fat. Before his departure he went according to the usual Custom into St. Denis Church to receive his Staff and Scrip the Badges of Pilgrimage and the Standard de L'Oriflamme on the Altar of the Holy Martyrs It is fit we should tell you the Kings of France of the Second Race display'd at the head of their Armies St. Martins Cope or Mantle But Capet and his Line after their great Devotion to St. Denis made use of the Banner belonging to his Church which they called Oriflamme It had wont to be carried or born by the Count de Vexin-Francois who was Hommager to the Church of St. Denis After the Kings had possession of this County they appointed some Person of great Merit and Illustrious Birth to carry it There is not that wicked or mean Artisice and Treachery but the perfidious Manuel Emperor of Greece put in practise to destroy both the Emperors and the Kings Armies Against the first he had his will by Poysoning their Meal he was to furnish them withall with Lime and Plaster and appointing such Guides as having led them a long way about which made them waste all their Provisions at last delivered them half dead and languishing into the hands of the Turks who cut them all in pieces so that there was not a tenth part of them escaped Year of our Lord 1148 The King being likewise gotten into Asia found the Emperor Conrad at Nicea where he comforted him in the best manner he could Then he marched along by the Sea-side and ran the same hazard as the other had done however he saved himself more by good fortune then
People pretended they had the better Title and had most commonly maintain'd themselves in possession of it alledging the Popes could not deprive them of a Right born with the Church its self and practised in the times of the Apostles Year of our Lord 1160 King Lewis relying upon the Judgment of the Gallican Church whom he Assembled for this purpose at Estampes adhered to Alexander All the West followed his Example excepting the Emperor Frederick who with his Almans and what Partisans he had in Italy fiercely rejected him because he was Install'd without his Approbation King Henry besides the Kingdom of England held the Dutchy of Normandy which had then a part of Bretagne holding of it the Country of Maine Anjou Touraine and the Province of Aquitain His Ambition upheld by this great increase Year of our Lord 1160 of Power made him revive afresh the Right his Wife had to the County of Toulouze For this end having made Alliance with Raimond Prince of Arragon and Earl of Barcelonna he raised a great Army of Aquitains and Routiers amongst whom was Malcolme King of Scotland enter'd upon Languedoc took Mâ—issac Cahors and some other places The jealousie Lewis had of his growing Greatness moving him at least as much as Year of our Lord 1160 61. the Prayers and Intreaties of Earl Raimond his Brother-in-Law caused him to march that way and cast himself into Toulouze but he had so few with him that it was in the power of Henry to have forced that City had not the scruple of falling upon his Soveraign deterr'd him from it After which they were reconcil'd but Henry would not let fall his claim and hold of the Earldom of Toulouze till he bestow'd his Daughter Jane Widow of William II. King of Sicily on Earl Raimond In these days the cursed Crew of Routiers and Cottereaux began to make themselves known by their Cruelties and Robberies we cannot tell certainly why they were so called but they were a kind of Soldiers and Adventurers coming from divers parts as from Arragon Navarre Biscay and Brabant who wandred over all Countries and would be hired by any one that offer'd to take them provided they might be allow'd all manner of Licence The Cottereaux were most of them Foot-Soldiers the Routiers served on Horseback In the mean while Pope Alexander fearing the Emperor after he had pull'd down the Pride of the Milannois might come to Rome did not judge himself a fit match and so retired into France where he remained above three years Year of our Lord 1161 This year he held a Council at Clermont in which he did not forbear to thunder against Victor Frederick and all their Adherents Year of our Lord 1161 The most Potent and most Factious Family in all France was the House of Champagne Lewis to divide them from the English and gain them to himself takes Alix for his third Wife who was youngest Sister to the four Brothers Champenois for Constance his second Wife was dead Anno 1159. and for the two Daughters of his first Bed he gave one to Henry the eldest of the four Brothers Earl of Troyes and the other to Thibauld the second Earl of Blois Year of our Lord 1162 Pope Alexander came to Torcy on the River Loire where the two Kings Lewis and Henry received him with extream submission Both of them alighted and each taking one of the Reins of his Horses Bridle conducted him to the House prepared for him Year of our Lord 1162 A second time the Emperor came into the County of Burgundy bringing his Victor with him and a second time some endeavoured to procure a Conference betwixt him and the King to determine that Difference which made the Schism by the Judgment of a Council They agreed upon the place of Interview to be at Avignon as being the Frontier of either Prince whither the King by Oath obliged himself to bring Alexander But that Pope refusing to go there saying he could be judged by none it broke off the Conference and put the King in very great danger For the Almans having reproached him that he kept not his word plotted to way-lay him and had taken him Prisoner had not the King of England caused his Army to advance to disengage him Thence follow'd a cruel War between the Emperor and Alexander which horribly tormented Italy and out of which the Emperor could not withdraw himself but by the means of a shameful submission craving Pardon of the Pope and suffering him to set his Foot upon his Throat Which hapned in Anno 1177. in the City of Venice Year of our Lord 1163 Anno 1163. Alexander assisted at the Council of Tours Assembled by his order and there he thunders once more against Victor and Frederick He caused some Decrees likewise to be made against the Hereticks who had spread themselves over all the Province of Languedoc There were especially of two sorts The one Ignorant and withall addicted to Lewdness and Villanies their Errors gross and filthy and these were a kind of Manicheans The others more Learned less irregular and very far from such filthiness held almost the same Doctrines as the Calvinists and were properly Henricians and Vaudois The People who could not distinâ—uish them gave them alike names that is to say called them Cathares Patarins Boulgres or Bulgares Adamites Cataphrygians Publicans Gazarens Lollards Turlupins and other such like Nick-names Year of our Lord 1163 Death of Odo III. Duke of Burgundy to whom succeeded Hugh III. his Son There being Peace between the two Kings Lewis employs himself in doing Justice and suppressing Disorders The Inhabitants of Vezelay having made a Corporation would have shaken off the Abbot who was their Lord protected by the Earl of Nevers He compell'd them and their Earl to ask Pardon and break their Corporation The same year he went in Person to â—ight the Earl of Clermont the Earl du Puy and the Vicount de Polignac Lords of Auvergne who denied to forbear plundering of Churches overthrew them and brought them Prisoners to Paris where having detained them a long while he releas'd them upon giving their Oaths and Hostages In like manner he punished the Earl of Chaalons with the loss of his County because he had pillag'd the Abby of Clugny and kill'd above five hundred some Monks some Servants However the Daughter of this Man re-entred upon her Patrimony Year of our Lord 1163 Thomas Becket Chancellor of England elected Archbishop of Canterbury Anno 1163. soon lost the good favour of King Henry for divers causes and particularly Year of our Lord 1164 for stickling too fiercely in maintaining the Priviledges of the Clergy Being banished the Kingdom he retired himself in France in the Abby of Pontigny of the Diocess of Sens whence he gave much trouble to his King and suffer'd not a little himself during six years Year of our Lord 1164 Death of Victor the Anti-Pope in whose stead the Cardinals of his Party elected Guy
de Creme who named himself Paschal and was confirmed by Frederick But Alexander III. recalled by the Romans left France the year following and returned to Rome to put an end to that Schism Year of our Lord 1165 In the year 1165. Lewis had a Son born whom he believed Heaven had sent him in return of his Prayers For this reason he was surnamed Dieu-Donne i. e. Gift of God or God-Gift and after for his brave Acts the Conqueror which Paul Emilius has rendred by Interpretation Augustus and is followed in the same by all the Modern Historians Year of our Lord 1166 The Life of Conan the Little Duke of Bretagne which had been ever full of trouble ended Anno 1166. to make room for Gefroy of Normandy his Son-in-Law This Prince being yet but Fifteen years of Age remained together with his Datchy under the Guardianship of the King his father for some time after which being at liberty he begins a War against him because he would make him do Hommage for his Dukedom a Duty he required by vertue of a Treaty made by Charles the Simple with Rollo Duke of Normandy Year of our Lord 1168 Thierry of Alsatia Earl of Flanders dies at Gravelin Philip his Son governs after him Year of our Lord 1169 70. The Feud was renewed between the two Kings upon several occasions one was the Earl d'Auvergne whom Lewis as Soveraign Lord took into his protection and safeguard against Henry to whom the Earl was a Vassal holding of him in Aquitain the other the support he gave to Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury The War thereupon breaks forth and lasted for two years however it was carried on but slowly and so as the Respect either of them had for Pope Alexanders Mediation brought them to an Agreement for some time Year of our Lord 1170 These two Princes having Conferr'd together at Saint Germain en Laye concluded the Peace betwixt them and there the King of England's Sons rendred Hommage to Lewis for those Lands their Father assured to them by advance of Inheritance Henry of the Dutchy of Normandy the County of Anjou and the Office of Grand Seneschal joyned thereto from the time of Grisegonnelle as also the Earldoms du Maine and de Touraine and the second named Richard of the Dakedom of Aquitain as for the third which was Gefroy he had Bretagne by his Wife and ow'd Hommage to none but the Duke of Normandy The Kings Intercession obtained of Henry that Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury might return into England but he continuing to act with the same heat four Gentlemen of Henry's Court out of Complaisance as mean as detestable having plotted and contrived to deliver their King of him entred the Church at Canterbury where that Holy Prelat was reading Service it was on the Christmas Holy-days and Murther'd him at the foot of the Altar Year of our Lord 1171 Though the King disown'd this Murther and shewed an extream grief nevertheless Year of our Lord 1172 having given cause to commit it if perhaps he did not command it the Pope Year of our Lord 1173 made a mighty business of it from which he could not get clear without submitting to great Pennance and such Reparations and Satisfactions as was ordained by his Legats The Holy Archbishop revered as a Martyr was Canonized the following year and the frequent Miracles wrought on his Tomb attested his Holiness Year of our Lord 1173 Every year almost there was some Rupture then a Peace or Truce between the two Kings either concerning their own proper Interests or that of their Friends and Vassals Lewis had this advantage that being the Soveraign Lord he had a right of hearing the Complaints of Henry's Vassals and of making himself his Judge Year of our Lord 1173 He had stirred up many in Aquitain and Normandy but this year he Armed his own Children against him The eldest with Margaret his Wife being gone to Visit him and having staid some time in that Court had a fancy put into his Head that since he was Crowned he ought to Reign and to demand of his Father the enjoyment either of the Kingdom of England or the Dukedom of Normandy With this disposition and fretted for that his Father had taken some young People from about him who gave him such like ill Counsels he stole away one Night from him and came and cast himself into the Arms of the King Immediately all the young Nobility follows him Queen Alienor favours him his two Brothers Richard Duke of Aquitain and Gefroy of Brâ—tagne joyns with him and those whole Provinces follow their Motions The King of France takes them into his protection William King of Scotland declares for them and attaques England whither at the same time went some French Forces under the Command of Robert Earl of Leicester Year of our Lord 1174 It seemed therefore as if the unhappy Father must needs be overwhelm'd on a suddain but he overthrew all the Enemies Lewis having taken Verneuil au Perche durst not hold it and retreated before him The Earl of Leicester is defeated in England and all those that followed him either slain or taken then all the Kingdom reduced in less then Thirty days by old Henry who went thither presently after this defeat Year of our Lord 1175 The following year whilst he was doing Pennance at St. Thomas Becket's Tomb William King of Scotland his most capital Enemy loses a Battle against his Lieutenants and was taken Prisoner The Fleet of young Henry is dispersed and disabled by Tempest King Lewis who had carried Philip Earl of Flanders with him is rudely repulsed from Rouen so that finding Henry who was come over-Seas again to Relieve this City made ready to give him Battle he hearkens to a Truce for some Months Year of our Lord 1175 Whilst that lasted old Henry going into Poitou and subduing Richard the worst of his three Rebellious Sons who held that Country all the others returned to their Obedience and he enters upon a Treaty of Peace with Lewis who gave him Alix his Daughter for his Son Richard and put her into his hands to compleat the Marriage when she should be Age for it Year of our Lord 1177 The two Kings now grown old were weary of so many Wars and Disturbances Either of them had cause to fear the one the activity of his three most valiant Sons the other the weakness of his only Heir as yet too young so that they confirmed the Peace by new Oaths promised mutual friendship against all others and took up a resolution to go joyntly into Languedoc to extirpiate those Hereticks already mentioned by us But they thought it more convenient first to send the Popes Legat thither with three or four other Prelats to endeavour to reclaim them by Exhortations and Anathema's which converted and brought back a great many and kept the rest within bounds for some time These Hereticks were all called Albigensis because they propaged
against the Infringers even to the killing them in the very Churches which served as a Sanctuary to all other the most enormous Criminals William the Conqueror had Establish'd this Law in England and in Normandy Anno 1080. Raimond Berenger Earl of Barcelonna in his Country Anno 1060. the Council of Clermont had confirmed it Anno 1096. and that of Rome Anno 1102. Now as these Truces were but ill observed and Languedoc and a part of Guyenne principally upon occasion of that War betwixt the King of Arragon and Raimond Earl of Toulouze were most miserably tormented with Factions Murthers and Robberies a certain Carpenter named Durand who seemed a plain simple Fellow Year of our Lord 1183 found the Remedy against these Calamities and a Means to enrich himself He asserted that God had appeared to him in the City du Puy in Auvergne commanding him to proclaim Peace and for proof of his Mission had given him a certain Image of the Virgin which he shewed So that upon his Veracity the Grandees the Prelats and the Gentry being Assembled at Puy on the day of the Feast of the Assumption agreed amongst themselves by Oath upon the Holy Evangelists to lay down all Animosities and the remembrance of former Injuries and made a Holy League to reconcile Mens Spirits and entertain Love and Peace which they named the Peace of God Those who were of it wore the Stamp of this Image of our Lady in Pewter upon their Breasts and Capuches or Hoods of white Linnen on their Heads which this Carpenter sold to them Which had such power over their Minds and had made such Impression that a Man with those Badges was not only in security but likewise in Veneration amongst his most mortal Enemies Year of our Lord 1184 Whether the three Princes of Champagne Brothers to the Queen Mother had gotten the upper hand at Court and put the King out of conceit with the Earl of Flanders or for some other cause the King summon'd him to surrender up Vermandois which Louis the VII had given him only as was pretended for a certain time The Earl being very Potent would maintain the possession passed the Somme with a great Army and came as far as Senlis But upon tidings of the Kings march he turns back the way he came and went and besieged Corbie from whence he decamped again immediately for the same cause The King not being able to overtake him besieges Boves the two Armies drew near to engage Some Mediators put a stop to their impetuous haste and made up the Peace The Earl yielded all Vermandois excepting Peronne and Saint Quentin which they let him enjoy during Life Year of our Lord 1184 To this Agreement the King called all the Bishops Abbots Earls and Barons that served in his Army with their Vnder-Vassals And such was then the Rights of the French The Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Prior of the Hospital of St. John's deputed on the behalf of the Christians from the Holy-Land brought the Keys of the Holy City to King Philip imploring his assistance and representing to him the extream danger it was reduced unto Whereupon having held a great Assembly of Prelats and Lords at Paris he enjoyned them to Preach the Cross or Croisade and to publish it every where and in the mean time sent at his own Expence a considerable Relief of Horse and Foot into that Country The Complaints of the Clergy of Burgundy whom Duke Odo had plundred and the Year of our Lord 1184 Lord de Vergy whose Castle that Prince besieged ingaged the King to march that way and besiege Chastillâ—n on the Seine the strongest Bulwark belonging to that Rebel Who finding his Fort taken by Assault came humbly to submit to his Commands promised to pay 30000 Livers for Reparation to the Clergy and gave up four Castles which however were soon after put into his possession again without doubt because they had some need of him Year of our Lord 1183 84. In Berry there were several Bands of Robbers that wasted the Country they were named Cottereaux and were believed to be tainte â—ith the Heresie that spread in Languedoc because they aimed chiefly to do mâ—schief to the Churchmen the Berriers getting together with the help of some Men sent them by the King cut them in pieces killing seven thousand upon the place The vast Multitudes of eople that flocked to Paris the Kings Train encreasing with his Authority made the Streets so dirty and 〈◊〉 that there was no going in them The King sent therefore for the Citizens and their Provost and enjoyned them to remedy it which they did by Pav ng it with Stone at their own expences I find about this time that one Girard de Poissi who managed the Exchequer brought in thither of his own proper Moneys or Fund Eleven thousand Mark in Silver It is to Year of our Lord 1185 be imagin'd that he had gotten them by the King but however we may say that this Example ✚ will be singular and that we shall never meet a Chequer-man will follow his Example What ever can be done that sort of People will sooner go to the Gibet then be brought to make Restitution Year of our Lord 1185 Margaret of France Widow of Henry the Young King of England is Re-Married to Bela III. King of Hungary Gesroy Duke of Bretagne and Brother of that Henry being come to wait on the King who tenderly lov'd him died of a Distemper at Champeaux and was Interr'd at Nostre-Dames in Paris He had one Daughter named Alienor and one Son only aged but three years The Bretons would give him the name of Artur in memory of that famous King whom the Romancers make to be the Author of the Knights of the Year of our Lord 1185 round Table and many high feats of Arms. He remained under the Guardianship of his Mother and the Protection of the King in despite of all the Efforts of Henry and Richard his Son who made several Attempts to seize upon his Person that they might get Bretagne into their possession The Widow Constance afterwards Married Guy Lord de Thouars The memory of Gefroy is still very famous amongst the Bretons because of that Law he made in his Parliament or Estates General which was called the Assize of Count Gefroy Whereby it was ordained that in the Families of Barons and Knights the Estates should not be shared or equally divided as heretofore but that the eldest should reap the whole Succession and bestow such part upon the younger as himself and the rest of his Kindred should think fit This hath since been thus proportion'd the Thirds amongst all the younger Children during Life to the Males and Inheritance to the Female In time the rest of the Gentry not to yield in Quality to the Barons would needs be comprehended herein likewise Towards the end of the year 1186. a War was raised between King Philip and Henry of England for
that he left all his Warlike Engines behind and part of his Men who were kill'd or drowned upon the Retreat Never after durst he shew his head in any place where he knew Lewis could come and abandoned all Anjou to him and his new Fortifications of Anger 's which were presently demolish'd Year of our Lord 1214 Before the Month was expir'd after Lewis's Victory King Philip his Father gained a much more signal one nigh the Village of Bouvines which is between L'Isle and Tournay against the Emperor Otho and his Confederates They had an Army of 150000 fighting Men his was weaker by one half but strengthned with the flower of the Nobility and many Princes of the Blood viz. Eudes Duke of Burgundy Robert de Courtenay Robert Earl of Dreux and his Brother Philip Bishop of Beauvais The Battle was fought the 25th of July and lasted from Noon till Night Guerin Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and a little before elected Bishop of Senlis to whom the King left all things drew up the Army in Battalia Matthew Baron of Montmorency William des Barres Seneschal to the King Henry Earl of Bar Bartholomy de Roye Gaucher Count de Saint Pol and Adam Vicount de Melun had the greatest shares in the Danger and in the Victory Guerin fought not with his hands because of his Quality of Bishop nor did Philip Bishop of Beauvais smite with the Sword but a Wooden Club believing that to beat out Peoples Brains was not shedding of Blood The King ran a great hazard in his own Person having been beaten down trod under the Horses Feet and wounded in the Throat but in fine his Enemies were worsted every where Otho put to flight his great Standard being a Dragon with an Imperial Eagle over it and the Chariot which bore it broken all to pieces and five Earls amongst whom were Ferrand and Renauld with two and twenty Lords that carried Banners taken Prisoners The Fortune-tellers had assured the old Countess of Flanders Ferrands Aunt that there should happen a great Battle that the King should be overthrown Horses tread over him and that Ferrand should enter in Triumph into Paris The first part of this Prediction held good without Equivocation the second was likewise true but after another manner then they imagined for indeed they carried him into Paris in Triumph but in quality of a Captive loaden with Chains and linked fast in a Chariot drawn by Ferrand Horses that is according to the Language then used of an Iron-grey-Colour The Parisians made the King a most pompous Entrance and Celebrated his Victory with Solemn Joy for eight days together Ferrand was shut up in the Tower of the Louvre without the City Walls and Renauld in the new Tower of Peronne with Shackles on his Legs and a Chain that fastned him to a great piece of Timber Philip had made a Vow in the midst of his Joy for this most happy success to build an Abby in honour of God and of the Blesled Virgin his Son Lewis performed it by founding that of Nostre-Dame de la Victoire near Sanlis The Lords of Poitou that had favour'd the English finding that Lewis was Victorious sent to tender him all manner of Submission He would not trust to their words but went into the Country with his Army to bring things to a full period The Vicount de Touars the most considerable of them all obtained the Kings Pardon without much ado by the intercession of Peter Duke of Bretagne the rest were utterly lost and King John who was then in Partenay could not have avoided being taken if he had not bethought himself of interposing the Popes Legat to demand a Truce That power was so formidable that the King durst not deny him and agreed to it for five years Year of our Lord 1215 When that was done Prince Louis or Lewis whether out of devotion or jealousie of the Power of Count de Montfort took up the Cross on him against the Albigeois and made a Voyage to Languedoc Montfort came to Vienne to meet him and the Legat to Valence Montfort who accompanied him received Bulls from the Pope Year of our Lord 1215 which in Consequence of the Decree of the Council of Montpellier held some Months before gave him the Tolosian Territories in guard or keeping and all those other that had been Conquer'd by the Adventurers of the Cross upon Condition to receive Investiture of the King and render him Feodal Duty So that we may say ☜ the Pope named and the King Confer'd upon his Nomination From thence Lewis was at Montpellier then at Beziers where he gave order the Walls of Narbonne and Tolose should be demolish'd Mean while the Lateran Council notwithstanding the pitiful Remonstrances of the Count de Tolose who was there in Person with his Son adjudged the propriety of his Lands to Montfort reserving only those he had in Provence for his Son and four hundred Marks of Silver yearly for his Subsistance to be understood if they shew'd themselves obedient to the Holy See From that time Montfort took on him the Quality of Earl of Toulouze and came to receive Investiture from the King in the City of Melun While Lewis was yet in those Countries the English Lords sent to offer him the Crown of England and demand Assistance against the Tyrannies of John who was Excommunicated by the Pope and who had robb'd them of their Liberties and Priviledges for which cause they had taken up Arms to Dethrone him They had the City of London and some other places for them nevertheless their design did not go on well and their dispair forc'd them to seek their safety by some Foreign Assistance Year of our Lord 1215 16. The Tyrant seeing his loss infallible stuck not to abase the Dignity of his Crown to gain the Popes Protection He satisfies him therefore and becomes his Vassal and Tributary of a thousand Mark of Silver but this abasement added scorn to the execration his Subjects had for him Now the Holy Father resolv'd highly to protect his new Vassal Excommunicated the English and sent a Legat into France to divert Lewis from that Enterprize and desired King Philip to put a stop to it Philip makes protestation of all Respect and Obedience to the Holy See but said he could not impose upon his Son that necessity not to pursue the Rights of his Wife who was Neece to King John So that Lewis accepted the Crown of England and landed with a great Equipage in the Isle of Thanet thence went to London where he was solemnly Crowned John being excluded from his Capital City retired to Winchester and by his flight gave him full leisure to receive the Hommage of all the Nobility and secure all about London The Legat not being able to put a stop to Lewis by any Arguments or Persuasions Excommunicated him and all his Adherents but he appeal'd to the Pope they had not yet found out the
also troubled England the Kings William and Henry maintaining it was a Right and Prerogative of their Crown and in all times possessed by their Ancestors For which cause Anselme Arch-Bishop of Canterbury had lost his See but at last that difference was composed An. 1107. upon condition the King should for ever relinquish the Investitures in the Church and that reciprocally the Bishops should render him Hommage This was to speak properly nothing but the changing of terms for he that doth Hommage is a Vassal and receives and holds of him to whom he renders it And indeed the Popes could have wished that the Bishops had not done it to Lay-Princes and they had expresly forbid it to those in France but the resolution King Lewis the Gross and his Successors shew'd in this point obliged them to relaxe They durst not at the same time contend both with this great Kingdom and Germany they must leave some place of shelter in time of need and besides they did not so much trouble their Heads to lessen France with whom they had no contests for Dominion as to pull down the Emperours who being very powerful in Italy had still an aim of restoring their Imperial Throne in the City of Rome Besides France was better united and by consequence more difficult to be subdued then the Empire where the Subjects as well those of Germany as those of Italy and the Kingdom of Arles being divided amongst themselves and having all different Interests have at length ruin'd that vast body by their Jealousies and Rebellions It was for this reason the Popes made it their business so much to lessen that power and it is certain that all other Princes of Europe growing jealous of it as the most formidable then in being joyned willingly with the Popes to suppress it The defence of the Holy See and the Authority of the Church admitting a specious pretence to side with them This reflection is not useless Now to return to our Narrative Henry V. sunk under all this weight as his Father had done before In the beginning his Presence made things prosper in Italy but when after various success he was driven thence his burden was left to the mercy of Calistus who confined him to a perpetual imprisonment Then he himself tir'd with the daily Admonitions and Remonstrances from all parts and not able to wade through the many Conspiracies and Rebellions which hourly threatned to or'ewhelm him yielded the Cause at last He utterly renounced the Investitures and promised to leave the liberty of Elections to the Ecclesiasticks This was in Anno 1122. The scandal and persecutions which these Schismes caused in Christendom gave occasion in my opinion for that false prediction which was spread abroad in those days That the world was near its end and the Kingdom of Antichrist was then begun St. Norbert and some other persons of an irreâ—ragable Sanctity preach'd it as a most certain Truth which was but little doubted and begot so much terror that Pope Paschal who fled into France to avoid persecution staid some time in his journey at Florence to see what the event of this dreadful report would come to Soon after the agreement Henry V. being dead without Children the Empire was given to Lotbarius Duke of Saxony and after him to Conrade Those two Princes left the Popes in quiet and made no breach of Peace with them So that there was no more fear of Schisme on that side The Church having rested in tranquillity for eight years began to be disturb'd again by another most dangerous division for after the death of Honorius II. which hapned in the year 1134. two contrary Factions or Interests in the Sacred Colledge elected each a Pope on the same day One the Cardinal Gregory who took the name of Innocent the II. The other the Cardinal Peter Leonis who called himself Anaclet This last had been a Monk at Clugny a scurvy commendation for him to the Order of the Cisteaux which was then become the most predominant in France His Right if examined in due form appeared the best but his ambitious and haughty proceeding spoil'd his Title the great Gifts ☞ he made of things belonging to the Church to make himself Master of Rome gave just cause to believe there was somewhat of Simonie in his promotion and that he deserved not the Popedom since he bought it Many good people were of opinion so says John of Salisbury that in the like contests they ought to have owned neither of those concurrents but have elected a Pope anew who had not privately made any interest for the Popedom which is of such a nature as well as all other Benefices that whoever bribes for it renders himself unworthy of it And indeed King Lewis VII wavered for some time betwixt both parties and assembled the Council of Estampes to resolve him which of the two was the Legitimate The perswasions of Henry II. King of England had already a little inclined him towards Innocent the Council of Estampes fully determin'd it that Council having been satisfied by the discourses of St. Bernard who with much zeal and vehemence set forth the Right and Merits of that Pope After so solemn a decision most of the Princes in Europe declared for him there was only Roger Duke of Apulia and William Duke of Aquitain that supported Anaclet The First that he might have a Pope convenient for him and more easie to be managed then his predecessors the Second having been perswaded by Gerard Bishop of Angoulesme that his Election was Canonical It was thrown in Gerards Teeth that at first he had been of the contrary party but his spleen because he was not continued in his Legation of Aquitain by Innocent drove him to side with Anaclet who indeed confirmed it to him It was one of the handsomest and indeed most profitable employments the Court of Rome could bestow for besides the three Aquitains both Touraine and Bretagne were comprehended in it I divide Bretagne from Touraine because the former had its Arch-Bishop apart this was the Bishop of Dole who since the insurrection of Neomene took upon him to be the Metropolitan The often reiterated complaints of the Metropolitan of Tours and the sollicitations of the Kings of France in the Court of Rome could not obtain a Judgment in this matter for a long while but Philip Augustus tyr'd with their long delays prosecuted it with so much resolution and talked so high that Innocent III. determin'd it by a definitive Sentence in An. 1198. which restored Dol and the other Bishopricks of Bretagne to the Metropolis of Tours We find in the Life of St. Bernard how he withdrew Duke William from espousing the party of Anaclet so that there was none for him but Roger Duke of Apulia on whom Anaclet conferr'd the Title of King of Sicilia upon condition to pay an acknowledgment of Six hundred Crowns yearly to the See of Rome The Kingdom of Sicilia comprehended the
Military or even from Marriage that it might be the more humble and perfect S. Leo the Pope had only advised it his Successors made it a Law and the Councils of Toledo reduced it into practise towards their very Kings witness Vamba one of the most illustrious and most renowned of their Monarchs who being ordained Pennance while he was in the agonies of death not with his consent for he was deprived of all understanding but according to the custome of those times was yet obliged upon his recovery to renounce his Kingly Office Observe if you please that these Councils of Spain furnished the Popes with great advantages and presidents to bring other Sovereigns under their Command and Disposal For the Visigoth Kings being elective the Bishops had a great share in their Election and their Councils were as so many Assemblies where the Grandees and the Kings themselves were present There they corrected all the disorders of the Crown and imposed Laws upon them under the penalty of Anathema or Deposition if they infringed them The Bishops of France undertook the same thing by deposing Louis the Debonnaire and though it were a perfect Faction that Prince however did not resume the Crown but by the authority of another Assembly of Bishops Foulk Arch-Bishop of Rheims threatned Charles the Simple he would withdraw his Subjects from their Obedience if he made any Alliance with the Normans who were then Barbarians and Unbelievers Now the Popes believed it as an Article of Faith that their power was much greater then that of all the Bishops and that it had no other limitation then was express'd in the Canons of the Councils and the Decrees of the Apostolique See which never had forbid them to Depose Kings because it cannot be imagined the thoughts of such a thing could ever enter into their brains Gregory II. in Anno 730. having thundered his Anathema against Leo Isaurian suspended at least the payment of all Tribute and Obedience of his Subjects or perhaps wholly Absolved them as some pretended Moreover taking upon them as they did the Authority of creating Kings which was allowed by the ambition of such as desired that Title they imagined they might well take away the Crown from those that were unworthy since they could bestow one upon such as did deserve it There were besides all this many occasions which served not a little to confirm this opinion Amongst others the Prohibition of contracting Marriage between Kindred even to the Seventh Degree and betwixt Allies to the fourth and fifth The cognisance they took of all great Causes not only amongst the Ecclesiasticks but Temporal Princes and the Croisado's For as to the first they could easily find enough of Parentage or Alliance to dissolve a Princes Marriage and by this means made themselves formidable And for the second they were not less considerable for the power they had to judge of all Causes because all Parties have naturally a fear and a respect for their Judges and they having by this incredible affluence of Business an opportunity to employ great numbers of People it drew to their Court all those that had an ambition to be made use of by them or such as had the curiosity to be fashion'd or instructed in that most famous School of the whole Universe In effect all the greatest Wits of Europe flock'd thither to gain Employments and as we have still an Affection for those by whom we are advanced when they went from thence after they had done their Business or made their Fortune they proclaimed the Grandeur of the Popes in every Country with an ardent desire to set up their Maxims The Crusado's or Holy War made them likewise very powerful For in all the Expeditions to the Holy-Land they enjoyned Princes to list themselves they held the Soveraign Command of those Armies by their Legats and in a manner made themselves Lords of all those Adventurers not only because they exacted obedience from them but which was more because they took them under their Protection till their return which was as it were an Order of State to stop all Proceedings both Civil and Criminal In other Crusado's which were undertaken against Schismaticks and Hereticks they made it a Law That whoever were convicted of those Crimes should forfeit all their Goods Honours and Dignities In pursuance whereof they deprived those that were guilty or caused them to be deprived by Councils assembled by their Legats then gave the Spoil to such as had served well in those Expeditions without consulting the Soveraign Lords of whom they held those Estates because they durst not refuse Investiture to those whom so holy a Power had provided in that manner for But their greatest Power or Force consisted in that of the Clergy and Religious Orders Those great Bodies being in those times very firmly united for the maintenance of his Franchises and Liberties which they positively believed to be Jure Divino looking upon the Pope as a Chief Head and Potentate that would never fail them at need Indeed his absolute Authority lay heavily upon the Bishops Shoulders but when it pressed too hard they had recourse to that of the Prince as Protector of the Goods and Liberties of the Clergy Reciprocally they made use of the Power of the Pope to shield them from the Attempts of their Princes and governing themselves thus between the Power of both they endeavoured to moderate and qualifie the one by the other However they had cause to complain that the Popes took from them a good part of that Authority belonging to them as Successors to the Apostles as by drawing immediately to their Tribunal the Cognisance of all Causes not leaving them any thing almost to judge of Primarily or Originally By obliging them to give them their Oaths according to a certain Form to which Gregory VII had added some Terms which amounted to Fealty and Hommage By imposing the necessity for their going to Rome By arrogating to themselves the Right of Consecrating Metropolitans By granting Dispensations for not observing the holy Canons as if the whole Ecclesiastical Discipline depended only upon their absolute Authority By allowing Exemptions to Inferiors to withdraw them from their Obedience to their Superiors They complained moreover of their having reserved to themselves alone the power of receiving Caodjutories and that of dissolving the Spiritual Marriages of Bishops that is of separating them or putting them away from their Churches by Cession or Translation or Deposition and their taking upon themselves the disposing of most Benefices Let us say something more particular upon the chiefest of these points The differences between particular People were handled only in the Court of Rome in the Twelfth Age however when the Cause was very important or concerned the whole Church or a whole Kingdom they referr'd it to the Judgment of a Council Thus Gregory VII when the Quarrel betwixt him and the Emperor Henry V. came to be renew'd promised he would
better to spoil and ruine the whole Countrey about Toulouze pull down the Houses root up the Vineyards and burn the Corn which so disheartned the Toulousains that both they and their Earl were forced to submit to what conditions he pleased Year of our Lord 1228 The Treaty was chalked out at Meaux and compleated at Paris the Earl and Deputies of Toulouze being present The Earl was deprived of all his Lands excepting some little fragments they for meer pity left him It was order'd they should all devolve to his Daughter Jane who should be Married to Alphonso the Kings Brother into whose custody she was put forthwith That the Earl should pay Seventeen thousand Marks of Silver part to the King some to the Monks de Cisteaux and the rest for a Foundation of Doctors in Divinity at Toulouze That the Walls of that City and of Thirty more should be demolish'd for performance whereof he should give Hostages and in the mean time remain prisoner That there should be an exact search after Heretiques at his charge and that for pennance he should go and make war five years against the Saracens These Articles Signed he and those of his company that had been Excommunicated were at Nostre-dames of Paris upon Good-Friday bare-footed in their Shirts to receive Absolution of the Popes Legat. That done the Earl returned prisoner to the Tower of the Louvre till he had given his Hostages About the Feast of Pentecost the King gave him the Order of Knighthood and sent him into his own Countrey The Legat went with him and setled the Inquisition which exercised great severities and was again the cause of many troubles and Massacres Year of our Lord 1228 The Male-contented could not disgest that the Government should be in the hands of two Strangers a Spanish Woman and an Italian Cardinal they therefore took up Arms again drew to their party Robert Earl of Dreux elder Brother to the Duke of Bretagne and Philip Earl of Boulogne the Kings paternal Uncle to whom they promised the Crown so that the King feared a second time to be involved by this conspiracy and had been surprized if the Earl of Champagne had not run seasonably to him with 300 * Horse-men to bring him off In Spring the Conspirators turned all their Force against the Earl of Champagne and Brie They demanded those Counties of him for Alix Queen of Cyprus Daughter of his Uncle Henry who died in the Levant and more then that called him Traytor and accused him of having poysonned the deceased King proffering to convict him by Duel a reproach that made him so black and loathsome amongst his Vassals that they joyned in League with his Enemies against him The Count finding so heavy a burthen on his Shoulders and his City of Troyes besieged implores the assistance of the Queen Regent who caused the King to march to his relief and commanded them if they had any thing to say against the Earl they should come and require justice upon him in her Court But they who would not acknowledge her Regency as if the Kingdom had been vacant elected in a private Assembly or Cabal the Lord de Coucy for King who was in great reputation for his Wisdom and Justice The Queen Regent having got intelligence gave immediate notice of it to Philip Earl of Boulogne whom they had made believe they would give the Crown to by this means she took him off from them then by divers politique contrivances made all their designs vanish but not their ill intentions Year of our Lord 1228 For a few days afterwards the Duke of Bretagne by their assistance and Councils took up Arms again and called the King of England to his aid who landed in Bretague with considerable Forces but when he saw the King conducted by the Queen Regent had taken the Castle de Belesme au Perche from the Duke which was held impregnable he Shipp'd himself again The Duke thus abandonned was constrained to betake himself to an agreement Year of our Lord 1229 The very next year he broke it but not without punishment the King having taken all his Holds and Places and gained all his Vassals and Friends shuts him up in his City of Nantes so that to get out of the Briars and make the best of a bad bargain he was forced to render him hommage of Allegiance for the Dutchy The Bretons who pretended they owed but ouly single Homage named him because of his so doing Mau-clerc as who should say Witless or wanting Judgment and Understanding Thibauld Earl of Champagne was ill rewarded for the good services he had done the Queen Regent She took in hand the cause of her Cousin Alix and condemned him to pay her Forty thousand Marks of Silver and sell to the King to raise that Money the Counties of Blois Chartres Sancerre and the Vicount of Chasteaudun Year of our Lord 1230 After all these disorders there was a calm and peace for four years which was only a little disturbed by some tumults caused by the remainders of the Albigensis and the hurly-burlies of the Scholars belonging to the University of Paris It was then the fairest Ornament of the Kingdom and the innumerable numbers of Scholars that flocked thither from all parts of Europe brought great riches to that City which in a manner made all the other Universities in Christendom submit to it Now some of them having been ill handled in some scuffle with the Citizens and not obtaining such satisfaction as they desired they all resolved to quit Paris not without having first published a great many Songs and Licentious Poems which fullied the reputation of the Queen Regent and Cardinal Romain the Popes Legat who swayed her The Duke of Bretagne and the King of England proffer'd to receive them into their Countries and to grant them great priviledges but the Kings Council fearing that capital City might be deprived of so great an advantage and benefit found means to allay their heats and keep them there Year of our Lord 1231. and the following The Inhabitants of Marseilles and the adjacent Countreys being revolted against Raimond Berenger Earl of Provence called in Raimond Earl of Toulouze to Command them because he was next Heir For we must know that Gilbert Earl of Provence and Nice had had two Daughters Faidide who Married Alphonso Great Great Great Grandfather of Raimond de Toulouze and Douce that had married Raimond Berenger Earl of Bacelonna from whom was descended the Earl of Provence now mentioned He therefore accepted of their Homage and acted as their Lord whence follow'd a War that lasted four years between those two Cousins This Earl of Provence having been harrass'd by divers Revolts and other misfortunes was at the end of his days made compleatly happy by the Marriage of four Daughters he had by his Wife Beatrix of Savoy a most Virtuous Princess For all four of them had the honour to be Married to Kings Margret who was
the eldest was the most happy being joyned this year to Lewis King of France a Prince that Year of our Lord 1235 was much greater by his Virtues then his Crown The same year the Earl of Champagee it is not said for what cause fell again into Rebellion for which he was punished with the loss of his Cities of Montereau-Faut-Yonne Bray and Nogent upon the Seine These losses did not make him much wiser he persisted still in his foolish passion for the Queen who had ruin'd him and retired to his Castle of Provins to write Verses and Songs for entertainment of his amorous Dotage Year of our Lord 1235. and 36. Nevertheless he was soon diverted by the death of Sancho VIII called the Strong King of Navarre who dying without any Males left the Kingdom to him as the next Heir and Son of his Daughter Blanch. So he went and took possession and transported a great number of Husbandmen from his Landes in Brie and Champagne who improved and made that Countrey very fertile and populous The Countrey of Artois was erected to an Earldom Pairrie in favour of Robert the Kings Brother on whom his Father had bestow'd it by his Will Some place this erection in the time of Philip Augustus However it were I think we may be confident it is the first of that nature At the sollicitation of Pope Gregory who had as well a quarrel to the Emperour Frederick's Forces his Enemy declar'd they being in possession of the remainder of Year of our Lord 1237. and 38. the Kingdom of Jerusalem as to the Saracens there was a great Crusado of French Lords over whom the new King of Navarre was made Chief But these Adventurers had no better success then all the rest for the ill conduct of these new Soldiers of the Cross and their Divisions brought the whole Army almost to ruine and most part of the Officers and Commanders were slain there or taken prisoners Year of our Lord 1238 Peter Duke of Burgundy died in his return from this Expedition his only Son John Surnamed Rufus succeeded him The affairs of Constantinople were no whit better the Emperour Baldwin comes into France to beg assistance against the Greeks and for a great sum of Money sold the Crown of Thorns wherewith our Saviour was Crowned the Spung and the Lance which pierced his Side to St. Lewis the King who put them into his Treasury of Reliques in the Holy Chappel which he had purposely built in his own Palace It was now about three years that all the Doctors both Seculars and Regulars of the Sacred Faculty of Divnity at Paris which was then almost the only School for that Science and as it were the perpetual Council of the Gallican Church had resolv'd the question and were all agreed upon this judgment in a famous Assembly and after mature deliberation and discussion that oue and the same Ecclesiastical person could in Conscience hold but one Benefice at one time This year 1238. William III. Bishop of Paris held another Assembly of the same Faculty in the Chapter of the Jacobins where it was unanimously concluded That one could not without forfeiture of Eternal Happiness possess two Benefices at the same time provided one of them were of the value only of Fifteen Liures parisis per annum There were none but Philip Chancellour of the Vniversity and Arnold afterwards Bishop of Amiens who were obstinately resolv'd to hold their own The First when he lay on his Death-bed being earnestly desired and pressed home by the Bishop William to discharge himself of that burthen which would sink him down to Hell replied That he would try whether that were true How few are to be seen in these days that do not chuse to run the same hazard or are not troubled that they cannot have the opportunity of such ✚ a Trial But it does not appear so great a risque to them since the Popes give Dispensations Year of our Lord 1239 The quarrels between Pope Gregory IX and the Emperour Frederic growing hot to all extremity of Outrages on either side Gregory sent to St. Lewis King of France to proffer him the Empire for his Brother Robert Earl of Artois The Lords assembled by the King upon a proposition so important did not approve that violent proceeding and said it was sufficient for Robert that he was Brother to a King who was more excellent in Dignity and Nobility then any Emperour whatever The Albigensis could not submit themselves to the Orders of the Inquisition Trincavel Son of the Vicount de Beziers and five or six Lords of the Countrey putting themselves at the head of them they seized upon Carcassonne and some Year of our Lord 1239 other places and ran into some parts belonging to the King in hostile manner He presently sent some Forces thither Commanded by John Earl of Beaumont who drove them out from Carcassonne and besieged them in Mont-real where after they had held some time they made their capitulation by means of the Earls of Foix and Toulouze Year of our Lord 1239 The old de la Montagne so they named the Prince of the Assassins a People that occupied the mountainous Canton of Syria had dispatched two of his Murtherers into France to kill the King but soon after I cannot say by what motive he repented and countermanded them by some others who before they could find them out advertised the King to have a care of himself This old de la Montagne bred up great numbers of young Youths in pleasant aud delicious Palaces and the hopes of an Eternal Felicity in the other World if they obey'd his Commands blindfold and to make them the more capable and fit to execute his bloody Will in all Countreys he made them learn all Languages Year of our Lord 1239 The interests of the Pope and the Emperour were not at all compatible together and therefore Frederick and Honorius and then Gregory IX who succeeded Honorius fell necessarily into discords and afterwards into mortal hatred Gregory le ts fly the Thunder-bolts of the Church against Frederick and his Legat having called the Prelats of France together at Meaux order'd several of them to go to Rome to hold a Council where they pretended to degrade that Emperour He complained to the King desired him not to permit his Bishops to go out of France and his desire not taking effect he caused them to be way-laid and watch'd at Sea and having taken them distributed them in divers prisons Then in his turn he for a while slighted the Kings intercession for their release which thing made some alteration in that good correspondence that for some time had continued between France and the Empire In the year 1240. The King having assembled the flower of the Barons and the Year of our Lord 1240 Knights of his Kingdom at Saumur gave the Girdle of Knighthood to his Brother Alphonso whose Marriage had a little before been compleated with Jane
Daughter and Heiress of the Earl of Toulouze and also gave him the Counties of Poitou and Auvergne and all that had been conquer'd in Languedoc upon the Albigensis Year of our Lord 1241 These years the Tartars made cruel irruptions amongst others one in Hungary under the Command of Bath who was one of their Generals and one in Russia Poland and Silesia whither they were conducted by another of their Generals who was named Pera. These Barbarians were Scythians Originaries between the Caspian Sea and Mount Imaus Some make them descended from the Ten Tribes of the Hebrews who were transferr'd by the King of Assyria into those Countreys and derive their Name from the Hebrew Word which signifies Forsaken Others derive it from the River Tatar which ran thorough their Countrey and say it was given to the whole Nation of the Mogles composed of seven principal People of which they made one They were Tributaries and as we say Slaves to a Christian Nestorian Prince whose Kingdom was in the Indies he was called Prestor-John But Cingis or Tzingis-Cham set that Nation free about the end of the last age ruined the States of Prester-John and founded a very great Kingdom out of it from whence divers Colonies went forth and setled in other Countreys even in some parts of Europe The Earl of Toulouze sought out all means underhand to repair the shameful Treaty he had made with the King and therefore he consulted and contrived with James King of Arragon who was come to Montpellier and with the Earl of Provence though he were the Kings Father-in-law to Dissolve his Marriage with Sanchia Year of our Lord 1241 the Arragonians Aunt upon pretence of parentage that he might Marry the Daughter of the Earl of Provence and that his Daughter Jane whom he had perforce given to the Earl of Poitou might not be his Heiress An example that proves to any that might doubt that amongst Great ones Honour Parentage Alliance and ☞ Conscience does easily give way and stoop to their Interest and Humour Hugh Count de la Marche to his misfortune had Married Isabella the Widow of King John who had formerly ravished her from him This Womans pride would not suffer him to do Homage to Alphonso the new Earl of Poitou the King undertook to compel him and on a suddain took several of his Towns and demolish'd them amongst others Fontenay where his Brother Alphonso was wounded with an Arrow The King of Englands assistance in behalf of his Mother was too slow he and his Brother Richard landed in the River of Burdeaux The Earl de la Marche had assured them that all Poitou would rise and joyn with them upon their arrival but as his promise failed their courage failed too the King falls upon them at the Bridge of Taillebourg fighting desperately in person making them retreat as far as Xaintes and from thence to Blaye The Earl and his proud Dame being forced to forget she had been a Queen found no safety but at the Kings Feet They experimented his Goodness was as great as his Courage and although she had suborn'd Rascals to Murther him who had been discover'd and punished he pardon'd both her and her Husband keeping only two or three of their Places in his hands till he was better assured of their Obedience Year of our Lord 1243 Italy was horribly shatter'd by the Factions of the Guelphs and Gibelins The First held for the Pope the others for the Emperour Year of our Lord 1243 The jealousie betwixt the Franciscans and the Dominicans which had its Birth almost with their Orders encreased likewise proportionably with their growth Insomuch that the Pope who stood in need of them and the King St. Lewis who cherished them found it no little trouble to distribute their favours equally and hold the ballance so even that they should have no cause to take advantage of each other But both of them took much over all other Religions Orders whom they despised as more imperfect and not only set a value upon themselves for their Divinity wherein sometimes they were so meerly notional and over-subtil as it approached very near to error but likewise took upon them the functions of ordinary Pastors drawing the grists of Alms pious Legacies and Burials of rich people to their own Mills concerning themselves in the directing of Consciences and the administration of the Sacraments to the prejudice of the Hierarchy who from that time hath ever been contending with them to maintain her authority Year of our Lord 1244 The Holy See having been vacant near twenty Months Innocent IV. was elected He was thought to be a friend to Frederick but whether that Emperour had not used him well or what else it were he followed the steps of his Predecessors and began to quarrel with him upon the same score of differences The feud grew so hot that Frederic being the stronger in Italy Innocent went thence that he might with more safety let fly his Thunder against him and came into France where being arrived in December this year 1244. he called a Council at Lyons for the year following In the year 1228. the Emperour Frederic being constrained by the threats of Pope Gregory was gone into the Holy-Land where by his Reputation rather then his Sword he had so contrived it that the Sultan had given him up the City of Jerusalem but dismantled with part of the Holy-Land The Pope not satisfied with that agreement had afterwards procured other Adventurers to go who broke the Truce aforesaid to the great damage of the Christians who being mightily weakned it hapned Ann. 1244. that the Chorasmins a People drove out of Persia by the Year of our Lord 1244 Tartars others say of Arabia fell upon the Holy-Land laid it all waste ruined all the Holy places of Jerusalem and drowned them in the Blood of Christians This news was brought to St. Lewis whilst he was fallen sick at Pontoise towards the end of December All those that were about him despairing of his Life he made a vow to God if he restored him to health that he would go in person to make war against those Infidels and in truth being recover'd he took the Cross from the hands of the Legat but could not so soon accomplish his pious design Year of our Lord 1245 The Council of Lyons was open'd the Monday after St. John Baptists Feast in the Abbey de St. Just and from thence transferr'd to the Cathedral Church of St. Johns The Emperour Baldwin the Earl Raimond de Toulouze and Berenguier de Provence were present there these two solliciting for the dispensation that Raimond might Marry with Beatrix the youngest Daughter of Berenguier but the Kings of France and of England and Richard Earl of Cornwal who had Married the other three Sisters hindred the Grant of it Year of our Lord 1245 The Emperour Frederic having quitted his Affairs of Italy to come there and having in the mean time sent his
much that he died at Perpignan the 6th day of October He was in the beginning of the Five and fortieth year of his Life and the Sixteenth of his Reign His Flesh and Bowels were interred in the Cathedral of Narbonne and his Bones brought to St. Denis If we consider his Qualities he was Valiant Good Liberal Just and very Pious but too simple and too easie to be deceived If his Conduct it was not over-happy in those undertakings he made abroad but for his Enterprizes at home they could not succeed better for his Kingdom since it grew rich and flourishing by a Peace of Fifteen years continuance without any vexation of Imposts and the maintenance of a most exact and speedy Justice By Isabella Daughter of James I. King of Arragon he left two Sons those were Philip and Charles The first Reigned the second was Earl of Valois and Father of a Philip who came to the Crown By his second Wife Mary de Brabant he had one Son and two Daughters the Son was Lewis Earl of Euvreux From him sprang the Branch of Euvreux into which the Crown of Navarre was brought by Marriage The Daughters were Margaret and Blanch Margaret was Married in the year 1298. to Edwardâ— King of England Blanch having been twice Contracted once with John de Namur eldest Son of Guy Earl of Flanders the other time with John d'Avesnes Earl of Ostrevant eldest Son of John d'Avesnes Earl of Haynault Married at last in the year 1298. to Rodolph Duke of Austria eldest Son of Albertus the Emperor by whom she had a Son but both the Mother and the Child were Poysoned in the City of Vienna Anno 1305. Philip IV. King XLV POPES HONORIUS IV. Eighteen Months Vacancy Nine Months and an half NICHOLAS IV. Elected the 22th of February 1288. S. Four years one Month and an half Vacancy Two years three Months CELESTINE V. Institutor of the Celestines Elected the 5th of July 1294. S. Five Months and an half BONIFACE VIII Elected the 24th of Decemb. 1294. S. Eight years nine Months and an half BENNET XI Elected the 20th of October 1303. S. Eight Months seventeen days Vacancy Eleven Months CLEMENT V. Elected the 5th of June 1305. transfers the See into France S. Nine years wanting five weeks PHILIP IV. Surnamed the Fair King of France XLV and of Navarre also by his Wife Aged Seventeen years and some Months Year of our Lord 1286 After Philip had brought back into France the remainder of the Army and conveyed his Fathers Bones to St. Denis he went to be Crowned at Rheims by the hands of the Archbishop Peter Barbet the Sixth day of January with the Queen his Wife Year of our Lord 1286 Guy de Dampierre had succeeded in the Earldom of Flanders after the death of his Mother and had done Homage for it to Philip the Hardy but neither his Mother nor himself for want either of will or power had not as yet caused the Articles to be Sworn to and Ratified which were made in the year 1225. between Philip Augustus and Ferrand because in truth they were very destructive and ruinous to the Flemmings This year the King having threatned Guy if he did not perform it without delay to own him no longer for his Vassal but to declare a War the Cities and Commonalty of the Countrey were so alarmed and scared that they obey'd his Will and Pleasure Ever since the death of Philip III. Edward King of England had omitted no endeavour to confirm the Treaties with his Successor In the year 1286. being landed in France about Pontieu he was received at Amiens by several Lords whom the King sent to meet him from thence he came to Paris where he was Treated magnificently was present at the Parliament which was held after Easter and going from thence about Whitsontide went by Land to Burdeaux The apparent cause of his Voyage was the desire he had to Compose the business of the King of Arragon because Alphonso the eldest Son and Successor of Peter had Married his Daughter Alienor He forgot not likewise to press earnestly he might have some reparation for Normandy and those other Countries which both his Father and himself had renounced but could obtain nothing in either of these two points Being returned to Burdeaux he solemnly received the Ambassadors from the Kings of Castille of Arragon and of Sicilia all Enemies to France which gave no little jealousie to Philip. John de Launoy Vice-Roy for Philip in Navarre continued the War against the Arragonians But a Lord of the Country named John Corbaran whom he had entrusted with the Command of the Armies having been worsted by their Forces a Truce was agreed upon between the two Crowns The King of England laboured very seriously to Compose the Difference between the Kingdom of France and that of Arragon and Sicilia To this purpose he Conferr'd with Alphonso and Olâ—ron de Bearn and afterwards took the pains to make a Voyage into Sicily that he might Treat with James the Brother of Alphonso who as we have related had seized upon that Island The Negotiations of the King of England were somewhat retarded by the Progress some French Lords had made in that Island But the rest who were going thither to compleat that Conquest being beaten and taken at Sea by Lauria the Admiral they gave a more willing Ear to what was propounded Year of our Lord 1288 The Treaty was carried on so well that Charles the Lame was set at Liberty promising he would bring it so about with the Earl of Valois that he should renounce the Kingdom of Arragon and with the Pope that he should invest James of Arragon in that of Sicily which his Brother Alphonso should yield to him For security whereof Charles gave his Three Sons and Fifty Gentlemen of Quality as Hostages When he was deliver'd from his Imprisonment he did not hold himself obliged to make that good which he had been forced to promise on the contrary being in France he exhorted the Earl of Valois not to desist from his Right to the Kingdom of Arragon and going afterwards into Italy he got himself to be Crowned by the Pope who was then at Geronsa King of Sicilia both on this side and beyond the Fare So that James of Arragon perceiving the Treaty was broke fell upon Calabria where the City of Catensana had revolted in his favour Robert d'Artois laid Siege to it James and his Admiral Lauria hastned to its relief and being beaten went and blocked up Gaieta thinking to make a Diversion but Charles and Robert followed at the same time and besieged the Besiegers so straightly that they reduced them to Famine Then the Sicilian caused I know not how the Popes Legat to intervene who demanded a Truce for two years and Charles not well informed of the extremity wherein his Enemies were consented to it a little too easily at which Robert was so incensed that he retired into France and carried
a Truce upon pain of Excommunication he made Reply That he took no Rule or Law from any one in the Government of his Kingdom and that the Pope had in this case no right but to Exhort and Advise not to Command This was the first occasion of Enmity betwixt these two great Powers Year of our Lord 1296 There were two more almost at the same time The one that Boniface received the Complaints of the Earl of Flanders who implored his Justice because Philip denied to restore his Daughter to him The other for that he erected the Abby of St. Antonine de Pamiez to a Bishoprick and put the Abbot of St. Antonine into it Observe en passant that this City was other while called Fredalas King Philip was offended at this Erection and more yet with the choice of the Bishop his name was Bernard Saisset because he believed him a Factious Man and too much devoted to Boniface Nor would he suffer him to take possession and therefore Lewis Bishop of Toulouze administred in that Church for two whole years together Year of our Lord 1295 and 96. The War was still carried on in Guyenne by the Earl of Valois and the Constable de Nesle and then by Robert Earl of Artois The English had for Commanders there John Earl of Richmond and Edmond the Kings Brother To what purpose would it be to relate the taking of many petty places and the divers small Skirmishes The French say they won two Signal Victories one of them was gained by the Earl of Valois and the other by the Earl of Artois It is certain that Edmond being beaten by the first near Bayonne was forced to retire into that City where he died and the Earl of Lincoln who commanded that English Army afterwards having lost many of his Men before Daqs durst not stay for Robert d'Artois and retreated Year of our Lord 1296 In the mean while a most dangerous Storm was forming against France A League was made at Cambray by the Interest of the King of England whereinto he entred with the Duke of Brabant the Earls of Holland Juliers Luxemburgh Guelders and Bar Albert Duke of Austria the Emperor Adolphus and the Flemming himself all which sent their several Cartels of Defiance to King Philip but none of them vexed him so much as the Challenge from the Earl of Flanders because he was his Vassal The Earl of Bar began the Attaque by ravaging Champagne but he retir'd when he heard how Gaultier de Crecy Lieutenant of the Kings Army burnt and plundred his Country Soon after the Queen being advanced that way to defend her Country of Champagne he was so saint-hearted as to surrendet himself to her without making any desence They sent him Prisoner to Paris from whence he could get no Release but upon very hard Conditions For he did Homage to the King for his Earldom which he ever had pretended to hold in Franc Alleud or Free-Tenure and moreover he was condemned by a Decree of Parliament to go and bear Arms in the Holy Land till the King were pleased to recall him Year of our Lord 1297 As for Florent Earl of Holland he was kill'd by a Gentleman whose Wife he had Dishonour'd His Son John died soon after him by eating of some ill-Morsel John d' Avesnes Earl of Haynault their Cousin and nearest Relation inherited Holland and Frisland Year of our Lord 1297 The greatest burthen of the War fell upon Flanders King Philip marched into the Country with a vast Army to whom the Queen joyned her Forces after she had subdued the Earl of Bar. He took L'Isle by a three Months Siege and Courtray and Douay without much difficulty whilst on the other hand Robert Earl of Artois gained the Battle of Furnes where the Earl of Juliers was so ill handled that he died of his Wounds Year of our Lord 1297 Adolphus detained in Germany by the private Troubles the French started amongst them or the Sums of Money Philip gave him under-hand did not bring the Flemming that Relief which he expected Withall they found a way by the all-powerfulinfluence of Money to debauch Albertus Duke of Austria from the Party who brought over with him the Duke of Brabant and the Earls of Luxembourg Guelders and Beaumont As for the King of England who was there in Person and had his Navy at Damm and his Land Forces in the Country Towns he brought more inconvenience then assistance to the Flemming Besides we may add that the greatest Cities in Flanders as Ghent and Bruges had been against the making of this War and amongst them a Faction had declared for the French who called themselves the Portes-Lys or the Flower-de-Luce-Bearers Now the King being retired to Ghent with the Earl of Flanders could find no other way to Charm the Swords of the French in those Countries but by a Truce The intercession of the Earl of Savoy and Charles King of Sicilia obtained it with difficulty for them from the Tenth of October till Twelfth-day for Guyenne and to S. Andrews Holy-day for Flanders only Edward knew how to employ that time to good purpose Having passed the Sea he went against the Scots who had shaken off the Yoke and not only forced their King John and his Barons to do Homage to him a second time of which a Charter written in French was Signed and Sealed and to renounce the Alliance with France but likewise kept him Prisoner a while with some of those Lords confining them in the Tower of London resolving not to release him till he had made an end of his Disputes with the French Year of our Lord 1298 The Truce being expir'd he made ready to return into Guyenne by the Month of March in the year 1298. Nevertheless as either of these Kings had partly what they desired that is the King of France the Towns in Flanders and the King of England the Kingdom of Scotland it was not difficult for their Ambassadors who met about it at Monstreuil on the Sea Coast to prolong the Truce to the end of the year It was agreed That the Allies of both Kings should be Comprised by consequence John Balâ—ol ought to have been so but they could never obtain his liberty and that all the places Conquer'd in Flanders should be in the hands of Philip during that Truce The King of England had obliged himself by Oath to the Flemming not to make a Peace till they were restor'd but in the mean time he agreed his Marriage with Margaret the Sister to Philip and that of his Son Edward with Isabella the Daughter of that King Year of our Lord 1298 The Money that Adolphus had received on both hands from the Kings of France and England was the cause of his Ruine and on the contrary what Albertus had taken for the same end served to raise his Fortune For this last having made use of some of it to corrupt the Princes of Germany who were displeased
own her for honest and took her to himself again Happier or at least wiser then his two Brothers Year of our Lord 1314 Molay Grand Master of the Templers and his three Compagnons had confessed all whatever they would accuse them of in hopes of gaining their liberty but finding they were still kept prisoners Molay and the Dauphin's Brother retracted but they were burnt alive upon the eleventh day of the month of March. Molay by his marvellous constancy made every one judge he was innocent It is related but without any proof that he summon'd the Pope to appear before the Tribunal of God Almighty within Forty days and the King within that year and indeed neither of them out-lived that time As for the Pope being tormented with troublesome and cruel distempers and going to his native Countrey to take the Air he died at Roquemaure upon the Rhosne He gave order for his Corps to be carried to the Church of Vzest a Burrough in the Diocess of Basas The Cardinals met at Carpentras to elect another after four Months debate not being able to come to an agreement and growing weary of their confinement they set fire to the Conclave and retired some to one place some to another Thus the See remained vacant two years and three months And afterwards the Empire was so likewise for a time then fell into a dangerous Schisme one party of the Electors having given their Votes for Lewis Count Palatine of Bavaria and the other for Frederic the Fair Duke of Austria About the end of the year King Philip was seized with a grievous fit of Sickness which put a period to his days the Four and twentieth of November whether proceeding from some occult cause or a fall from a Horse while he pursued a wild Bore too eagerly Fountainblean which had been the place of his birth was that of his death in the Forty eighth year of his age and the Twenty ninth of his Reign His Monument is at St. Denis Year of our Lord 1314 Being on his Death-bed touched with a very late repentance he took pity of his poor People put a stop to the Levies of new Imposts and gave his Son order to moderate them to Coine good Money and have a care of the Justice and Polity of his Kingdom He had by his Wife Jane Queen of Navarre three Sons Lewis Hutin Philip the Long and Charles the Fair who Reigned after each other and left no issue-male He had likewise three Daughters Margaret who married Ferdinand King of Castille Son of Sancho the Usurper Isabel who was wife to Edward II. King of England and Blanch who died young He was the handsomest and best shap'd Prince of his time He had a proud and haughty Heart a lively and quick Spirit a firm and resolute Soul was magnificent and liberal and yet very greedy of Money severe even to hard-heartedness and more inclined to revenge then pardon As to the rest the furious exactions on his People the frequent change and alterations of Moneys and the little progress he made in Flanders with the many vast sums he had raised the absolute power of his insolent and covetous Minister his proceedings against his Daughters-in-law for Adultery and his bitter repentance at death for having so greatly oppressed his Subjects demonstrates what his Reign was and his Conduct The zeal for Croisado's lasted yet all this age and beyond it The Popes who were the promoters had found a way to make use of them not only against the Insidels and Heretiques but even against their particular enemies which at first acquir'd them some kind of grandeur but at length a great deal of jealousie and hatred from the most Christian Princes who besides were concern'd to see them undertake to do acts of Sovereignty in Temporals upon every occasion For they gave away the Lands of Heretiques to those that should conquer them as they did those of the Albigensis to Simon de Montfort and reserved a quit-Rent or Tribute to themselves they took otheir Lands and their Lords under their protection and the protection of St. Peter for in the War or Feuds between particulars which were then allowed of and very frequent there was always safety for the Lands of the Church they enjoyned Christians to list themselves under the badge of the Cross gave their Legats the conduct and absolute command of those Armies imposed Tenths and Subsidies on the Clergy for those expeditions and distributed them to such Soldiers and Officers or Noblemen as they pleased They exhorted Sovereigns and if they found them a little weak commanded them to take up or to lay down their Arms constituting themselves the Arbitrators and Judges between Kings and when one party made application to them they would forbid the other to prosecute him In fine they made themselves absolute Masters of Priviledges Dispensations and of all Discipline even of most of the Benefices to which they nominated upon divers pretences Councils were held almost every where by their Legats and none without their consent As for those of this age some were called for the extirpation of Heresies some concerning the quarrels between the Emperour and the Pope several for the reformation of abuses others for particular facts For the Heresie of the Albigensis there was a Council de Lavaur in 1213. upon the request of the King of Arragon who desired an accommodation for the Earls of Toulouze Foix Cominges and Bearn he obtained of the Pope a Truce between the Toulouzian and Simon de Montfort but the Holy Father revoked it immediately That of Montpellier in 1215. gave unto Montfort the Lands he had conquer'd of the Albigensis This was an act of Sovereignty which Treated the King as a Vassal and those Countreys as Under-siefs That of Toulouze assembled in the year 1228. to compleat the ruine of those Heretiques confirmed what had been done the same year at Paris with Raimond Earl of that Countrey The Cardinal Romain Legate had assembled one at Bourges in the year 1226. to judge of the said Earls Lands to which his Son demanded to be restored There met seven Arch-Bishops but he of Lyons pretending the Primacy over him of Sens and he of Bourges over those of Bourdeaux Ausch and Narbonne they took their Seats as it had been in a Counsel rather then in a Council At their breaking up the Legat endeavour'd to make valid some Bulls by which the Holy Father reserved the Revenue of two Prebendaries in each Cathedral Church and of two Monks places in every Abbey to increase the Revenue of his Court The Churches grew hot against this enterprize and stickled so highly that the Legat was forced to let it fall and to own the unjustice of it There was one held at Narbonne in Anno 1235. wherein the Legate Arch-Bishop of the place presided to give advice and assistance to the Jacobins in order to their rooting out the Heretiques They regulated the method
of proceedings against them in the year 1245. in that of Beziers which was composed of Prelats of the Narbonnensian Province And that of Terragona Anno 1242. did the same thing against the Vaudensis whose Opinions were creeping into those quarters Besides the Albigensis the Vaudensis and that swarm of different Sects which had got in nestled and increased greatly in Languedoc and Gascongny there was one Amaulry of Chartres a Doctor of Paris who went about teaching his fancies for Truths saying amongst other things That if Adam had not sinned Men would have been multiplied without Generation that there was no other Paradice but the satisfaction of well-doing nor any other Hell besides the ignorance and obscurity of Sin That the Law of the Holy Ghost or Spirit had put an end to that of Jesus Christ and to the Sacraments as these had accomplished that of Moses and the Ceremonies of the Old Testament and that all such actions as were done in charity even Adulteries could not be evil This Doctrine being a great encouragement to lewdness and Scandal the Author was obliged to go and give an account to the Pope who forced him to retract which having done with his Mouth only and not from his Heart his Disciples persisted in his whimseys and added many others to them Peter II. Bishop of Paris and Frier Guerin Principal Counsellor to King Philip having made discovery both of the Persons and the Secrets of these Sectarics by an Emissary who crept in amongst them caused a great number of Men and Women Clergy and Laity to be laid hold on These People having been convicted in a Council held at Paris in the year 1209. were delivered over to the Secular power who gave the Women their Pardons and ordered the Men to be burnt The Friers Preachers and the Friers Minors endeavouring to out-vie each other in Scholast que Subtilties there were some that lost their way in that Utopian or Imaginary Countrey of Terra incognita and who were as soon restrained and corrected by the Sacred Faculty or by the Bishops Thus by Bishop Stephen II. at the Council of Paris which met in Anno 1277. was William the Frier Minor corrected who had published divers Heterodox propositions touching the Soul Free Will the Resurrection and the worlds Eternity but as soon as they were condemned he retracted them with great submission contrary to the custom of those singular Spirits who having once taken their flights do hardly ever stoop again We find likewise a certain David of Dinand who maintained that God was the Materia Prima St. Thomas hath Learnedly refuted him In the Fourth Tome of the Library of the Fathers we read That Anno 1242. William Bishop of Paris in an Assembly of the Doctors of Theology condemned some errors touching the Divine Essence the Holy Spirit the Angels and the place where Souls remain after death and several other propositions either rash or false which all proceeded from the contentious subtilties of Scholastique Doctors It would be too tedious to quote all those Councils that were held about Discipline and for other matters The two most famous were those of Lyons Pope Innocent III. presiding in the First Anno 1245. pronounced a Sentence of Excommunication against the Emperour Frederic II. In the Second which was in the year 1 74. the most numerous that ever was for there were Five hundred Bishops Seventy Abbots and a Thousand other Prelats Pope Gregory X. made divers Constitutions amongst others that which directs the Cardinals should be shut up in the Conclave for the Election of a Pope and he admitted the Emperour Michael and the Greek Church to a reconciliation with the Church of Rome Robert de Corceonne Cardinal Legate assembled one at Paris in the year 1212. for the reformation of Abuses and of Clerks as well Secular as Regulars Gerard de Beurdeaux held one of his Province at Cognac in Anno 1238. for the same purpose and to maintain the Rights of the Church Vincent de Pilonis Arch-Bishop of Tours likewise one of his Province at Rennes in the year 1263. for the Second point In that of Bourges in the year 1276. held by Simon de Brie Cardinal Legat they Treated of the Liberty of the Church of Elections of the power of Judges Delegates or Ordinaries of Bishops Courts of Tithes of Wills and Testaments of Priviledges of Canonical punishments of the Jews Simon de Beaulien Arch-Bishop of Bourges Assembled one in the year 1287. where he Collected and Reformed all the Constitutions his Predecessors had made in the divers Councils of that Province The Bishop of Beauvais pretending that the King it was Saint Lewis but as then very young had usurped on the Rights of his Church Henry de Brienne with all his Province of Rheims undertook this Cause very vigorously and held three Councils to have satisfaction two at St. Quentin in 1230 and 1233. and one at Laon in 1232. when he put the business so home that in fine the King gave them satisfaction Before Charlemain the Arch-Bishop of Bourges pretended to no Primacy over the other Metropolitans of Aquitain but that King having made this City the Capital of the Kingdom of Aquitain composed of the three Provinces of that name and the Narbonnensis Prima which is Languedoc would needs to link them together the better that they should all resort for Spirituals to Bourges and the Pope authorised this Novelty the colour for it being that Bourges was the Metropolis of Aquitania Prima Thus this Bishop took up the Title of Primate and that of Patriarch over the Arch-Bishops of Narbonna Bourdeaux and Ausch He of Narbonna shook off the yoak at the time the Earls of Toulouze became Marquis de Gottia He of Bourdeaux would have done as much when Aquitania Tertia was left to the Kings of England under the Title of Dutchy of Guyenne He of Bourges stood upon the possession for at least three ages and the Judgment of several Popes but the other defended himself by his common Right and the antient usages of the Gallican Church The quarrel lasted a long while he of Bourges assembled many Councils for that business one amongst the rest in that City in the year 1212. proceeding always against the other as his inferior even so far as that Giles de Rome about the year 1302. caused Bertrand de Got to be Excommunicated by Gautier de Bragas of the Order of the Minors and Bishop of Poitiers because he like himself took up the Title of Primate of Aquitain Bertrand was so offended that Gautier who was his Suffragan should joyn with that party and have the confidence to fulminate against him that when he was raised to the Papacy being at Poitiers in 1308. he Deposed him and sent him hack to his Convent A terrible punishment for a Monk and indeed he fell sick upon it and it was easier for him to go out of the world then get out of the
the rest were so overloaden It was perhaps for these reasons they were accused for having by a Compact made with the Jews these had been restored in the Reign of Lewis Hutin and Intelligence with the Turks cast some of their Ordures or some Bags of Poyson into the Wells and Fountains thereby to infect all those that were in Health with their fowl Leprosie or else to poyson them They were besides guilty of several Crimes against nature so that great numbers were condemned to the Fire the rest shut up very close within their Lazar-Hospitals As for the Jews the Populace did justice upon those themselves and burned a great many The King drove the whole Nation of them out of the Realm Year of our Lord 1321 His Council had resolved to settle over all France the same Weights the same Measures and the same Coyns but as under the pretence of some Expence and Charges they would be at they would likewise take the Fifth part of the Subjects Goods The Princes and Prelates who had a right of Coyning Money would not suffer the Kings Commissaries to go on in this Reformation they appealed to the Estates and Leagued themselves with the Cities so that the Impost being not raised the Reglement was let alone Year of our Lord 1322 During these Disturbances Philip loaden with the Curses of his People and hated of the Clergy because of his too frequent exaction of the Tenths fell sick of a Quartan Ague wherewith he langushed five whole Months and in the end died at Bois de Vincennes the Third day of January He lived One and thirty years and Reigned Five years and six weeks His Corps was conveyed with Ceremony to St. Denis his Heart to the Cordeliers at Paris his Bowels to the Jacobins Ever Year of our Lord 1322 since St. Lewis these good Fathers claim it as a special Right to have some part of the Entrails of our Kings which were not given them without Foundations He Married but one Wife to wit Jane who was Daughter of Othenine Earl of Burgundy and was also his only Heirese her Sister Blanch having been forced to Encloister her self to expiate her Crime By this Jane he had Three Daughters Jane Countess of Burgundy and Artois who Married Eudes IV. Duke of Burgundy and brought him these two Earldoms Margaret who had for Husband Lewis Earl of Flanders Nevers and Rhetel and Isabella who first Married Guignes Dauphin of Viennois and afterwards John Baron de Fanlcongmey in Franche-Comte Charles IV. King XLVIII POPE JOHN XXII During all this Reign CHARLES IV. Called the Fair King of France XLVIII and enjoying the Kingdom of Navarre Aged Twenty eight years Year of our Lord 1322 THe Succession of the Males being well setled Charles came to the Throne and was Crowned at Reims the Eleventh of February without any opposition all the Pairs assisting thereat excepting the King of England and the Earl of Flanders The named Gerard de la Guerre Native of Clermont in Auvergne and of mean Parentage had held the Soveraign management of the Treasury under Philip the Long and had been the grand Projector of the Imposts In the beginning of this Reign being sought for and taken for his Depredations he was put to the Wrack and Examined which they did so rudely that he died in the midst of those Torments This prevented not the dragging his Body thorough the Streets and hanging him on the Gallows at Paris There was afterwards a general search made for all the Farmers and such as were any ways concerned in the Revenues who were for the most part Lombards and Italians horrible Usurers and Exacters Their Goods were all Consiscate and they sent back into their own Country as beggerly as they came thence The King had been indulgent enough in not putting his Wife Blanch to Death who had been condemned for Adultery When he came to the Crown the desire of having Children prompted him to repudiate her under pretence of Parentage and after she had taken on the Vail at Maubuisson he Espoused Mary Daughter of the Emperor Henry of Luxembourg Who dying in the year 1324. in her first Child-bed and the Infant some few days after he Married for the thrid time Jane Daughter of Lewis Earl of Evreux his Uncle having to that end obtained a Dispensation from the Pope After the death of Lewis de Nevers Earl of Rhetel which hapned at Paris for he had retir'd himself into the Court of France and also the death of Robert de Bethune his Father Earl of Flanders which followed soon after the eldest Son of Lewis bearing his Fathers name enjoy'd all those three Earldoms But Robert de Cassel his Uncle pretending to be the nearest by one degree because he was the Son of Robert whereas Lewis was but Grandson presented himself to the King demanding the Investiture of that of Flanders In the mean while Lewis went immediately to take possession without rendring him that Devoir Which so irritated the King that although this young Prince were his Nephew he caused him to be summoned before the Parliament and kept him Prisoner The Parliament taking this weighty Affair into their Cognisance pronounced in favour of Lewis who being set at liberty did Homage to the King and gave Oath never to re-demand the Cities of Lisle Douay and Orchies The King confirmed the Appennage given by the Father to Robert de Cassel He likewise made an Agreement between William Earl of Haynault and Holland with Lewis who desisted from disputing with him for the Islands of Walcheren One Jordain Lord of the Island in Aquitain had committed many enormous Crimes and Murthered an Usher of the Kings with his own Mace as he was summoning him to appear in Parliament He was notwithstanding so much a fool as to come to Paris trusting to his great Alliances and upon his having Married the Neece of Pope John XXII But for all those Considerations he was committed Prisoner to the Chaâ—tellet and by Sentence dragg'd at a Horses Tail and hung up on the Gallows at Paris Year of our Lord 1323 and 24. The King had cause to compalin of Edward because he had not assisted at his Coronation and that his Seneschal of Bourdelois had placed a Garison in a Castle which the Lord de Montpesat had built in a place which was Land belonging to France Wherefore after some Negotiations in which the English seemed not to proceed fairly he sent Charles de Valois his Uncle into Guyenne who set so close upon the Skirts of Edmond Earl of Kent Brother to King Edward in the City de la Reoule that he obliged him to Capitulate and then pass immediately over into England to persuade his Brother to give the King satisfaction promising that if he could not obtain it to return as his Prisoner In the mean time the Earl of Valois made an end of the Conquest of Guyenne excepting only Bourdeaux St. Sever and Bayonne Year of our Lord 1324 and
last by a Decree of the Twenty eighth of December maintained them in their possession protesting it was his hearty desire to augment the Rights and Priviledges of the Church rather then any way dimish or infringe them for which reason they gave him the Surname of the Good Catholick Notwithstanding after this shock the Authority of that Body hath been so much weakned especially by Appeals in all Cases that now they really believe they have more just cause of Complaints against the Secular Judges then the Seculars had in those times against them Year of our Lord 1330 France being in Peace King Philip following the foot-steps of his Predecessors had conceived a desire of undertaking an Expedition into the Holy-Land To this purpose upon his return from a Pilgrimage he made to Marseilles with a very small Attendance in performance of a Vow he had made to St. Lewis Bishop of Toulouze he visited the Pope in Avignon and discoursed in particular with him about his design Towards the end of the year he summon'd the Estates of his Kingdom and laid before them the passion he had for the Holy War By their advice he sent to demand permission of the Pope to levy the Tenths of all the Clergy in Christendom and many other things but so extraordinary that he could obtain no favourable Answer Year of our Lord 1331 The English could not well digest that Edward had so easily renounced to the Crown of France They ceased not from spurring him on opportunity seeming to present it self favourably because Scotland which France was wont to make a counterpoise to England was extreamly embroil'd For Edward the Son of John Baliol who for a long time led a private Life at his House in Normandy with a small Force had recover'd that Crown and driven out King David who was retired to the Court of France together with his Wife and Children After the death of Mahaut the Earldom of Artois sell Jane of Burgundy Wife of Philip the Long and according to the Articles of Marriage was given to Blancb her Daughter the Wife of Eudes Duke of Burgundy Robert d'Artois who could not yet forbear his pretentions to that Earldom renewed the Process and produced certain Grants under the great Seal which he said he had found by Miracle He believed the King being his Brother-in-Law and owing him so great obligation would not search too deep after the truth of it But the King because it concerned the interest of his Daughter who was much nearer to him then his Sister caused these Letters Patents to be examin'd so exactly that they were found to be false and a Gentlewoman of Artois that had counterfeited them was burnt alive for it they having accused her as being a Sorceress Robert enraged for the loss of his Process and of his Honour slew to reproaches against the King so much the more injurious as they were true and so exasperated his anger that he was pushed on to the utmost extremity against him They seized upon his Confessor whom they obliged by force or promises to bear Witness against him his Wiâ—e was laid hold on though she were the Kings own Sister and after some delay for want of appearing he was Banished by sound of Trumpet and Proclamation through all the Suburbs of Paris and his Estate was declared to be Confiscate He then knew there was no more quarter for him and would have taken Sanctuary at the Earl of Hainaults but the Kings wrath did not suffer him to be so near he excited the Duke of Brabant to make War upon the Hanuyer Robert not to be a Cause of the ruine of his Friend went out of those Countries and resolved to all the extremities whereunto dispair does usually hurry Men of courage he goes to the King of England and by force of blowing the Coals kindled the Flame that set all France on Fire Year of our Lord 1332 In the mean time the King of England strenghned himself with Alliances Moneys and all sorts of Ammunitions for some great Enterprize He had in his Party the Earl of Haynault the Emperor Lewis his Brother-in-Law several German Princes with the Cities of Flanders and to have the greater power in the Low-Countries and over the Princes along the Rhine he purchased at a dear rate the Quality of Vicar of the Empire The King was secure of the Earl of Flanders the Duke of Lorrain the Earl of Bar the Kings of Castille of Scotland and of Bohemia but especially of this last whom he had made fast by many several ties For besides that he had Married a Sister of his and his Son Charles born of that Wedlock had been bred in the Court of France he also Married his Daughter Bonne to John Duke of Normandy The Nuptials were compleated at Melun The Designs of the English being not yet formed gave Philip no apprehension so Year of our Lord 1332 that he was taking up the Cross for the Holy Land and with him three other Kings Charles of Bohemia Philip of Navarre and Peter of Arragon with a great number of Dukes Earls and Knights The Clergy took but small joy in it so mightily were they oppressed with extraordinary Exactions as if they had a design to ruine the Churches of France to go and restore those in Palestine Year of our Lord 1333 Upon the design of this War Philip endeavour'd to make Peace between all his Neighbour Princes he brought the Duke of Brabant to an agreement with the Earl of Flanders and the Earl of Savoy with the Dauphin de Viennois The difference betwixt the first was for the City of Malines It belonged to the Bishop of Liege and to the Earl of Guelders the Bishop had sold his part to the Earl of Flanders the Duke of Brabant claimed it saying he was the Lord of the Fief It was concluded it should remain to the Flemming unless the Duke would rather chuse to reimburse him 85000 Crowns With that was agreed the Marriage of three Daughters of the Brabanders with Lewis eldest Son of the Flemming William Earl of Holland and Renauld Earl of Guelders Year of our Lord 1333 Pope John XXII had publickly preached at Avignon That the Vision or Joyes of the Blessed Souls and the Pains or Torments of the Damned were imperfect till the final day of Judgment and endeavour'd to make this opinion pass current for the Doctrine of the Church The Faculty of Theology of Paris courageously opposed it He tried to get them to own it by two Nuncios whom he sent to them the one was the General of the Cordeliers the other a famous Jacobin Doctor The most Christian King did not judge the Pope to be infallible but order'd the question to be discuss'd by Thirty Doctors or the Faculty of Theology who confounded the Cordelier Nuncio whereupon a Decree was made and Sealed with their Thirty Seals which he sent to the Holy Father exhorting him to believe those who
S. Thirteen years Three Months and a half Year of our Lord 1380. in September THe Reign of Charles the Wise was happy enough but too short this very long and exteramly unfortunate A Minor King and then alienated in his Understanding Sick-Brain'd a Queen an ill Wife and unnatural Mother Princes of the Blood Ambitious Covetous Squanderers and Cruel the Grandees by their example giving themselves upto all manner of Licentiousness Subjects mutinous and seditious tumbled France into an Abysse of all kinds of Miseries and under the dominion of Strangers From the very first day some jealousies about the Government divided the Kings Uncles The Duke of Anjou being seized of the Regency disposed of Commands and changed the Officers The Dukes of Burgundy and of Bourbon could not suffer it and would have the King Crowned he maintained on the contrary that he ought not to be so till he were Fourteen years of age according to the Declaration of the late King About this difference an Assembly of Notables was held where John des Marais Advocate-General of the Parliament maintained the Duke of Anjou's Cause and Peter d'Orgement the contrary This conference having only heated them the more the friends of either partyarm'd themselves Paris beheld her self surrounded with Soldiers who lived at Discretion The Lords of the Kings Council mediated an agreement and prevailed so far that the parties referred it to Arbitrators who concluded That the King should be Crowned without delay That afterwards he should have the administration of the Kingdom that is to say he should receive the Homages and Oaths and all Acts should be expedite in his Name and for this purpose the Regent had aged him that is to say Emancipated That the Duke of Anjou should continue Regent that the other Two should have the Guard of the Kings Person with the Revenues of Normandy and three or four Bailywicks for his entertainment They likewise agreed to chuse a Council of Twelve Persons necessarily resident at Paris where by a plurality of Votes they were to ordain all things concerning the Revenue and Offices belonging thereto and without whose Authority no part of the Demeasnes pertaining to the Crown should be alienated either for Life or Perpetuity and who should make an Inventory of the Revenues Plate Jewels and Furniture that was the Kings which the Duke of Anjou seized upon and never gave a good account of The Imposts having been very excessive in the last years of the Reign of Charles V. caused some Emotions in the Cities particularly of Paris and Compiegne but without any miscievous consequence or accidents The Cardinal d'Amions who had been principal contriver of those Subsdies was now paid part of the reward he so well deserved for the young King remembred he had checkt him with sawcy Language in his Fathers life-time and exprest his resentment in discourse to the Chamberlain Peter de Savoisy in these terms God be thanked we are now delivered from the Tyranny of that Chaplain The Cardinal having notice of it makes up his pack and retires to Douay and from thence to Avignon carrying away an immense Treasure which he had scraped together to the poor Peoples cost and by picking the pockets of the whole Nation Clisson had been confirmed in the Office of Constable he had the Commission to conduct the King to Rbeims with that Pomp and Magnificence as was usual on those Ceremonies The Duke of Anjou staying some days behind seized upon the Treasures which Charles V. had concealed in the Walls of the Castle at Melun having forced Savoisy with whom the King had entrusted the secret and guard of it to shew him the where it lay which prompted the courage of that Prince to undertake the unfortunate War of Italy where himself perished with the choice Flower of the French Nobility So true it is that those vast sums of Money collected by Sovereign Princes does for the most part bring only trouble to their Kingdoms in the end and that their Treasures are no where so secure as in the affections of the Subjects who are ever affectionate and kind when they are ☞ kindly Treated The Duke of Anjou having overtaken the King upon his way to Rheims the Coronation was performed the Fourth of November Of the Lay-Paris were none present but the Duke of Burgundy who being the first of all it was by judgment of the Council ordained That he should take place before the Duke of Anjou his elder Brother and Regent and when this last not submitting to that judgment had seated himself at the Feast made on that Ceremony next to the King the Burgundian boldly came thrust himself between and took the place above him The Princes and their Council of Twelve had no other aim but their particular Interests The Duke of Anjou was the most powerful the Duke of Burgundy made Head against him Bourbon's Duke sloated betwixt both the Duke of Berry made no considerable Figure At the Coronation there was proclaimed the relaxation of the Imposts pursuant to the last Will of Charles V. but the Duke of Anjou having taken all the Money of the Treasury and refusing to employ any of it towards payment of the Soldiery or the Kings Family in one Month after they were fain to settle new ones especially upon the City of Paris The Populace mutined a Cobler makes himself Head of them and compell'd the Prevost des Marchands to go to the Palace attended with a multitude of Mutineers to demand the Revocation of them nevertheless the Chancellour it was William de Dormans Bishop of Beauvais appeased that Commotion by fair words and with a promise that was made to grant them what they did desire The very next day another Troop of the Rabble pull'd down their Courts or Offices tore their Accounts and Registers and going thence fell upon the Jews Houses there were Forty in one Street plundred them all and burnt their Writings took their Children and haled them to Church to Baptize them and would have beat out the Brains of their Fathers had they not taken Sanctuary in the Prison of the Chastelet The King restored them to their Houses again and caused Proclamation that every one should give them back what they had forced from them In the Month of July the Earl of Buckingham with a potent Army was landed at Calais not in Guyenne as is told us in the History of this Reign written by a Monk of St. Denis which is not very true in many places He crossed Picardy Champagne passed near Troyes where the Duke of Burgundy had made the general Rende-vouz of his Army then by Gastinois la Beause Vendosinois and Mayne to go into Bretagne to the assistance of that Duke Year of our Lord 1381 The same day he passed the Sartre King Charles V. passed into the other World The news of his death allayed that hatred the Breton had conceived against the French Insomuch as the English having laid Siege before Nantes
of the English where he had been detained ever since the time his Father Charles had left him there in hostage Year of our Lord 1387 The Duke not without cause imagined that this Alliance was making with design to disturb him in the possession of his Dutchy He sent for the Lords of the Countrey of Vennes under a pretence of holding a great Council Clisson goes thither with his Train after Dinner the Duke carrying him to see his Castle de l'Ermine which he was building by the Sea-side he caused him to be stopt in a Tower and Beaumanoir with him and commanded Bavalan who was Captain of the Castle to throw them by night into the Sea The faithful disobedience of this good Servant gave the Duke his Master time to repent his having given Command for the death of the Constable and the intercession of the Lord de Laval who at the peril of his Life would never forsake his Brother-in-law drew him out of prison upon condition of paying the sum of One hundred thousand Franks and the surrendring of three Castles But Clisson would not forgive as the Duke had forgiven and the King taking this affront done to his prime Officers much to heart sent for the Duke to give an account of his actions Year of our Lord 1388 The King went to Orleans expresly the Duke having made them wait for him a long time sent to be excused Clisson pleaded his own Cause accused him of Treason and threw down his gage of Battle which no body took up The Duke taking the advice of the Barons came at length to Paris and by the favour of the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy was kindly received by the King and in some measure made friends with the Constable by restoring him both his Money and his Castles Year of our Lord 1387. and 88. That question so much debated touching the conception of the Sacred Virgin Mother was begun in the last age amongst the Professors of Divinity The Jacobins according to the opinion of their St. Thomas and their Albertus the Great maintained that she had not been exempt of the original stain The Cordeliers their perpetual antagonists took occasion upon this point to fall foul upon them as if they did denigrate the Honour of the Mother of God The common People and such as were most zealous applauded these last and most part of the Prelates and the Universities adhered to them but the Jacobins standing up too stifly against the Torrent fell under the Peoples hatred and the reputation of being Heretiques One of their principal Doctors named John de Moncon for having Preached too freely on that point was condemned solemnly by the Bishop of Paris and then by the Pope himself before whom he had brought his Appeal Which was more the University forbid them the Pulpit and cut them off from their Body to which they were not rejoyned till the year 1403. And in the mean time they were to undergoe the indignation of the Court the shoutings of the common People and which was worst great necessity Year of our Lord 1388 William the Son of the Earl of Juliers and who was Duke of Guelders by his Mother Daughter of Duke Renauld the I. of that name had some contest or wrangle with the Duke of Burgundy who supported the Dutchess of Brabant whom he was to succeed in the detention of certain places of Guelders which Renauld had otherwise engaged Now because the Burgundian employed the Forces of France against him this petit Duke truly generous and magnanimous but rash in this point had the confidence to declare a War against the King who had twenty Lords in his Train more powerful and considerable then he His bold bragging did not last long the King fell on a suddain upon the Countrey of Juliers The Father much astonished disowns his Son to turn away the storm demands Peace by the Arch-Bishop of Colens means and offers his Homage The Army therefore quits his Territory and goes into that of Guelders the young Duke persists a month longer in his obstinacy In the end the Duke of Burgundy perswades him to crave pardon Being come to wait upon the King he disowned his Challenge though Sealed with his own Seal and submits and referrs the Disputes he had with the Dutchess of Brabant to him but did not renounce his Alliance with the English nevertheless he was presented with such noble Gifts as proved a temptation to the rest of the Germans to engage them to the service of France The King had attained to the age of Twenty years wherefore upon the Proposition which Peter Aisselin de Montaigu Bishop of Laon made in Council he declared that he would take the administration of the Government into his own hands and that he discharged his Uncles He kept the Duke of Orleans his Brother near him the Author of this Counsel and the Duke of Bourbon not suspected by this Duke and one whose sinceriry was likely to give a fair prospect of good success to the Government The other two withdrew in discontent The suddain death of the Cardinal de Laon which hapned soon after was held in the opinion of many for an effect of their resentment Year of our Lord 1388 When the King first began to apply himself to take cognizance of his Affairs the face of the whole Government looked with a better countenance for some little time The King made choice of a new Council wherein three Citizens Bureau de la Riviere John le Mercier Sieur de Novian and John de Montaign had the best part He afterwards took off all the new Imposts set aside the theeving Officers whom the Princes had put in gave the Provostship which he had newly restor'd to John Jouvenal the Advocate an honest Man Wise and Courageous that of First President to Ouchard des Moulins sent all the Prelats to reside on their Benefices and to have time to heal the Kingdom whose very Bowels were torn and mangled made a Truce for three years with the English Year of our Lord 1389 During this calme he diverted himself with actions of pomp and ceremony at St. Denis the Knighthood of Lewis II. King of Sicilia and Charles Earl of Mayne his Brother with Turnaments and Tiltings very stately after that the Funeral of Bertrand de Gueselin at Melun the Marriage of his Brother Lewis with Valentine Daughter of John Galeazo Duke of Milan and Earl de Vertus in Champagne and at Paris in the Holy Chappel the Coronation of the Queen his Wife The Marriage of Lewis his only Brother with Valentine was in Treaty Anno 1386. and consummate this year she brought him in Dower Four hundred thousand Florins of Gold the County of Ast to be enjoyed from that hour and that of Vertus in Champagne after the death of the Father with Rings and Jewels of an inestimable value These huge sums enabled the young Prince to make great Purchases These Acquisitions and the greediness of
for a farther tye toma ke this agreement sure they stipulated the Marriage of a Daughter of the Burgundians with Philip Count de Vertus the Second of the Three Brothers Year of our Lord 1409 The Peace concluded the King returned to Paris and the Burgundian to the Low-Countreys From whence coming again about the month of July he took the whole Government upon him and to give some satisfaction to the People whose affection he had gained in shewing his dislike against Taxes he caused the Council to call the Financiers to Examination and Account The most of them got off for Money but it cost John de Montaigu his Life who had been Sur Indtendant He was a man of mean birth Son of a Citizen of Paris whom the Kings favour without any great desert of his had raised to the Office of Grand Maistre of his House and his Brothers one to the Arch-Bishoprick of Sens the other to that of Paris His immense Riches which never are acquired without crime did blind this little fellow and drew the eyes of all great Men upon him insomuch as he bad married his Son to a Daughter of the Constable d'Albret and his Daughters to the greatest Lords of the Kingdom Though he had been very serviceable in negotiating the Treaty of Chartres nevertheless the Duke of Burgundy and the King of Navarre conspired his destruction because he had given the advice to carry the King to Tours They caused him to be accused of divers hainous crimes taking their opportunity when the King who loved him was in one of his Fits of Folly he was Arrested by Peter des Essards Provost of Paris examined by Commissioners of Parliament and cruelly tormented on the Rack His sufferings could not draw one word from him however his Head was chopt off at the Halles At his death he freely of his own accord confessed his depredation of the Kings Treasure which in it self contains all the greatest crimes The Trunk of his Body was hanged on a Gibbet his Head planted upon a high Pole Afterwards the Vicount de Lionnois had interest enough to re-abilitate his memory and having caused the Body to be taken from Montfaucon with an honourable convoy or attendance of Priests and Torches carried it to the Celestines Church at Marcoussy which he had founded Year of our Lord 1409 At this examination of the Officers it was ordered that all the Receivers should Account before the Earls de la Marche de Vendosme and de St. Pol and that till the had so done nothing should be allowed without Receipts and Vouchers The Treasurers were likewise all put out and the management thereof was given to some Citizens who were esteemed rich and less interessed Thus the Princes strove to gain the affection of that Queen of Cities For the same reason they renewed all their former Priviledges and the Provostship of Marchants of which they had till now only given them the keeping and they also granted them but to such only as were Natives the priviledge of holding Fiefs with the same Franchise as any Gentleman The Kings sorrow was very great when upon his recovery he heard of the death of Montaigu whom he had tenderly loved But there being no way to recall things past he would consider of what was to come Having therefore assembled the Grandees of the Kingdom he told them that he desired when he was at any time ill the Queen should take cognisance of Affairs and upon her default the Dauphin Duke of Guyenne whom he discharged from being under the conduct of his Mother but would that he should Govern with the Councils of the Dukes of Berry and of Burgundy This last usurped all the Authority Year of our Lord 1409 Whilst the Mareschal de Boucicaut was gone to Milan to receive that State under the Kings Protection and Government for John Galeazo chose this rather then that of the Marquis de Montferrat and Facin Can de l'Escale who had halfe subdued it the Marquiss to prevent him in it had caused the Genoese to rise up in Arms by means of the Gibbeline party They massacred all the French within their City forced the Cittadel and called him in to be their Lord but soon after they threw him out as they had done Boucicaut Year of our Lord 1409 Maugre the fulminations of the two Anti-Popes Maugre the Councils each of them had called Gregory in the Patriarchat of Aquilea and Benedict at Perpignan that Assembly which the Cardinals of both parties had summoned was open'd at Pisa the Five and twentieth of March. The Anti-Popes having been cited to appear there and all the Forms observed the Substraction was first order'd then they declared Schismatiques and Hereticks and Faculty given to the Cardinals to elect another Their Suffrages agreed in favour of Cardinal Peter Philargi called of Candia because a Native of that place He was named Alexander V. During the Schism Ladislaus King of Naples had seized upon Rome and the Lands of the Church which was the cause why the Council and the new Pope Alexander more willingly invested Lewis of Anjou with that Kingdom and gave him the Command Year of our Lord 1409 of Lieutenant-General of the Church In the beginning he had good success regained all the places that Ladislaus had usurped and drove him out of Rome but the end was not alike Year of our Lord 1410 The Eighteenth of May or according to others the First of June the Emperour Robert dyed at Oppenheim in Bavaria The Electors divided into two parties whereof one elected Sigismund de Luximbourgh King of Hungary the other his Cousin Josse Marquis of Moravia This last dying soon after all the Suffrages joyned for Sigismund Alexander V. had been a Cordelier Frier upon this consideration he granted a Year of our Lord 1410 new Priviledge to the Four Orders of Mendicants to Administer all the Sacraments in the Parishes and receive the Tythes iâ— they were bestow'd on them The University of Paris much offended at this Novelty retrenched all these Orders from their Body unless they would renounce this Bull. The Jacobins c ..... and Carmelites who found themselves feeble obey'd this Decree The Cordeliers and the Augustins remaining refractory were deprived of the Pulpit and Confessional of which the Jacobins made advantage as the Cordeliers had done upon their being in disgrace Pope John XXIII revoked all these Priviledges and reduced all things to the same condition they were in before We find amongst Historians that in these times there were many bloody Battles fought betwixt Birds of all sorts even amongst the smallest as Sparrows and amongst the domestique ones which proceeded from certain minute Bodies spread in the Air which pricked and irritated them in such measure as provoked and Year of our Lord 1410 pushed them on to discharge their anger upon one another This year 1410. in the Countrey of Hainault the Storks were observed to League with the Hernes and Pyes
of all these was Lonvet the President of Provence who had an ambition to govern in despite of all the Grandees He chose rather to be the ruine of his Master whom he had strangely fetter'd then to be thrust away from him so that Year of our Lord 1425 he found means by his contrivances to animate him against the Constable but the Constable made his Party so good that the King found himself abandoned of all the Grandees and all his places refused obedience to him excepting Selles and Vierzon Then he saw it was high time to discharge Louvet and all the rest Taneguy generously sacrificing his fortune to serve his King begged leave to be gone as his Reward Louvet upon his retreat as his Master-piece of Court-craft put the Lord de Gyac in his place The Constable had no little ado to reconcile himself to the King who fled before him that he might not see him At length he suffers him to approach that he might get assistance of the Breton Who being in the end satisfied by the expulsion of his Enemies came to him at Saumur rendred him Homage and gave him his Contract and the Contracts of all the Lords within his Dutchy under Hand and Seal commanding them to go upon his Service They did him but little good but they might Year of our Lord 1425 have done him a great deal of hurt The Seventh of September Charles the Noble King of Navarre ended his Life Blanch his only Daughter Married to John the Brother of Alphonso King of Arragon was his Heiress Year of our Lord 1424 and 25. As on the one hand these Broils prejudiced the Affairs of King Charles on the other hand the Quarrel which hapned between the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Gloucester about Jacqueline Countess of Hainault and the Duke of Brabant her lawful Husband did much retard nay set back those of the English forasmuch as it diverted the Forces of those two Princes who would undoubtedly have wholly subdued France had they joyned them to the Duke of Bedfords Jacqueline would not endure that the Duke of Brabant whom she affirmed was nothing to her should enjoy her Lands and the Duke of Gloucester who had Married her did serve and assist her in that Quarrel The Duke of Bedford desiring not to distaste the Duke of Burgundy endeavour'd to patch up some agreement between the Parties the Duke of Brabant submitted but Gloucester regarded it not but still pursued the right of his pretended Wife with Sword in hand Year of our Lord 1424 and 25. He and the Burgundian pickered by Letters and went on so far as to defie each other to a Personal Combat agreeing upon the time the place and the Weapons The Duke of Bedford having assembled the chiefest of the French and English Lords brought that Challenge to nothing and declared that there was no just or legal cause for Combat And to testifie to the Burgundian that he had no hand in the Enterprizes of his Brother he desired they might see one another at Dourlens as they did upon the Eve of St. Peters day This did not hinder them from making a brisk War in Holland where the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Burgundy tried their Forces but at two years end the Pope having declared that the Marriage of Jacqueline with the Duke of Gloucester was of no value that Prince desisted from his prosecution and Married a Damlet whom he entertain'd Year of our Lord 1425 The English had taken and fortified the City of Pontorson nigh Auranches from whence they perpetually molested Bretagne the Constable laid siege to it and regained it in a short time He was not so happy at Saincte James de Beuveron which they had repaired His Soldiers having forsaken him for want of their pay he made a shameful retreat and left all his Artillery and Equipage to the Enemy Pontorson was afterwards besieged by the English and having surrender'd the Duke of Bedford came to the Frontiers of Bretagne with a great Army upon which the Duke was so astonished that he renounced the Alliance he had made with France returned to that with England and promised to do Homage to King Henry The shocks great Captains meet with does often times proceed from the malice Year of our Lord 1426 and envy of those that are of the Kings Council whose care and province it is to provide for the subsistance and payment of the Armies The Constable knew that Gyac was the cause of his disaster because in stead of sending him Money he stop'd the current from running that way and diverted it to his own use and entertained his Prince in solitude and private pleasures that he alone might enjoy his Person and his Favours For this reason in the Month of January following he went with a strong hand to surprize him in his Bed at Issoudun and after some slight formalities of Justice caused his Head to be cut off or as others relate drowned him Year of our Lord 1426 Another Gentleman named le Camus de Beaulieu undertook to supply the place of Gyâ—c and tread in his footsteps some while after People were amazed to see the Constable rid himself of him as he had done of the other The Mareschal de Bouslac by his order slew him in the open Street and almost in the Kings sight in the City of Poitiers He remembred too well what the Favourites had contrived at Montereau and against the Duke his Brother wherefore he would suffer none to be near the King of whom he was not well assured he therefore places the Lord de la Trimouille at Court whom he judged to have sentiments contrary to the two former his House owing all their good fortunes and rise to the Dukes of Burgundy But this Man soon blinded with his new fortune as well as those whose post he now had taken he kept the Princes as much at distance as he possibly could so that even the Constable himself retired into Bretagne This proceeded to a kind of a War which divided the Court and retarded all the Kings Affairs for seven or eight Months Year of our Lord 1426 and 27. It would be endless to take notice of all the Sieges Fights and Enterprizes in these Wars both Foreign and Domestick There was not a City or Burrough but had Garrisons Forts and Castles were built in all convenient places upon Hills on Rivers in narrow ways and in the open Fields Every Lord had his Soldiers or to speak more properly his Bands of Robbers who maintained themselves by feeding on the poor Country People I shall therefore mention only the most remarkable Events in this place that the French raised the Siege of Montargis in the year 1426. and the year after recovered the City of Manse which had been taken by the English during the divisions of the Court. The Siege of Orleance was yet much more memorable and more important The Year of our Lord 1428 Earl of
all Normandy regained by the French or to speak more properly helped to recover it self in one year and six days The King desiring the remembrance should be preserved and that eternal thanks should be rendred to God ordained general Processions should be made in the Month of September of the same year and annually hereafter upon same day that Cherbourgh surrendred Year of our Lord 1450 After the King had given Order for all the Affairs of this great Province leaving only six hundred Lances and their Archers he turned towards Guyenne and this same year open'd the passage over the Dordogne by the taking of Bergerac which was besieged and mastered by John Earl of Pontieure and Vicount of Limoges He was one of the four Sons of Marguerite de Clisson who was restored to the Estate belonging to his Family by Duke Francis pursuant to the Treaty made at Nantes in Anno 1448. As the loss of the Battle at Fourmigny made the English lose all Normandy the defeat of the Bourdelois made them lose all the rest of Guyenne Amanjeu d'Albret Lord d'Orval going to scowre about the Neighbourhood of Bourdeaux with seven hundred Horse only there came forth ten or twelve thousand Horse and Foot English and Bourdelois who ran confusedly upon him as to a certain Victory D'Orval knowing whom he had to deal with charges them briskly puts them to the rout strewed the ways and Fields with a thousand of those giddy-brain'd Fellows and carried away a great many more to Basas Year of our Lord 1452 The following Summer the King who was still at Tours having drawn together a great many Men resolved to compleat the Conquest of Guyenne much crest-faln at that shock The Count de Dunois is Lieutenant General the Count de Pontieure Foix and Armagnac attaqu'd it at the four corners the English were beaten and gave ground every where so that having no more then Fronsac Bourdeaux and Bayonne the Count de Dunois having besieged Fronsac they capitulated to surrender those three places if upon St. John Baptists-day there appeared not in the Field and near Fronsac an Army able to give them Battle Which not having been able to do they executed the Agreement excepting only as to Bayonne whom they abused with the flattering hopes that the King of England was preparing to come and relieve it Personally The French Generals made their triumphant entry into Bourdeanx the Nineteenth day of June Year of our Lord 1451 In vain did the English struggle obstinately to keep Bayonne after some assaults the apprehension of being taken by Storm obliged them also to capitulate on Friday the Twentieth of August The Governor John de Beaumont with all the Garrison were made Prisoners of War and it cost the Inhabitants forty thousand Crowns of Gold to be spared The favour of Heaven was so benign towards the French or the Peoples fancies so strong that upon that same Friday they beheld a white Cross in the Air over Bayonne which seemed to instruct them that God would have them to forsake the red Cross of England and take up that of France This place being reduced the English had nothing left them in all France but only Calais and the County of Guisnes If we search into the causes of this so suddain and wonderful a revolution we shall find it was the neglect of the English in not well providing and strengthning their places their wont of good Commanders the hatred the People had for their scornful and imperious way of Government On the other hand the union and hearty zeal of the Nobles and all the French Militia the good order and discipline in their Armies the huge stores and provision of Canons and all sorts of Warlike Engines Pioneers and Ammunitions and the new method of approaching and attaquing of Towns by Works and Trenches but above all the Civil War that Richard Duke of York had kindled amongst the English Year of our Lord 1451 and 52. That Duke knew how to make such use of the disgust that Nation had taken against the Government of Queen Marguerite who was a French-woman as to raise himself amidst their discontents up to the Throne which he pretended was due to him rather then to Henry For he descended but only by the Female side from Lionel of Clarence who was second Son of King Edward III. and Henry came but from the third Son who was John Duke of Lancaster his Paternal Great Grandfather Year of our Lord 1452 These Divisions were calmed for a while upon the intreaties of the Lord de L'Esparre deputed from the City of Bourdeaux and the Lords of the Country of Bourdelois who taking distaste at some new Impost that was laid upon them offer'd to restore that Country to the English Talbot the bravest of that Nation and the most zealous for its honour being therefore landed in Medoc with four thousand Men was brought into Bourdeaux by the Citizens the Twenty fourth day of October and about the latter end of the year having received a like reinforcement from England he made himself Master of Castillon Cadillac Libourne Fronsac and some other small places besides The Bourdelois had taken their opportunity when the King was just going to engage in a great War against the Duke of Savoy who apparently must have been upheld by the Dauphin and by conseqence had correspondence in the very heart of the Kingdom Year of our Lord 1452 The Kings quarrel to that Duke was because he had agreed the Marriage of his Daughter Charlotte and the Dauphin without his consent This was the true motive of the War but that he might have some apparent cause he had taken into his protection certain Lords belonging to the Estates of Savoy who having joyned in a League against their Princes chief Minister named John de Compeis were for ever banished by a Sentence given at Pont de Beauvoisis The King advanced even to Fores to restore them but being informed the English were landed at Bourdeaux the Duke being come to wait upon him at Feurs he suffer'd himself to be overcome by his most humble submissions and agreed to a Peace Year of our Lord 1453 The following year he marched to Lusignan in Poitou thence to St. Jean d'Angely for the recovery of Bourdelois His Army besieged Castillon Talbot coming to its relief with six thousand Men was beaten and slain together with his Son His defeat caused the surrender of the City the utter ruine of the English Party and after that the regaining of Bourdeaux For they perceiving Fronsac Libourne Langon Cadillac and all the other Towns about them were reduced the King quartered at Lermont all Relief and even all Provisions failing them surrendred upon composition which the King would never have granted them if a great mortality had not swept away his Men. However the better to curb and keep this City which the interest of Traffick and reciprocal Marriages inclined to be for the English he banished forty
with a Sword on the Blade whereof were some Latin Verses engraved which invited him to that expedition Year of our Lord 1462 There was a rude War between Henry King of Castille and John King of Arragon This last had by a Treaty of accommodation given Catalogna to Charles Prince of Viana Son of his first Bed and therefore his principal Heir His Mother in Law harrass'd him so much that he once more fell out with his Father and took up Arms. He was again defeated and taken Prisoner The Catalonians making an insurrection in his favour forced his Father to set him at Liberty but the same day of his deliverance he Died of a Morsel which his Mother in Law had caused her own Physician to give him After his Death the Catalonians being revolted against John and having degraded him as the Murtherer of his Son Charles The King of Castille assisted them It was not the zeal of justice that led him to it but the desire of Siezing those places in Navarre which were for his purpose Mean while John that he mught have Men and Money in this pressing necessity had engaged the Counties of Roussillon and of Cerdagne to the King of France for 300000 Crowns Gaston de Foix Brother in Law to the Castillian and Son in Law to the Arragonian brought these two Princes to refer their differences to the judgement of the King who then was at Bourdeaux to treat of the Marriage of Magdelin his Sister with Gaston de Foix Count of Viana When he had heard the reasons of either party from the mouths of their Ambassadors he pronounced his Sentence of Arbitration but it satisfied neither the one nor the other any more then his enterview with Henry King of Castille satisfied either the French or Spaniards These scoffed at the Niggardlyness and mean and simple countenance of King Lewis who was cloathed only in coarse Cloth had a short and straight Garment on and wore a Madona of Lead in his Cap The others had an indignation at the Castillian Arrogance and the Pride of the Count de Lodesme Favourite of Henry But it is true that their King condescending as he ought to the Majesty of France passed over not only the River Bidasso which seperates the two Kingdoms to come to the King but likewise advanced two Leagues within his Dominions and came even to the Castle of Vterbia where they conferred together At his return from this Voyage Lewis found that the Lords de Crouy Father and Son had so well managed the mind of Philip Duke of Burgundy with whom they could do any thing that he consented to render up to him the Cities of the Somme for the 400000 Crowns The business was of importance and indeed for fear the Duke should find out some excuses to retract his word he caused the money to be immediately sent to Hesdin and went thither himself The surrender being executed he would shew himself in the Low-Countries where his Soveraignty was but little acknowledged He visited Arras was received at Tournay and went as far as l'Isle where the Duke came and saluted him The City of Tournay which had never owned any other Dominion but that of France sent three Thousand Citizens forth to meet him each of them having a Flower-de-Luce embroidred with Gold just upon his Heart Lewis Duke of Savoy waited for him at St. Cloud to make complaints of the disobedience of Philip his young Son who more sprightly then Amedea his elder Brother had gained the affections of the Nobility and was making his way to invade the Crown The King commanded Philip to come to him he immediately did so upon the Faith of a safe conduct which hindred not his being Arrested and then his sending him Prisoner to Loches He was detained two years to give his Father time to settle his affairs and authority and establish his eldest Son in the Succession The hatred betwixt the King and the Charolois was augmented more and more There are five or six principal causes taken notice of The surrender of the places in the Somme the kind reception the King made the Lords of Croüy whom the Charolois had driven from his Fathers Court and Country for that reason moreover the Kings endeavours to lay a Tax or Gabelle upon Burgundy contrary to the Articles of the Traty of Arras and the favour he manifested to the Count d'Estampes who was accused to have intended to poyson the Duke and his Son Year of our Lord 1463 At the same time the Chancellor de Morvilliers a Man vehement and bold went on the Kings behalf to forbid the Duke of Bretagne to Style himself any more Duke by the Grace of God to Coyn any money or to raise any Taxes in his Dutchy The Duke taken unprovided acted cooly and promised all but demanded time to Assemble the Estates of his Country and in the mean while he diligently negociated with the Burgundian by Romille and with all the Grandees of the Kingdom whom he knew to be highly discontented The Habits of Fryers Mendicatns especially of the Cordeliers served to make the Messengers of these intrigues pass securely up and down The Charolois had chosen Gorcum in Holland for his ordinary residence the Bastard de Rubempre slunk privately into that Port with a small Vessel being disguised like a Merchant to Sieze and carry away alive or dead this Romille the Engine of all these designs or perhaps the Count de Charolois himself However it were the Count having discover'd it caused him to be imprisoned and gave notice thereof to the Duke his Father who was going to Hesdin to Confer with the King Upon this intelligence the Duke retires in hast his People gave out that there had been a design to Sieze upon the Father and the Son both at the same time the Preachers entertained their Auditors with it and Oliver de la Marche Made mention of it in Terms which hugely offend the Kings Honour To justify himself against these reproaches the King sent Morvilliers his Chancellor and some Lords to make great complaints to the Duke and demand reparation The Chancellor did it in such high words and Soveraign expressions that he seemed to design rather to exasperate then to compose differences And indeed the Cound de Charolois said to one of the Ambassadors at their departure that before one year were past he would make the King repent it The King thought he had time to subdue the Breton before Philip whom Age render'd unwieldy could Dream of stirring He therefore called the Grandees of the State together at Tours to make them know what reasons he had to undertake it Charles Duke of Orleance first Prince of the Blood whould needs speak there of the disorders of the Kingdom as his Age his Reputation and his Rank obliged him to do but his Remonstrances grated the Ears of the King and were received with anger and contempt In so much as he died for grief within two
out of that Laudible zeal he hath transmitted to all his posterity to procure the publick good There were more Propositions made no doubt then they intended to practise and fine studied speeches This is what they call in France de Belles actions brave actions Year of our Lord 1466 The excessive heats of the Summer bred many contagious Maladies which in the City of Paris alone swept away above forty Thousand People and frighted away a much greater number In so much as the King desiring to re-people it by an Edict called in all sorts of Nations and People even such as were banished or Criminals to whom besides the Abolition he gave Priviledges and Franchises Year of our Lord 1467 The Pragmatique subsisted yet Pope Paul II. sent as Legat to the King John Joffridi Cardinal Bishop d'Alby to get the revocation verified who employed John Balue Cardinal Bishop of Angiers to carry the Letters from the King to the Chastelet and the Parliament They passed at the Chastelet without opposition but in the Parliament he found John de Sainct Romain Attorney General who opposed him to his face and the University went to the Legat to signify their Appeal to the next Council and after entred it into the Register at the Chasteler Paris being as it were the Kings Bulwark against the Grandees that loved him not he ordained that all the Inhabitants even the Ecclesiasticks should enroll themselves under the Banners of their Principals and Sub-Principals that is to say of Colonels and Captains and should provide themselves with good Arms. At one Muster which was made the 4 th of September there were found to be between 70 and 80000 men between the ages of 16 and 60 years In another which was made the following year they counted 84000. Year of our Lord 1467 The 15 th of July in the year 1467. Philip Duke of Burgundy called le Bon i. e. the Good ended his days at Brussels in the 72 th year of his Age and the 45 th of his Domination He yielded not in power or riches to any King but the French but had not his like in Goodness and Magnisicence And indeed he was adored by his people respected by all the Princes of Christendom and dreaded even by the Infidels The Count de Charolois Succeeded in his great Dominions not at all in his Goodness and Wisdom He was Rash Presumptuous Quarrelsome and Bloody But withal Valiant Undaunted and Indefatigable in War and who within himself observed exact justice and right towards his own Subjects Year of our Lord 1467 At his first coming to this Estate he was engaged against the Liegois whom the King had wrought to break the Truce and he assisted them yet notwithstanding he offered to forsake them if the Duke would forsake the Breton whom the King held already as it were by the Throat being entred into his Country with thirty Thousand Men. The Duke would do nothing of this but hastned to make an end of the War with Liege Now the Liegois having lost a Battel when they came to relieve the City of St. Tron did submit themselves to any conditions he would require excepting firing and plundring He caused the Heads of 20 or 30 of the most guilty to fly together with the Towers and Walls of the City of Liege changed the Magistrates and the Laws and drained them of great Sums of Money for his expences This was in the Month of November The people of Flanders especially the Gantois who had mutined after the Death of his Father humbled themselves likewise before their victorious Prince and sent him all their Banners to Bruges In the Month of October the King received advice that the Duke of Alenson who made one in every discontented Party was joyned in that of Monsieur and the Duke of Bretagne and had given them up all his places by means of which and of those that yet remained in their possession amongst others Auranches Bayeux and Caen they held almost all the lower Normandy The King willing to tread him down first in his way to the others did presently cause his Army to march into the Countreys of Perche and of Mayn and arrived at Mans himself Year of our Lord 1467 One of the causes which had most stirred up the Cities especially Paris against the King in the League for the publick good had been the mutation of Officers For this reason before his march against the Leagued Princes he made this celebrated Ordinance of the 21th of October which bears That considering that in his Officers consists under his Authority the direction whereby are Policed and managed the publick affairs of the Kingdom and that thereof they are Essential Ministers as members of that Body whereof of he is the Head he would therefore free them from all doubts they had of falling into the ineonveniences mutation and destitution and provide for their security And therefore he Ordained that thenceforward there should be no Office disposed of unless it were vacant by Death or by voluntary resignation or by forfeiture judged and declared Judicially by a competent Judge His Army lay all the rest of Autumn without doing much for as subtil as he was he suffer'd himself to be amused by the Breton with the hopes of an accommodation Nevertheless he did not wholly lose his time Towards the end of the year he Debauched Rene Count du Perche Son of John Duke of Alenson who betraying his own Father delivered the Castle of Alenson up to him which in those days was reckoned for a very good place The Breton forsook the Town And sinding Monsieur and the Duke of Bretagne astonished at so unexpected an accident he employ'd the Popes Legat to let them know that he would refer all his Deputies to the judgment of the General Estates And for that purpose summoned them together at Tours the first day of April Year of our Lord 1468 All the Deputies proved to be so much at his Devotion that they ordained nothing but what was conformable to his desires That Normandy being united to the Crown could not be dismembred to be given to his Brother That that young Prince should be exhorted to be satisfied with twelve thousand Livers yearly Rent in Lands for his Appenage and 60000 Livers Annual Pension but this not to be a President for the futureSons of France That the Breton should surrender the places in Normandy and if he would not obey this Ordinance they should make War upon him with all their Forces and to do this they proffered their Lives and Fortunes He caused this to be immediately made known to his Brother and to the Breton and at the same time his Army led by his Admiral entred Bretagne took Chantoce and Ancenis and penetrated a great way into the Country whilst himself after he had visited his good City of Paris was gone towards the Frontiers of Picardy to make use of some Engines to endeavour to disjoyn the Duke of Burgundy
would leave it to them two He failed not to take his advantage of these inconsiderate words He would not have his Brother be so near a Neighbour to the Burgundian his Interest was to place him at the other end of the Kingdom to break off their Communication That young Prince Weak Year of our Lord 1468. and 69. and Inconstant of mind was Governed by Oder-Daydie Lord of Lescun a Gascon and vain who would needs be a Prophet in his own Country by his means he was persuaded to renounce Champagne and accept of Guienne with the City of Rochel This change was the loss of that young Prince The Cardinal de la Ballue in whose hands the Treaty of Peronne had been Sworn with much regret suffered it to be altered whether out of love to Monsieur or that he would have had the King still in some perplexity This good Prelat and William de Hoeraucoux holding Intelligence with the Burgundian wrote to Monsieur to dissuade him and represented many things to him for his advantage but contrary to the Kings intentions Their Letters having been intercepted and they Seized they ingenuously confessed their practices The King sent the information to his Brother who suffering to be overcome by his Carasses accepted of Guyenne and came to meet him at Tours The Bishop was shut up in an Iron Cage a punishment he well deserved since he was the first inventor of it The Cardinal was convey'd to the Bastille where he remained twelve years the Pope demanding him as liable only to his Justice and the King pressing the Pope to let him have Judges assigned him within the Kingdom to hear his cause Year of our Lord 1469 The good correspondence between the two Brothers seemed to be perfected and the King to gain or wean Monsieurs Heart from the Countries on this side allured him with a great Match in Spain Henry King of Castille had a Daughter named Jeane but whom the Castillians held for a Bastard because he was esteemed impotent in so much as they had constrained him to declare the Infanta Isabella who was his Sister his Heiress The King sent the Cardinal of Arras to demand this Isabella for Monsieur But the Lords of the Country having stollen her away and married her to Ferdinand Infant of Arragon he seeks to have Jane which Henry agreed to A Matter for a long War if Charles had lived The first day of August the King being at his Castle of Amboise instituted an Order of Knighthood in honour of St. Michael and limited the number of Knights to 36 yet was it never filled up in all his Reign The French particularly Honoured St. Michael as the Tutelary Angel of that Monarchy And a better could not be pitched upon to tread down the Pride of the English who carr'd Dragons in their Ensigns then that Prince of they Celestial Militia who is painted with a Dragon under his feet And indeed it had been reported that he was seen at the head of our Army 's sighting against them for the French He imagined by means or vertue of this Collar that he should have drawn all the Grandees of the Kingdom within his clutclies when he held this Chapter And therefore the Duke of Bretagne refused it and the Duke of Burgundy doing yet worse received the Order of the Garter and wore it to his Death The Breton had in his service one Peter Landays his Treasurer a man of Low Birth but very knowing and able to countermine all the Artisices of Lewis XI It was he that led him to all these evasions and emboldned his Master to withstand all his devices and his threats Thus what ever endeavours he could use though he were on his Frontiers with an Army he could never disunite him from the Burgundian but only obliged him by a Treaty made at Saumur to renounce all offensive Leagues against the Kingdom Year of our Lord 1470 In the year 1470. John the Natural Son of Lewis Duke of Orleance left this world aged 70 years having divers years before left the Court because of his almost continual pain of the Gout which the hardships in the Wars had brought upon him This Prince valued in all things says Comines having made himself as able a Counsellor as he was a Captain was one of the principal instruments God made use of to drive the English out of France Therefore the Princes of his Family gave him the County of Dunois King Charles that of Longue-ville the Office of Great Chamberlain and the Lieutenancy General of his Army's and strong Forts A power of so great extent that it hath been communicated to none but himself in the third Race Year of our Lord 1470 The renunciation which the King caused the Breton to make had most respect to Edward of York King of England and Brother in Law to the Burgundian of whom it was hourly reported that he was coming to Land at Calais He was wholly prevented by the Earl of Warwick who in revenge of some injuries received from him set himself to carry on the interests of the House of Lancaster and had even Debauched the Duke of Clarence his Brother He had the foregoing year defeated his Army and afterwards took him Prisoner Then Edward having escaped beat him in his turn So that he was forced to save himself in France about the end of the Month of May this year From thence returning into England with the Succours the King leâ—t him he changed the Scene a second time For all slocked to him according to the Genius of that Country which loves change and Year of our Lord 1471 Edward wholly forfaken fled into Flanders to the Duke of Burgundy his Brother in Law Then King Henry who was in the Tower of London was set at Liberty and Warwick and Clarence took upon them the Government of the Kingdom Though the King still resented in his Heart the affront received at Peronne nevertheless being of a fearful Spirit and the length of any enterprize putting him out of patience if the success were not as swift as his desires he would have lived in peace if the Constable and those that were about him had not excited his resentment to draw him to a rupture They feared and the Constable most of all that a Peace making them appear useless the King might think of retrenching their great allowances and his stirring mind if it were not employ'd abroad might put him upon great alterations at home in his Court. Besides these motives there was also an Intrigue of the Bretons and the Constables in favour of Monsieur As they desired to strengthen him against the King they had inspired him with a desire of marrying the only Daughter of the Burgundian And because they knew the Father would not easily consent to it they believed they should sooner bring it about by force then by friendship and therefore they resolved to engage the King to make a War upon him The Bias they took
d'Imbercourt They likewise called in the Bishop of Liege the Duke of Cleves and the Son of the Count de St. Pol. They were all divided about the marriage of the Princess Ravastein desired to have her married to his Nephew the Son of the Duke of Cleve The Chancellor Hugonet and the Lord d'Imbrecourt to the Dauphin and the Gauntois to some German Prince The Deputies from these were gone to the King of France in behalf of the States of Flanders and said they had full power to negociate a Peace The King shewed them maliciously some Letters from the Princesses Council which mentioned the quite contrary Their brutish Pride believed the Council plaid upon them and prompted them immediately to revenge As soon as they were return'd to Gaunt they laid hold on Hugonet and Imbercourt made Process against them under pretence of some concussions and cut off their heads not being moved with the humble Prayers and Intreaties or the abundant Tears of their Princess who with dishevel'd Hair came to the place of Execution to Implore the Lives of her two faithful Servants With the same fury they took away Ravastein and the Dutchess Dower from her gave her a Council of their own chusing and drew Adolph of Guelder out of Prison to command their Forces Ever since the War for the Publick Good the King had always had a Mortal desire for revenge against James de Armagnac Duke of Nemours This Lord after the Death of the Count d'Armagnac had retired himself into the strong Castle of Carlat in Auvergne in the year 1476. Peter de Bourbon-Beajeu had order to take him He could not have compassed it by force he makes use of fraud giving his Faith he should have no hurt yet nevertheless he brings him to the Bastille About seven or eight Months after the Parliament had orders to proceed against him Those men of honesty could not find any thing charged upon him sufficient to make him Guilty the King sends them to Noyon the 20 th of June to teach them their Lesson and put out of their places such Counsellors as refused to conclude he deserv'd Death The rest returning to Paris Chancellor Peter Doriole presiding they condemned him the 4 th of August to lose his Head and the same day the Sentence was put in Execution The King would have his two Sons who were yet but Children stand under the Scaffold that their Fathers Blood might run down upon their Heads Year of our Lord 1477 The Flemmings and the Duke of Bretagne earnestly Sollicited the King of England not to suffer the Heiress of Burgundy to perish without assisting her but the King amuzed him still with the Marriage of the Dauphin to his Daughter and spared neither Presents nor Pensions to all that were about the King who besides was over-burthned with Fat too much addicted to his pleasures and who feared dangers greatly because he had greatly suffer'd His Brother George Duke of Clarence having medled too much in his affairs or for some other cause which was never known fared but very ill he caused him to be drowned in a But of Malmesey In these times Oliver le Daim the Kings Barber who made himself a man of great importance had taken a Commission to reduce the City of Gaunt thinking he had much Credit amongst them because he was a Country mans Son of those parts The Gauntois baffled him as he deserved Retreating thence he by surprize got the Kings Forces into Tournay that from thence he might molest the Flemmings The Gauntois having taken Arms went Head-long to attack this place But they were ill handled and Adolph de Gueldres killed in their retreat This was about the beginning of July Year of our Lord 1477 It had been their design that he should Marry the Princess who very glad to be so deliver'd from him resolved in fine to determine which to take of the many that aimed to get her She therefore chose Maximillian Son to the Emperor Frederic to whom she had plighted her Faith in her Fathers Life time The Marriage was Consummated at Gaunt about the end of July He was so poor that his Wife was forced to be at the charges for the wedding for his Equipage and the maintenance of his Servants At first she got no advantage by a Husband who had no assistance from his Father very covetous nor his Uncle Sigismond rich enough in money but of a very poor Spirit Nevertheless upon the consideration of his Father who was Emperor the King being entred into some Conferences with him found it fit to grant him Truce for a year and to restore to him Quesnoy Bouchain and Cambray which were in the Territories belonging to the Empire Others say they drove out the French Garrisons and rendred themselves to Maximillian The Lord de Craon this was George de la Trimoville who commanded the Kings Army in Burgundy treated the Prince of Orange ill and did not restore him to his Lands as the King had promised notwithstanding he had express orders This was the cause that the Prince joyned himself again with Claude de Vaudrey and some other Noble-men of the Country and led away almost all the Province from him It is true that the Battel he afterwards lost nigh Montguyon brought back the Dutchy but the War did not end there as to the County Amongst other events the Lord de Craon shamefully raised the Siege before Dole The King was so angry that for this and his plundrings he set him aside and put Charles d'Amboise Chaumont in his place This man laid the foundation of the first League which the Kings of France have had with the Swisse He stipulated that the King should give a Pension of 20000 Livers yearly to the Cantons and as much to some particular people for which they should furnish him with six Thousand men to be paid by him and should give him the first Rank amongst all their Allies at which they made some difficulty because the Duke of Savoy had ever held it The Truce being expired Maximillian caused some Forces to enter Burgundy who more by the Factions of the People that regretted their ancient Princes then by their own proper strength took Beaune Chastillon Bar Semur and divers other places with so great facility that if the Emperor Frederick had assisted his Son never so little he had at that time re-conquered all the Dutchy The Lord d'Amboise who had money and men in abundauce chased them almost as easily out again as they gotten in and thereupon the Truces were renewed for some Months The Kings of France had for a long time had a good number of Gentlemen Pensioners to attend and to Guard them King Lewis encreased the number and gave them a Captain ✚ His impatience to know speedily all that passed in every part of his Kingdom was the occasion of setling the Posts and Couriers who for a long time were only for the Kings Service Italy had divided it self in
to Establish a Council made up of the Princes of his own House together with the Lords of the Country for the Administration of his Affairs Landays having intelligence of this was possessed with such fury that he caused a Patent to be drawn in the Dukes name which declared all the Commanders of his Army which had entred into that capitulation with the Rebels Criminals de Lesae Majestatis and their Estates consiscate The Chancellor his name was Francis Christian refused to Seal it notwithstanding the Dukes reiterated order But on the contrary being Summoned by the Lords to bring Landays to Justice he took several informations upon which a Decree was made to take the Body of Landays Year of our Lord 1485 The Lords of the Dukes Council held private correspondence to ruin this Fellow One day therefore the People of Nantes excited by some Emissary's and their own hatred towards him got in throngs into the Castle crying out for Jusstice upon Landays and at the same time the Chancellor was compell'd by the Lords to wait upon the Duke and beseech him to give leave that he might be arrested and brought to his Trial. The Duke to avoid greater danger took the miserable wretch by the Hand who had secur'd himself in his Chamber and delivered him up to the Chancellor expresly commanding him they should not touch his Life for he granted him pardon for whatever Crime they might convict him of But as that Prince was weak they had no regard to his injunction They made quick dispatch with Landays the Gibbet was the last step his Ambitious Pride raised him to Being found guilty of Concussions Depredations Murthers and other Crimes he was Hanged at Nantes the 18 th Day of July Year of our Lord 1486 The following year Maximilian was Elected King of the Romans at Francfort the one and Twentieth of February and Crowned at Aix la Chapelle with Charlemains Crown the 12 th of April He had surprized the City of Terouenne for which cause the Mareschal D'Esquerdes made a rude War upon him He pressed him so hard that he was forced to write to all those Cities in the Kingdom as had obliged themselves for Guaranty of the Treaty he had made with the King complaining of this injustice done him by that Lord and the Dame de Beaujeu in the name of the King The Letter was brought by one of his Heralds whom the King being then at Beauvais caused to be Guarded in his Journey It was Read in the Town-Hall of Paris but he received no other answer then what it pleased those about the King to dictate He was as little successful in the Cavalcade he made thinking to surprize Guise which Garrison did infinitely molest the Country of Hainault Having furnished Terouenne with provisions he came into Cambresis But the Mareschals Desquerdes and Guy still pursuing him and Poverty pinching him yet more then his Enemies he durst not undertake any thing Every thing failing him his Germans Disbanded and he retired to Melines where he caused his Son to be kept and Educated Year of our Lord 1486 One cannot conceive a greater grief then what the Duke of Bretagne felt for the loss of his Landays nevertheless he was forced to contain himself and grant an Abolition or Indemnity to all the Lords for fear of intailing a Cruel and Bloody War upon his Country but all that precaution would not serve turn The time was come to put a Period to that Estate and I know not what fatallity hurried them to it by unavoidable accidents The Dame de Beaujeu being informed that the Duke of Orleans was forging some design against her made him to be commanded to come to Court he came upon the second Summons he received but the next Day being the 5 th of January he went into the Country upon pretence of Hawking and took his flight into Bretagne The good reception he met with from the Duke the power he gave him there and the strict knot of Friendship he tied with Guibe one of the Nephews of the Deceased Landays who commanded the greater part of the Dukes Gendarmerie gave both suspition and fear to the Breton Lords The Kings Council knowing their apprehensions offer'd them all assistance imaginable to help them drive out both the Duke of Orleans and the rest of the French from their Country of Bretagne The wisest amongst them were not for Engaging so great a power in their quarrel as would sooner or later swallow up all if called in But the rest imagining they could easily Limit and Curb them by Articles of Agreement This opinion carried it they made a League with the King upon these conditions That he should bring into the Country no more then four hundred Lances and four thousand Year of our Lord 1486 Foot That he should recall them as soon as ever the Duke of Orleans and his partisans should quit the Country That he should neither take nor Besiege any place without the consent of the Mareschal de Rieux nor should lay any claim or pretence to the Dutchy Whatever was in the Treaty expressed yet the Kings Council were persuaded that Bretagne appertained to him by vertue of a Cession which the Heirs of Pontieure had made to Lewis XI Nay even some Bretons who loved to swim in deep and large Waters and hoped to find fairer fortunes in the Court of France confirmed them in this opinion And it was for this design they led the King to the Borders of that Country Year of our Lord 1486 Whilst he was at Amboise he had private notice that the Count de Dunois was returned from Ast notwithstanding his commands to the contrary had got to Partenay in Poiton which he Fortified that being there he was making a League for the Duke of Orleans and that he had drawn in the Earl of Angoulesme the Duke of Lorrain the Lords de Ponts and de Albret He cajoled these two last with the hopes that they should marry the Duke of Bretagne's eldest Daughter and the Duke of Lorrain was tyred with the put off's they had so long used towards him concerning the Succession of the House of Anjou Year of our Lord 1487. in January Those friends the Duke of Orleans had left at Court plotted together to carry away the King who would have warranted them and as they said had intreated them to do it being quite wearied and distasted with the imperious Government of his Sister This would have ended the Quarrel to the Dukes advantage but the contrivance having taken Air by a Valet the Bishops of Periguex and Montauban these were Gefroy de Pampadour and George d'Amboise Comines and some others who had the management of it were Arrested Comines having been a Prisoner near three years of which time he was shut up eight whole Months in an Iron Cage was condemned by Sentence of the Court of Parliament to lose the fourth part of his Estate and to remain a Prisoner for ten years
had promised the Emperor to set a Potent Army on Foot but when Intelligence came that he had Disbanded his they grew Cool on the suddain and refused to furnish the Soldiers they had promised Upon the Report of their great Preparations for War the King the Pope the Swisse though otherwise Enemies amongst themselves re-united to hinder the Emperor from coming into Italy And in effect when he would have passed Year of our Lord 1508 along the Valley of Trent with five or six thousand Men a very small Appareil for so much Noise as he had made the Venetians shut up the Passage against him He was very much disgusted and enraged but more yet when Bartholomew d'Alviane their General having defeated some of his Troops was received into their City in Triumph It was enough for them to have stopt his Army after that they agreed to a Truce with him for a Year The King was extreamly offended that they had done it without his participation and that they had excluded the Duke of Guelders and this Affront made up the measure of fifteen or twenty others he had received The Pope the Emperor and Ferdinand hated them no less for different Causes and particularly because they had encroached upon each of their Territories but it was very difficult to get all these Princes who had such different Interests to enter into the same League Truly there was neither Security nor Advantage for King Lewis to associate either with Ferdinand and Maximilian who had ever been and could not but always be his Enemies nor with the Pope who mortally hated the French Nation and who besides had the ambitious thoughts in his Head of over ruling all Italy There was no Amity nor Confederation that he could trust to but the Venctians And there were none but they that would suffer him to be in those Countries provided he attempted nothing against them and would let them enjoy their Usurpations Nevertheless when he proposed this in his Councel without whose Advice he never resolved on any thing all those that were there present shaping their Opinions so as to make them suit with the hatred he had declared against the Venetians rather then grounding them on the Reasons of sound and good Politicks were of a contrary Opinion There was none but Stephen Poncher Bishop of Paris who not able to make his Fidelity stoop to that unfaithful complaisance argued vehemently and rationally that France could not have better Confederates in Italy than they and that the Society of all the rest was ruinous and destructive The Advice of the Multitude and Passion of the King which would have been very just in a private Person made him commit that over-sight to joyn and clubb with his most Mortal Enemies for the ruin of the Venetians by the Treaty of Cambray Thither under Colour of accommodating the Differences between Charles the Emperors Grand-son and the Duke of Guelders came first Margaret Widdow Dutchess of Savoy and Sister of the defunct Arch-Duke and the Cardinal d'Amboise then the Spanish Ambassador arrived as Mediator to whom the other two did not communicate the main Secret till they had agreed upon all that was betwixt them because they suspected Ferdinand They concluded then to make War upon them inseparably to recover those Lands they detained from them That the Pope should admonish them upon pain of Excommunication to restore them and that the Emperor should give the King the Investiture of the Dutchy of Milan pure and simply for him for Francis Duke of Valois and for all their descendants The Spanish Ambassador would not Sign till he had a New Order from his Master nor the Pope neither till the Venetians should have refused so much their good Fortune had blinded them to give him up Facnza and Rimini for which he would have abandon'd all the rest Year of our Lord 1509 Nothing appeared of all the Treaty but the Confirmation of the Peace between the Princes and this League was held so secret that the Venetians came to the knowledg of it sooner by the Effects then by information or other discovery Those People before so insolent and daring were greatly astonish'd when they found at the same Time the King on the other side the Mountains with forty thousand Combatants beginning a War upon them and the Pope thundring them with his excommunications which makes mighty impressions upon Peoples Hearts when they are sharpned and seconded by the terror of an Enemies Sword The King having passed the River Addo pursued their Army so close that he fought them the fourteenth day of May and gained that memorable Battle de la Giera d'Adde neer the Village d'Aignadel within four Miles of Caravaz All their Infantry were cut off and their General Alviane having lost an Eye was made Prisoner In fifteen days time the Kings without scarce striking a Blow conquer'd all the Places they detained from him He might also have taken Vicenza Padoua Verona Treviso and all those that belonged to the Empire or to the House of Austria had he not had more Justice than Ambition lodg'd in his Heart He sent back the Deputies of all those Cities who brought him their Keys to the Emperor who took them into his Obedience and sent in some Garrisons The Pope had sent an Army of ten or twelve thousand Men into Romagnia it was commanded by the Cardinal de Pavia by Francis Maria de la Rovere Son of his Holinesses Brother and by the Duke of Ferrara this having the Title of Gonfalonnier of the Church and the other of Duke of Vrbin by the adoption of Guido-balde de Montfeltre Brother to his Mother King Ferdinand had only a Small Navy in the Golse and watched to make his Advantage as he did of the Labour and expence of the French Year of our Lord 1509 Now the Loss only of the Battle of Aignadel put the Signoria of Venice into such a consternation that dispairing of being able to keep any thing in the Terra Firma they resolved to shut themselves up close in the Islands of their Gulf and in this dispair commanded the Governers of all Places that belonged to the Pope or to Ferdinand to open the Gates to them and recalled their Magistrates from Verona Padua Vicenza and others upon which the Emperor had any Pretensions Thus those three Potentates by the Valor of the French rather then by their own Strength recover'd all that had been usurped by the Venetians and the Ambition of that Republick because they had not bounded it saw their Signory contracted in a Moment within the very Shoars of their Canal I have read likewise in the Memoires of those Times that the King drawing his Army neer caused some Vollies of Random Cannon-Shot to be made against the City of Venice However it were thinking he had done all he retired to Milan and sent the Cardinal d'Amboise to the Emperor who having made him wait a long while and having consumed all the Money
forth with Bag and Baggage and all their Galleys and Vessels that were in Port. He made his entrance upon Christmass-Day Year of our Lord 1523 The Grand Master Peter de Villiers-l'Isle-Adam to whose conduct and Heroick Vertue the greatest Honour of this Generous defence was due setting Sail with his Knights and four thousand of the Inhabitants as well of that as of the Islands depending on it retired to Candia where he Winter'd From thence he went to Sicilia and three months after to Rome the Pope giving those Knights his City of Viterbo for their Retreat Six Years after in Anno 1530. they placed themselves in the Island of Malta The Emperor bestowed it upon them to cover his Kingdom of Silicia and they accepted it with the consent of all other Christian Princes in whose Territories their Order had any Lands or Possessions Year of our Lord 1523 The loss of Rhodes being partly occasioned by Pope Adrian's Fault it concerned him in Honour to repair it Therefore upon that consideration and to make his name glorious he employ'd all his cares to procure a Peace or at least a Truce betwixt all Christian Princes that so they might make War upon the Insidels with their united Force Francis would yield to nothing but a Truce and that a very short one this did not sute with the Popes designs So that not being able to overcome him by his Exhortations nor by the threats of the English nor upon the consideration that he made himself odious to all Christendom he would needs bring him to it by Force and thus of a Common Father he became a Partial and open Enemy Prompted with this Spirit he acted so powerfully with the Venetians that he broke them off from his Alliance and made a League with them the Emperor and the King of England to thrust him out of Italy The King had therefore all the great powers of Christendom against him nevertheless his passion to recover Milan did so over-rule his mind that he was resolved to go thither in Person at the Head of his best Men had not the Conspiracy of the Duke of Bourbon which he happended to discover kept him back And though this did strangely embarass him yet he sent Bonnivet thither with an Army For divers years past Madame had sought all opportunities of doing some displeasure to Charles de Bourbon and the Chancellor and Admiral employed themselves most willingly to gratifie both her passion and their own For Bonnivet Year of our Lord 1523 imagin'd if he could ruin him he should have the Connestables Sword and the other had a secret grudge against him for having denied his Family some Favour in Auvergne It did not satisfie Madame that she had deprived him of the Chief Functions of his Office and hindred his Marriage with Renee the Kings Sister she had process against him likewise in Parliament to strip him of the Dutchy of Bourbon and the other great Estate of Susanna his Wife who Died without Children in the year 1521. The Succession whereof as she pretended did belong to her as the next Heiress Indeed she was Daughter of Margaret and Philip who was Lord of Bresse and afterwards Duke of Savoy and that Margaret who was Daughter of Charles I. Duke of Bourbon and Sister to Peter who had the same Dutchy after John II. his Brother and was Father of this Susanna above mentioned As for Charles de Bourbon he was Son of Gilbert Earl of Montpensier who was Son of Lewis Uncle of Duke Peter and by consequence he was farther removed than she But besides that he made it appear by very ancient Titles by Solemn Judgments and Decrees and by many Examples that the Lordship of Bourbon was a Feif Masculin he shewed likewise how in his Contract of Marriage with Susanna he was acknowledged the right Heir of that House and as for the other Estate there was a mutual donation between him and his Wife by vertue whereof he enjoy'd it 'T is true that Susanna was then in minority and not authorized by the Judge but she was authorized sufficiently by the presence of King Lewis XII the Cardinal d'Amboise and four or five and twenty Princes Bishops and Eminent Lords He believed his cause would have been very good in any other times and against any other Party But as soon as they Commenced this process he imagin'd it was before resolved and concluded and that he must Infallibly be cast before Judges who were all Creatures of Madame's or of the Chancellor And this last Affront which reduced him to extream inconveniences blinded him so with rage and revenge that without any consideration of what he was and what he might come to be he casts himself into the Emperor's Arms having Treated with him by the assistance of the Lord de Beaurien Son of Adrian de Crovy Count de Rieux The King of England came into this Treaty It imported That all three were to share France betwixt them That Bourbon should have the Ancient Kingdom of Arles with the Title of King and as a Seal to this Alliance the Emperor should give him his Sister Eleonor who was the Widdow of Emanuel King of Portugal Bourbon had a particular pretension of his own Head to Provence because Year of our Lord 1523 Rene Duke of Lorrain had yielded up the right he had to Anne of France the Mother of Susanna and Anne by her Will and Testament had given it to him Now while the King was at St. Peter le Monstier on the Confines of Nivernois and Bourbonnois two Normand Gentlemen Matignon and d'Argouges Houshold-Servants belonging to the Connestable discovered all their Masters correspondence to him He would needs be satisfied from his own Mouth saw him in the City of Moulins and told him his whole mind The Connestable owned that he had been Sollicited by the Count de Rieux but stiffly denied that he had given any ear to it They would perhaps have laid hands on him if they durst But indeed the attempt would have been dangerous in the midst of his own Country for he was mightily beloved by the People and the Nobility and the King had but four thousand Foot with him and five hundred Horse so he only commanded him to follow the Court. The Connestable taking his Litter under pretence of some indisposition went easy Journeys At la Palice he had news that a Decree was made the of August which put his Estate under Sequestration thereupon he dispatches Huraut Bishop of Autun his Confident to the King to beseech him to stopt he execution of it and to assure him that this favour would bind him for ever to his Service but he was informed they had stopp'd the Bishop six Leagues from that place Then flying from the King's indignation he retired to his Castle of Chantelle where all his richest Goods were And there having intelligence that four thousand men were coming to besiege him he went forth by Torch-light When he had Rode a
he suspected abstained from being his Judges and that they would send Commissioners to Cambray to take Information and hear those proofs he would offer The Holy Father perceived then the Fault he had committed by his Precipitating a thing of that Importance and could well have desired to find out some remedy But the time was past his fatal hand had given the blow which made so desperate a Wound as wholly cut off England from the Communion of the Church of Rome For Henry transported with fury that he had posted him up at Rome withdrew himself absolutely from all obedience to the Pope declared himself Head of the Anglicane Church and persecuted severely all those that opposed this change It is observed that if the Pope had deferr'd the Judgement but ten Months death would have disengag'd him from all these Intricacies and cut this knot by taking Catherine out of this World as it did in January following Year of our Lord 1533. and 34. The Kings constancy for the Catholick Faith was then like to be sorely shaken by two strong Temptations the one was the King of Englands Summons Solliciting him to break with the Pope to preserve the strict Colligation that was between them the other the Induction of his dear Sister Margaret who would needs have perswaded him to call in Philip Melancthon and give him Audience concerning the means he had to propound for accommodating the differences in Religion But as to the first he replyed in Substance to the King of England A Friend even to the Alter And for the second the Cardinal de Tournon put by that dangerous blow and fortified the Kings mind so well that he would never after give the least Ear to any of those Reformers but in time did also wean his Sister from that Fondness she had and hankering after Novelties Each day Accumulated more and more cause of Quarrel and War between the King and the Emperor This last had great Jealousie of the Enter-view at Marseille and the Marriage there Solemnized He likewise thought himself highly affronted for that the King was entred into the League of the German Princes Confederated at Smalcalde and he was no less so for his assisting of the Dukes of Wirtemberg in the Diet of Ausburgh where their cause against his Brother Ferdinand was Judged who detained their Lands as also for that William Langey by his Contrivances and his Perswasive and Powerful Eloquence broke the League of Scwaben which had lasted for seventy years to the great advantage of the House of Austria King Francis on his part complained of a very Bloody and cruel injury He had in the number of his Esquires a Gentleman of Milan named Francis de Merveille who had gained much wealth in his Service And knowing that he would be willing to make some shew of it in his native Country he sent him to Milan in quality of Secret Ambassador Merveille was so vain as not to conceal his Employment the Emperor knew of it and made complaint to Sforza with Threats who promised to give him Satisfaction Now it happened either by chance or otherwise that some People of that Country made a Quarrel with Merveille and some body was killed in the Fray The Duke fails not to lay hold of this opportunity to content the Emperor and under colour of Justice but without any form causes his head to be cut off by night and in the Prison This hap'ned a little before the Kings journey to Marseille In pursuance of the Kings League with the Confederates of Smalcalde Philip Landtgrave of Hesse Espoused the Quarrel of the Dukes of Wirtemberg who that he might have Money to prosecute the same engaged Montbelliard to the King and declared War against Ferdinand over whose Army having gained a Notable Victory he re-Established them in their County and obliged Ferdinand to allow all Liberty to the Protestants the Sacramentaries and Anabaptists not Comprised Vpon which condition they acknowledged him King of the Romans The Landtgrave had promised Francis to go into Italy which however he did not and this King with the Design of renewing a War set up a Militia in all his Provinces which he distributed in seven Bodies of Six Thousand Men each they were named Legions This institution lasted not long it would have rendered the People too Powerful and the Government too weak The twenty fourth of September died Pope Clement Two days after the Cardinals being assembled in Conclave elected Alexander Farnese named Paul III. At this time John Cauvin or Calvin aged twenty four or five years began to expose his Doctrine more conformable to that of the Sacramentaries than to that of Luther and which went much farther for it did not only touch upon the inward belief but overthrew all the Exteriour and the Ceremonies He was a Native of Noyon Son of Gerard who was the Bishops Secretary A Man very studious of a sharp and penetrating Wit a Melancholly and Sickly Temper an angry and passionate humour no very smooth Tongue but an Eloquent and Fluent pen and who was oft reproached that he coverd a Violent ambition and extream obstinacy with the Vaile of great Modesty and Humility Year of our Lord 1534 He took the first Impression of those new Doctrines when he was Studying the Law at Bourges from a certain German named Melchior Volmar who taught the Greek Tongue and was entertained by Margaret Queen of Navarre Sister of King Francis A very generous Princess who having a great love for Learning had suffered her reason to be prevailed upon by these Broachers of Novelties It is held that he laid the first foundation of his Sect at Poitiers and there instituted the form of the Lords Supper or Mandâ—cation that from thence he sent three of his Companions into divers Parts to sow his Dogmatisms and that himself retired to Nerac to Gerard de Roussel and James le Feure of Estaples who were there sheltred under the protection of Queen Margaret and had already establisht secretly in that little Court a form of a Church almost the same as he intended to bring forth into the World He stayed but a few Months at Nerac and passed into Italy to see Renee de France Dutchess of Ferrara who was imbued with the same opinions as Margaret Then when Geneva had expell'd her Bishop and the Catholick Religion he there established the Seat of his residence And from thence he sent his Disciples to Preach his Doctrine over all France and the Low-Countries exposing them to all sorts of dangers and deaths which he kept himself far enough off from the fire of Persecution and hazarded nothing but his Paper and Ink. This same year 1534. and the following was acted that Bloody and Horrible Tragedy of the Anabaptists in the City of Munster Those Phanaticks thinking to Establish their Whimseys by subverting the Lawful Power had chosen for their King a Taylor named John of Leyden Their Bishop besieged them and reduced them to
extremity of Famine But whilst they resolved obstinately to Perish rather then yield he was let into the Town by one of that Mock-Monarchs Camerades took him and the chief Ministers of his fury and having led them some time about the Neighbouring Countries as objects of Derision put them to death with exquisite Torments Year of our Lord 1535 About the end of the year 1534. The Sacramentarians published some Libels and posted up Papers against the Divine Mystery of the Holy Sacrament of the Altar King Francis in the beginning of the Year 1535. for reparation of these Injuries caused a general Procession to be made at Paris whereat he assisted with great Devotion holding a Torch in his hand together with the Queen and his Children afterwards making diligent search for the Authors of that Scandal he committed half a dozen to the Flames who were burnt in several places but for every one he put to death there sprang up hundreds of others out of their Ashes These proceedings could not be pleasing to the Protestant Princes his good Friends Wherefore the Emperor failed not to stir them up to a resentment against him to accuse him of Cruelty for burning their Brethren and impiety since at the same time he thus severely handled those that professed a new Reformation of Christianity he had Turkish Ambassadors in his Court. And indeed he had much adoe to justifie himself towards them and in all this whole year could obtain nothing from them The Death of Merveille was either a pretence or a real cause for a War against Sforza that he might get footing once more in Milanois Charles Duke of Savoy denying him passage thorough his Country drew that Tempest upon his own head unless it were perhaps the Kings design first to attaque him for he had many other causes of resentment against him He complained that Beatrix of Portugal his Wife and Sister to the Emperor inclined him to consider the Emperor his Brother in Law more then him who was his Nephew That he had dar'd to take the Investiture of the County of Ast from that Prince which was the Patrimony of the House of Orleans That for pledge of his Faith he had given him Lewis Prince of Piedmont his Eldest Son and in the mean time had refused to accept his Nephew of him the Order of Saint Michael and an establisht Company with Twelve Thousand Crowns Pension As likewise to let the Pope have the use of the City of Nice for the enterview that was at Marseille That he had possessed some Lands of the Marquisate of Sallusses which were a Fief mouvant of Daufine That he refused him the Homage of Foucigny That he rejoyced in his Letters to the Emperor at his being taken Prisoner at Pavia That he had lent the Duke of Bourbon Money since his revolt But above all these there was the right of Convenience which led the King to seize upon those Territories to facilitate his Conquest of Milan and to prevent his exchanging them with the Emperor for others higher up in Italy For the Dukes Enemies reported that the bargain was in hand And therefore he underhand Year of our Lord 1535 demanded the giving up his Places of Montmeillan Veilland Chivas and Vercel for which he offer'd Lands in France and to compleat the Marriage of his Daughter Margarite with Lewis Eldest Son of the Duke accordingly as they had agreed eight years before Now though all these were great occasions of Offence to the King yet he took no other to quarrel with him but that which he would have taken formerly in the Year 1518. which was that he should do him Justice concerning the Succession of Louisa his Mother who was Sister of that Duke and the late Philibert his Predecessor During the Life of that Princess he pursued this business by no other wayes but by Treaty and it may well be believed he would have it sleep still if the reasons we have hinted had not engag'd him to awaken it now again He therefore sent William Poyet President of the Parliament of Paris to the Duke to make his demand for a free Passage and his Rights As for the Passage the Duke at lest in outward appearance shewed himself very ready to grant it and to furnish him with Provisions paying for them And for the other point he proffer'd to make an amicable Agreement and to leave the Kings and his own Pretensions to Arbitrators Which the King taking for a denyal declared War against him in the Month of February of the year 1535. He had already begun to make him feel his Indignation by giving Orders underhand to the Officers and Magistrates of Daufine to make Incursions upon his Countries by obliging the Holy Father to Suppress the Bishoprick of Bourg which had been newly Established in his Favour and by assisting those of Geneva against him The Inhabitants of that City pretending to hold of the Empire had a long time sought to free themselves from the Jurisdiction of the Bishop and for this purpose had twice or thrice helped themselves by the Protection of the Cantons of Bearne and Friburgh who had made them their fellow Citizens In fine they absolutely Revolted and Expell'd their Bishop his name was Peter de la Baulme The Duke having besieged them the King sent several small Supplyes but who were all defeated and yet the apprehension he had of the Beranois made him raise the Siege Immediately the City chiefly at the Instigation of two Sacramentarian Ministers i. e. Farel and Viret changed their Religion and Government and put themselves into the same State almost as they remain in to this day The Bishop transported his See to Anecy After these Flashes of Lightning the mighty Thunder-clap broke forth The Admirable Brion entered his Countries with the Army raised to fall upon Milan At the very report and Noise of his March all the Places of Bress and those of Savoy on this side Mount Cenis opened their Gates to the French without any opposition The Duke was wholly un-provided of Forces he could do no other till the return of the Emperor but only temporise and in the mean time defend himself by Submissions and Respects which are but feeble Arms against a Potent and an Angry Prince when he intends to make Advantage of his Wrath. Year of our Lord 1535 The eight of July of this year 1535. Anthony Duprat Cardinal Arch-Bishop of Lens Legate in France and Chancellour died in his Castle of Nantouillet Much Tormented with Remorse of Conscience as his Sighs and Speeches made manifest for having observed no other Guide or Law he that was himself so great a Lawyer but his own Interest and the Passion of his Soveraign It was he that took away the Elections to Benefices and the Priviledges of many Churches that Introduced the Sale of Offices in Courts of Judicature that taught them boldly to lay all sorts of Impositions in France that divided and distinguished the Kings Interest
so stored them that they had plenty sufficient to furnish that vast multitude and above Thirty Thousand Soldiers ☞ for a whole Year together Which demonstrates that Paris if not surprized is not so easily famished as some might Imagine In retribution the Parisians proffer'd him a store of Brass Guns and to maintain Ten Thousand Soldiers as long as the Enemies remained upon the Frontiers Never was there a more Melancholly Spectacle then the retreat of the Emperors Army miserably shatter'd without being able to come to any Battle The Roads from Aix even to Frejus were all strewed with Armes Horses Baggage dead Corps and men dying Montmorency was mightily blamed for not pursuing them Those that excuse him say that at that very juncture the King received news of the extream danger Peronne was in which obliged him to draw out a great part of his Forces to go and Succour them However Four or Five days after he had Information that the Enemies were returning into Flanders and the thing being taken into deliberation the second time the Emperor making some days stay at Frejus it was concluded to be the safer and more prudent method not to force the Lyon that was running off to turn head and make them feel the effects of desperation His retreat over the Alpes was difficult and Bloody the Daufins Light Horse harcelling him perpetually in his March He at length Arrived at Genoa the second of October and his Army passed thence into Milanois commanded by the Marquess du Guast Governor of those Countries who en passant put Garrisons into the rest of the places belonging to the Duke of Savoy Thus that unfortunate Prince saw his Estates shared betwixt his Enemy and his Friend having scarce any thing left for himself but the City and Castle of Nice where he made his residence After the Emperor had remained at Genoa about Fifteen dayes he went on Board his Galleys the Eighteenth of November and sailed towards Spain He was no more fortunate at Sea then he had been on Land a furious Tempest overtook his Fleet and sunk Six of his Galleys and a couple of great Ships the one carrying his Plate the other his Horses after all which without doubt he was fitter for Consolations then Panegyricks The fear they had conceived in Italy left he should Conquer France had as soon as he was gone armed several petty Princes and Lords whom the great States that durst not openly declare maintained and encouraged underhand The King gave them Guy Count de Rangon to be their General their place of Rendezvous was Mirandola They set ten thousand men on Foot with whom they attempted Genoa a Supply of Eight Hundred Arriving during the time of their Assault made the business miscarry As they were marching towards Ast the Spaniards raised the Siege of Turin and suffer'd them to take Carignian Raconis Carmagnola and most of the Marquisate of Salusses Year of our Lord 1537 On the other hand the Count de Saint Pol with Six Thousand Lansquenets whom the King drew out of his Army ruined the Country of Tarentaise and regained Chamberry which the Inhabitants of that Valley had surprized but Burie whom the King had made Governor beyond the Mountains in place of Brion was hemm'd in and taken with Twelve Hundred men by the Marquess du Guast in Casal which he had just surprized Humieres was sent to Command in his stead with a Re-inforcement of ten thousand Lansquenets of whom Christopher Duke of Wirtemberg was General Upon the noise that the Emperor was going to swallow up all France James King of Scotland remembring the ancient Alliances of his Nation and Predecessors took Shiping with Sixteen Thousand men to come to his Assistance without the least Intreaty The Wind beat him back three several times to his own Coasts At length he got with some Vessels to Diepe from whence he rode post to the King but met him on this side Lyons upon his return In acknowledgment of this so kind and nobly free assistance the King could not refuse him Magdelin his Eldest Daughter though that Prince had before betroathed a Daughter of the Duke of Vendosmes The Nuptials were celebrated at Paris the first day of the Year 1537. but she Died of a Hectick Feaver within the same year and James Married Mary Daughter of Claude Duke of Guife and Widow of Lewis Duke of Longueville The King of England did not much like this double lincking himself to France by two such Matches which was one of the main causes that made him fall off from King Francis and close again with the Emperor the more easily for that Catherine of Arragon his repudiated Wife was dead and he had caused Anne Bullen to be Beheaded on the Green within the Tower for Adultery whether true or supposed Perhaps too he would have made him feel the Resentments of his Anger at that very time had he not been involved in troubles at home for some Nobles and some English Prelates prompted with Zeal to prevent a Schisme and withal apprehending some danger to their own Persons after the example of his Chancellour Sir Thomas Moor and John Fisher Bishop of Rochester whose Heads he had unjustly brought to the block had made a Holy League and taken up Arms against him And although he had dispersed their Forces or sent them home again by granting them conditions of advantage nevertheless he feared they might break out afresh and therefore was contriving underhand to surprise their Chiefs who had just cause to repent as it most frequently happens upon the like occasions to men who dare not rather resolve to die with their Sword in hand There was so little Rain and such great heats during the whole Spring and Summer of the Year 1536. that it begot a prodigious drowth most of the Wells and Springs were dried up the Marshes and Ponds quite parched and the waters of most great Rivers grown so shallow and weak as scarce able to drag along their Languishing Streams being generally foordable in all places and in many passable dry-foot The Kings Councel thought it necessary to do something that might pull down the Emperors Vanity and withal shew the Injustice and the Nullity of the Treaties of Madrid and Cambray To this purpose the King sitting in his Seat of Justice in Parliament the Nineteenth of January attended by the Princes and Pairs after his having heard James Capel Attorney-General who made it appear that the Provinces belonging to the Crown were Inalienable that he could not give away the Soveraignty of Flanders and Artois and that Charles of Austria they gave him only that Name being still a Vassal to the King for those Counties and for Charlois had committed the Crime of Felony It was Ordained That he should be Summoned by a single Edict peremptory and once for all at the nearest place of safe access to answer the Attorney General upon his Conclusions of the Forfeit Reversion and Re-union of those
open he present and bare-headed This done he was shut up in the great Tower of Bourges from whence he could not get out till he had given up almost all he had for his Fine At last he dyed in the City of Paris oppressed with poverty Ignominy and old Age So unhappy that even in this his Lamentable condition he was not pittied When he was Imprisoned the King gave the Seals to Francis de Montolon President in parliament a Person of rare probity a vertue hereditary in his Family The Constables favour did not last long after the loss of Poyer the King forbid him the Court in the year 1542. and would never recal him so long as he lived In the time of this his retirement he built the castle of Esc ouan Common same attributes the cause of his disgrace to the Council he gave for the Emperours passing through France which proved not so much to the Kings advantage as was imagined Perhaps the Cardinal of Lorrain and the rest of his Enemies made use of that reproach to give his Master an ill opinion of him Or perhaps the King conceived some jealousie at his sticking so close to the Dausin who by embracing the interests of that young Prince opposed the raising of the Duke of Orleans and by secret Combinations hindred the Emperour from giving him his Daughter with the Dutchy of Milan which he could not do without holding Correspondence with Strangers and indeed it was said that he in Clandestine manner Suffered the Courtiers of that Prince to travel thorough France Whatever it were the King began to think it dangerous to have men of too great parts in the Administration of Affairs and therefore committed them to the Cardinal de Turnon and the Admiral Annebaut Persons of no Extraordinary Genius or Sagacity but of affections less Interested and wholly devoted to him Year of our Lord 1540. and 41. Whilst the Emperor was at Ghent Martin Duke of Cleve came to demand the investiture of the Dutchy of Guelders You must know that Charles last Duke of Guelders dyed Anno 1537. and William Duke of Cleve and Antony of Lorraine as kindred of the Defunct had pretensions to that Dutchy The Lorrainer was the nearest being the Son of a Daughter of that House notwithstanding the Estates of the Countries called in William to be their Mainburgh he survived but one year and Martin his Son took the Administration Now the Emperour who desired to joyn this piece to the Low-Countries having denyed him the investiture he came into France and put himself under the Kings protection who made him Marry Jane Daughter of Henry d'Albret King of Navarre Year of our Lord 1541 The Nuptials were celebrated the year following at Chastelleraud with such Profusion as cost the poor People dear by encreasing the Gabelle and therefore was called the Salted Nuptials But the Bride being but eleven years of Age the Marriage was not consummated and the Fathers and Mothers never having consented caused it to be dissolved The years 1540. and 1541. were spent almost in nothing but intrigues and Negociations After the truce of Nice the King of England bestirr'd himself mightily he feared lest by the mediation of the Pope the two Kings should agree together to fall upon him He might the Justlier apprehend it because his cruelty had drawn the hatred of most of his own Subjects upon him For he had Invaded and broken open the Monasteries even those of the Nuns which much incensed their Parents who were forced to maintain them he had taken away all Abbey-Lands Abolished the order of Malta and caused the Memory of St. Thomas of Canterbury to be Condemned and his Sacred Bones and Reliques to be Burnt Having therefore reason to fear he courted the Emperor and the King divers ways He offered the first to Marry his Niece Widow of Sforza Duke of Milan to the other he propounded to assist him in the recovery of that Dutchy and promised to declare whenever he should desire it Another while he proffered the Emperor to give his Eldest Daughter she was named Mary to the Brother of the King of Portugal but he would not Marry her as Legitimate for would he have bestowed her as such the King would willingly have taken her for his second Son As for the Emperor he employed all his intrigues to three ends the one was to recover the good Will of the Protestant Princes another to make the Turk believe there was a good and perfect Correspondence between him the King of France and the King of England and the third to amuse the King with new offers he made to give the Low-Countries under the Title of the Kingdom of Belgica to Charles Duke of Orleans whom he called his God-Son The King gave no Faith to this Proposition and replyed that he did not demand his Hereditary Countries but should be contented to have his own again But Solyman was so allarmed at this pretended Union of the three Kings that he flew out against Francis called him Ingrateful and Fickle-pated and had like to put Rincon his Ambassador to death If the Emperor had his hands full of business with the Protestants of Germany his Brother Ferdinand had yet a harder task with the Turks in Hungary John Earl of Sepus had agreed with Ferdinand Auno 1536. upon condition that the part he then was possessed of in the Kingdom should be his during Life with the Title of King and that after his death it should be re-united to the other but contrary to his word he Married with Jane Daughter of Sigismond King of Poland and had a Son by her when he died After his Decease which hap'ned in the year 1540. Ferdinand would Seize upon that part the Widow to maintain her Son had recourse to the Turk thus broke out that Flame of War again which compleated the ruin of Hungary For in the year 1541. Roquandolf General for Ferdinand lost a great Battle near Buda against the Bashaw Mahomet Then Solyman himself coming with a dreadful Army Seized Treacherously upon the Widow and the Orphan and the City of Buda which they held Year of our Lord 1541 It was believed that if the Emperor had immediately joyned his Forces with his Brothers he might have saved Hungary but he was labouring an Accommodation with the Protestants to whom after several Conferences he granted a second Interim and Reciprocally having given them very ill Impressions of King Francis he obtained all he desired from them For the Diet promised him great Supplies against the Turks declared the Duke of Cleve an Enemy to the Empire engaged to contribute to the Restauration of the Duke of Savoy and forbid all Subjects belonging to the Empire from Listing themselves in the Kings Service With all this instead of Marching towards Hungary to make head against Solyman he carries the War into Africa against the Pirat Barbarossa which many interpreted a flight rather then an attaque He Landed and laid Siege to
Algiers the two and twentieth of October But the Winds the Storms and the Rains as if they had Conspired with the Infidels defeated him in his Enterprize and made a War ten times more cruel and destructive to him then Mankind could have done The Tempest sunk or forced aground an Hundred Ships and Fifteen Galleys and cast all his Marriners either into the Gulfe of the Seas or Year of our Lord 1541 into the hands of the Barbarians who Murther'd them without mercy the rest in danger to perish thorough hunger their Victuallers being either sunk or scatter'd at too great a distance or their Provisions utterly spoil'd in a word so hardly were they handled that no History affords an example of any Fleet or Army so rudely Treated or that suffered so terrible a defeat as this same Of four and twenty Thousand men that were on Ship-board he brought not Ten Thousand back into Spain who were besides half dead of hunger and other Miseries they had undergone Year of our Lord 1541 and 42. Together with this favourable opportunity the King had another just cause of rupture which was the Murther of his two Ambassadors Caesar Fregosa and Antony de Rincon committed by the Spaniards He was sending the first to Constantinople to preserve his Amity with Solyman with whom the Emperor made use of all the Contrivances imaginable to bring him to a disgust of the King the other to Venice to endeavour to unlink that Signeury from him and perswade them to enter into a League with France Both these were points very prejudicial to the Imperialists the Marquess Du Guast a man without Faith knowing these two Ambassadors were coming in a Barque down the River Po to go to Venice caused them to be watched by some Spanish Soldiers who concealing themselves in small Boats close under the Shoar kill'd both of them took their Water-men and some of their Servants whom Du Guast shut up in a Prison at Pavia but most of their Train who were in another Barque ran aground and made their escape Langey Governor of Piedmont was informed of this Assassinate by them and this was fully confirmed by the Testimony of the Water-men whom he craftily got out of Prison and even by some of those very men Du Guast had employ'd in the act All Christian Princes were informed of it and had it in horrour The King demanded reparation of the Emperor who declined and answer'd only by Recriminations This was a most just and necessary cause for a Rupture besides it was well known the Spaniards had Murthered many other of the Kings Subjects and Envoyez in divers places and daily practised Corruptions and Intelligences to Surprize some place or other So that since a War could not be more dangerous nor destructive neither more expensive to the King then such a bloody and insiduous Peace he resolved to declare it against the Emperor if he did not give satisfaction within a time limited And yet whilst he was on his Voyage to Algiers he had so much generosity as not to undertake any thing against him but the year following he sent to defie him in out-rageous terms and with bloody reproaches having before-hand commanded publick Prayers and a general Procession to be made to appease the wrath of God and implore his assistance After the death of Rincon Paulinus Iscalin afterwards called the Baron de la Garde then but a Captain of a Company of Foot a man of Fortune but of great Wit and Courage went on the behalf of the King to Solyman to desire him to send his Fleet upon the Coast of Provence and oblige the Venetians to enter into the League they had made against Charles V. Paulin at his return did solicite the Senate of Venaic from whom not being able to obtain any thing he went a second time to Constantinople and pressed so earnestly that he had an Audience of Solyman himself who made answer that the year was too far spent but the year after he would not fail to fulfil the desires of the King his Brother In pursuance of the Declaration of War the King to attaque his Enemy in five several places set five Armies on Foot one about Luxembourg Commanded by the Duke of Orleans his second Son under the conduct of Claude Duke of Guise One about Perpignian by the Daufine to whom he gave Annebaut and Anthony Desprez-Montpesar for Council Another led by Longueval and Mortin Van Rossen Mareschal of Guelders into Brabant A fourth wherewith Charles Duke of Vendosme was to scower the Frontiers of Flanders And a fifth in Piedmont whither it Marched under the Mareschal Annebaut This having been kept there above two Months Idle had Orders to come into Roussillon to Strengthen the Daufins which consisted of Five and Forty Thousand Men and all the Flower of the French Nobility They had made the taking of Perpignian appear to the King a thing very easie to be effected because in truth the Walls were nothing worth the Towers did not flank it and he imagin'd at least that if it were not presently gained the Emperor would come to its Relief and venture a Battle but the design having taken Air the Emperor furnished the Place so well with Men and Artillery that Year of our Lord 1542 it defended it self well enough without any need of his coming In the mean time there arose discords amongst the Officers of the French Forces a Flux got into the Army and those rowling Torrents that pour down from the Mountains upon the first Autumnal Rains threatned to overwhelm them all if they remained any longer All these causes concurring the King sent to the Daufin to decamp in the beginning of October He obey'd unwillingly The Duke of Orleans succeeded better then his Brother he signalized his first Campagne by the taking of Danvilliers Ivoy Arlon Montmedy and Luxemburgh it self but as if he had been glutted or tyred with his good Fortune I cannot tell upon what motive he quitted his Army in the Month of September and went to wait on his Father then at Montpellier After his departure the Enemy regained Luxembourgh and Montmedy but the Duke of Guise having drawn some Forces together took the last of those Places again from them Year of our Lord 1542 The War broke out between the English and Scots about their Limits or Borders These at first gained a Battle then lost a greater after which James V. their King fell sick and died the Thirteenth of December The tuition of Mary his only Daughter by Mary of Lorrain was in dispute between James Hamilton Earl of Arrain who favored the English and the novel opinions and David Beton Arch-bishop and Cardinal of Saint Andrews who stood for the Catholick Faith and for the French This last said the King by his Will had left it to Four Administrators whereof he was one but Hamilton seized upon the Pupil and betroathed her to Edward the Son of King Henry Nevertheless the Scots would not
the Parliament of Provence which they durst never have undertaken had it not been upon an assurance of the support of those that govern'd and even by their instigation particularly the Connestable who thought to involve the Cardinal de Tournon as principal Author of that Massacre he being his Capital Enemy The business was first brought before the Kings Great Council then the King took it upon himself and afterwards referr'd it to the Grand Chamber of the Parliament of Paris The Cause was Pleaded at Fifty Audiences or Hearings with great heats and vehement sollicitations After all this noise there was none but Guerin the Kings Advocate in the Parliament of Provence who paid for all those that had contributed to this Massacre He was Beheaded in the place called the Greve at Paris The Historian of Provence relates how on the day he lost his head his Picture or Effigies appeared in the palm of his wives hand traced in lines of blood and was seen by great numbers of people during several days Lewis Adhemar Earl of Grignan and Governour of Provence who had given Commission to d'Oppede to Levy Forces in his absence was like to have lost his Lands D'Oppede was sent away absolv'd having done nothing but by good order from the King but he survived not long after it and the Huguenots were revenged on him by giving out that he died of an inward fire which cruelly burnt up all his Bowels Year of our Lord 1550 and 51. The abuse of the Banquiers and of the Datary of the Court of Rome touching the resignation of Benefices were come to that pass that all the Clergy of France complained of it The King redressed this by an Edict and Charles du Moulin the most resolute of all the French Lawyers wrote a most Learned Book against the Petites Dates but which being very vehement raised so great a Storm against him amongst the Catholique Zealots for the interests of the Pope that for fear of being Treated as an Heretique he retired into Germany where he kept himself private till the rupture which hap'ned between the King and Pope Julius III. The Pic's Lords of Mirandola being at variance amongst themselves for the possession of that County Paul III. had endeavour'd to reconcile and agree them and not able to compass it had sequestred it in the hands of King Francis That King had restored it to Lewis Pic. Galeot Pic his Nephew assassinated his Uncle and Usurped it then fearing his other Relations would revenge this parricide retired to King Henry II. and had admitted a French Garrison into the place and also as it was reported had agreed upon an exchange for some other Lands in France However it were the King used it as a City properly his own and made it his place of Arms and his Assemblies in that part of the World The King wanted some occasion to interrupt the Progress of the Emperor he was over-joy'd to meet with this which follows D'Aramon his Ambassador made use of all industry with Solyman who was returned from the Persian War to break the Truce of Hungary and he wanted not considerations and motives to incite him to it for the Emperor had in Barbary taken the Cities of Mahadia and Monester from the Corsair Dragut one of the Grand Seignior's Captains and King Ferdinand held secret intelligence with Frier Georges Monk of the Order of Saint Poll a Hermit who by the testamentary institution of John Year of our Lord 1551 the pretended King of Hungary governed the Affairs and Country of Isabella and Stephen her young Son Solyman had given orders to take that Monk dead or alive the Monk having notice of it retired had cantonniz'd himself in some strong Castles he had purchased and provided from whence he began to make War upon the Queen He was reconciled and fell out again with her two or three several times and as he apprehended the power of the Turk he privately made an agreement with Ferdinand and perswaded the Widdow to restore Transilvania to him upon conditions very advantageous both for him and the Pupil if they had been observ'd But soon after Ferdinand fearing this mans inconstancy or rather that he would force him to make good what he had promised sent word to John Baptist Castalda General of his Forces to make him away which he Executed by the hands of some Assassines who went and Murthered him in a House of Pleasure to which he was retired Solyman could not suffer that Transilvania for which John had rendred him Homage should be possessed by Ferdinand He powred a very numerous Army in upon that side and almost totally Invaded it The Imperailists did not fail to publish that the King of France had drawn him thither but we find by the Memoirs of those times that he did his utmost to disswade him from making War in Hungary because the common danger re-united all the German Princes with the Emperor and it was his interest to divide them And therefore he could rather have wished that Solyman would have made use of his Sea Forces and landed in Puglia to facilitate an enterprize the French then had upon Sicily All these things make it evident that the King had firmly resolv'd to concern himself in the business of Parma by other ways and means then mediation or accommodation and that it was not the Dutchess of Valentinois that made him enter upon that War that there might be occasion to bestow some employment upon Brissac whom she loved infinitely It is true that at that Ladies request or perhaps to keep him at distance and absent from her he made him Governour of Piedmont in the place of John Caracciol Prince of Melsy whom he recalled to Court and to make up the Complement of good fortune for Brissac it hap'ned that the said Prince returning into France died at Suza and left a vacancy for a Mareschal which the King immediately conferr'd on him It sufficed the King to assist his Allies without directly breaking with the Emperour wherefore he sent to Brissac to make use of some indirect means to that end Brissac therefore disbanded a part of the Forces in Piedmont who had order to File away towards Parma over the Milanois under favour of the Truce two by two sometimes three without any weapons and by easie Journeys Gonzague mistrusting the Craft and Contrivance set Guards upon the ways who Massacred the greatest part of them so that there came not above four or five hundred to Miranda who went over by the Mountains at Genoa During this assay the Pope strove to perswade the King to abandon the Duke of Parma and the King endeavour'd to gain the Popes good Will that he might take him into his Protection But as the first had sharply replied to the Kings Remonstrances threatning him with his Ecclesiastical Thunder the French Ambassador raising the Tone of his Voice declared that the King would for no consideration whatever relinquish his
the one and then with the other In the midst of all these a young King as weak in mind as in body exposed to the first occupier and the prize contended for the Government of the Kingdom As for the Guises they were Five Brothers the Duke the Cardinal de Lorraine the Duke d'Aumale the Cardinal de Guise and the Marquess d'Elbeuf we are not to make any reck'ning of the three last because they acted nothing but by the inspiration and motion of the other two The Duke drew his Party to him by the Reputation of his Valour his Liberality and his Affability the Cardinal de Lorraine by his Eloquence and his Learning They were notwithstanding of very different humors the Duke moderate just undaunted in dangers the Cardinal hot undertaking and vain puffed up with good success but trembling and faint-hearted at the least frowns of Fortune Amongst the Princes of the Blood there was Anthony King of Navarre Lewis Prince of Condé the Duke of Montpensier and the Prince de la Roche-sur-yon Anthony was a voluptuous and fearful Prince and more considerable for his Quality then his Power Lewis was Valiant Hardy and one the greatness of whose Courage and meanness of whose slender Fortune made him fit to undertake every thing Anthony did not stand firm but abandoned his younger Brother to his Year of our Lord 1559 very death he fluctuated in doubts of Religion and was neither a good Catholick nor right Lutheran His Brother followed the Opinions of Calvin The Guises seized upon the Kings Person because he had Married their Niece Mary Steward Queen of Scotland and upon the favourable pretence of the Catholick Religion The others made sure of the Male-contents the disbanded Souldiers and the protection of the Religionaries whose dispair was yet much greater and stronger then their numbers The Mareschal de Saint André a Lord as brave as witty and polite but very Luxurious and over-head and ears in debt devoted himself wholly to them and promised the Duke to bestow his Daughter upon which of his Sons he pleased with all the Estate belonging both to him and his Wife reserving only the clear revenue during their term of Life This he did fearing to be devoured by his Creditors should he ever happen to be expell'd the Court. The Constable a great temporiser and who had wont to be prime Minister of State could not stoop now to be Inferior He admitted the flatteries and caresses of both Parties but at length adhered to the Guisians in hatred to the novel opinions being perswaded by his Wife and second Son that the Title he bare of the first Christian Baron would not allow him to linck himself with those who did impugne the Catholick Religion The Duke of Montpensier and the Prince de la Roche Sur-Yon though both of the House of Bourbon were led by the same motives and did not so much respect the proximity of Blood as the name of the Ancient Church and the King from whom they would not start aside for any other Consideration whatsoever A motive directly contrary to the Constables cast the Admiral de Coligny and his Brother Dandelot Colonel of the French Infantry on the side of those Princes who favour'd the new Religion of which they were thoroughly convinced and perswaded besides that they had the Honour to be Allied to the Prince of Condé For he had Married Elenora de Roye Daughter of one Magdelain de Mailly who was their Sister by the Mothers side she and they being Born of Louisa de Montmorency who was first Married to Frederic du Mailly Then to the Mareschal de Chastillon Father of these two Lords When King Henry II. received his hurt the Queen Mother was in suspence a day or two whether to joyn with the Constable or the Guises She looked upon both the one and the other as her Enemies being all Allied to the Dutchess of Valentinois whom she hated mortally though in her Husbands Life-time she feigned to love her even to the height of confidence But she thought her self much more affronted by the Constable then the Guises because it was he that had last adventur'd to contract an Alliance with that Woman Besides the Guises utterly abandoned her notwithstanding the repugnance of the Duke d'Aumale who was her Son in Law and withal they promised this Queen so much Service and so great Submission that she resolved to stand by them To which me may add that being Uncles to the young King as they were it might perhaps have been out of the reach of her power or interest to have set them aside When the Constable perceived his Game was near lost he sent in all post hast to the King of Navarre to press him to come and take that Place and Authority his Birth justly claimed under the young King but that Prince who was slow and irresolute and who withal did not much confide in him because he had once advised the deceased King to seize upon the remainder of his petit Kingdom did not make much hast This signal fault and after this his strange irresolutions and the weakness of his Conduct during all this and the following Reign may be accounted indirectly amongst the principal and main causes of all the Troubles and Misfortunes that befel the Kingdom of France Wherefore the Guises having gained the Mastery at Court the King declared to the Parliaments Deputies when they came to wait on him That he had committed the direction of his Affairs to them that is to say the Intendance or Over-sight of all the Affairs of War to the Duke and that of the Finances or Treasury to the Cardinal Being thus establish'd they consider'd of removing out of the way all those that might be obnoxious They left the Constable and Mareschals of France no more Commission but to Bury the late King and sent the Princes of Condé and de la Roche Sur-Yon into Spain the first to carry the Coller of the Order to King Philip the other to get the Treaty of Peace confirmed They likewise banished the Dutchess of Valentinois from the Court but first obliged her to restore and deliver up the Jewels and the rich Furniture and Year of our Lord 1559 Goods the late King had bestowed upon her and took away her fair House of Chenonceaux to accommodate the Queen-Mother in exchange for the Castle of Chaumont upon the Banks of the River Loire Desiring by embellishing the face of their new Government with a shew of Goodness and Justice towards the publick to condemn the Government past they took the Seals from Bertrandi Cardinal and Archbishop of Sens whose reputation was not of the best and restored them to the Chancellor Ol vier a person really of a much more then ordinary merit and of great probity but who soon perceived they had recalled him to servitude rather then to a freedom of function in the highest Office of the Kingdom The Queen-Mother in the mean time
Title of Conservator of the Country In the mean while the Coligny's observing they were looked upon with a very evil Eye at Court withdrew themselves and the Queen order'd the Admiral to go and quiet those Commotions that were beginning in Normandy and to enquire and search out the real causes that he might make report thereof to her The horror of this Conspiracy and so much blood as had been spilt in punishing it so deeply wounded the Heart of Francis Olivier who had a tender and most humane Soul that he fell sick upon it and died The Cardinal de Lorraine had cast his Eye upon John de Morvilliers Bishop of Orleans but the Queen prevented him and desired the King to give that Office to Michael de l'Hospital at least she made some body tell him that he owed that favour to her although the Cardinal would needs perswade him it came by his means l'Hospital did afterwards make it plainly appear the Obligation was from the Queen by his so closely sticking to her Interest The Cognisance of all matters and Crimes relating to Heresies had hitherto belonged to the Parliaments who five years before had contended mightily to preserve the same Now as there were many Councellors and of the most Learned who were imbued with those Novelties the Cardinal de Lorraine got all such causes to be transmitted to the Bishops by an Edict of the Month of May at Ramorantin in Berry To which the new Chancellor consented to prevent a greater evil the Inquisition which that Cardinal and the Court of Rome endeavour'd to introduce in France with the same power it hath in Spain In France they had hitherto called those that professed the new Religion Lutherans though in many points they did not follow the Doctrines of Luther Some did more properly name them Sacramentaries because they denied the Reality of the Body of our Lord in the Holy Sacrament This year they applied the name of Huguenots to them which sticks upon them still The Origine of it is uncertain there are those that say it took its birth at Tours and they derive it from the name of Hugon because those Novators made their Mid-night Assemblies at the Gate Hugon or because they went abroad only during the darkness like Goblins or Spirits by them called King Hugon and which according to the fabulous reports of those People stalked about the Streets of that Town in the Night time For my own part I think I have good Proof that it comes from a Swiss word which signifies League but corrupted by those of Geneva and from thence it Travelled into France with the Religionaries themselves who were so called in those Countries After Queen Catherine had Fortified her self by the Councils of the Chancellor de l'Hospital she was precautioned as well against the Guises as against the Princes of the Blood And as she would always keep to that Maxime of her House as a Rule to walk by Divide and Reign she studied to continue the troubles that she might still find a Party to rely upon and make them balance one another And if either side grew too ponderous she put more weight into the other Scale to bring them to an equalibrity Thus observing the absence of the two first Princes of the Blood and the Coligny's who were gone to their own homes left the Guises in too great Credit she began to lend a more favourable ear to the Huguenots and even to read some Writings they address'd to her for their justification With the same prospect or to dive into the designs and interests of the Grandees she Summoned them all to Fountainbleau upon the twentieth of August under colour of taking their advice upon the present State of affairs as it was otherwhile Year of our Lord 1560 the Ancient and necessary Custom and Method of the Kingdom of France The Constable the Admiral and Dandelot went thither with a Train of Eight or Nine Hundred Gentlemen The Assembly lasted only four Sessions They were held in the Queen Mothers Closset the King being present The first day the King and then the Queen his Mother having in few words declared the occasion of their being called which was to find out some remedy for the Troubles caused by differences in Religion and to root out those abuses that sprung up so fast in all the Orders conjured those that were present to give their opinions and speak their thoughts without passion or interest The Chancellor did more at large lay open what the distempers and disorders were and the Remedies they might apply When he had ended the Admiral advanced and falling on his knees before the King presented him some Petitions not signed by any one but which he said he had received in Normandy which implored the Kings mercy and begged he would put some stop to the prosecutions against the Reformed and allow them some Churches and the free exercise of their Faith Thereupon John de Montluc Bishop of Valence being desired to give his advice spoke with more freedom then any Enemy of the Church of Rome durst have done of the abuses and vices of the Clergy particularly the Bishops Forty of them having been seen at one time together at Paris wasting their precious time in sloathful idleness or forbidden pleasures praised the devotion in singing of Psalmes and Hymnes in French rather then wanton Ayres and Songs Blamed the severity Inflicted upon People guilty of no other Crime but a perswasion of what they believed to be really good and concluded it best to refer the decision of those Controversies to a National Council there being little hopes of a General one and the reformation of the disorders in the State to an Assembly of the Estates General Marillac Archbishop of Vienne spake to the same purpose and added several things too picquant against the Guises The Cardinal de Lorraine a Prelate of a sublime Eloquence took the Counterpart against these two Bishops and by weighty reasons shewed there was no need of any Council and that the Prosecution ought to be carried on against the Sectaries As to the other point he was of opinion to call the Estates together He also gave an account in gross of the Administration of the Treasury as his Brother the Duke of Guise of his Conduct in the Government justifying himself against the Calumnies imputed to him especially his having Armed the King against his Subjects by setting up a Guard for him as he had done for which he laid all the blame on those that were the Authors of the late attempts and disturbances The result of all was an Edict the Four and Twentieth of August which Summoned the Estates of the Kingdom to meet in the City of Melun upon the Tenth day of December and ordained the Bishops to come to the King the Tenth of January to such place as the King should prescribe to consult of a fit time and place to hold a National Council in case the Pope by
affected delayes did continue to defeat their hopes of the General one so often promised Moreover the Governors were enjoyned to watch there might be no factious Meetings and to su spend their pursuits for matters of Religion if no other Crime were complicated with it This was to begin a Toleration Things being thus regulated every one had order to retire home Great was the Alarm at Rome when they heard mention made of holding a National Council in France Pius IV. omitted nothing to disswade the King from it He represented to him as a great grievance that the Gallican Church would re-establish the Pragmatique and by consequence the Elections whereby the Royal dignity and prerogative would be much eclipsed and diminished He intreated the King of Spain to interpose his Interest and Credit with him to prevent a mischief he reckoned so prejudicial to his Pontifical Authority And all these Engines proving too weak to obtain a revocation of those resolutions taken in Council he could find no other expedient to avoid it but by a General Council He was a while in suspence whether to call one wholly new or whether he should continue the same his Predecessors Paul III. and Julius III. had Prorogued All considered the advice for continuation seemed best And he caused publication to be made that the Council should re-commence on Easter-day the following year Year of our Lord 1560 The two Brothers Anthony and Lewis de Bourbon did not appear at the Assembly of Melun for two Months before Anthony was retired to Gascogne and his Brother was gone to visit him Being there in much greater security they settled their Affairs and projected the means and methods to make themselves the stronger and set aside the Guises These having many faithful and trusty Servants Spies well paid and all rewards and punishments in their own hands quickly discover'd their Stratagems and blasted them before they could be ripe for Execution The Princes made use of one named la Sague an Imprudent man who Communicated his Secrets to a Camerade of his with whom he had born Arms in Piedmont This Fellow whispers it to the Mareschal de Brissac who tells it to the Duke of Guise So that as la Sague was returning into Gascogne he was Seized with a great many Letters Fear of the Rack or hopes of reward unty'd his Tongue Himself put them in the way how to read some of them by wetting the Paper where before there was no Footsteps of any Writing appear'd The most Criminal were those from Francis de Vendosme Vidame of Chartres an Enemy to the Duke of Guise so he was laid hold on and shut up in the Bastille Some time after he was transfer'd from thence but under a strong Guard to his own House where he Died of grief if not by the Debauchery of his Youth Bouchard who was Chancellor to Anthony without any other instigation but his own faint-heartedness did likewise reveal all the practises of the Prince of Condé and the means he made use of to engage his Brother He thought hereby to secure himself but they Seized upon him and put him in Prison at Saint John d'Angely where he was kept very close that they might have his Evidence when time Served There appeared in the mean time divers Commotions in the Provinces which shewed that the whole Body of the Religionaries were on the point of making a general rising for in Normandy whither the Admiral had been dispatched they met and Preached Publickly The two Brothers Anthony and Paul Richend Mouvans endeavoured to make themselves Masters of Valence of Montelimard of Romans in Dauphiné and of the Cities of Aix and Arles in Provence but the Lord de Maugeron made them fail in their enterprize Anthony was slain in a tumult at Draguignan Paul made his escape into Swisserland In like manner Charles du Puy Montbrun making use of the Religionaries in his dispute for the Government of Dauphiné at la Mothe Gondrin was routed by his Adversary and ran away stark naked yet got safe to the Swiss Country Maligny of the House de Ferriere who belonged to the King of Navarre attempted also to Seize upon Lyons causing his Soldiers to Ship in man by man and he had compleated his work if N. Dapchon Abbot de Savigny who was Governor in the absence of the Mareschal de Saint André his maternal Uncle had not discover'd his Plot and put the Bourgeois in Arms. Maligny was glad to make his escape and the Abbot apprehending some worse Event set open the Gates that he might be gone quietly The Mareschal de Saint André going thither to search into the bottom of the design caused above fifty of those rash undertakers to be executed The Princes promised themselves a much stronger Cabal in the Assembly of Estates then the Guises nevertheless their Friends were of Opinion they ought not to rely upon that but come so well Armed to Court as to be in a Condition either to drive them thence or make them perish there To this purpose they had given orders on all hands but their Letters and practises having taken Air the Guises made use of the Kings Name to fortify themselves sent for all the Established Company 's and put forth a Declaration to all Governors of Provinces commanding them to punish the disturbers of the publick Peace according to the utmost severity of the Edict with power to Suspend and displace such Officers as had conniv'd or shew'd any indulgence towards the Factious Besides all this they sent to command the Princes to come to Court only attended with their Houshold Servants to justify themselves of such matters wherewith they were charged so that to speak truly they left them but a very ill-boding passage to enter much more like a Prison Door then a Gate of the Louvre They resolved however to come The Cardinal de Bourbon their Brother being deceived first was an Instrument to deceive them withal the Dignity of their Birth seemed an inviolable safe-conduct to them So that the King of Navarre refused seven hundred Gentlemen of Poitou who offer'd to attend him and above Year of our Lord 1560 fifteen hundred Soldiers who were in a readiness in several Provinces telling them his innocency was his sufficient security and he would give them no cause to suspect he came with any design to offer violence to the King or to the Estates In his Journey he received notice from several hands that the Guises having scared the King and the Queen Mother with the pretended Conspiracy revealed by la Sague were more Masters at Court then ever and had put them upon the extreamest resolutions However he went forward not duely weighing the wise Councils of Marillac Archbishop of Vienne who having endeavour'd all that was possible to diswade him died with Grief and the fear he justly had conceived lest the Guises whom he had already highly offended should revenge themselves upon him The Sixteenth of October the King
dispatched to the other World by several sorts of Death and Torments That at Lyons they defended themselves against Tavanes and afterwards against the Duke of Nemours who besieged that City the one after the other That above Fifty Thousand of theirs were Slain as well in Battle as in Tumults Seditions and Up-roars and that where-ever they were strongest they broke or melted all their Shrines Reliquaires and sacred Vessels of Gold and Silver which the Prince Coined into Money with the Arms and Effigies of the King and this made Money much more common in France then ever it had been known before this War The dread the Pope was in lest they should hold a National Council in France obliged him to assemble the General Council of Trent The Cardinal de Lorrain went thither this year upon the fifteenth of November with great equipage accompanied by forty Bishops and a good number of the most learned Doctors His Holyness had some reason to take the Allarm upon it the power of this great Cardinal gave him so much jealousie that he called him the Pope on the other side the Mountains And apprehended hended he would bring the Doctors of the Ausbourg Confession into the Lists For Year of our Lord 1562 he had given some hints and tokens at least in appearance that he did not disapprove their Confession altogether and they well knew that in his passage by Inspruc he had conferr'd with the Emperor So that the Pope as if he had beâ—n to deal with the greatest enemy of the Church Muster'd up all his Forces sent for all the Bishops in his own Dominions where they are very numerous borrowed even of his Neighbours and pray'd the King of Spain to assist him with his to strengthen his party in the Council that he might be able to make head against those of France and Germany Though Philip had lost his cause at Venice about precedency he failed not to revive it again in the Council Claude Ferdinand de Quinones Count de Luna his Ambassador before he would come to Trent had demanded of the Pope what place he should have there the Pope instead of giving a direct answer eluded and referred the decision of that right to those Legates who presided for him in the Council The Cardinal de Gonzague who was chief of them found an expedient to satisfie the Spaniards and not much prejudice the French Which was that the Ambassador of France should keep his place next the Emperor and in their Congregations he of Spain should by provision only have one apart by himself either next to Ecclesiastiques or on a Seat distinct just opposite to the other Ambassadors The Cardinal de Lorrain out of the apprehension he had lest this dispute should break up the Council obliged Lansac the Kings Ambassador to accept of this condition and to allow the Count should have a Seat apart near the Secretary to the Council He took this place therefore and having Commanded his Orator to speak went out the first of any for fear of some dispute at the Door But the difficulty was not determined as to the other Assemblies particularly the Sessions of Council and at solemn Mass where the Seats were not placed in the same manner so that the French demed the Spaniard the like favour there The Legates durst not decide it of their own heads but when they had received Orders from the Pope to give him the like rank at all ceremonies they contrived another expedient Vpon Saint Peters Day the Fathers of the Council being at Chappel there appeared a Seat between the last Cardinal and the first Patriarch and the Spanish Ambassadors sate there They had likewise given private Order to have two Censers that they might give the Incense to the French and him at the same time The French would not suffer it the Divine Service was interrupted the Legates the Ambassadors and some Bishops to prevent the scandal endeavour'd to find a Medium which was that they should omit the giving of Incense c. that day After this Council the same controversie was renewed at Rome by Lewis de Zuniga Requesens Great Commander of the Order of Saint James Ambassador of King Philip Henry Clutin de Oysel who was so for the King courageously maintained the right of France The Spaniard caused divers expedients to be propounded whereby he aimed to preserve an equality but they were all rejected by the French who would not only keep his ancient place and station but would have the Spaniard do so too that is beneath him So that the Pope after he had vainly sought to find out expedients did most solemnly adjudge the precedency contended for to belong to the French and maintained him in the possession of it Which was performed on the day of Pentecost in the year 1564. Requesens having protested against this Judgment and not appearing at the Celebration of that Festival Year of our Lord 1562. November Notwithstanding since that time the Ambassadors of Spain have many times disputed for the Precedency with those of France though for the most part to their own shame as well at Rome as in other Courts of Princes till in our dayes the most August King Lewis XIV upon a contest hapned in England between his and one from Spain obliged Philip IV. expresly to renounce it by an Authentick Instrument in Writing The 12 th of November Dandelot Arrived at Orleans with Twelve Cornets of Reisters making Six and Twenty Hundred Horse and Twelve Ensignes of Lansquenets under them near Three Thousand Men whom the Landegrave of Hesse had furnished him withal and some few dayes before Duras had brought in the Remnants of the Battel de Vere This Crime of bringing strangers into the Kingdom was in some sort excusable in them by the example of the contrary Party who had first caused both Horse and Foot to be raised in Germany by the Rhingrave and Count Rocandolf who were Protestants and had likewise called in some Spaniards which they might very well have let alone since there were above an hundred Catholicks in France for every Huguenot Year of our Lord 1562 The Princes Army being Twelve Thousand fighting men took the Field Their resolution was to go directly to Paris believing that upon the first and sudden fright they might force them before the Triumviri could return or put the Queen in so much dread that she would be brought to a more reasonable accommodation The event made the vanity of this Design plainly appear he could not so much as take the little Town of Corbeil and besides when he was lodged at Arcueil and other neighbouring Villages the Queen engaged him in divers Conferences wherein she pretended mildly to yield to him in divers points to hinder him from falling upon the Suburbs till the Parisians were recover'd from their terrible consternation and to debauch his best Officers amongst which number was Genlis who retired to his own home but yet remained ever a Huguenot
himself by publick Writing and made oath he detested that Act In vain he Petitioned the Queen by Letters not to hasten the Execution of that Assassin that he might be confronted with him the House of Guise believed he was Guilty and whether he were really so or not the Children of that Duke took the most bloody revenge that we read of in any History of the World The Admirals request to the Queen seemed reasonable enough nevertheless Poltrot being carried to Paris the sixteenth day of March was in few days judged the Parliament condemned him to the same punishment as those that attempt the Sacred Person of a King which was to have his Flesh torn off with red hot pincers and drawn to pieces by four Wild-Horses The same day the Duke of Guises Corps was brought to Paris deposited at the Chartreux from thence born to Nostre-Dame with great lamentation and the real mourning of the whole City and then inhumed in the Sepulchre of his Fathers at Joinville Charles Duke of Lorrain made a solemn service for him at Nancy and the Pope another in his Chappel at Rome with Funeral Orations which certainly might be very noble without any mixture of Flattery The justice and moderation of that heroick Soul appeared yet more eminently in the last moments of his Life for he justified himself of the Massacre of Vassy expressing a deep Sorrow that that accident should have given occasion for a Year of our Lord 1563 Civil War and advised the Queen to make a Peace telling her positively that whoever obstructed it were Enemies both to the Kingdom in general and to the King in particular And indeed while he was yet living she had begun to Treat about it first at Saint Mesnin with Eleonora de Roye Wife to the Prince of Condé whom she caress'd extraordinarily giving her even hopes that her Husband should have the Lieutenancy as the King of Navarre his Brother had before Then with the Prince and the Constable in the Isle aux Boeufs near Orleans to which place they both were brought under strong Guard And as the Constable stood stiff not to allow of the Edict of January and the Prince was as resolute on the contrary the Queen permitted the Prince to go into Orleance to communicate with the Heads of his Party The Ministers insisted that at what price soever he should maintain the Edict of January The Officers who were weary of the War and himself who already longed to enjoy the sweet Air of the Court and the softer pleasures of Women relaxed in many things and contented themselves with a more moderate Edict It allowed such as were Lords High Justices to have a place for publick Preaching in their Territories and to others that have mean or low Justice to have private ones in their own Houses only for themselves and Family provided withal they did not dwell in Burroughs or Parishes that held of any other Justice but the Kings Moreover it gave them Liberty to Preach within such jurisdiction whence appeals may be made to the Parliament without any other Medium as likewise in such Cities where they had enjoy'd that Liberty till the fifteenth day of March last and together with this it also contained a general Amnisty a discharge to the Prince for all the Royal Money he had taken or caused to be taken and an acknowledgment whereby the King owned that he was his faithful Kinsman and affectionate to the good of the Kingdom and that all those that had followed him had acted nothing but with honest intentions and for his service The Queen did so earnestly press the conclusion of this Treaty that it was Signed on either part the eighteenth of March before the Admiral was return'd from Normandy He made bitter complaint to the Prince for having so ill managed the interest of his Party in a juncture of time when he might have mightily improved it but the thing was done and those complaints served for no other purpose but to evaporate his Choller The Edict was published in Parliament about the latter end of March. That of Toulouze delay'd till they were commanded more then once and moreover constrain'd to revoke all the diffamatory Decrees they had made against the Counsellors belonging to that Body and against the Capitous The Soldiery that were at Orleans having first celebrated their Communion in the Church called Saint Croix Marched out of the City They did the same in many others which they held in divers places leaving them in a most desolate condition having ruined their fairest Churches Commissioners were sent into the Provinces by the King to restore the Huguenots to their own and put the Edict in Execution but the most part made all the difficulties in it they possibly could excepting such as they could gain by force of presents If this liberty of Conscience which was allowed them were a just cause for the Clergies complaint an Edict made in the Month of May at Saint Germain en laye for the Alienation of a Hundred Thousand Crowns Sol of their Revenue in fund which was executed with great severity made their complaints rise much higher and louder Year of our Lord 1563. April c. Some while after the Chancellor de l'Hospital to still their out-cries a little granted them power to buy the same again and caused another Edict to be published whereby it was ordained that the Tenths should be paid to them which without doubt proved very effectual towards the strengthning and fixing the Catholick Religion for had the Huguenots been exempt from those payments the ✚ greater part of those whose Estates lay in the Country would have gone over to them that they might at once have gained the tenths of all their Estates The Duke of Guise being dead and the Peace made the Queen lived somewhat more at her ease Nevertheless four grand Affairs did yet perplex her mind the Princes conduct Havre de Grace which was still in the hands of the English the dissatisfaction of the Parliament of Paris and the eager pursuit and sollicitation of the Dutchess of Guise and her Children to have justice done them for the death of their Father Year of our Lord 1563 Whatever Artifice she could make use of it it was impossible for her to separate the Prince from the Admiral nor to dazle him with the fine Visions of the Kingdom of Sardinia wherewith she had enchanted the King of Navarre his Brother but Eleonora de Roye his Wife hapning to die she endeavoured to chain him to the Court with the Charmes of a voluptuous life and the tempting beauty of one of her Maids of Honour who having refused nothing to serve her Mistress found her self incommoded for nine Months after and was for a time the discourse and entertainment of the Court where the like accidents affords matter for more sport and divertisement then scandal The Widdow of the Mareschal de Saint André upon another Motive which was the hopes
King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé from joyning with him whilst they were at Court but they came on with more boldness when they were in the Camp Henry de la Tour Vicount de Turenne at that time a Catholick and already very knowing and subtle though but young was the contriver of their Association Being all hot headed rash young Men many Designs were propounded as strange as bold The King having had some hint gave order to Pinard Secretary of State to enjoyn the Duke not to leave the Camp upon pain of Incurring his Indignation The Duke sending him back without any answer because he would not produce his Order the Kings Council took such an Alarm that the King apprehending some dangerous surprize wrote to the Duke of Anjou to hasten the taking of Rochel because he had need of his Forces about his Person This was the cause he made so many Assaults unseasonably and lost so many Men. Now as both the one and the other were in an extream Perplexity Arrives the News from Poland which open'd them a way to go off with Honour The Bishop of Valence had gained the Affections of the Polanders by means of Balagny his naâ—ural Son before the death of King Sigismond the last Prince of the House of Jagellons When he was dead which hapned the Seventh of July in the year 1572. he parted from Paris the Seventeenth day of August following and went thither himself The Queen Mother and the Duke of Anjou apprehended nothing Year of our Lord 1573 more then the success of this Election wherefore at the same time they pretended to employ all the Kings power for it they obstructed it underhand by private Methods Nevertheless the Bishop having more regard to the Kings Command and his own Honor then to a Womans fancies managed the business so well that it succeeded The Duke of Anjou was Elected King but as the Heads of two of those four Factions that were amongst them were Calvinists they obliged the French Ambassadors to promise them several Conditions in favour of that Religion particularly that they should leave all those Cities at Liberty which were Besieged Upon the News of this Election and the Arrival of the Polish Ambassadours who came to fetch their new King the Duke of Anjou made them give some fresh Assaults and then renewed the propositions for accommodation The Rochellers refused to hearken to any thing unless all the other Cities of their Party were comprehended and they were fain to yeild to them in this point unless for month June Sancerre whose Surrender was hourly expected The Articles were all resolved upon the Five and Twentieth of June the Ratification was brought back some dayes after with an Edict of Pacification which was more restrictive by much then the preceeding ones for it allowed only Liberty of Conscience but no publick exercise excepting in the Cities of Rochel Nismes and Montauban It was not in their Power to obtain the same advantage for Sancerre the King under colour it belonged to a particular Lord whose right he could not infringe refused to grant them any more but the Liberty of Marriages and Christnings So that although for four Months past the scarcity of Provisions grew daily to a most-horrible Extremity yet they resolved to perish rather then not enjoy the same Conditions which the rest had They fed upon the most unclean Creatures and upon such Herbs as Beasts themselves refuse to tast as also Parchment and Leather and to say all in a word they surprized a Father and a Mother feeding upon their own Daughter that had been starved to death Whilst they were in this most lamentable State and yet would not think of a Surrender the Ambassadours from Poland who Arrived in the beginning of August got composition for them but they had no other advantages for their Religion then what was general So that the Cruel and Voluntary death of Two Thousand of those unhappy Wretches served only to Signalize to all future Ages their too long and fatal obstinacy In the Treaty of Rochel it was Stipulated that the Rochellers should intreat the Duke of Anjou to come into their City but that he should not enter So that after the most eminent had been with him to request it he dismissed his Army and went on Board his Galleys visited the adjacent Islands thence Sailed to Nantes and so returned to Court being every where received in quality of a King Thus ended that Famous Siege where the King lost Twelve Thousand Men and a great many Persons of Note the most remarkable being Claude Duke of Aumale who was Slain with a Cannon Shot The Polish Ambassadours who were Twelve in number and for their Chief had the Bishop of Posna Arrived at Mets the Five and Twentieth of July made their Solemn entrance into Paris on the Third day of September and the Tenth month July c. read the Decree of Election in the Palace-Hall The King was there upon a Scaffold Array'd in his Royal Robes and accompanied by all the Princes and Grandees of his Court The Decree being taken out of a Silver Box Sealed with an Hundred and Ten Seals of the Prelates Palatines and Castellans of the Kingdom was open'd and read aloud by one of the Ambassadors The King having given them very many civil thanks rose from his Seat and went to embrace the King of Poland his Brother the other Princes and Noblemen then present went afterwards to Congratulate him and pay their Respects He kissed the Duke of Alâ—ncon and the King of Navarre and treated the others with more or less Ceremony according to their quality I shall say nothing of the Feastings and Balets wherewith the Queen Mother entertained them those are the Abortives of Luxury and Prodigality the remembrance of which ought to last no longer then the smell of the meat and noise ☜ of the Violins The King of Poland made his entrance into Paris by the Gate Sainct Amoine with a Suitable Magnificence It was looked upon as an ill Omen that his Heraulds mistook in their blasoning the Arms of his New Kingdom Year of our Lord 1573 These Ceremonies ended King Charles who had taken up a strong Resolution he would Reign himself and withdraw that Authority he had imprudently committed to his Mother hastned his departure with great impatience every hour seeming a tedious year but the more he pressed the more delays the other still sought out It was not the delights only of the Court his Mothers tenderness the almost Royal Authority his Command had placed him in as Generalissimo of the Army's and the hope of succeeding to the Crown which ever seemed near at hand because the King had no Child that detained him in France the violent Love he had for the Princess of Condé was a stronger tye then all these The Duke of Guise who had Married the Sister soothed and served him though to no purpose in his passion and by that means had
gained the Princes favour so entirely that he could not have liv'd a moment without him Seven or Eight dayes were past and the King of Poland went not though all his Equipage were ready and his Goods loaden The King attributes it to the month September Queen and told her with an Oath that one of the two must leave the Kingdom but the Duke of Guise with-held him still upon hopes of a sudden enjoyment and offer'd him Fifty Thousand men to defend him from the wrath of his Brother At Three dayes end the King verily believing the Queen his Mother was the cause of his delay and that it was to hatch some dangerous Conspiracy caused his Closet Door to be rudely shut against her and resolved to prevent their designes by some others which no doubt would have been very Tragical The Peril was Evident both for her and her Son yet notwithstanding she could hardly resolve to part with him The King would needs Conduct him to the Frontiers rather to hinder him from Cantonizing himself in any of the Provinces then out of any Affection He could not accompany him so far as he desired but was forced to stop at Vitry in Partois for in a few dayes after he had menaced his Mother he was seized with a lingring but Malignant Feaver which made him very giddy in his Head and sick at Heart almost every Minute The Queen Mother with the Duke of Alencon and the King of Navarre Conducted him as far as Blamont in Lorraine There the Mother and the Son took their Leaves of each other amidst their Embraces Sobbs Sighes and Tears she most imprudently let fall these words Farewel my Son you shall not stay there long which being over-heard by several and quickly divulged did much encrease the sinister suspicions they had of the Kings Malady though others attributed it to his constitution which was of adust Choller and to the violent exercises he used as Hunting Riding the great Horse playing at Tennis Five or Six hours together hammering and forging of Iron which had so over-heated his mass of Blood that he slept but little and had sometimes Fits like those that so much afflicted Charles VI. King Henry after his departure from Blamont having Travell'd cross all Germany Arrived at Miezrich the first City of Poland about the end of the Month of January He had in his Train the Dukes of Nevers and Mayne the Marquiss d'Elbcuf the Count de Rais lately made Mareschal of France Roger de Sainct Lary Bellegarde Ten or Twelve other Lords of Note and above Five Hundred of the bravest Gentlemen besides these several Men of the Gown amongst others Bellievre Ambassadour of France to him Vincent Lauré Apostolick Nuncio and Pibrac the Kings Attorney in the Parliament of Paris All the Princes thorow whose Territories he passed strove to pay him the honour due to his Birth and Dignity there was none but Frederic Count Palatine of the Rhine that Treated him otherwise That Prince one of the gravest of his time desiring to make the young King and his bloody Council know the Injustice of the Massacres received him after a manner not much obliging and took pleasure in putting him into some apprehension of a most terrible Revenge At first that Noble and Majestick Air which outwardly appeared in all his Actions and the Profusion he made with both hands got him the passionate Love of the Nobility and adoration of the People but soon after the discomposedness of his Mind proceeding from Vapours of the Spleen his Melancholly for not receiving so early as he wished the News he expected from France a disgust of the Manners and Conversations of those People rendred him un-easie to himself and to his Subjects He sought for solitude in his own Closet communicated himself to none but his Favourites was sad and silent but that which aggravated Year of our Lord 1573 his Sorrow the more was the Proposition made him by the Senate to Marry Anne Sister of the Deceased King ill-favour'd and old whose dis-agreeable aspect did but more encrease those Flames in his Breast first kindled at Paris by the bright Eyes of the charming Princess of Condé There was some likely-hood that his departure from France would contribute much towards the calming of the Affairs in the State That the fears of the Huguenots who dreaded him and his Favorites ceasing their emotions would cease likewise That the Queen Mother having none now to rely upon would be forced to obey in her turn and that her Italians who excited the publick hatred and perverted the Just and Ancient Laws of Government to Introduce a new and Tyrannical Power would loose their Credit and Interest But on the contrary the Huguenots believing themselves the Stronger had not laid down their Arms in Languedoc but being confirmed and encouraged in their Assembly of Millaud and afterwards in those of Montauban and Nismes they became more audacious in their demands than if they yet had their Admiral at the Head of Thirty thousand Men to fight their Battels And besides the Duke of Alencon and the Politiques believing they were now Masters of all by the absence of the Duke of Anjou would needs dispose of things as they pleased The Duke d'Alencon ready to embrace any Enterprize without consideration and to give it over as lightly without thinking forged several in his own head but chiefly two amongst the rest the one to undertake the Lieutenancy of the War in the Low-Countries against the Spaniards and the King would gladly have sent him thither to ridd his hands of such a turbulent and restless Spirit the other was to demand the General Lieutenancy as the Duke of Anjou had it The Mareschal de Montmorency was of opinion he should stick to the latter and earnestly desired it for him with such persuasive Arguments and Reasons that the King thought fit to grant it Year of our Lord 1574. January c. But the Queen Mother who did expect no more acknowledgment or respect from this Son than she had shewed affection towards him who besides feared he would wrest her Authority from her and if the King hap'ned to die might perchance shut her dear Son the Duke of Anjou out of the Kingdom studied to break his measures and desired the Lieutenancy for the Duke of Lorrain who had Married the Fondling of all her Daughters Now when she found the King had promis'd it to the Duke of Alencon she contrived the Matter so well that instead of a Patent he only made a Declaration by word of Mouth and gave Letters under the Privy-Seal to some Governours shewing thereby plainly enough he meant to recall his Word as he soon after did and confer'd that eminent Title upon the Duke of Lorrain In the mean time the Duke of Alencon had contracted a most particular tye with the Huguenots and had promised to take them into his Protection The King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé were entred into this
about mid January arrived the 12 th of February at Reims and was Crowned three days after by the Cardinal de Guise the See being vacant The Duke of Guise who was yet in Favour had the precedency of the Duke of Montpensier This latter being come within two Leagues of Reims resolved to carry it this time received an Order from the King which forbid him coming any nearer The next day the King Married Lovisa Daughter of Nicholas Earl of Vaudemont paternal Uncle of Charles II. Duke of Lorrain the Cardinal de Lorrain had when living made the first proposal for this Match When the King had made his entrance into Paris with his new Spouse the Deputies for the Protestant and Politique Party came thither to discourse concerning a Peace having first consulted by their Envoyez with the Prince of Condé who was at Basil They demanded Right might be done them upon Ninety two Articles many of which sounded very boldly but those that shock'd most were the holding of the General Estates the lessening of the Tailles and reducing them to the same Standard they were in under Lewis XII and that exemplary punishment should be inflicted upon Atheists and Blasphemers and the Laws and Ordonnances put in execution against Year of our Lord 1575 those enormous and infamous Pailliardise which provoked and called down the wrath of God upon France This malicious censure rendred the Huguenots more execrable at the Court then either their Rebellions or their Heresie These Conferences which lasted above Three Months and the several Negotiations wherewith they endeavoured to amuse the Rochellers and Damville were so far from healing all the suspitions fears and animosities in the minds of either party that they rather more increased and envenomed them So that the War continued every where In the neighbourhood of Montauban which was invested by the Catholiques and delivered by Choupes who marched thither with the Forces of la Noüe In Auvergne where Montal was defeated and slain by a Dame whom we may equal to the Amazones this was Magdeline de Sainct Neciaire Widow of Guy de Sainct Exupery Miraumont always followed by Threescore of the bravest Gentlemen who strove to do prodigious feats of Arms to merit her favour In Perigord where Langoiran surprized and cruelly sack'd the City of Perigueux In Languedoc where Damville did as much at Vzez and at Alez and in Daufiné where Montbrun gained a Battle against Gordes his enemy near Die and besieged him in that Town Some days after going forth to meet some Forces that were coming to deliver him he was himself defeated taken and sent to the Parliament of Grenoble who made his Process and condemned him to lose his Head This was in punishment for his having plundered the King's baggage and making this insolent reply to those that blamed him for it That Gaming and War made all men equal Francis de Bonne Lesdiguieres month February a private Gentleman but who had already attained to a great reputation supplied his Place in Daufiné and raised himself to a much nobler height by restoring a strict Military Discipline then the other had ever been able to do by permitting all manner of Licentiousness I shall pass over in silence those disturbances the Government of the Mareschal de Rais occasioned in Provence and the two Factions which troubled that Province Year of our Lord 1574 the one bearing the name of Carcistes from the Count de Carces Lieutenant for the King who was their Head the other Rasats who opposed his exactions Nor shall I mention some exploits of Montclue whom they had newly made a Mareschal of France For they were inconsiderable and after that the ill-favour'd wound in his Face by a Musquet shot at his besieging of Rabasteins for which he wore a Vizor-Masque the Huguenots dreading him no more then a Girl The Senate of Poland besought the King with all the respect and deference imaginable that he would be pleased to return into that Countrey if not they would proceed to the election of another Pibrac whom the Queen-Mother had sent thither to get the term prolonged found they had passed a Decree of the Fourteenth of July signifying that the Crown was vacant as by death and that the Estates should proceed to a new Election Finding they were resolved upon it he thought it more becoming and decent to retire then be spectator of the affront they were going to do his Master In the Diet they were divided into two parties whereof the one elected the Emperour Maximilian the other Sigismond Bathory Prince of Transylvania upon condition he should Marry Anne Sister of the deceased King This last more diligent then his Rival posted immediately to Poland Married the Princess and got himself into Possession which would have occasioned infinite troubles if death had not prevented it by snatching Maximilian out of the World A Court overflowing with voluptuousness and where all was steered by other hands then the Sovereign Pilots could not but be mightily agitated by the continual intrigues of busy Women and of Favourites Du Gua and Souvré were then the month June c. Kings chief Darlings the Queen-Mother employ'd these to set the Duke of Alenson and the King of Navarre at variance and to scatter some seeds of jealousie between the King and his Wife for fear she should make her self Mistriss of her Husbands Affairs pursuant to the Councils of the Duke of Guise They had likewise frequent counterscuffâ—es with the brave Bussy d'Amboise Favourite to the Duk of Alenson and with the Queen of Navarre who upheld the courage of that Prince upon whom they were eternally putting their little tricks It hapned about this time the King fell sick they made him believe he was poison'd month August by his Brother Upon this imagination he sends for the King of Navarre and commanded him to rid his hands of that mischievous Man so he termed him but instead of obeying him in his revenge tho that were to bring him one step nearer to the Throne he abhorred it and left the King the time to repent it Year of our Lord 1575 When he was recover'd the Mareschal de Montmorency ran great risque of his Life those that had been the occasion of his confinement having just cause to fear he would resent it if he got out of the Bastille resolved to thrust him out of the world that they might fall no more under such apprehensions To this end they reported that Damville who alone could deter them from so damnable an attempt was dead Indeed he was very sick of some morsel which had been given him and upon this rumour they perswaded the King to give order to Souvré to strangle the Mareschal in prison but Souvré though they assured him of being made Captain of Bois de Vincennes after the feat done made so many delays that they had certain news of the recovery of Damville and so durst not lay violent hands upon his Brother
The Duke of Alenson out-braved by the Favourites had plotted to get away the King having notice of it causes both him and all those that were suspected to have given him such advice to be seized but the next day upon the Queen-Mothers intercession pardon'd him and to compleat the favour did likewise set the other prisoners at large That done as if he had nothing more to fear he gave himself wholly up to idleness passed the Night-time in Feasting and Balls the Morning in adjusting his Cloaths or placing his Furniture to the best advantage and invent new modes the Afternoon in divertisements amongst the Ladies and the Evening in Gaming While he lived in this great security the Duke his Brother deceives those that were commanded to watch him and slipping away one evening the Fifteenth of September reached the City of Dreux where Bussy who had forsaken the Court brought him a great deal of company At his going away he declared himself an enemy to the House of Guise and openly protested to revenge the death month Septemb. of the Admiral and of Molle his Favourite Amongst the Cloaths in his Wardrobe he kept a Doublet belonging to the last and had sworn he would wear it on a day of Battle If the Duke of Montpensier would have joyned with the Duke of Nevers or have lent him his Forces he might have hindred from passing the Loire and getting into Berry For all Montpensiers refusal he had a great mind to charge them and marched with great speed to intercept him but the Queen-Mother sent a Courier with an express Order under her own hand which commanded him not to pursue them any further she fearing her Son might perish in the Fight Upon the noise of the Duke of Alensons evasion great numbers of the Nobility flocked to him from all parts amongst others Ventadour Turenne and the wise La Noüe In the mean while the Prince of Condé had finished his Treaty with Casimir who raised him Eight thousand Reisters and Six thousand Swiss upon this conditition Year of our Lord 1575 amongst other things that they should make no Peace without his consent nor until they had obtained of the King the Government in chief of Mets Toul and Verdun for him Toré having contributed Fifty thousand Crowns towards these Levies they could not refuse to let him have Two thousand Reisters and Five hundred Foot to carry the Duke of Alenson by way of advance but the Duke of Guise Governour of Champagne charged and defeated them near Chasteau-Thierry He was there wounded in the left Cheek with a Musquet-shot the scar remained all his life-time a very Glorious mark of Honour to the Catholiques and very becoming in a Ladies Eyes also who believe that such as are brave in the Field of Mars are ever so in the Camp of Venus too Toré made his escape to the Duke of Alenson in Berry by the swiftness ☜ of his Horse and thither his Infantry got safely by a brave retreat of above Thirty Leagues It was suspected that the Duke of Alensons evasion was contrived by the Queen-Mother thereby to keep up two parties in the Kingdom and render her self necessary between both The Huguenots growing every day more suspicious imagined she had sent him amongst them to divide and so to ruine them However it were most of the great ones were very well pleased with it and she had employment enough cut out for her self as she desired She therefore presently hies after him taking along the Mareschals of Montmorency and Cosse whom she had released from their imprisonment to make use of that credit they had with him Montmorency prevailed so far by his interest as to bring the Duke to the Castle of Champigny belonging to the Duke of Montpensier where she cajoled him so finely that he consented to a truce of Six Months beginning from the Two and twentieh of November That done she returns to Court leaving the said Mareschal there to dispose him to a final accommodation It was agreed by this Truce that the King should give to the Duke by way of security the Cities of Angoulesme Niort Saumur Bourges and la Charite and to the Prince of Conde Mezieres The Governours of Bourges and Angoulesme having refused to be diseised of their places the Queen-Mother returns again to her Son month Decemb. and managed him so well that she obliged him to accept of Cognac and St. Jean d'Angely in exchange after which the Truce was published the Two and twentieth of December There was however nothing as yet that tended to a Peace the King made great Levies both of Men and Money but the City of Paris instead of furnishing him with the sums he desired paid him with Remonstrances which relished of reproaches and did but too evidently let him know the little esteem they had of his Government Some Bourgeois however paid Taxes not so much out of good Will as the fear they had of the Reisters and to exempt their Countrey-houses from quartering of Soldiers wherewith they were menaced month January The Negotiations for Peace continued still this stopt the Prince of Conde and Casimir in Lorrain all the month of January at the end whereof being tired with the variety and uncertainty of such Propositions as were made them they descended into Bassigny crossed over Burgundy within sight of Langres Dijon and Beaulne passed the Loir at Marsigny les Nonains and extended themselves between that River and the River of Allier having gained the Bridge de Vichy Auvergne avoided that month February inundation which would have destroy'd it by a Present of Fifty thousand Crowns and by ordering Markets to serve them with Provisions where-ever they passed The Duke of Mayenne who commanded the Royal Army durst not approach the Princes any nearer then within two days march When the King perceived they were resolved to come directly to Paris he recalled his own and quarter'd them about it but this remedy which he thought sit to provide against their fears excited the Parisians complaints they fall a crying out that they ought not thus pursue the only Brother of the King and that it was a high piece of cruelty to drive a Son out of the House To these out-cries were added the Duke of Montpensiers refusal to take upon him the Command of the Royal Army the little zeal the Grandees express'd to serve the King in this occasion and a much more surprising accident then all these which was the evasion of the King of Navarre about the end of February This Prince having a long while suffer'd himself to be flatter'd with the hopes of the General-Lieutenancy and the deluding charms of some Court Syrens escaped at last from Senlis whither he was gone under pretence of a Hunting-match and retired to Poissy from thence to Alenson afterwards to Vendosme Two hundred Gentlemen month February coming there to meet him he travelled by long journeys into Guyenne where his quality of Governour and
that of Prince did secure him of all the Nobility and the best places upon his first arrival Laverdin had promised him to seize upon Mans and Chartres by the assistance of Roquelaure Lieutenant of his Company d'Ordonnance Fervaques was to have done the same at Cherbourg but both of them failed of their Enterprizes month March The Princes Army having cross'd the Bourbonnois joyned the Duke of Alensons near Moulins the Eleventh day of March and both of them mustered in the Plain Year of our Lord 1576. March de Souzé where the Prince having made an excellent harangue to the Duke of Alenson with that Eloquence which is natural to the Princes of that House resigned the Command of the whole Army to him It consisted of above Thirty thousand of the best Men that one should see notwithstanding with these great Forces no great matter was undertaken For the marvellous dexterities of the Queen which the Huguenots termed Enchantments the extravagant and changeable humour and designs of the Duke d'Alenson and the usual rough temper of the Reistres made them halt at every step Withal great discords were crept in among their Chiefs for the Consistorial Huguenots would not conside in the Duke of Alensons Council wholly composed of People both interressed and persidious The Duke had taken some jealousie upon the King of Navarre's going away the Prince of Conde was no less troubled that he was not the Chief Commander of that Army which had been the fruits of his own labour and care And Damville who had formed his Tetracby in Languedoc apprehended to see his Authority swallowed up by the Princes and which was more the Money he had for his own purposes collected in Languedoc and which his Wife had with much care and covotousness locked up as prisoners of the better sort in her own Coffers All joyn'd together they might have had whatever they desired the Duke of Alenson might have obtained a good part of the Kingdom for Appenage and the Princes such Governments and Pensions as they would the Huguenots a firm and solid Peace ☜ and inviolable securities but a way was found out to divide them with baits of particular Interests which however cannot be attained with so much advantage by any other method as a strickt union of the whole party in all its members The most easy to be taken off was the Duke of Alenson as appeared at the Conference they had at Moulins concerning a Peace However nothing was there concluded but only the sending of some Propositions to the King by John de Laffin Beauvais and William Dauvet Darenes After the Council had examined them with great deliberation but without any fruit the Queen-Mother returned a second time to her Strayed Son so she called him who was in the Abbey of Beaulieu near Loches in Touraine taking along with her the Mareschal de Montmorency in whom that Prince had a great deal of confidence and a great Troop of very fine Women whom she set forth in all her Negotiations as Lime-twigs or Nooses to catch those with whom she Treated Year of our Lord 1576 Prince Casimir obstructed the accommodation for some time he obstinately persisting to have the Government of Mets Toul and Verdun in chief and would have had the Churches belonging to the Catholiques to be in common for the Huguenots without the trouble and charge of building any others The Queen-Mother having discoursed him in private found an expedient to stop his Mouth and satisfy him by promising great sums of Money to make him desist from those demands So that the Treaty was finished the Ninth of May and Signed the day following The Edict month May. was drawn the Fifteenth and verified in Parliament the same day the King being present that there might be no cause of delay It were much more advantageous for the Huguenots then the precedent ones for it allowed them the free exercise of their Religion which from that time forward was to be called The pretended Reformed Religion over all the Kingdom without exception either of time or place provided they had the permission of the Lords of those places allowed them places for burial of their dead especially that of the Trinity at Paris Moreover the faculty of being admitted to all Offices and into Colledges Hospitals and Spittles Forbid the making any search or inquisition after such Priests and Monks as were Married amongst them and declared their Children Legitimate and capable of succeeding and inheriting their Estates and Moveables expressed great sorrow and regret for the Murthers committed on the St. Bartholomew exempted the Children of such as were then Massacred from the Arrier-ban if they were Gentlemen and from Tailles if they were Plebeian revoked all Sentences given against la Molle Coconas John de la Haye Lieutenant-General in the Presidial of Poitiers as also those whereby they had condemned the Admiral Brequemaut Caevagnes Montgomery Montbrun and others of the Religion owned the Prince with Damville and his Associates for his good Subjects Casimir for his good Allie and Neighbour and accounted all what they had done as done for his Service Granted to the Religionaries that they might have equal justice done to them Chambers My-Parties in each Parliament and for places of security Beaucaire and Aigues-Mortes in Languedoc Perigueux and le Mas de Verdun in Guyenne Nions and Serre in Daufiné Issoire in Auvergne and Sene la Grand Tour in Provence They promised also to Prince Casimir the Seignieury of Chasteau-Thierry in Principality a Company of an hundred Men at Arms the Command of Forty thousand Reistres Twelve thousand Crowns of Gold in Pension Seven hundred thousand Crowns Year of our Lord 1576 of Silver ready Money for the payment of his Army and Rings and Jewels in pawn for the rest To the Prince of Conde the effectual enjoyment of the Government of Picardy whereof he had the Title already and Peronne for his place of Residence The conditions for the Duke of Alenson were the best they gave him in augmentation of his Appenage the Countreys of Berry Tourain and Anjou with the right of nomination to consistorial Benefices as his Brother Henry formerly had and besides an hundred thousand Crowns Pension month October The greatest difficulty was to find the Money they wanted for Casimir to whom they had assigned the Bishoprick of Langres for Quarters where he lived German-like while waiting for his Pay They sent Peter de Gondy Bishop of Paris to Rome to ask consent of his Holiness to alienate as much as amounted to Fifty thousand Livres Rent of the Demeasnes Ecclesiastical the Holy Father agreed to the Demand and gave a Bull directed to the Cardinals of Bourbon Guise and Est and to some other French Prelates the Parliament verified it but without approving that clause which mention'd That the distraction should be made even manger the Possessors The Duke of Anjou so we shall name him henceforward whom we have hitherto called
arrival of a new Governour Don Juan of Austria In the mean time the Spanish Troops having mutined plundred the wealthy City of Antwerp where they got so much booty that some private Soldiers were seen to play for Ten thousand Franc's in one night The Catholique Provinces fearing they might be plundered in the same manner united by a Treaty made at Ghent with those of Holland and Zealand Now before they received or admitted Don Juan the Estates would have all the Spaniards sent out of the Countrey and the Treaty of Ghent to be confirmed Don Juan feigned to agree to those conditions and entred the Countrey in Sheeps cloathing but soon changed it for the Foxes skin seising upon Namur Charlemont and Mariemburgh Then the States armed against him drove him back into Luxemburg called in Matthias the Emperors Brother whom they chose for their Governor and the Prince of Orange for his Lieutenant But by the jealousy of the Catholique Lords thwarting the wise Councils of Orange Don Juan had time to receive the Forces brought him by Alexander Farness Duke of Parma with which he gained a signal Battle at Gemblours over the Army of the States and afterwards the Gueux having turned Year of our Lord 1577 the Priests and Monks out of Ghent broke and pull'd down all the Images in their Churches So that the happy success of Don Juan and the attempt of this insolent rabble gave occasion to some Lords already discontented to form a Third Party whereof Montigny was Head and to draw both Artois and Hainault to joyn with them The same Lords finding that the States had Treated with Queen Elizabeth who sent Casimir to them with some German Forces moved with apprehension of the great danger their Religion was in resolved to Treat with the Duke of Anjou to which the States did likewise incline being induced thereto by the practises of the Prince of Orange who had great suspition of Casimir Year of our Lord 1578 This business had been negotiating a year before by the tacite consent of the Queen-Mother but the King did not approve of his Brothers medling with the Low-Countreys Affairs he was too jealous of his advancement and besides too much netled at his Bussy's braving his Favorites every day Now these Picques and Controversies rising higher on either part he caused his Brother to be laid hold on in the Louvre and set Guards upon him but they did their Duty so negligently that he escaped out of their hands being let down by a cord into the Trench under the Louvre and went to the Abby St. Germain where Bussy waited for him and had made a hole in the Wall of the City From thence they got to Anger 's and after they had sojourned there some weeks advanced to Mons in Hainault to conclude the Treaty which was before prepared by one of his Secretaries He promised to assist the States with his Forces and Means to raise Six thousand Foot and Three thousand Horse to maintain them at his own charges for Three Months and to endeavour to bring the Queen of England the King of Navarre and Casimir into this Alliance Reciprocally they promised him that where-ever he should be personally he should Command in Chief with the General for the States That if they accepted of any Lord other then the King of Spain they would prefer him before all That forsecurity and a retreat for his Sick they would give him Quesnoy Landrecy and Bavais That if they could obtain a good Peace they would repay his disbursements and give him a reward worthy of his Grandeur month August Year of our Lord 1578 There never was a business so intangled nor a Countrey more divided and tormented then that same The Arch Duke Matthias had his party amongst the States and amongst the Nobless the Prince of Orange had all the power in the Provinces of Frise Holland Zealand and Vtrect Don Juan of Austria was Governor for the Spaniard but declared an enemy by the States Prince Casimir was there in the behalf of Queen Elizabeth the Duke of Anjou as their Ally and Protector Imbise had seized upon Ghent and Prince Casimir with his Forces was got into those parts as it were to cantonnize himself The Catholique Lords of Artois and Hainault floated between all parties desiring to preserve if it were possible their Liberty and their Religion So that there were Five Armies feeding upon and laying wast that unfortunate Countrey That belonging to the States was of Thirty eight thousand Foot and Eight thousand Horse That under the Duke of Anjou much inferiour for number to what had been promised him by Treaty He besieged Bins and batter'd it so furiously that it surrendred the Fourteenth day being the Sixth of September The civility he shewed month September to that Garrison open'd him the Gates of Maubeuge but the insolence of his Soldiers in the Field caused those of Quesnoy and Landrecy to be shut up against him For vexation of this inexecution and because Casimir kept still in Ghent he would not joyn with the States Army to whom however he had already sent Three thousand Men Commanded by la Noüe but retired into France having first sent to the Arch-Duke Matthias and the Council of the States to let them know the reasons for his departure and give them an assurance of his return The greatest part of his disbanded Troops went into the Service of the male-contented Lords Some Months after Don Juan of Austria hapned to die the King his Brothers jealousie made all his designs miscarry and perhaps hastned his end by some potion as he had the end of Escovado his Secretary and intimate Confident in Spain by cutting the thred of his Life with a keen ponyard His loss caused so great a consternation in his Army that if that of the States had fall'n upon them they might with ease either have forced or dispersed them but Year of our Lord 1578 besides that their disorders were likewise great in that great Body for want of pay the death of Maximilian Crook-Back who Commanded in Chief hapning within Six weeks after broke all that little Union there was between the Lords of the Countrey who fell from the common interest of the publique good to seek their own private advantages During this expedition of the Duke of Anjou into the Low-Countries the King languished still in unactive idleness wherein he was entertained by Villequier and Francis d'O his Son-in-law This last was Surintendant des Finances a Man wholly given up to Luxury who put the King daily upon making new Edicts called Bursaux and by carrying him to the Parliament forced them by his Presence to verify the same This was one of the chief causes of the ruine of this Prince the People observing so frequently that from his Court whence nothing but good and wholsome Laws should have proceeded there came nothing now but Edicts of Oppression and Severity did by little and little lose
Man seemed to take no notice of her design but made her hope he would serve her in all things but as he loved himself better yet then the elder Branch of his own House he consulted his own proper advantage Now because he had no right or title of his own to intermedle in the Affairs of the Kingdom he thought it convenient to make use of the Cardinal Charles de Bourbon whom he possessed with the opinion that he was presumptive Heir to the Crown as being nearer by one degree then the King of Navarre his Nephew representation taking no place in a Transversal Line so that this good Man hated his Nephew as his Rival and hugged and look'd upon the Duke of Guise as a powerful Friend who helped him to make out his Right The King was well informed of all these practises by the King of Navarre and the more he found them desirous to keep that Prince at distance the more he thought it his Interest to draw him nearer but to remove and take away all manner of pretence they could have whereby to render him odious to the Catholicks he would willingly have brought him back into the bosom of the Church before he called him to Court. To that end he sent the Duke of Espernon to him who strove to persuade him by Arguments of Interest which ordinarily are most prevalent with Princes but his Ministers and the Consistorians deterr'd him from it and perhaps he apprehended the King did not proceed sincerely and that they only felt his pulse to try whether they could Year of our Lord 1584 divide him from his old Friends Wherefore Plessis Mornay to satisfie their Congregations whom this Conference had hugely allarmed caused it to be publish'd to the great displeasure of the King and the disadvantage even of his own Master For the Leagued began to report that Espernon was not gone thither to convert but to confirm him in his Heresie that he took a pride in continuing obstinate in his Errors and that the King chalking him out the way to oppress the Catholick Princes he would certainly if ever he attained the Crown overturn the ancient Religion They bawled much lowder yet when they were made acquainted that by his means the King was agreed with Montmorency at the very time he was raising Men to fall upon that Mareschal and that shortly after for his sake only had prolonged the time for restitution of those places which had been given to the Huguenots Their Emissaries made this found high amongst the People the Preachers thunder'd it in their Pulpits the Confessors whisper'd it in the Ears of their Penitents and their Libels insinuated the same to all their Readers To these supposed subjects of Declamation they cast in the Protection of Geneva the Order of the Garter sent by Queen Elizabeth to the King and a pretended League made by the Protestants at Magdeburgh for the defence of Gebard Truchses Then after they had stained the honour of the King by all the inventions they could think of they highly recommended the Piety Courage and goodness of the Lorrain Princes whom they termed Bucklers of their Faith and the Fathers of their Country and People month October c. Then having heated the Zealous stirr'd up the Factious and persuaded the Simple they began to rise to list Soldiers hold Assemblies elect private and nameless Chiefs upon whose summons by Ticket such as were enrolled were to meet at certain appointed places to renew the League first at Paris then in the Provinces The Duke of Nevers was he who laboured most to shape it into some form and regular method In a few months it grew formidable and in a condition to declare nothing was wanting to compleat their Authority but a confirmation from the Pope Father Claude Matthew a Jesuit carried the Platform and Memoirs of it to Rome the Cardinal Pelve presented it to his Holiness and the Spanish Cardinals did second it or hugg'd Year of our Lord 1584 it rather as we may say in their Arms. The Pope did not reject it at first but whether he were afraid of allarming the Protestant Princes and offend the King to such a degree as to make him enter into Confederation with them he would not countenance it by any publick Act but thought it enough to entertain them with hopes Besides the cause of Religion the extraordinary oppression of Impost favour'd it extreamly all other pretences and practises of the Grandees had been of little efficacy to move the People had they not been grievously molested The loads that lay upon them were insupportably heavy in comparison of those in former Kings Reigns the King had made Edicts for more then fifty Millions of which not so much as two ever came into his Coffers and the Gifts in this year 1584. amounted to five Millions of Gold Wherefore to satisfie the People upon their menacing Complaints he suppress'd sixty four Edicts which had been verified in Parliament abated seven hundred ☞ thousand Livers of the Tailles moderated his profusion in some measure and erected a Royal Chamber for inquiry into the Accounts of the Financiers Which would have afforded matter of great joy to all honest Men had not the event made it plainly appear that they pursued and inspected those Harpies rather to get some share in their Prey then to hinder the like Depredations for the future Observing how the Guises by their caresses had gained the favour of the People he affected during some Months to appear Popular he shewed himself in publick and with a smiling and gracious Countenance caressed the Deputies from the several Cities and the principal Bourgeois of Paris assisted at the Fraternities and solemn Masses but this borrowed Humour was soon spent and he shrowded himself within his Closet as before month December The Duke of Espernon with some of the Council had made a Party to seize upon the Duke of Guise he had notice of it and retired to his Government of Champagne carrying his Nephew along with him the Cardinal his Brother followed soon after The Spanish Agents took advantage of this juncture and never let them rest till they had made a secret Treaty with them It was negociated at Joinville and concluded the last day of December of this year 1584. It contained a Confederation and League Offensive and Defensive between King Philip and the Catholick Princes for them and for their Heirs to preserve the Catholick Religion as well in France as in the Low-Countries That when the Death of Henry III. should happen the Cardinal de Bourbon should be installed in the Throne and that all Heretical Princes relapsed should for ever be excluded That in such case the new King should renew the Treaty made at Cambray in 1558. should banish Year of our Lord 1584 all Hereticks by publick Edict cause the Decrees of the Council of Trent to be observed renounce both for himself and his Successors all Alliance with the Turk hinder the
Mother he relaxed so far as to gâ—ve Commission to that Princess to go to Espinay find out the Duke of Guise and Treat with him His Order was she should oblige him to lay down his Arms before she entred upon any Negociation on the contrary the Duke of Guises design was to gain time that he might draw his Forces together Which he craftily practised for ten or twelve days together then in short told her neither himself nor Friends would quit their Arms till they were satisfied in their demands and immediately took Horse to meet his Reisters who were then upon the Frontiers Scarce was he out of sight when Rubempre either for not being well paid or for being so by both sides labour'd to debauch the old Cardinal de Bourbon from him no sooner had he a hint of it but he returned in post-haste to prevent it In the mean while the King of Navarre puts forth Manifesto's to shew the justice of his Cause in one of which he offer'd the Duke of Guise to decide this Quarrel between them two Year of our Lord 1585 with such number of Seconds and in such place the Duke would make choice of either within or out of the Kingdom But the Duke was too wary a Man to be picqued with a bravado which would have reduced the general Cause to a particular one he protested he honour'd the Birth and Merits of the King of Navarre that he had no contest against him and that he only concerned and interested himself for defence of the Catholick Religion These Manifesto's however had a great effect upon the Spirits of such as were not then engaged to either Party and brought in great numbers and besides the Forces of the League were beaten and dispersed in divers Provinces the Duke of Montpensier cut off five hundred Men commanded by the Baron de Drou who lived at discretion in his Dutchy of Chastelleraud the Duke of Joyeuse beat along before him the Troops of the Duke d'Elbaeuf from Touraine even to Normandy where they were totally dispersed and Espernon getting on Horseback as soon as he was cured of an Imposthume above his Jaw on the left Cheek pursued four thousand Men who had their Rendezvous about Orleans so smartly that they could never form themselves into a Body The heat of those who had declared for that Party began to cool the Volunteers to retire to their own homes upon pretence of an approaching Peace the Kings Servants to draw many by secret practises and the Huguenots to raise Forces under-hand by the Kings tacite permission The Guises perceiving that such Negociations were ruinous to them and that it was for those very ends they spun out the Treaty to such length address'd a Petition to the King demanded an Edict against the Religionaries and protesting they were joyned together for no other purpose and thereupon rashly break off the Conference mount their Horses and put new warmth and spirit into their Party principally those who dwelt in great Cities and such as were of the Clergy who had most dependance upon Rome The King whom they had made believe that the whole Party was unhing'd and scatter'd fell from the greatest security into the greatest consternation He sends the Queen Mother Order to conclude with them upon any terms whatever For this a Conference was held at Nemours between her and the Duke of Guise Espernon would needs be present fearing lest his Head or his proscription should be one Article of the Treaty and this necessity of the times made that haughty Spirit stoop though contrary to his usual custom but the Duke would take no advantage unless it were to shew him more civility and more respect with design perhaps either to get him on his side or else render him suspected by the King Year of our Lord 1585 They did not only give the Heads of the League that Edict they demanded against the Religionaries this was in the Month of July and the full command of the Armies month July to execute the same but also the Cities of Chaalons St. Disier Reims Toul Verdun Soissons Dijon Beaune St. Esprit Rue in Picardy Dinan and Concarneau in Bretagne To the Cardinals of Bourbon and of Guise the Dukes of Guise of Mayenne and d'Elboeuf each of them a Company of Arquebusiers on Horseback for their Guards an hundred thousand Crowns to build a Citadel at Verdun and double that Sum to pay off the Men they had levied in Germany as likewise a discharge for what Moneys they had taken of the Kings Hitherto the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde had lain quiet without stirring in appearance the publication of this Agreement gave them cause to League themselves anew with the Mareschal de Montmorency whose ruine must necessarily have followed theirs and to send also into Germany for the raising of Lansquenets and Reisters Now the King being just ready to be crushed betwixt two potent Parties who were going desperately to engage each other could think of no other expedient to avoid that destruction but to draw the King of Navarre to him to serve as a Bulwark against the League He therefore sent some Deputies to tempt him a second time but he could not be wrought upon neither to return to the Communion of the Church of Rome nor to suspend the Exercise of his own Religion for six Months much less to surrender the Cities he held for security He only promised to meet at a Conference with the Queen Mother when they could agree upon the place of Interview Though Orders were given out to prosecute the Huguenots in all parts of the Kingdom nevertheless in several Provinces the Governors knowing the Kings intentions did not much press the execution of the Edict Montmorency and Chastillon restrained Languedoc Matignon made no great haste to do any thing in Guyenne but only took care to prevent the King of Navarre from making any stirs The Huguenots had no other general word but Vive le Roy and white Scarfs with the Flower-de-Luce for their Liveries As to the rest they were weak enough every where unless it were in Daufine and Poitou In Daufine Lesdiguieres who had put all things in order in good time month September and October took Chorges Montelimar and Ambrun and in Poitou and Saintonge the Prince found himself in a capacity to besiege Brouage Whilst he lay before it news was brought him how three Captains had seized on the Year of our Lord 1585 Castle of Anger 's having by a base and cruel piece of treachery kill'd the Governor who was their Friend but they were immediately besieged by the Citizens then by Brissac and Joyeuse The Prince thought it would be a noble exploit to gain a place at that time so considerable he would needs go himself with the best part of his Forces but not willing to abandon the Siege of Brouage he left a small Naval Army there in the Canal and fifteen hundred Men in the
Bouchard and even Chastelleraud it self open'd their Gates to him From thence he advanced as far as Argenton in Berry to aid the City which held for the King against the Castle that stood for the League Which gave so much jealousie to la Chastre that he declared for the League and made the City of Bourges declare with him The happy progress of this Prince and his Proximity gave the King some reason Year of our Lord 1589 to court his assistance in his extream necessity the Duke of Nevers who apprehended month April this medley of Huguenots and Catholicks might bring Religion into danger dissuaded him with all his might and there were withal great obstructions on either hand On the Kings part the fear of farther offending the Court of Rome and scandalizing the Catholicks the Conscience of so soon violating an Oath twice reiterated before the Estates and the shame of being forced to call into his assistance him whom he had so roughly persecuted On the King of Navarres part the just suspicion lest they should sacrifice him to appease the fury of the League for this King that invited him was himself one of the principal Authors of the bloody St. Bartholomew and the constraint of stooping to the Favourites who sported with the lives of those that did not bow the knee before them Notwithstanding Du Plessis Mornay and some others by their prudent management removed all these Obstacles and accommodated every thing between these two Kings upon condition the Treaty should not be divulged till the King should think it fit It contained an agreement of a Truce for a year during which time the King of Navarre should aid him with all his Forces and should give him up all such places as he should take from the common Enemy Reciprocally the King should give him the Pont de Ce upon the Loire and one place in every Bailiwick as a retreat for his sick Men. When the Legat had discover'd this new Confederation he employ'd all his power and interest to incline the Duke of Mayenne to an Accommodation even so far as to offer him Conditions much beyond the power of his Commission The King finding he did but only lose time that in the Dukes Army they gave him no better Title then the Tyrant the Massacrer and dethroned Henry and that the Duke was at Chasteaudun within three days Journey of Tours he caused the Truce to be proclaimed though with a great deal of repugnance There were at Rome some Envoys on his behalf to sollicite for his Absolution and others in behalf of the League to oppose it The thing was found to be much more difficult to obtain of the Pope then he had imagined In that Court the Blood of a Cardinal is not so lightly valued and Pope Sixtus who gloried in trampling upon Crowned Heads would be sure not to let slip this opportunity of magnifying his own power He demanded before any further proceedings that they should set the Cardinal de Bourbon and the Archbishop of Lyons at liberty Charles d'Angennes Bishop of Mans had made him believe the King would grant him this but when in stead of a compliance that Prelat entertain'd him with excuses and ragione di stato and at the same time they were informed by Letters from the Legat of the Kings Confederation with the Head of the Huguenots the Pope le ts fly a Monitory the Fifth of May by which he demanded and commanded to set the Cardinal and the Arch-Bishop Year of our Lord 1589 at liberty within ten days after publication and to give certain notice month May and June thereof within thirty by an authentick Act In default whereof he declared he had incurr'd the Censures Ecclesiastical especially those which are contained in the Bull in Coena Domini of which he could not be absolv'd but by the Pope himself unless at the point of death and upon giving security to make satisfaction cited him to appear personally at Rome within sixty days allowing him twenty days for each Admonition and disanulling all Indulgences Faculties and Priviledges to the contrary granted by the Holy See either to him or to any of his Predecessors This Monitory was published in Rome and affixed upon the Church doors of St. Peters and St. John de Latran the Three and twentieth of May and the Month of June following in the Cathedral of Chartres in that of Meaux and some other Churches in France but the King still pretended cause of ignorance He notwithstanding had well enough foreseen this thing and the apprehension he had of it hastned him to satisfie the King of Navarre by giving him a passage upon the Loire Du Plessis Mornay by his Address brought it so about as in lieu of Pont de Ce a very ill-favoured place he gave him the City of Saumur whereof his Master gave him the Government This security being granted the two Kings met about the Thirtieth of April about the hour of One in the Afternoon at Plessis Les Tours in the Park he of Navarre was come to the Bridge de la Motte which is a Rivolet a quarter of a league beyond Tours and had brought part of his Forces which were quarter'd about two leagues beyond that but would venture no farther Nevertheless d'Aumont and Chastillon having informed him that such mistrust displeased the King pressed him so home that they prevailed with him to pass the River of Cher and come into the Park His old Captains trembled both for anger and for fear lest the King said they in a season wherein treachery may be so advantageous to free himself out of that Labyrinth whereinto another had drawn him should have agreed for his Absolution at the price of this Princes Life and destined his Head a present to the Pope to accompany the Admirals The same day to dispel their fears he returned to his lodgment but the next day by six in the morning and without giving them notice he repasses the River with only one Page and came to the King as he was rising The two Princes spent all that morning and the next in consulting of their Affairs Their resolution in gross was to attaque Paris the principal head of the League and that which gave motion to all the rest They reckon they should for this purpose have the Forces of the Huguenot Party and great numbers of the Nobility a powerful assistance which the King expected from England and a levy of twelve thousand Swiss whom Sancy was gone to raise in the Protestant Cantons After they had remained together two days Year of our Lord 1589 the King of Navarre went to Chinon to bring forward the rest of those Troops he month April had left there In the Provinces the two Parties had had divers Rencounters Sautour a Royalist besieging Mere upon Seine Hautefort who qualified himself Lieutenant General for the Union in Brie and Champagne charged him kill'd or caused most of his Men to drown themselves
great Guns they lowred their Pikes and surrendred their Colours which were immediately restored to them again by the generosity of the King who desiring to oblige the whole Nation wrote a very civil Letter to the Cantons The Duke of Mayenne after he had performed all the Duties of a great Commander and brave Cavalier drew part of his Men over the Bridge then caused it to be broken down and with that remnant escaped to Mantes The Inhabitants were willing to receive his Person but not quarter his Troops but made them go thorough ten by ten Nemours Aumale and some other Chiefs with what they could rally retired to Chartres over the Plain The Duke attributed the loss of this Battle to his Flemish Men at Arms who were heavy and unskilful as well the Men as their Horses to the temerity of Count Egmont who commanded them to the mistake of the Vicount de Tavanes who being short-sighted ranged the Squadrons so near each other that there was not space enough in the intervals for the Reisters to wheel about and draw up again in the rear of the rest and above all to the cowardize of those very Reisters who having at first given ground fell into the Dukes Squadron and continuing still to wheel off during the whole fight fell upon the others likewise and so put them into disorder For fear of being pursued he had broken down the Bridge of Yvry and there hapned the greatest slaughter of the run-aways the Reisters defended themselves a while in the Burrough but were all knock'd on the Heads The King having past the River at the Ford of Anet was come to Lodge at Rosny which is a League beyond Mantes His approaches startled the Inhabitants of that Town the Duke perceived by their looks there would be little security for him there and for that reason retired speedily to St. Denis The Plain of Yvry was not the only place wherein destiny to speak like the Vulgar declared for the King the same day it gave him in Auvergne another advantage of great importance and such as wholly confirmed his Affairs in that Province The Count de Randan had surprized the Town of Issoire and built a Citadel the Gentlemen Royalists and the Citizens of Clermont who in hatred to those of Rion Year of our Lord 1590. March had a great deal of Zeal for the Kings Party surprized the City by their intelligence with a Consul and besieged the Citadel Florat Seneschal of Auvergne Commanded on this occasion Randan comes to relieve the Citadel and invested both him and his Party in the Town The Lords of that Country amongst others Rostignac the Kings Lieutenant the Vicount de Lavedan the Baron de Chaseron the Marquiss de Curton who commanded the little Army and d'Effiat came to disengage their Friends This could not be without a Battle it was very obstinate but in fine the Leagners were overthrown It cost them five hundred Men whereof there were an hundred Gentlemen and amongst the rest the generous Count de Randan who being taken Prisoner died of his Wounds in Issoire Those of the Citadel having heard of this defeat capitulated and the Victors returned in great triumph to Clermont The Duke of Mayenne was no sooner parted from Mantes but that City and that of Vernon turned their backs upon him It was said that if he could but have left a good Garison there he had stopt the King upon the Banks of the Seine and made his Victory vanish In effect he had neither Implements nor Ammunitions to make a Siege nor could he keep the Nobility with him any longer who upon the rumour of a Battle came in all haste to him without any Equipage The Wise la Noue was of opinion he should go directly to Paris where the Victory of Yvry had wonderfully raised the courage of his Friends and depressed that of the Seize the Mareschal de Biron most prevalent in the Council of War and d'O Surintendant of the Finances hindred it The first as it was said because he feared lest the King whom he treated as his Scholer should free himself if we may so say from the power of his Ferula and have the less regard of him if his business came to be dispatched so soon The second because he desired rather to reduce Paris by violent means For he judged that in case it were so the King would have just cause not only to take away the Cities Revenue but likewise extort great Ransoms from them and lay such Imposts as he pleased Now whatever motive he had he rested fifteen days at Mantes in which space the League did a little recover out of their astonishment calmed the Peoples fears and repaired their leaks Their Chiefs that they might gain more time made some Proposals for an Accommodation Villeroy first entred into Conference with Plessis Mornay in the Castle of Suindre near Mantes the Legat procured another at Noisy le Sec between the Cardinal de Gondy and the Marâ—schal Biron and was also present himself All very ineffectually for them because the King without any delay prepared himself to besiege Paris Year of our Lord 1590. March and April He had already taken Lagny Provins Monstereau Bray on the Seine and Melun Some false intelligence put him upon attempting the City of Sens but he was repulsed by Chanvallon with the loss of three hundred Men. From thence he came and seized on the Castle and Bridge of Sainct Maur des Fossez the Five and twentieth day of April having fifteen thousand Foot and little less then four thousand Horse Then Paris found they were block'd up That innumerable and confused multitude of People without Heads at least not absolute without foresight without Discipline who apprehended no danger because they understood it not and who relied upon their great numbers and strength had made no provisions for the Belly nor for War neither had the Chiefs taken any care to provide against either publick or private necessities When it came into their thoughts it was too late the Countries about them had no Corn nor Forrage all the Bridges beneath the City were in the Kings power and the Marne could furnish them with little because the Harvest that year had been very ill in Champagne They had scarce any other Stores but three thousand Muids of Corn and ten thousand Muids of Wine which Givry suffer'd to pass the Bridge of Chamoy for a present bestow'd upon him of ten thousand Crowns and out of a secret Complaisance he had for Mademoiselle de Guise with whom he was mightily smitten month May. The Duke of Mayennes Orders and their Necessity confer'd the Government of the City on the Duke of Nemours his Brother by the Mother a young Prince of an active boldness and great vigour He had then no Men of note about him but the Chevalier d'Aumale brave but wild and untractable and of Soldiers only twelve hundred Lansquenets as many French and a thousand Swiss
but he drew Vitry thither with an hundred and fifty Masters and Berdnrdine de Mendoza Ambassador from Spain sent for a hundred Horse In the City were the Princesses of Nemours Montpensier d'Aumale de Guise with her Daughter and some other Ladies of Quality the Spanish Ambassador the Archbishop of Lyons Keeper of the Seals for the League the Legat with all his Train and divers French Prelats besides the Cardinal de Gondy who though more Royalist then a Leaguer would not however forsake his Flock in their necessity but very charitably relieved them It would be very difficult to say which was greater either the vigilance and cares of the Governor or the zeal of the Parisians In a short time they had made great quantities of Powder repaired the breaches in their Walls cast up Breast-works and Mounts cover'd the Suburbs with great Intrenchments fixed Chains in every Street filled great numbers of Barrils with Earth to make Barricado's planted Posts Year of our Lord 1590. May. and Bars at all the Avenues cast seventy five pieces of Cannon wherewith he furnished the Rampiers and secur'd the River both above and below with Massive Chains which were held up by strong Estacado's and defended by Forts built on either hand The Parisians on their part gave the very Furniture of their Kitchins to found their Cannon each House provided a Labourer to work upon their Fortifications paid all the poor that put their helping hand exercised their Soldiery three times a week and which is more considerable admitted a Garison amongst them and saw their Country Houses ransack'd and destroy'd without murmurring Most of the Handicrafts-men and all Forreigners were gone out of the City the great Hostels were empty the substantial Citizens had sent their Families away yet there remained two hundred thousand Souls and but Provisions for one Month only at the rate of a pound of Bread a day for each Person besides fifteen hundred Muids of Oats and an hundred Muids of Pulse The King in the first place master'd the Bridges of Charenton and Sainct Cloud six young Parisians defended themselves three whole days in the Bridge-Tower of Charenton took Vincennes besieged St. Denis and placed Garisons of Light-Horsemen in all the strong Houses for seven or eight Leagues round about whence they beat the Roads night and day that nothing passing by the City might in short time be reduced to Famine This method after seven or eight days trial seeming too tedious he endeavour'd to draw the Besieged to a Battle and for that purpose order'd an attaque upon the Fauxbourg Sainct Laurence but there experimenting their brave defence and by some other great Skirmishes observing they had yet too much vigour to be forced within their Barricado's and their Commanders too much prudence to hazard themselves in the Field he returned to his former design of famishing them The Duke of Mayenne was gone to beg some assistance in Flanders where he had enough to do to endure the pride and affected slow pace of the Spanish Council In the condition he left Paris he did not believe it could hold out one Month and not being able to relieve it but by the aid of the Spaniards he feared he should lose it in saving it and that they would deliver it only to get it for themselves At the same time also happens the death of the old Cardinal de Bourbon who ended his days the Ninth of May at the Castle of Fontenay in Poitou under the guard of the Year of our Lord 1590. May. Lord de la Boulaye The King had put him into this Lords custody after the taking him out of the hands of the Lord de Chavigny who was both old and blind at the very time when the Lords of the League were bargaining with that good Man to set him at liberty This fresh accident put him to great trouble he was in need of a King to fix the Eyes and Veneration of the People he foresaw the Spaniard would press him to chuse one and he knew the difficulties that would arise on that side as also from the Chiefs of his own Party who hindred him from attaining it all his study was therefore to find out plausible delays to put off this Election and he did succeed therein as he desired but such proceeding ruin'd his Party The Heads of the League had wisely before-hand disposed the People so as that this death should cause no alteration The Faculty of Divinity consulted by the Prevost des Merchands and by some noted Bourgeois had made Answer That Henry of Bourbon could not because of the scandal and danger of his relapsing be admitted to the Crown if King Charles X. or any other lawful Successor should happen to die or yield him up his right or if even the said Prince should obtain Absolution and that those who died for so holy a Cause should gain the Palm of Martyrdom and be Crowned in Heaven as brave Defenders of the Faith At five weeks end the Duke of Mayenne could get of the Duke of Parma but four thousand Foot and two hundred Lances with which having joyned some two thousand month June French whom he pickt up or who were sent him by Balagny he advanced as far as Laon. Immediately the King goes from his Camp with five and twenty hundred Horse thinking to meet him in the Field and charge him the Duke had a hint of it and making use this time of great celerity got under shelter of the Walls of Laon. Whilst the King was harrassing him St. Pol being detached privately with eight hundred Horse and some Foot and having gotten together a pretty good Convoy of Provisions conducted it along the Banks of the Marne and put it into Paris before the King could get back to his Camp to prevent him During the Siege the War went on variously in the Provinces I shall mention only the most remarkable passages Francis de Roussel May-David surprized the Castle of Year of our Lord 1590. April May c. month April May c. Verneuil and likewise made himself Master of the City after a very bloody sight in which John de Dreux Morainville was slain who was said to be the last Male of the House of Dreux Issue of Lewis the Gross by Robert fifth Son of that King Lansac had a design upon Mans which was discover'd and his Troops defeated at Memers where they waited to see the event by Hertre Governor of Alencon He was more unfortunate yet in another Enterprize upon the Town of Mayenne having taken it and holding the Castle besieged the same Hertre and Montataire put him to the rout and cut off or took above twelve hundred Men of two thousand he commanded The Leagued Gentlemen of Bretagne surprized the City of Sable and attaqued the Castle Rambouillet whose Wife had been taken Prisoner in that place intreated the Nobless of the Country to assist him His two Brothers with as many as they could get together fell
some respect for the King Of the Catholicks as well as Huguenots which were about him there were two sorts some who pressed for his change in Religion Year of our Lord 1590 others who hindred it And of these likewise there were such who solicited it and yet would not have it others that opposed it and yet would have it so The Zealous Huguenots whereof Plessis had greatest Authority not having yet been able to obtain an Edict of him in favour of their Religion and finding he inclined by little and little towards the Catholick resolved they would strengthen themselves with Forreign Aid And in this Prospect engaged him to demand some both in England and Germany so to beset and keep him closer united with the Protestant Princes He met likewise from abroad with another great cause of discontent Pope Sixtus V. had conceived a very high esteem for him an extream contempt for the League and a private hatred for the Spanish Government which was much more dreadful to him then all the Hereticks He had heaped up five Millions of Gold in the Castle St. Angelo the Spaniards importuned him to open his Chests for relief of the Catholick Party but he refused absolutely and that with words as sharp as their demands were arrogant Thereupon he happen'd to die the Seven and twentieth of the Month of August His Successor Vrban VII who proved to be of the same mind lived but thirty days and 't was suspected the Spaniards shortned the lives both of the one and other Gregory XIV who was elected in the place of Vrban being a Milanese by Birth and perhaps apprehending as he was very timorous that they might soon dispatch him after his Predecessors espoused the passions of his King and publickly engaged himself by promising assistance of Men and Money to the month December League Year of our Lord 1591. January The beginning of the year 1591. was made memorable by two Enterprizes one of the Chevalier d'Aumales upon the City of St. Denis the other the Kings upon Paris they both miscarried The Chevalier was by night gotten into St. Denis by means of some People who having passed the Fosse upon the Ice screwed open the Gate and let down the Draw-bridge When he was come into the midst of the Town Dominique de Vic who was newly made Governor goes forth into the Streets with ten or twelve Horse making a huge noise as if great Company were with him He puts the Assailants to a full stop then feeling their Pulses a little afterwards charged them so smartly that he beat back two hundred Men who were soremost upon the Body that came behind Then all betook them to flight The Chevalier with fifteen or sixteen of his lay dead in the Street not without some suspicion of being kill'd by his own Party This was in the night between the second and third of January the Eve of St. Genevieue not very favourable to the Parisians As to the Enterprise upon Paris the Twentieth of the same Month sixty of the most resolute Captains disguised like Peasants and leading Horses loaden with Meal for the City began to grow in want had order to seize upon the Gate St. Honore Year of our Lord 1590. January The Politiques who had notice to be in a Body at the Court of Guard would have joyned them five hundred Cuirassiers and two hundred Arquebusiers concealed in the Fauxbourg would have followed and these again would have been back'd by twelve hundred Men then the Swiss should have marched with several Waggons loaden with Pontons Ladders and Hurdles to scale it in several parts At the same time the King stood at the entrance of the Fauxbourg to give Orders but finding the Gate St. Honore filled up with Earth he judged his Design had taken wind and retired The City of Paris being hourly threatned with the like dangers the Duke of Mayenne was forced to bring in a Garison of Spaniards However to avoid reproach he would not order it of himself but refer'd the business to the Parliament who concluded after great Debate and Contentions it should be so By vertue of their Decree he put four thousand into Paris and five hundred in Meaux a sufficient number to make good his Command but not so many as to make them Masters there month February The inconvenience of the Season which was very sharp could not hinder the King from besieging the City of Chartres The Garison was but two hundred Soldiers but there were three thousand Citizens who believing they did maintain the Cause of God and of the Virgin made the Siege much longer and much more difficult then was expected He was twice or thrice of the mind to raise it Chiverny who was concerned for the recovery of that place because he had the Government of the Chartrain and all his Estate lay thereabouts was the only Man that obliged him not month April to give over This obstinacy of his proved happy in the end for the Town surrendred the Eighteenth day of April The Duke of Mayenne could not make a diversion by attaquing Chafteau-Thierry the taking whereof was very easie the Governor who was the Son of Pinard Secretary of State defended himself so ill that he was accused of Treason His Father and himself were hugely put to it and got out of the Briars rather by the intercession of Friends then any justification of themselves The length of the Siege of Chartres as doubtful at five weeks end as the first day emboldned the Tiers Party to hold up their Heads The young Cardinal de Bourbon a vain and ambitious Prince was Head and Author of it He thought the good Catholicks tired with the tedious delays the King made for his being instructed would confer the Crown on him as being the nearest Prince of the Blood and in this imagination had made a Cabal and sent to Rome to treat with the Pope concerning that matter At the same time his Brother the Count de Soissons was contriving another which would have mightily perplexed the King and made him forfeit his Credit amongst Huguenots The Countess of Guiche offended because the King did not now respect Year of our Lord 1591. April her as he had to be reveng'd of him re-kindled the love that Count once had for Madam Catharine his Sister and so well managed the intrigue that their Wedding was ready to be consummate but the King having discover'd the designs of either that of the Cardinal de Bourbon by means of the Cardinal de Lenoncour who revealed all his secrets that of the Princess by the treachery of a disgraced Chambermaid took such effectual order as removed all his apprehensions The Negociations for Peace began anew after the taking of Chartres Whilst Villeroy was setting them on foot there was an Assembly of the Heads of the League who all met either in Person or by their Deputies in the City of Reims to settle their concerns and the methods for making Peace or
nevertheless this Lord failed him Being thereto disposed by the Gentlemen Provenceaux who had declared themselves Enemies to the Duke d'Espernon and withall fearing the event of a Siege he resolved to chuse a Master that should be sufficiently able to protect them and thereupon persuaded the General Council of the Province to acknowledge the King and to beseech him at the same time to give them another Governor then Espernon The Parliament therefore Ordained the same day that all Acts of Justice should be done in the Name of the King and by any another Decree made some days after declared Rebels and guilty of High-Treason whoever would not obey him The Archbishop Genebrard refused to submit and having kept himself concealed ten or twelve days retired to Marseilles with the Duke of Mayennes Agent After this Example Lyons which ever since the imprisonment of the Duke of Nemours had kept it self as Neutral declared also for the Kings Party The Eschevins and principal Citizens having made their Treaty with Alfonso d'Ornano and received an assurance of the confirmation of their Priviledges an entire Amnesty and that there should be no Exercise but of the Catholick Religion in their City and Suburbs The Five and twentieth of January d'Ornano being advanced with his Year of our Lord 1594 Forces to the Suburbs de la Guillotiere they set up Barricado's and cry'd out Let month January the French Liberty live Down with the Tyranny of the Italians The next day they all with one Voice shouted and cried Vive le Roy and all the Inhabitants Men Women and Children put on white Scarfs Now having found amongst the Dukes Papers no less then seventeen new Imposts of the Italian invention which he would have laid on them had they not surprized him as was before related they prudently Ordained in a General Assembly of their Town-Hall and made every Member Swear to it they would never admit any of them to publick Offices The Fifteenth of February Orleans follow'd the same dance la Chastre being month February brought over by a good round Sum of Money the assurance of a Mareschals Staff the Government of the said City and the Country of Berry from whence in favour to him all the Garisons were to be dismissed excepting those in the Tower of Bourges and the Castle of Meun upon Yeure There were two Factions in the City which wholly divided it the Fraternity of the small Cord otherwise called by the name of Jesus invented by a Cordelier a Zealous Leaguer and the Politicks who inclined to the King To execute his design he strengthned himself with the last secur'd the leading Men of the other Faction or turned those out of Town he could not gain after these Precautions he declared the Seventeenth of February in the Town-Hall the intention he had to submit to the King and exhorted the Inhabitants to follow his Example or suffer him to retire So soon as he had finished his Harangue the Bishop and principal Persons gave him most humble Thanks for procuring their Reconciliation with their Natural Soveraign and protested they would embrace his Resolution They then read the Articles granted by the King which were Ratified with all the Signs and Expressions of Joy Bourges did the same within few days after and upon the same Conditions The presence of the Duke of Mayenne retained Paris and till that vast Body were disposed for so great a Mutation the King employ'd his time in his Coronation as well to remove that Scruple the Ancient Customs of the French imprinted in the minds of many that this being wanting he could not assume the Title of King of France as to convince the People more and more that he was thoroughly persuaded of the Religion of his Ancestors Now because he had not yet the City of Reims in his possession nor the Saincte Ampoule the Holy Oyl which is there kept in the Abby of St. Remy he made choice of Nostre-Dame Church of Chartres most famous for her Devotion to the Virgin and from the Abby of Marmoustier caused a Viol to be brought said to be that which Severus Sulpicius and Fortunate Bishop of Poitiers in their Writings affirm to have been brought by an Angel to the great St. Martin to restore his Limbs batter'd by a fall from top to bottom of a pair of Stairs The Twenty seventh of February Nicholas de Thou Bishop of Chartres performed the Ceremony after the same manner as it had wont to be at Reims Year of our Lord 1594 The Duke of Mayenne saw his Party drop off hourly one after another without month February being able either to hinder this Revolution or make his Treaty with the King for he had Sworn not to obey him till he were absolved by his Holiness Notwithstanding because they saw all the Governors of those Places for the League whom he had sent for to Paris about the end of the last year and with whom he had held Council without calling in the Spaniards did surrender this present year to the month March King and that himself went out of Paris the Sixth of March and took his Wife and Children with him many suspected he had agreed with the King and that he only seemed to remain in that Party to prevent those that were of the Spanish Faction from giving up that City to Strangers in some fit of despair He could not be ignorant how Brissac Treated with the King and that he pretended cause of discontent for that he had not given him satisfaction upon the Duke of Elboeufs turning him out of Poitiers after he the last year so bravely defended it against the Royalists All was in readiness for above two Months past to receive the King at Paris but the Seize or Sixteen seconded by the Spanish Garison and four thousand of the Rabble to whom the Ambassador of Spain gave each a Rixdoller per week and a proportion of Wheat did so narrowly observe him that he could not put his design in execution It is said likewise that having discover'd it they were resolved to prevent him and to rid themselves of those that were most active in assisting him These were amongst others the President le Maistre l'Huillier Prevost des Merchands du Vair a Counsellor and l'Anglois an Eschevin or Sheriff These being Sagacious Men and having a desire to save their Country not to bring it under oppression forgot not before they proceeded farther to have a particular and express assurance from the King That no manner of Violence should be done to any one Inhabitant of the City neither in Body or Goods That he should give a general Indemnity without any exception That he should take them all into his Protection And as for the Strangers That he should let them go Scot-free with Bag and Bagage The Orders given for the night between the One and two and twentieth of March to seize upon the Ramparts and Gates the King who had drawn his Troops together at
Kingdom and the opinions was held of them that by means of their Colledges and Auricular Confessions they perverted the minds of the Youthful and of the tender Conscienced which way best pleased them gave occasion to the Parliament to involve the whole Society in the same punishment due for the Crimes of particulars Thus by one and the same Decree which was pronounced the Nine and twentieth of the Month and executed by Torch-light they condemned John Chastel to suffer the pains accustomed for the like Parricides and Ordained that the Priests and Scholers of the Colledge of Clermont and others calling themselves of the Society of Jesus as being Corrupters of Youth Disturbers of the Common Peace and Enemies to the King and State should within three days leave their House and Colledge and in fifteen the whole Kingdom and that all what belonged to them should be employ'd to pious uses accordingly as the Parliament should dispose of it Some other Parliaments following the same Sentiments with this of Paris banish'd them by a like Decree but that of Bourdeaux and that of Thoulouze refused to conform to it so that they sheltred themselves in Guyenne and Languedoc till they were recalled By another Decree John Guignard having owned his Defamatory Writings was condemned to be Hanged not for the having made them but for having kept them By another also John Gueret under whom Chastel had gone thorough his Courses of Philosophy and the Father of this wretched Parricide were banished the Kingdom the first to perpetuity and the second for nine years and it was Ordained his House should be demolished and in its place a Pyramid of Carved Stone to be erected which should contain the cause of it Upon one of the four Faces was the Decree engraven and on the other three divers Latin Inscriptions in Verse and Prose in detestation of the Memory of that horrid Attempt and that Doctrine which was held to have been the occasion of it Year of our Lord 1594 month December Now the term the King had prefixed to the Hennuyers and Artesians being expir'd without their giving him any answer he caused a Declaration of War to be published against King Philip and his Subjects it hapned some weeks after that the Arch-Duke Ernest Governor of the Low-Countries died the One and twentieth of February King Philip committing the Administration to Peter Henriques Guisman Count de Fuentes till he had otherwise disposed of it The Duke of Nemours having made his escape from the Castle of Pierre-Encise disguised in the habit of a Valet and carrying the Pan of his Closs-stool got immediately on Horseback and with his Friends and three thousand Swiss lent him by the Duke of Savoy took several Forts round about Lyons whereby he thought to famish that great City but the Constable de Montmorency who brought a thousand Maistres and four thousand of the Kings Foot having received Order to remain in that Country Year of our Lord 1595 shut up the Duke himself in Vienne so close that his Swiss weary of the great month January want they endured retired into Savoy to the Marquiss de Trefort General of that Dukes month December in 1594. and January c. Army who far from being able to relieve him was forc'd to let the Constable Soldiers winter in Bress where they had taken Montluel Year of our Lord 1595 Whilst the Duke of Nemours was gone to the Constable of Castille with design of engaging him to come into Lyonnois Disimieu his most intimate Confident to whom month April he had committed the Guard of Pipet chief Castle of Vienne treated his Accommodation the Twelfth of April drew his Men into the Town and invited the Constable thither who took the Oaths of the Inhabitants Nemours who thought this bosom Friend had been proof against all Temptations was like to have lost his wits when he heard of this infidelity Such as were inclined to believe the worst and who judge of others actions by their own interpretation which is too often true said the motives that guided Lisimieu had more of self-interest then duty and chose rather to call him Traitor to his Friend then faithful to his King And even when Nemours fell sick whether for grief or some other cause they reported he had given him a Fig to prevent his Resentment month January Really this Prince was invaded by a strange malady and almost like that of Charles IX Blood flowed in great quantities from his Mouth His more then ordinary courage did for some time resist the violence of this Distemper but when he was so much attenuated that he could no longer stand upon his Feet he desired to be carried to his Castle of Anecy in Savoy and there having languished for some Months in such a dismal condition as drew tears from the Eyes of every one that beheld him he resigned up his Soul about mid July aged twenty eight years The Marquiss de Sainct Sorlin his Brother succeeded him in the Dutchy of Nemours and other Territories and soon after came to an agreement with the King month February The Duke of Mayenne had not so much love for him as to be grieved but the pejoration of his Affairs brought grief enough upon him from elsewhere In the Month of February the Inhabitants of Beaulne to whom the King the preceding year had granted a four Months Truce fell upon that Garison the Duke had re-inforced and called the Mareschal de Biron to their aid who then besieged the Castle Year of our Lord 1595 month February de Monstier-Sainct Jean hard by This Mareschal having forced three hundred Soldiers who yet defended themselves in the City to capitulate laid Siege to the Castle which surrendred within a Month having in vain expected the Duke of Mayenne month April would have joyned his Forces with the Duke of Nemours to deliver them The Cities of Autun and Aussonne finding his declining condition did also quit his Party the first by the advice and management of their Maire the second by a Treaty Senecay made with the King who left him the Government of it By the example of Beaulne the Inhabitants of Dijon took Arms in the beginning of May and finding themselves too weak to drive out the Garison had recourse to Biron who gained all the Quarters of the Town and at the same time besieged the month May. Castle and that of Talon which was within a quarter of a League whither the Count de Tavanes had retired The Constable of Castille named Ferdinand de Velasco was descended into the Franche-Comte in the Month of April with an Army of Fifteen thousand Foot and three thousand Horse This Mareschal apprehended lest he should fall upon his back with all his Forces the Constable de Montmorency had the same fear upon him and both these press'd the King extreamly to advance that way His Mistress by her Caresses made him resolve it She desired he might conquer the Franche-Comte for her
draw him out of his Intrenchments beat his straggling Troops in two or three Rencounters ransacked the whole Country and brought so panick a fear upon Besancon and all the other Cities that he had surely made them stoop to his power had not the intercession of the Swiss and a contagion that got amongst his Men wrested that Conquest out of his hands The Swiss moved in fine by the lowd cries of the Comtois who claimed their protection by vertue of some ancient Treaties they had made with the Cantons and Year of our Lord 1595 withall maturely considering maugre the practises of those the King had gained in month August their Assemblies what a bridle it would be to their liberty to have so potent a Neighbour upon their Frontiers intreated him to withdraw his Forces and to leave the Country in that neutrality they had hitherto enjoy'd To their intercession the Comtois added certain Sums of Money to defray the Charges of his Army which month September besides was so assaulted by Sickness as they were glad to retire with the rich Booty they had made From Burgundy the King made a Journey to Lyons with his Court Divers reasons led him thither Two amongst others the desire to Treat with the Duke of Savoy and the necessity there was to give Orders for the Affairs of Daufine and Provence where there were some bickerings between the Governors and the Captains As to the first point he offer'd the Savoyard a Truce and afterwards even to give him up the Marquisate of Salusses for his eldest Son There were several Conferences concerning this at Pont de Beauvaisis between the Agents for the two Soveraigns and the Duke seemed not to be averse to a Peace but the condition of Homage the King proposed for the Marquisate distasted him For the second point he sent the Duke of Guise to the Government of Provence gave the Lieutenancy to Lesdiguieres and that of Daufine whereof he had made the Prince of Conty Governor to Alfonso d'Ornano Thus opposing Espernon with a potent Enemy setting a careful watch over the Duke of Guise and taking away the too great power Lesdiguieres had in Daufine he thought he had sufficiently provided for the security of those Countries In the same place was the Treaty concluded for the reduction of Bois-Daufin also a particular Truce was granted the Duke of Mercoeur for Bretagne and a general one to the Duke of Mayenne for all the remaining Parties of the League Bois-Daufin held yet the Cities of Chasteau-Gontier in Anjou and of Sable in Mayne with some others which served as out-works for the Duke of Mercoeur and therefore the King consider'd him so as to allow him very advantageous Conditions and over and above the Baston de Mareschal The Voisinage of the King hastned likewise the more courageous of the Parliament men of Thoulouze to declare to the Duke of Joyeuse that the King being now a month September and October Catholick they were in Conscience and Duty obliged to acknowledge him And because he forcibly hindred them from taking any publick Resolution on this point they retired to Castel Sarrasin whence the King joyned them with those who in the beginning of the Troubles had transferr'd themselves to Besiers that so being altogether they might act the more effectually for his Service Year of our Lord 1595 The Cities of Carcassonne and Narbonne prompted with the same Spirit as those month September Officers gave the same notice to the Duke and turned out his Garisons as on the other hand the approaches of the Mareschal de Matignon and Anne de Levis regained the City of Rodez so that the Duke of Joyeuse had no other Places of importance left him but Thoulouze and Alby But whilst the King was thus employ'd at one extream part of his Kingdom the Spaniards made him bloody work towards Picardy by the death of Humieres the loss of Dourlens and that of Cambray The Duke of Aumale and Rosne were cause of it Both taking it in scorn the King should slight them by denying the Government of Picardy to the first and to the second the Title of Mareschal of France which he had granted to other Leaguers The City of Ham was the Duke of Aumales and he had placed a Governor there named N. de Mouy Gomeron who being dead his three Sons went to Bruxels to demand what was due to him The Spaniards detained them all Prisoners to force them to deliver up the Castle of Ham. Dorvilliers their half-Brother who had the command of it in their absence would give no ear to it but called in Humieres and the Nobless of Picardy and gave them passage by the Fosse of the Castle to attaque the Spaniards that were in the Town Humieres charging them bravely was slain his Men enraged at his death redouble their Assaults and at two days end force them and cut them all in pieces not allowing quarter to one of them The Count de Fuentes who at that time besieged month June the Catelet came running to relieve this Garison but could not do it early enough For spite whereof he before the Town of Ham caused the Head of Gomerons eldest Son to be cut off the Arch-Duke Albert did afterwards release the other two This done he again returns before the Chatelet which he gained upon Composition the Four and twentieth day of June The regret of the Nobility for the loss of the brave Humieres who alone was worth an Army and the cries of the Picards whose Frontiers were open gave an opportunity to the hottest Heads in Parliament who remembred the injuries they had received by the Duke of Aumale to make a thundring Decree against that Prince By which they declared him Criminel de laesae Majestatis in the highest degree and of the Parricide of Henry III. and for these Crimes condemned him to be drawn alive by four wild Horses his Quarters to be set up on the four chief Gates of the City if he could be apprehended if not in Effigie his House of Anet to be razed Year of our Lord 1595 and his Woods cut down Breast-high his Goods Confiscate and his Children degraded month June of their Nobility The Sentence given Achilles de Harlay first President caused the Execution to be suspended for some days during which they waited for Orders from the King but month July Counsellor Angenout made so much noise they were fain to go thorough with it They dragg'd his Phantosm to the Greve and quartered it the Four and twentieth of July The King was very sorry they had robb'd his Clemency of this Pardon and thereby engaged the said Prince and all those French that were yet obstinate and resolute to an irreconcilable hatred against France whom they afterwards most desperately wounded and perhaps might have utterly ruin'd had they found a King of Spain less aged and infirm then Philip hapned to be The Citizens of Cambray could no longer endure the proud and violent behaviour
the Sacred Purple in the Church of Nostre-Dame de Haux within two Leagues of Bruxels and left the Government of the Low-Countries to the Cardinal Andrea of Austria in the name of the Infanta Isabella who had there been owned for Princess He passed by Tirol whence he carried Margaret Daughter of the Archduke Charles who was dead and the Widow his Mother to Ferrara They were received very solemnly and Pope Clement who had been in that City from the Eighteenth of May celebrated the Marriage of King Philip III. with Margaret and of the Archduke with the Infanta Isabella Albert being Proxy for the King of Spain and the Duke of Sesse for Isabella The new Queen and the Archduke did afterwards stay two Months in Milan then in the Month of February of the following year they embarqued at Genoa for Spain where this double Marriage was Celebrated between the said Parties in the City of Valentia in the Month of April month October A little before Mid October the King being at Monceaux an Estate which he had given to his Mistress as he was beginning to enter upon a Diet he fell ill of a retention of Urine attended with a higher Fever and frequent fits of fainting which gave some apprehension that he was near his end but the cause being remov'd he was immediately relieved and left his Bed within two days His Mistress having thus seen her self so near the Precipice did sollicite him eternally to Marry her and press'd him with the more confidence as her tender care month November and watchfulness express'd in this occasion seemed to oblige him to make good his Promise and really she was not unworthy of that Honour setting aside some inconveniencies might have ensued Soon after the Cardinal de Medicis being come to take leave for his return to Rome the King discover'd to him the design he had to satisfie her and intreated he would do him the good office to persuade the month December Pope to dissolve his Marriage with Queen Margaret The Legat answer'd very coldly that his Holiness had sent him into France for no other business but what concerned the Peace which having successfully mediated he was now going to give an account to the Pope The King repented he had discover'd his Heart so openly to Year of our Lord 1598 one whom he perceived was no favourer of his design and therefore the year after month December when he sent Sillery to Rome he enjoyned him expressly to assure that Cardinal all those fancies were dispell'd Year of our Lord 1599 In the beginning of the year 1599. three or four illustrious Marriages filled the month January c. Court with Divertisements First that of Madam Catharine the Kings Sister with the Duke of Bar which was Celebrated on the last day of January some while after that of Charles Duke of Nevers with Catharine Daughter of the Duke of Mayenne and that of Henry Son of that Duke with Henrietta Sister of Charles and then that of Henry Duke of Montpensier and Henrietta Catharine only Daughter of Henry Duke of Joyeuse and Heiress of that rich House The King the same year erected Aiguillon to a Dutchy and Pairrie in favour of the Duke of Mayennes Son The Duke of Bar had great repugnance for his Marriage to a Huguenot Princess who besides was of Kindred in the third and fourth degree and therefore stood in need of a double dispensation the one for diversity of Religion the other for Parentage but the Duke his Father thinking to find great advantage in this Match passed over all those Scruples of Conscience The difficulty was to find a Prelat that would adventure to Celebrate this discordant Marriage many whom they sollicited did flatly refuse it the Archbishop of Rouen Bastard Brother to the King after a little intreaty lent a helping hand and tied the Nuptial Knot in the Kings Closet and in his presence thinking it unbecomming to deny so small a piece of Service to him who had so lately promoted him to so fair an Archbishoprick After the Solemnities of those Weddings were past two unexpected changes gave the Court just cause of admiration the one was of that same Henry Duke of Joyeuse who had newly Married his Daughter the other of Antoinetta Sister to the defunct Duke of Longueville and Widow of the Marquiss de Belle-Isle The first as we have formerly related came out of the Capucins Covent Anno 1592. Now being moved with his Mothers Tears a Lady very devout and very scrupulous pressed by the summons of his own Conscience peequ'd at some words utter'd by the King and sollicited by the Popes secret Admonitions for he had given him dispensation to tarry abroad in the World but while the Catholick Religion should need his assistance he resolved to make good his Vow and having sent his Mareschals Staff and blew Ribbon to the King retired to the Capucins Covent in Paris They were much amazed three or four days afterwards to see him in a Pulpit where that Penitential Habit and his Sermons much fuller of Zeal then Learning gave him more lustre in the opinions of the People then either his Birth or Dignity had gaven him at Court For the Marchioness of Belle-Isle one of the handsomest and wittiest Ladies of her time having left Bretagne without communicating the design to any of her Relations Year of our Lord 1599 she went and cast her self into a Covent of Fucillantines newly instituted at Toulouze month May. It was said that a secret displeasure for that a Soldier whom she had employ'd to revenge the death of her Husband upon Kermartin was Hanged she not being able to obtain his Pardon gave her so much distaste that she would never converse more with the World by whom she had been so slighted In the beginning of the year Sillery being sent to Rome about the business of the Marquisate of Salusses had Orders likewise to follicite the dissolution of the Kings Marriage The hopes of having the Seals upon his return was a powerful motive to make him act with all his might for the Dutchess of Beaufort had promised she would get them for him without any regard to the Interest of the Chancellor de de Chiverny a good Friend to her Sister de Sourdis believing she had done sufficiently for her by obtaining a Cardinals Hat for her eldest Son The first point of Sillery's Commission had not proved difficult but only for that Queen Margaret knowing very well the King after he had repudiated her would Marry the Dutchess gave notice to the Pope how for that very reason she would never consent And the Pope for the same cause had repugnance enough to it For he did not see very well how he could Legitimate Children that were born in Adultery and foresaw great troubles for the Succession of the Kingdom for as much as the Princes of the Blood would never have agreed to it and besides the Children that should have come afterwards being
kindled in the Kings Breast This she did so well second on her part that in fine by her betwitching innocency and modesty and by her inviting denials she engaged him to give his promise he would Marry her if within that year she brought him a Son Upon this assurance and after a shower of Gold worth a hundred thousand Crowns he had his full liberty He soon after gratified her with the Lands of Verneuil and the Title of Marchioness We do not know whether for his honour we should believe he did intend to make good his word but Sillery and the Cardinal d'Ossat went so far on with their Treaty for Mary de Medicis that they put it beyond his power to recall it He therefore Year of our Lord 1599 month November sent Alincour Son of Villeroy to Rome under colour of returning thanks to the Pope for the justice he had done him concerning the business of his Marriage with Queen Margaret and to acquaint him with that he desired to Contract in the House of Medicis After this Complement he intreated his Holiness to vouchsafe that Sillery and he might go to Florence to see the Princess and Negotiate that Affair which was much more advanced then they discover'd to him It is incredible how much the Marchioness of Verneuil was vexed and afflicted to see her self fallen from the fairest hopes of a Crown yet she dissembled it and hid her trouble under the borrowed countenance of content but the Count d'Auvergne her half Brother as much out of the Malignity of his Nature as Resentment sought to revenge this injury and joyned with the Malecontents we have before mentioned These together conspir'd to coop the King up in a Prison to rob him of his Crown and give it to some other Prince of the Blood Many have been of opinion the Duke of Savoy had a hand in the contrivance or that at least having some hint of it he had undertaken to come into France to try what advantage he might be able to reap thereby What ever design he had he descended along the Rhosne by Boat to Lyons and then from Rouane to Orleance In this last place he was received by the Duke of Nemours upon his way betwixt that and Fontainebleau by the Mareschal de Biron and two Leagues nearer by the Duke of Montpensier At Pluviers he took Post a little month December after mid-night with seventy Horses in company and arrived at Fontainebleau the Fourteenth of December about eight in the Morning where he found the King just ready to mount his Horse to have gone and met him After he had entertain'd him there for six days together with the Divertisements of Hunting Gaming and Promenades he took him to Paris upon the One and twentieth of the Month. He offer'd him an Apartment in the Louvre but the Duke giving him thanks went and lodged at the Hostel de Nevers Year of our Lord 1600 There is no Art no Wyle of the ablest Politicks or experienc'd Courtiers but he made use of to succeed in his design and this may be affirm'd that if the end did not month January answer his desires yet his Conduct surpass'd his Reputation He made Court to the King with great Complaisance but without the least servility for he accompanied his Respects with a becoming liberty and the Submissions or Condescentions he tendred were of such a sort as did no way eclipse his Quality One might observe a more then ordinary grace and grandeur in all his actions He express'd a great esteem and kindness for all the Grandees of the Kingdom gave a civil and obliging Reception Year of our Lord 1600 to all the Kings Officers entertained the Ladies with much wit and gallantry and month January shewed every where a Royal liberality In his New-years-Gifts especially he made this Characteristique Vertue of a Prince most plainly appear he bestowed rich Presents on the whole Court who by the Kings permission accepted of them and after so wonderful a profusion which seemed to have exhausted all his Coffers they were amazed to see him at a Ball he made cover'd all over with Jewels valued at above Six hundred thousand Crowns With all this he gained nothing of the King Upon the very first Discourse he held with him he found what condition his hopes were in In the beginning he endeavour'd to lay open his Soul that he might gain some affiance and after he had with much eloquence made all imaginable protestations of service and adherence intreating him to receive both himself and Children into his protection he fell a complaining of the Spaniards then propounded the Conquest of Milan and of the Empire and to make discovery of the Friends the Intelligence and the Means he had for that purpose We may believe his Tongue was then guided by his Heart for he was much picqued with the little regard the Spaniards had for his Interest at Vervins and besides his Wife Sister to Philip III. which was the only Link had ty'd him to that Crown died the foregoing year However it were the King heard him attentively and gave him thanks for his good will but after all told him the restitution of the Marquisate ought to precede all those designs and that they would consider the other Affairs when once this point was over Each time the Duke renew'd the charge he was repulsed in the same manner This inflexibility so he called it put him into amazement and despair yet on his Face appeared no symptomes but of inward satisfaction as the King likewise on his part continuing the civilities he owed his Guest took care he should be diverted the most agreeably they possibly could All the Grandees had the Bouquet to treat him each in his turn and amongst the Singularities of France the King led him to his Parliament and to a hearing in the Grand Chambre where a Cause upon a most extraordinary Subject was pleaded which gave full scope to the Clients Advocates to exercise their Eloquence as also to the Kings his name being Lewis Servin After the Pleading was over the First President treated the two Princes most Magnificently at his own House Notwithstanding these demonstrations of a seeming amity their humours as different Year of our Lord 1600 as their Interests maintained the discord of their minds and so increased it month January that either of them sometimes let fall words mingled with discontent and bitterness One day the Ambassador of Spain came to the Duke and openly hit him in the teeth with a most bloody reproach saying the King had assured him he was come purposely into France to persuade him to make a War upon Spain The Duke was offended in the highest degree with the King but not daring to question him designed to revenge himself upon the Mareschal de Biron who as yet passed for his Favourite Being therefore one day a Hunting he takes the Mareschal aside and begins to complain of the King in very sharp
in revoked and converted it into a moderate Subsidy For Imposts though they be Year of our Lord 1602 abolished like Wounds do ever leave some cicatrice and ill-favour'd Scar behind them Whil'st the King was in Poitou the Parliament the Chambers assembled after a Mercuriale and chiefly at the instance of the President Seguier seconded by the Examiners ordained that all Advocates or Attorneys pursuant to the 161 Article of the Estates at Blois should at the end of all their Briefs or Writings put down the particulars of all they had received for their Fees and give a Certificate of what they had gained from their Clients for their Pleadings He made this Decree the Thirteenth of May upon the desire the King had to reform the gross Abuses in Law-States and upon Complaint made to him by the Duke de Piney of an Advocate that had demanded Fifteen hundred Crowns of him to Plead one Cause The Advocates refusing to obey there was a second which enjoyned those that would not Plead to make such Declaration to the Register after which they were forbidden to exercise their Profession upon peine de faux i. e. Loss of Life and Estate month May. The Morrow after this had been pronounced in full Court they all went by two and two out of the Chamber of Consultations to the Number of 307. and going to the Registers laid down their Caps and declared that they obey'd The Palace or Court was dumb for Eight or Nine days Some of the Courtiers persuaded the King to leave them in that humor which they would have been weary of â—ooner than himself But having Business of much greater weight than this and the Brouillery beginning to look like a Commotion he would needs determine it and caused an Order to be dispatched which restored the Advocates to their Function and commanded them to return to the Bar and obey the first Article Which was only for the Formality For the Judges themselves who made it wink'd at it and let it fall to nothing It was with much reason suspected that the Commotions in Guyenne were a Train leading to those other Mynes contrived by the Mareschal de Biron and it looked as if at the same instant that he was to spring them the Spaniards were prepared to give the Assault and enter upon the Kingdom For they had raised a numerous Army by Land which was kept upon the Frontiers and were fitting another for Sea under the Command of Juan de Cardonna They gave out that the first was to be sent into Flanders and the second to execute some Enterprize upon Algiers by the assistance of the King of Fez But it was apprehended rather to be designed against Burgundy and to surprize some Sea-port Town in Provence The Spaniard shewed plainly enough by his Treatment of Alexander Caretta Marquiss de Final who was comprised in the Number of the King's Allies that he cared not over-much to observe the Treaty of Verwins for Fuentes seized upon Final having paid the Garrison of that place for Ten or twelve Musters that were due to them The very Old-Age of that poor Lord who was near upon Fourscore and his being destitute of Children gave him the Confidence to make this Vsurpation for which the good Man never had any other Satisfaction but only I know not what Pension allow'd him in the Kingdom of Naples The fear of some terrible Event keeping the King in perpetual alarms he came back from Poitou to Fontainebleau that he might search into the bottom of the Conspiracy believing that if once it were but laid open it would not be so month May. dangerous And therefore he would needs at what rate soever have Laffin be brought before him who was privy to the whole Secret We have told you what cause of discontent this man had against Biron It is conjectur'd he had given notice to the King of all his Practises for a long while before this time at least it is most certain he had thoughts of doing so and of providing himself with Evidence to verifie his Accusation And this they ground it upon Biron had with his own hand written a Project of the Conspiracy Laffin perswaded him it was dangerous to keep it by him and that he needed but to have a Copy Biron gives it him to Transcribe in his presence When he had done so he rowls up the Original between his hands like a ball and cast it into the Fire but Biron not minding it further the negligence of a great Lord he craftily draws it out agen and puts it into his Pocket So that some will needs believe this man over-whelm'd with Debts Year of our Lord 1602 Crimes and other Misfortunes soothed the passionate Mareschal in his Designs on purpose to make a fortune by betraying his Secrets and that if he would he might easily have prevailed with him to lay them all aside especially after the Queen was deliver'd of a Son For amongst the Letters the Mareschal had written to him there was one that said That since God had bestowed a Daufin upon the King he would think no more of his former Follies and pray'd him to return When Biron understood Laffin was press'd upon by the King to go to Court he sent a Gentleman to put him in mind of his Oathes to let him consider he had his Life and Honor in his hands to intreat him above all things to burn all his Letters and Papers and to rid himself of a certain Curate whom they had employ'd in some ill-favour'd Business Laffin being come to Fountainebleau revealed all to the King gave him all the Letters and Papers and named the Conspirators to him amongst whom he involved so many Persons of Quality even Rosny that the King amazed at the greatness of the Peril was for some time in much doubt whom to confide in His secret Council thought convenient to dissemble in respect of many of the accused and indeed there lay no other proof against them but the Depositions of Laffin It had been the ready way to have set all France on a flame should they have fallen upon so many great ones at once it was safer much to allow them time to repent than to have put them to the necessity of seeking their particular safety in a desperate general Rebellion And therefore 〈◊〉 all the Letters Laffin produc'd they publish'd none but those which made mention of Biron only month May. there were Five and twenty of them The King gave them into the Custody of the Chancellour who for fear they should be lost sowed them within the lining of his Doublet All this was done before the King went to Poitiers During his Voyage Peter Fougeu Descures and then the President Janin being sent into Burgundy labour'd to dispose Biron to come to Court His Conscience his Friends those Prognostications wherein he put much confidence divers ominous Presages the pressing haste of those that would have him go dissuaded him On the
his Eyes sunk inwards his Head little and no doubt ill furnished with Brains his extravagant Designs his giddy Conduct and the foolish Passion he had for gaming losing in one year above Five hundred thousand Crowns were infallible marks of it The King bestowed the Government of Burgundy on the Daufin and the Lieutenancy on Bellegarde during his Minority The Death of Biron put out all the remaining Sparkles of the Conspiracy if any were yet alive his Friends and Relations bemoaned his Death but durst not murmur his Confederates knowing he had said nothing against them and being certain they had not written any thing for amongst his Papers they found no Letters but his own reassured themselves and that more especially because the King made as if he had no knowledge of their Practises the King of Spain nor Duke of Savoy dared not make any attempt now whose Ambassadors were not the last that Congratulated the King for his having detected this Conspiracy He let them understand he very well knew their evil Disposition towards him but yet assured them he would not break the Peace but he denied to grant Passage by this Bridge de Gresin to their Milan Forces before he had thorowly inform'd himself of all this grand Affair Their Design as they gave out was to pass into Flanders nevertheless he suspected they were brought thither only to favour the Enterprize of the Mareschal de Biron and apprehended when he was first taken lest they should have exasperated his Confederates by despair Upon this consideration and to keep Burgundy in obedience he had sent thither the Mareschal de Lavardin with some Forces So that those who held the Castles of Dijon and Aussonne after they had used threatnings four or five days talked no more but of submitting when they perceived him in a condition to force them The Fidelity no less than the Courage of this Lord was well known to the King upon many Trials therefore for some time past he had taken delight in bestowing the Noblest employments upon him to eclipse the glory of Biron month July Edme de Malain Baron de Lux Lieutenant in the Government of this Province acquainted with the utmost Practises of the Conspiracy was so wise and fortunate as not to lose himself He trusted to the Mercy of the King came to him and disclosed all Wherefore he Pardon'd him without any reservation passed his Oblivion in the Parliament of Paris and in the Parliament of Burgundy and left him in his Command Year of our Lord 1602 The Baron de Fontenelles of the House of Beaumanoir and René de Marcc-Monibarot month August and Septemb. Governor of Renes were apprehended as Confederates with Biron The Grand Council having a Commission to try the first condemned him to be Drawn on a Hurdle to the Greve and there to be Broken alive upon the Wheel and sent two or three of his People to the Gallows The Cruelties this Gentleman had committed in Bretagne during the Leagne and the obstinacy he had shewed for that Party did not a little help to aggravate his Punishment On the contrary the Services which Montbarot had done the King in that same Province did much contribute towards his justification The Count d'Auvergne remained but Two Months in the Bastille after the Death of Biron the King set him at Liberty and also received him into his Favour He had a Powerful Intercessor month October in his Sister the Marchioness of Verneüil and moreover he owned all he knew The Mareschal de Bouillon thought it more safe to be at large and to justifie himself at distance He consider'd that Rosny jealous of the too great credit he had amongst the Huguenots did him ill offices at Court and he had reason had he been never so innocent to apprehend the Indignation of the King because at Poitiers that Prince having told him of his Practices he retorted again too confidently and in such a manner as is justly accounted Criminal towards a Soveraign Thus far from coming upon the King's Commands he went and presented himself at the Cambre my-Partie of Castres offering to justifie himself there for he pretended they were his Natural Judges because his Vicounty of Turenne is within the Jurisdiction of the Parliament of Toulouze whereof the Chamber of Castres is a Member How-ever it were he drew from them an Act of Comparition for which the King was very angry with them Passing by Montpellier he engaged the Reformed Churches of Languedoc to write in favour of him to the King then finding no place of Security in France he went to Geneva and from thence into Germany where having perswaded the Protestant month October Princes of his Innocency and craved the intercession of Queen Elizabeth he gave his Enemies more cause to animate the King against him Towards the end of this year the King discover'd how the Prince of Joinwille month December had suffer'd himself to be circumvented by the Spaniards and negociated some Contract or Colligation with them by means of Philip d'Anglure Guyonvelle a Lord Franc-Comtois He caused him therefore to be apprehended but when he found there was more of Puerility and Wantonness than Malice in his Transactions he would not put the young Prince in Prison he only put him into the Custody of the Duke of Guise his eldest Brother that he might teach him more Wit Amidst so many Inquietudes and Alarms the Court tasted some little joy at the reception they made for the Swiss and Grison Ambassadors who came to Paris to Swear their renewed Alliance with the Crown They were in number Forty two Sagner Advoyé of Berne was their Orator They arrived at Paris the Fourteenth of October and stay'd there Thirteen days The manner of their Reception their Lodging the Feasts that were made for them the Ceremonies they used at their Swearing the Alliance in the Church of Nostre-Dame which was performed the Two and twentieth of October the Presents which the King bestow'd on each of them were just the very same things as we have seen these latter years upon the like occasion and are withal more proper to fill up a Ceremonial than a History But it is remarkable that at the Treat was given them in the Archbishoprick after they had taken the Oaths the King who had dined apart came into the Hall where they were sitting accompanied by the Cardinals de Joyeuse and de Gondy and some other Lords and presenting himself at the end of the Table without sitting nor yet suffering any of them to rise drank to the health of his Comperes or Gossips and obliged the two Cardinals to do the like The Ambassadours received this Honor bare-headed and Pledged him in the same manner About four or five days afterwards they took leave of him having obtained Three things which they earnestly desired The First for the whole Body of the Cantons viz. A Confirmation of the Privileges that had been granted to them in France Of
took part with him and had the generosity to console him The Council of Spain were in dispair for that the French passed in great numbers to the Service of the Hollanders and every year the King furnished those Provinces with six hundred thousand Livers in ready Money These succours had put King Philip to so great an expence that not knowing where to get any more Cash he laid an Impost of thirty per Cent. upon all Goods imported into his Dominions or exported thence The King could not suffer such exaction which enriched his Enemies to the loss of his Subjects he prohibited all Commerce to the Low-Countries and Spain and observing that the appetite of gain tempted the Merchants who for the most part value no other Soveraign but their Interest to infringe his Laws he added great penalties to it This was to begin a rupture the Spaniard set a good face upon it as if they much desired it but under-hand sollicited the Popes mediation who put an end to this dispute by perswading them to take off the new impost oâ— the one hand and the prohibition on the other Not daring openly to revenge himself upon the King he endeavoured at least to contrive some private means to perplex and displease him Taxis his Ambassador had concern'd himself in the intrigues of the Morchioness de Vernevil Balthazar de Suniga who succeeded him follow'd his Foot-steps and held secret correspondence with five or six Italians who absolutely governed the Queen particularly Conchino Conchini a noble Florentine and Leonora Galigay a Bed-Chamber woman to that Princess whom Conchini had Married She was the homeliest Creature about the Court and of very abject birth but that great Empire she had over her Mistress repaired all the defects both of her person and condition The King as weak in his passions and domestick Affairs as valiant and rough in War had neither the heart to reduce his Wife to obedience nor to rid his hands of his Mistresses who were cause of all his Domestick broils Those little Italian people to render themselves more necessary exasperated the spirits they should have allay'd and by the malignity of their Reports and Councils encreased the Queens discontents so that instead of reclaiming the King by alluring Caresses for he would be flattered and endeavouring to regain his affection with the same Arts others made use of to steal it from her she made him loath her Society with her Eternal grumblings and bitter reproaches This contest betwixt Man and Wife was the perpetual business of the Court their Confidents were no less busily employ'd in these Negociations then the Council was in the most important Affairs of State and this disorder lasted as long as their Marriage being sometimes quieted and laid asleep for a few days then wak'd and rouz'd agen by fresh occasions and accordingly as those Boutefeux thought fit month March April c. The Marchioness on her part crafty and coquette used all her artifice to maintain those fewds which maintain'd her felicity Amongst her Jests with which she made the King merry she often mixed some insolencies against the Queen and upon divers occasions would make her self her equal spake meanly of her extraction and then would counterfeit the Gate her gestures and her way of speaking These offences did so much heighten the resentments of this Princess that she with outragious Language threatned a severe Revenge the Marchioness having reason therefore to apprehend more then a bare affront and withal displeased with the King for not taking her part made use of an artifice common enough amongst those Female Politicians when designing to revive a dying passion She feigned to be touched with a remorse of Conscience and Christian sorrow the fear of God said she would suffer her no more to think of what was past but only to do penance for it and that of her own life and Childrens forbid her to see the King in private She went yet farther and begged leave of him to seek a Sanctuary out of the Kingdom for her and hers This Artifice had not at first its effect for the Holy time of Easter approaching he was resolved to take her at her word and to give her leave to retire into England where she might have the Duke of Lenox her neer Kinsman to support Year of our Lord 1604 her but not to carry her Children As to the rest to qualifie the Queens discontent he desired she should surrender up the Promise of Marriage he had given her and with which she made so much noise shewing it to any one that had the curiosity to see it His intreaties were not prevalent enough he was obliged to make use of his Authority together with Twenty thousand Crowns in Money and the hopes of a Mareschal's Staff for the Father Upon which Conditions she deliver'd it in the presence of some Princes and Lords who verified and witnessed in Writing that it was the Original After all this the Queen being satisfied and the Marchioness appearing no more the Tempest seemed to be allay'd when the King discover'd that Entragues Father of the said Lady and the Count d'Auvergne had contrived a dangerous design with King Philip's Ambassador It was to convey the Marchioness into Spain with her Children which was negociated with Balthazar de Suniga Ambassador from the Catholick King by the management of a certain Englislr Gentleman named Morgan It was reported whether true or false how the Count d'Auvergne having acquainted the Spaniards with the Promise of Marriage the King had given the Marchioness had made a seoret Treaty with them by which King Philip promised his assistance to set her Son in the Throne And to that purpose would furnish them with Five hundred thousand Livers in Money and order the Forces he had in Catalogne to March and second the Party who were to Cantonize in Guyenne and Languedoc Nay much more was mention'd month June c. but few believed it as that the Count had framed an Attempt upon the Life of the King and that he was to dispatch him when he came to visit the Marchioness then seize upon the Daufin Now after the Death of l'Hoste the Count finding the Intrigue began to be discover'd retired into Auvergne upon pretence of a Quarrel which hapned to him at Court The Business being taken into Deliberation by the Council some gave their Opinions he ought to be treated like the Mareschal de Biron but the King would by no means proceed after that manner The example would have been of Consequence to his Bastards So that the Constable and the Duke de Ventadour the former Father in Law to the Count and the other his Brother month July in Law found it no difficult matter to get a Pardon for the Life of that wretched Man upon condition however that he should Travel three years in the Levant When he thought himself out of Danger he offer'd the King if he would he pleased to give him
of them lost so much at play they were not in a condition had they intended it to make any considerable disturbance I have heard it affirm'd that a refined Italian having bought up all the Dice that were in Paris and furnished the Shops with false ones made for his purpose fell in with the Court Gamesters and knowing exactly which would run high or low made a prodigious gain which he shared with Persons of the highest Quality However it were the huge Sums the King expended in these three Articles not including those he employ'd on other more necessary ones those which he had issued out for the payment of his debts and redeeming part of his demeasnes and those also which he collected and heaped up for the carrying on the projects he had conceived could not possibly be raised without grinding his people whatever care and Methods he took Besides he was too easie in granting to his Courtiers and Ladies either new Monopolies or new Imposts and made Gifts that were of profit to particulars but which tended to the general ruine Moreover the Nobility and old Commanders were discontented in their minds to see him by little and little reduce the Companies d'Ordonnance and the old Regiments to so narrow a condition and instead of keeping those old bodies full and compleat he gave Pensions to above twelve hundred men who most commonly were chosen rather upon recommendation then for their merit The Cardinal d'Ossat had otherwhile taken the liberty to presage that these discontents would become universal and one day break forth into some great disorders Some Sparks of it were to be seen in the Provinces of Quercy Perigord and Limosin The Servants of the Duke of Biron furiously bent to revenge the month June July and August death of their Master employed all sorts of means 〈◊〉 render the Kings person odious and contemptible and to stir up the people against the pretended violence of the Government The friends of the Mareschal de Bouillon whether they had orders from him or acted by their own proper motions believing he would own them if they succeeded made divers Assemblies of the Nobility and gave earnest Money for the levying of Soldiers but in such pitiful Sums that it plainly appeared this advance-money came out of some little private Purse only And yet to give life to their Partisans they every hour reported some forged news of the Mareschal sometimes affirming that if they held together but till the Month of October some great matters would be done in favour of him another while that they should find him in France sooner then his friends imagined or his Enemies desired Then that the reason of his stay was but to bring such Year of our Lord 1605 Forces with him from Germany as would be able to enter into the very heart of the Kingdom and bide Battel in the open Field Besides all these Rumours which at so great a distance made the Rebellion appear a hundred times more formidable than it really was the King had frequent notice that the Spaniards held Intelligence and had Designs upon the most important Frontier places as Toulon Marseilles Narbonne Bayonne and upon Blaye He apprehended also lest the whole Party of the Reformed Religion should embrace the Mareschals defence and by the Directions of so able and knowing a Person should be inclined to form a separate Republick in the Kingdom for they talked of setting up Councils in each Province of not admitting such as were Officers of the Kings to any Consultations that concerned the Good old Cause to make Orders and Regulations for raising of Men and Moneys and to make Leagues with Strangers To these Dangers he opposed the Cares of Rhosny who having had Interest and Credit enough to preside in their Assembly of Chastelleraut stifled all Motions of Affairs of that Nature and besides mightily qualified the hottest amongst them by presenting to them on the behalf of the King a Brevet dated the Eight of August which prolonged their holding the Places of Security for Three years When all was out of danger on that Side the King prepar'd himself about the end of August to take a Journey into the Provinces where the Fire was kindling and to clear the way before him he order'd Ten Companies of the Regiment of month September October and November Guards and Four or Five Troops of Horse to March Commanded by the Duke of Espernon with two Masters of Requests John Jacques de Mesme Roissy and Raimond Vertueil Fueillas The first went to take Information in Limosin the second in Quercy but caused all the Prisoners to be brought to Limoges Bouillon's Friends could never have believed they durst have attaqued his Castles because they were comprised amongst those places of Security granted to them of the Religion they were much startled when they found that consideration could not protect them Bouillon being informed of it sent them Orders to Surrender upon the King 's first Demand As to themselves the wisest preferring a timely retreat before an obstinate stay withdrew some as Rignac and Vassignac to Sedan others to other places of Safety Many had recourse to the King's Clemency and purchased their Pardon by discovering the whole Series of the Conspiracy the Cities they were to have Surprized the Places where they were to be Armed those that had promised to declare for them and many more Particulars which being thorowly examined had little other foundation but their own credulity and foolish imaginations Nor was any thing produced in Writing against the Duke of Bouillon nothing appearing but the Evidence of such people whose profligate reputation destroy'd the Credit of what they would have asserted The more Unfortunate fell into the hands of Justice Roissy made their Process assisted by Ten Councellors of the Presidial Five or Six paid down their Heads which were planted over the Gates of Limoges the Bodies burnt and their Ashes dispersed in the Air. Some others were hung up in Effigie But these Executions were not till after the King had been gone a Month who seeing the Fire was put out returned to Paris towards the end of November As he was going to Limosin being at Orleans he took the Seals from the Chancellour de Bellieure to give them to Sillery but still left him the honor to be Chief of the Council a sorry Comfort for so great a Disgrace and which gave Bellieure occasion to say That a Chancellour without the Seals is a Body without a Soul At Paris the King met with new cause of disquiet the Business of the City month Novemb. Rents and the Demands of the Assembly of the Clergy As for the first he had of a long time resolved to Suppress those Rents or Revenues for the creation whereof no Money had been given and to redeem such as had been purchased at a mean price To this purpose he had named Commissioners who were the Presidents de Thou Nicolai and Calignon a Master of
Privilege as Princes of his Blood immediately next those who really were so It had been already for some years past that the Duke of Savoy dis-satisfied with the Spaniards as well for that they had not allotted his Wife so good a share as her Sister Isabella as also because they did not assist him in due time and place sought to make his Fortune better on the French side and omitted no opportunity of renewing the Propositions for the Conquest of Milan In the year 1607. the Cardinal de Joyeuse at his return from Venice and Anno 1608. Vaucelas who had been sent to Turin to congratulate the Duke upon the Marriage of his two Daughters with the Dukes of Mantoua and of Modena brought the King some hints of it but he did not then confide enough in him or did not judge it yet time to declare himself This year Bullion being gone into Savoy upon some other Affairs had order to declare his intentions to the Duke and likewise to propound the Conquest of Milan for himself excepting only some places he should leave to the Venetians as being very commodious for them The Duke opening both ears to such fair proffers Bullion brought Lesdiguieres to discourse with him And from that time was a League concluded between the King and the Duke Offensive and Defensive of which the Marriage of his Son with the eldest Daughter of France was to be as it were the Seal and Guarantie The design to reduce the House of Austria within the limits of Spain and its Hereditary Countries was never out of the King's thoughts Most of the Princes in Christendom and above all the Protestants did eternally sollicit him to go about it His Commanders desired it to have Employments and the Huguenots push'd the wheel forward thereby to prevent any League between the two Crowns which undoubtedly would have tended to exterminate them On the contrary the Catholicks in whom some leaven of the old League was yet remaining omitted nothing that might divert him they believed it to be even a work of Piety to lend a helping hand to his Pleasures that so his glass might run on in soft and idle hours but though in other things he relied much on their Council he seldom discover'd his Resolutions nay hardly made any mention to them of any thing concerning this great Enterprise and if he had delay'd it hitherto it was but because he would take all his Precautions and make all the necessary preparations before he would declare himself Year of our Lord 1609 He had been fain for this purpose to settle a perfect Tranquillity in his own Kingdom giving the factions time to cool and be extinguished and the two Religions to become more compatible as absolutely expedient He had been fain to discharge his Debts restore that Credit which the male-administration of the Treasury had forfeited and moreover make Provision of Moneys Ammunitions Arms Artillery and select Men and engage on his side all the Princes and States he possibly could The Kings of Sweden and Denmark had given him their Parol at least four years since The Vnited Provinces at the making of their Truce assured him they would break it when ever he should desire it besides the Duke of Savoy the Protestant Princes of Germany and several Imperial Cities The Duke of Bavaria entred into this League upon the assurance that the Election to the Empire being made free they would make him King of the Romans The Venetians were promised some Cities in Milanois and those of the Kingdom of Naples on the Adriatick Gulf To the Swiss the Country of Tirol the Franche-Comté and Alsace The Pope did even suffer himself to be hook'd in provided they would help him to re-unite the Kingdom of Naples to the Holy See which would have afforded him most excellent means for accommodating his Nephews Thus would all the Princes of Christendom have furnish'd themselves with the Spoil of the House of Austria and the King that the World might not have the same cause of Jealousie against him as they justly had against the House he was going to help them Plunder would not have retained one inch of Ground for himself but have been content with the Glory only of this brave undertaking for his share After this as there are now bounds to so noble a race of Honour he designed when he should have setled the Limits and Pretensions of the Christian Princes established a firm Peace and Union amongst them and formed a general Council for this Christian Republick they should employ all the Forces of it to ruine the Mahometan Tyranny These Designs without doubt were not above his Courage or his Power but perhaps of an extent longer than his life and his health being as he was Aged Six and fifty years subject to the Gout of which he had frequent Fits and obliged every year to run thorow a course of Physick once at least and oft-times twice ☞ Love if it be permitted to say so would needs have a hand in the Enterprize and lend his Flambeau to help kindle this War as he hath lighted almost all the greatest that ever have consumed Mankind Henrietta Charlotta Daughter of the Connestable de Montmorency and of Lonisa de Budos his second Wife appeared no sooner at Court but she out-shined all other Beauties there The first time the King saw her was in a Masque or Balet where she represented a Diana and held a Dart in her hand She then inspired him with Sentiments quite contrary to those which that chaste Goddess should inspire mens Hearts withal The Confidents of this Prince's Passions the young Charmers Parents even those Petticoat Politicians about the Queen who thought by this new to turn off all his old Mistresses were disposed to serve him in this Courtship All flatter'd and soothed his Passion but she alone that could ease him he fancied he might o'recome her by raising her to the highest rank in the Court next the Queen and in that Prospect married her to the Prince of Condé Young and Poor who held all from his Power and Bounty and had as yet neither Governments nor any Employment but who being what he was and withal accomplish'd both in Body and Mind might with a little more complaisance have been in a capacity to have obtained the Noblest Commands in the Kingdom The Nuptials were solemnized at Chantilly in the Month of March The Duke of Vendosme having attained the Age of Sixteen years the King was impatient to Consummate his Marriage with Francis de Lorrain only Son of the month March deceased Duke of Mercoeur The Mother and some of the Virgins Kindred had ever made great opposition in the end Father Cotton extremely persuasive and insinuating disposed them to give the King this Satisfaction The Fiancailles or Betrothing was made the precedent year And in this the Marriage month July was celebrated at Fontainbleau the Ninth of July It was about this time of rejoycing that the King
TABLE OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE Contained in this FIRST PART PHARAMOND King I. Page 6 About the year 418. CLODION the Hairy King II. 8 Anno 428. MEROVEUS or MEROVEC King III. From whom the Kings of the First Race have taken the name of MEROVIGNIANS Anno 448. 10 CHILDERIC King IV. 12 Anno 458. CLOVIS King V. 14 Towards the end of the year 481. CHILDEBRT I. King VI. 20 Anno 511. in December CLOTAIR I. King VII 28 Anno 558. CHEREBRT King VIII 29 Anno 561. CHILPERIC King IX 31 Anno 570. CLOTAIR II. King X. 37 584 in Octob. DAGOBERT I. King XI 54 Anno 628. CLOVIS II. King XII 58 Anno 638. CLOTAIR III. King XIII 62 Anno 655. CHILDERIC II. King XIV 64 Anno 668. THIERRY I. King XV. 67 Anno 674. CLOVIS III. King XVI 71 About the year 691. CHILDEBERT II. or the Young King XVII 72 About the year 695. DAGOBERT II. or the Young King XVIII 77 Anno 711. CHILPERIC II. King XIX 79 Anno 716. THIERRY II. called de Chelles King XX. 81 About the year 721 or 22. INTERREGNUM 83 739. CHILDERIC III. called the Senceless or Witlâ—â—s King XXI 86 Anno 743. Second Race of Kings who have Reigned in France and are named CARLIANS or CAROLOVINIANS Anno 752. PEPIN named the Brief King XXII 90 Anno 768. about the end of September CHARLES I. called the Great or Charlemain King XXIII 96 Anno 814 in February LOUIS I. called the Debonnaire or Pious King XXIV Pag. 120 Anno 840 in June CHARLES II. surnamed the Bald King XXV 131 Anno 877. LOUIS II. surnamed the Stammerer King XXVI 148 Anno 879 in April LOUIS III. and CARLOMAN King XXVII 150 Anno 884. CHARLES III. called Crassus or the Fat King XXVIII 154 Anno 888. EUDES King XXIX 157 Anno 893. CHARLES called the Simple King XXX 158 Anno 923 in July RODOLPH King XXXI 167 Anno 936 in January LOUIS IV. called Trâ—nsmarine King XXXII 175 Anno 954 in October LOTAIRE King XXXIII 183 Anno 986 in March LOUIS the Slothful King XXXIV 198 Third Race of the Kings of France called the CAPETINE Line or of the CAPETS 987. in June HUHG CAPET King XXXV 201 Anno 996. ROBERT King XXXVI 208 Anno 1033 in July HENRY I. King XXXVII 214 Anno 1060. PHILIP I. King XXXVIII 220 Anno 1108 in July LEWIS the Gross King XXXIX 234 1137 in August LEWIS called the Young King XL. 242 1180 in September PHILIP II. surnamed Augustus King XLI 252 Anno 1223 in July LEWIS VIII surnamed the Lyon King XLII 295 Anno 1226 in November SAINT LEWIS King XLIII 293 1270 in August PHILIP III. surnamed the Hardy King XLIV 314 1285 in October PHILIP IV. surnamed the Fair King XLV 322 LEWIS X. called Hutin King XLVI 344 1316. REGENCY without a King for five Months 345 A TABLE Of the Principal Matters contained in this FIRST TOME ABbies and Monasteries built and founded in great numbers in France Pag. 73 74 75 Abbies and Bishopricks during the Eighth Age. 115 Peter Abailard is condemned by the Council of Sens and seized at Clugny 276 Abderame marches through Aquitania Tertia forces and sacks the City of Bourdeaux 81 Is vanquish'd and slain in Battle near Tours 82 Abbots refuse obedience to the Bishops 283 Abbots of the Order of St. Bennet take the Ornaments of Bishops ibid. The humble and truly Religious Friers refuse them ibid. Abbot of St. Riquier the first Frier that dared to Confess and preach without permission of the Ordinary 287 Abrodites tributaries to the French 123 Abulas King of the Moors 221 Abuses turned to advantage of the Popes 283 Acre or Ptolemais a Town and Sea-Port of Syria assaulted and forced from the Christians 324 Adalgise Son of Didier endeavours in vain to recover the Kingdom of Lombardy 100 103 His death ibid. Adelbert Marquiss of Yvrée 162 Adelbert Count de la Marche and Perigord 203 Adeleida or Alix second Wife of Louis the Stammerer 149 Adeleida Widow of Lotaire King of Italy sought in Marriage by Berenger 181 Marries Otho King of Germany and Lorraine ibid. Adeleida Daughter of Robert Espouses the Earl of Flanders 213 Adolphus Earl of Nassaw elected Emperor Pag. 324 He sends to defie the King of France in a haughty manner 325 Is deposed his death 327 Adrian Pope 142 Concerns himself in the difference of Lorraine between Charles the Bald and the Emperor Lewis 143 Adultery severely punish'd 336 Aetius General of the Romans in Gaul defeats Attila King of the Huns in Battle and chaces him 10 His death 11 Agnes of France Married to Robert Duke of Normandy 313 Aimer Earl of Poitiers 158 Aix la Chappelle built by Charlemain 105 The Alani and other barbarous People make an irruption amongst the Gauls then pass into Spain 3 Alain of Bretagne defeats and cuts the Nâ—rmans in pieces 1â—7 Alain called Twistbeard Duke of Bretagne his death his Children 184 Alain Fergeant Duke of Bretagne his death 237 Alaric King of the Visigoths besieges and takes Rome his death 3 St. Albert Bishop of Liege his History 292 Albert Arch-Duke of Austria removes â—i Corps from Reims by permission of Lewis XIII ibâ—d Albert Duke of Austria is elected Emperor 327 He renews the Alliance of the Empire with France 3â—8 His death 334 Albigenses Hereticks their Original 277 Are condemned ibâ—d Rejected the New Testament ibid. Albon de Fleury 205 Aletea Paâ—rician punished with death 45 Alexander III. Pope his feigned modesty cause of a Schism 278 His Election confirmed by the Gallican Church as also by the Anglicane ibid. Seeks an Asylum in France ibid. An Emperor and a pretended Pope at his Feet who had disputed that dignity with him 274 Alexander III. King of Scotland his death 323 Alsiel Sultan of Aegypt 324 Alphonso I. Duke of Portugal proclaimed King who was the first King of Portugal 243 Alphonso Count of Toulouze makes a Voyage to the Holy Land his death 245 Alphonso Count of Poitou 297 He Marries the Daughter of the Count de Toulouze 299 Honoured with the Girdle of Knighthood 302 Leads a re-inforcement of Croisez or Crossed to St. Lewis in the East 305 306 Alphonso X. King of Castille elected Emperor 307 He gives up his right to the Empire 316 Alphonso Brother of St. Lewis his death 312 315. Alphonso King of Castille almost wholly dispossest of his Estates his death 320 Alphonso King of Arragon 321 Alphonso of Castille named de la Cerde his death 352 Alexis Son of Isaac Emperor of the East 261 His unfortunate end 262 Alienor Wife of King Lewis the Young 240 Alienor Daughter of William IX Duke of Aquitain Marries Lewis the Young 241 Repudiated by the King she Marries Henry Duke of Normandy and Presumptive King of England 246 Alix Queen of Cyprus 259 Alix Pernelle Daughter of King Lewis the Gross 241 Alix third Wife of Lewis the Young 248 Alix of France betroathed to Richard of England cause of the quarrel
between him and the Father in Law 255 Alix of Champagne Regent of the Kingdom 255 Alliance by Marriage between the Kings of France and England 247 Alliance of France confirmed with the Emperor Frederic 299 Alliance of Scotland with France 325 Alliance of the Empire renewed with France 328 Alliance of Scotland renewed with France 348 Amalaric King of the Visigoths 22 Amalasunta cause of the ruine of the Ostrogoths 24 Amaury Count de Montfort made Constable 295 Arnold Amaulry Inquisitor against the Albigeois 239 Amaulry or Aimery Doctor of Paris teaches a new and scandalous Doctrine 337 Amee the Great Count of Savoy and Prince of the Empire augments his Estate by several Seigneuries 345 Of the St. Ampoule or Holy Oyl 15 Anaclet Antipope 239 Anger 's taken by the Normans and retaken 144 Anjou divided into two Counties 141 Anne Widow of King Henry Marries again the Count de Crespy 219 Anseau de Garlande great Seneschal or Dapifer 239 Ansegise Archbishop of Sens. 145 Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury banished 289 St. Anselme writes a Treatise of the Incarnation ibid. Ansgard Wife of Lewis the Stammerer 149 St. Anthony the establishment of his Order in France 233 Apostolick Hereticks 276 Appeals to the Court of Rome 51 Archembault Lord of Bourbon 236 Archbishops at what times the Metropolitans took that Title 114 Archbishop of Reims a great debate between the Bishops of France between Artold and Hugh Son of Hebert Count of Vermandois 206 Of the same again between Arnold de Reims and Gerbert 206 207 Archbishop of Rouen named Primate of Normandy 232 Aribert King of a part of Aquitain 54 His death 55 Arles of the Ancient Rights and Preheminencies of its Archbishop in Gaul 50 Arles Kingdom united to that of Burgundy Transjurane 169 Arles the Temporal Seigneury belongs to the Archbishop of it 335 Great Naval Army 296 Of Coat-Arms and the beginning of their use 225 Armand Clerk of the City of Bress causes Rome to rebel against the Popes 272 Arnold King of Germany of Bavaria and Lorraine 156 Drives Guy of Spoletta out of all Lombardy 160 Arnold Emperor his death his Wife and Children 161 Arnold Count of Flanders 168 Arnold the Fat Count of Flanders 164 Arnold Earl of Flanders does cause the Duke of Normandy to be treacherously slain 178 Arnold the old Earl of Flanders his death 186 Arnold Archbishop of Reims degraded of his Dignity 204 Restored 207 Count d'Argues takes up Arms against the Duke of Normandy to his confusion 144 Of the County of Arragon and its Original 97 Arragon Kingdom its Original 163 Artois made a County and Pairie 301 Artois adjudged to Mahaut in prejudice of Robert grandson of Robert of Artois 347 Robert of Artois commands the Kings Army in Flanders is defeated and slain 330 Artold Archbishop of Reims 179 Arthur Duke of Bretagne 256 Takes up Arms against John without Lands who takes him Prisoner then Assassinates him 262 Asylum in Churches 53 Assembly general appointed in May no more for the future in March 124 Assemblies three sorts of great Assemblies 117 Assembly at Aix la Chapelle 122 Assembly or Parliament of Nimeghen 126 Of St. Martin 126 Assembly general of Franefort 127 Assembly general or Parliament of Mets. 139 Assembly of Coblents 140 Assembly of Meaux 150 Assembly general of Tribur 155 Assembly Synodal of the Bishops of Gaul and Germany at Verdun 180 Assembly of Prelats at Estampes 240 Assembly of the Estates of the Kingdom at Paris 329 Assize of Count Geofry Law for the Partage amongst the Bretons 254 Astolfus King of the Lombards seizes the Exarchat of Ravenna c. makes himself Master of Rome 91 Is constrained by the French to desist from his Enterprize and to restore the Exarchat c. 92 His death 93 Ataulfe King of the Visigoths passes in Gallia Narbonensis 3 Athalaric King of Italy 21 His death 24 Attila King of the Huns surnamed the Scourge of God enters into Gaul is there beaten and vanquished and forced to retire 10 His death 11 Avari ravage Turingia 29 Avari seize upon Lombardy 46 Avari are those of Austratia 104 Are wholly subdued 106 Avarice insupportable of the Ecclesiasticks during the eight Century 116 d'Aresnes John Earl of Hainault becomes Earl of Holland 326 Augustines Friers their Institution and their Establishment 340 St. Avi Abbot of Mici 21 Avignon besieged and taken by King Lewis VIII her Walls thrown down and Moats fill'd up 296 Austerities at the Article of death 288 Austrasia and its extent 20 Austrasia given to Dagobert by King Clotair and the Conduct of Pepin the old Maire of the Palace 46 Austrasians despise the commands of Brunehaut during the minority of King Childebert 34 Will not endure the Government of a Woman 78 Beaten by the Neustrians 78 Austria falls into the hands of the Emperor Rodolph 316 B. Baliol John declared King of Scotland 323 Is vanquish'd by the English taken Prisoner and constrained to renounce his Alliance with France 327 Set at full liberty but despised by the Scots 330 Banners belonging to the Church formerly used in time of War as their Standards 216 Bankers and of their excessive Usury and Extortion 324 Barcelona besieged and taken by the French 107 Bastards not admitted to Prelacy by the Holy Canons 210 The Kings of France not allowed to be Married to a Bastard 246 Bastards Adventurers of Gascongny 352 Battles 32 33 35 Battle between the Armies of Clotair II. and Thierry King of Burgundy in the year 599. 42 Battle near Toul and Tobiae 44 Battle of Tetry 69 Battle of Vinciac in Cambresis 79 Battle very famous near Tours wherein the Saracens were beaten and utterly defeated 82 Battle of Sigeac 83 Battle near Periguex 94 Battle very bloody at Fontenay 132 Battles in the Air. 134 Battle lost by the Romans 185 Battle near Monstreuil Bellay 211 Battle of Tinchelray in Normandy 227 Battle between the French and the English 234 Battle between the Flemings and the French to the disadvantage of the last 330 Battle very bloody between the French and the Flemmings to the loss of the last 331 St. Batilda Queen of France her Elogy 60 61 Bavarians and their Original and establishment in Bavaria under the obedience of France 23 Baldwin or Badouin Earl of Flanders steals away the Daughter of Charles King of Neustria 140 Baldwin the Bald Earl of Flanders 162 164 Baldwin with the Beard Earl of Flanders chaced from his Estates by his Son is restored by the Duke of Normandy 212 Baldwin surnamed the Frisonian chaced his Father 212 Baldwin Regent of the Kingdom of France and Earl of Flanders his death 218 220 221 Baldwin King of Jerusalem 222 Baldwin of Hainault 224 Baldwin XI Count of Flanders makes a League with the King of England against France 257 358 259 Baldwin Earl of Flanders takes up the Cross for the Holy Land 261 Is elected and declared Emperor of Constantinople 263 His death ibid. Baldwin an Impostor pretending
290 Charles Martel his birth 78 Maire or Prince of Austrasia 79 Held Prisoner happily escapes 78 Beaten by the Frisons 79 Beats and untrusses part of Rainfroys Forces 79 Routs the said Rainfroy another time 79 Makes himself Master of all the Kingdom of Neustria and that of Burgundy 81 c. Reduces Bavaria 82 c. Sacketh Aquitain 82 c. Utterly defeats the Saracens 83 Persecutes the Prelats and seizeth on the Treasures and Revenue of the Church to pay his Soldiers Reduces Burgundy 82 Vanquishes the Frisons and subdues Ostergow and Westergow 82 Carries the War a third time into Aquitain ibid. Again marches against the Duke of Aquitain ibid. Goes into Languedoc against the Saracens who were got into that Country defeats them in Battle near Sigeac and regains divers places which they had taken ibid. Is sollicited by Pope Gregory the II. to declare against Luitprand King of the Lombards in favour of the Church 84 He shares the Kingdom between his three Sons Carloman Pepin the Brief and Griffon ibid. His memory blasted after his death ibid. Charlemain his Birth 85 Shares the Kingdom of France with his Brother Carloman and has Neustria for his part 95 Subjects Aquitain entirely to his obedience 96 After the death of his Brother he remains sole King of France 97 His Manners and Conditions ibid. Defeats the Saxons in Battles and brings them to reason 98 Passes beyond the Alps with a potent Army makes himself Master of all Lombardy and utterly extinguisheth that Kingdom 59 Goes to Rome confirms those Donations to the Pope which had been made to him by Pepin his Father and adds more to them ibid. Makes a second Voyage to Rome and is declared Patrician and Crowned King of Lombardy ibid. Orders he establishes in that Kingdom before his departure ibid. Makes divers Expeditions into Saxony 100 c. Passes into Spain against the Moors reduces the M. of Spain under his Dominion 105 Makes a third Voyage causes Pepin his eldest Son to be Baptized and Crowned King of Italy and Lewis his second Son King of Aquitain 101 Subdues the Breton Army 106 Reduces the Dutchy of Bavaria under his obedience 102 Makes an Alliance with the Scots 104 Makes an Expedition against the Huns which succeeds very fortunately 104 A noble design for Communication between the Rhine and the Danube 104 At length subdues and quells the Saxons 108 Passes into Italy punishes those that had abused Pope Leo and is Crowned Emperor of the West 106 Highly regarded by all Princes 107 Shares his Dominions amongst his three Sons 108 Makes a Peace with the Danes the Sarazins of Spain and the Greeks 110 His Death his Elogy his Wives and his Children 111 Charles eldest Son of Charlemain his feats of Arms. His death 110 Charles King of Rhetia 126 Has for his share the West part of France and then Aquitain 127 Charles Brother to Pepin of Aquitain shorn and shut into a Monastery 137 Charles the Son of Lotaire King of Burgundy 139 Charles King of Provence and of Burgundy 139 He unites with Charles his Uncle against Lewis the Germanick 141 Charles the Bald Emperor and King of France 145 A difference happens between him and Lothaire his Brother after the death of their Father 205 c. He Marries Hermentrude carries his War into Aquitain and Bretagne and makes a Peace with the Bretons 132 133 134 Makes himself Soveraign of Aquitain ibid. Is reconciled with Lotharius his Brother Is turned out of his Kingdom by the conspiracies of his Subjects 138 139 He seizes upon the Kingdom of Lorraine after the death of Lotharius 142 And shares it with Lewis the Germanick his Brother Seizes likewise on the Kingdom of Burgundy 143 Is Crowned Emperor of Italy by the Pope 145 Vain Enterprize upon the Succession of Lewis the Germanick 146 Passes to Italy in assistance of Pope John 146 Is hated of his Subjects and Poysoned 147 His Elogy ibid. Charles III. called the Gross Crowned King of Italy and then Emperor 154 Is received to the Crown of France by preference to Charles the Simple 154 Comes to the relief of Paris against the Normands 155 Repudiates his Wife His unfortunate end 156 Charles the Simple Son of Lewis the Stammerer his Birth 149 Crowned King of France 158 Makes himself of all Lorraine 164 Abandoned of all his Subjects because of the insolence of his favourite 165 Too great simplicity 167 Is made Prisoner by his Subjects ibid. His death 168 Charles a French Prince Duke of Lorraine 188 Gets the ill-will of the French by making himself Vassal to the King of Germany 189 The Crown of France denied him he hath recourse to his Sword to recover his pretended right 202 Taken Prisoner with his Wife 203 His death 204 Charles the good Earl of Flanders 237 Assassinated and Massacred 238 Charles of Anjou chief of the Branch of that name 297 Accompanies St. Lewis the King in his Expedition to the Holy Land 304 c. Charles the Lame Son of Charles of Anjou 320 Charles Earl of Anjou His election for the Kingdom of Sicilia confirmed by Pope Clement IV. 310 Passes into Italy is Crowned King of Sicilia by the same Pope his happy progress 310 c. Defeats Conradin in Battle takes him Prisoner and causes his Head to be cut off 311 Constituted by the Pope Vicar of the Empire in Italy ibid. Passes into Africk and joyns the French Army before Tunis 314 Great contest for the County of Provence 319 His too great ambition blinds his Judgment and makes him lose Sicilia 318 His death 321 Charles Earl of Valois 321 Of his right to the Kingdom of Arragon 323 Charles of Valois gets possession of the Authority after the death of Philip his Brother 344 Conquers Guyenne 351 Strangely sick ibid. Charles the Lame set at Liberty 323 Is Crowned King of Sicilia ibid. Renounces the Kingdom of Arragon 324 Marries his Daughter to the Earl of Valois ib. Charles the Fair Marries Blanch of Burgundy ibid. Charles de Valois Marries Clemence of Sicily ib. Makes Peace with the Arragonian 325 Charles Earl of Valois makes War in Guyenne against the English 326 Leaves France and goes into Italy 328 Passes into Sicilia with a potent Army in favour of Charles the Lame his Nephew and makes a Peace between the Parties 330 Is sent by the Pope to Florence to calm the Factions in that Republick ib. Charles the Fair his Wife accused of Adultery 336 Charles IV. called the Long King of France 350 Causes a general Inquisition concerning the Financiers Farmers and Tax-gatherers ib. Repudiates his Wife accused of Adultery to Marry the Daughter of the Emperor ib. His death his Wives and Children 353 Charles VI. regulates the Benefices Charles VII makes some orders about the Benefices 282 Chartreux and the establishment of their Order in France 232 Childebert I. of the name King of France 20 Seizes upon Clairmont in Auvergne 22 Makes War upon Amalaric King of the
Visigoths 22 He and his Brother Clotair make themselves Masters of the Kingdom of Burgundy ib. Inhumanely Massacre two of their Nephews ib. Makes War upon Clotair his Brother 24 He and his Brother Clotair pass the Pyreneans and ravage all the Country of Arragon His death his Wife and his Children 27 Childebert II. of that name King of Austrasia 32 Adopted by Goutran his Uncle 33 Makes a League with Chilperic against him and falls upon his Country 34 Reconciliation with Goutran 38 Carries his Forces into Italy against the Lombards 39 Gives examples of severity 40 His death his Children 41 Childebert II. called the Young King of France 72 His death his Children 73 Childebrand Son of Pepin 78 Childebrand King of the Lombards 91 Childerick fourth King of France 12 Degraded of his Royalty and chaced out of France and another elected in his stead ib. Is recalled by his Subjects his Warlike Exploits his death his Children ib. Childeric King of Austrasia 62 Becomes sole King of France 64 Plunges into the Debaucheries of Wine and Women 65 Persecutes St. Leger ib. Becomes a Tyrant his unhappy end ib. Chilperic II. King of Neustria with Rainfroy his Mayor 64 65 Chilperic alone King of France with Mariel his Maire 80 His death ib. Childeric III. King of France 86 Is degraded and made a Monk 87 88 Chilperic King of Soissons falls upon the Territories of his Brother Sigebert 29 Too great Licence in his Marriage 30 Makes War against Sigebert and causes him to be assassinated 32 Seizes on the Kingdom of Paris ib. Surcharges his People with Imposts 34 Assassinated at Chelles in Brie 36 Clement IV. Pope his rare modesty 310 Confirms the election of Charles of France for the Kingdom of Sicilia Clement elected Pope is Crowned at Lyons 332 His death 336 Clodion the Hairy second King of France 8 His Conquests in Gaul ib. His death his Children 9 Clodomir King of Orleans 20 Barbarous cruelty his unhappy end 21 His Children ib. Clotaire seizes on the Kingdom of Mets after the death of Theobalde his Nephew 26 Ranges the revolted Saxons to reason ib. Succeeds in the Estates of his Brother Childebert to the prejudice of his two Nices Daughters of the defunct 27 Cruelty more then barbarous towards his Son Chramue 28 His death his Wives and Children ib. Clotaire II. of that name King of Neustria 37 Remains sole King of all France 45 Set himself to regulate his State and restore Justice and good order ib. His death his Wives and Children 47 Count of Flanders makes a League with the English and draws the War upon his own Country 326 Is held Prisoner in Paris 327 Clotaire III. King of Neustria and Burgundy 62 His death 63 Clotaire King of Austrasia 79 His death 80 Clovis V. King of France succeeded to his Fathers Crown and makes great Conquests 14 Marries Clotilda ib. Defeats and subdues the Almains ib. His Conversion to the Christian Religion and his Baptism 15 Makes War upon the Burgundians 16 17 Reforms the Salique Law 16 Makes War against the Visigoths ib. Rids his hands of the other petty French Kings of his Relations 17 His death his Children ib. Clovis Son of Chilperic his unfortunate end by the wickedness of Fredegonda his Mother in Law 34 Clovis second King of Neustria and Burgundy takes away the Silver Ornaments of St. Denis Church to feed the Poor during a Famine accused for having taken an Arm of St. Denis to keep in his Oratory 59 His death his Wife his Children 60 Clovis III. King of Neustria and Burgundy 71 His death ib. Clugny Abby its beginning 205 Loses its Reputation Colledge of Navarre its Reputation 331 Combats of Wild-Beasts practised under our first Kings of France 90 Comedians Jugglers Buffoons c. banished the Court of France 253 Comet in the Sign of Sagitarius In the Sign of Virgo In the Sign of Scorpio 201 Comet seen in the year 1264. Comet in the year 1301. Of the Earldom of Holland 140 Earls of Anjou their Original 149 Conan Duke of Bretagne his death 221 Conan the Fat Duke of Bretagne 237 Conan III. Duke of Bretagne 245 Canon the Little Duke of Bretagne his death 249 Councils necessary to preserve the purity of the Faith and the Ecclesiastical Discipline 4 The first Councils that were held and Celebrated in Gall. 4 5 Councils held in Gall during the fifth and sixth Ages 18 19 Councils Convocated in France during the Seventh Age. 75 Council of Francfort against the Heresie of Felix d'Vrgel 104 Councils held in France during the Eight Century 114 Council of Lateran 141 Council of French Bishops at Mets. ib. Council of Attigny 143 Council of Savomeres Council of Poutigon 145 Council of Tribur 160 Councils Celebrated in France during the Ninth Age. 171 c. Council of French Bishops at Mets. 141 Council general of the Bishops of Gall and Germany at Ingelheim 180 Council of Reims 203 Councils held in France during the Tenth Age. 206 Councils Provincial annulled by the Popes 230 Councils assembled in France during the Eleventh Century 232 Council National at Chartres 243 Councils of Spain lay the first foundations of the Authority of the Popes 290 Council of Lyons where the Emperor Frederic is Excommunicated and degraded of the Empire 303 Council of Lyons the Pope presiding there in Person 316 Council general assigned at Vienne in Daufine 235 Councils of the Gallican Church during the Twelfth Age. 289 Such as were held by Order of the King 290 Councils of the Gallican Church lose their Authority 289 Councils of France of the Twelfth Age whereat the Popes assisted ib. Councils held in France during the Thirteenth Age for the extirpation of Hereticks 337 Confession publick at the point of death 287 Confession Auricular 287 Conrar Duke of Wormes raised to the Empire 217 Conrad King of Germany his death 163 Conrad Duke of Lorraine obstinately Rebellious 181 Conrad King of Burgundy his death Conrade the Emperor takes the Cross on him and goes into the Holy Land 244 His return into Italy 245 His death 246 Conrade Son of the Emperor Frederic 306 Passes into Italy causes his Nephew Frederic to be Strangled and seizes upon Sicilia 307 His death ib. Conradin ib. Descends into Italy with a great Army for the recovery of Sicilia his unfortunate end 311 Conspiracy of the Romans against Pope Leo. 121 Of Bernard King of Italy against his Uncle Lewis the Debonaire 122 Conspiracy and horrible Treason of the Neustrians against their King Charles 139 Other Treachery of the same in favour of the same Prince ib. Conspiracy against Charles the Bald. 146 Conspiracy of the Italians against their King Berenger 185 Constance Wife of King Robert proud capricious and insupportable 211 212 Constance of Sicilia Marries the Emperor Henry IV. 246 Constance Elizabeth second Wife of King Lewis the Young 16 Constantine Copronymus endeavours to recover the Exarchat by means of the French Constantinople besieged and forced by
the French and the Venetians joyned together 262 Returns from the hands of the Latins into that of the Greeks 309 Constantius Count and Patrician in Gall. 3 Crimes how punished amongst the ancient French Divers means to purge themselves thereof 49 Crimes they justified themselves by Combat Croisades and beyond-Sea Expeditions advantageous to Popes and Kings but disadvantageous to the great Lords and the People 224 First Croisade and their happy Exploits 224 25 Croisade preached over all Christendom 223 Croisade for the recovery of the Holy Land 260 Croisade against the Albigeois 264 Croisades affirming the Popes Authority 262 Croisade new of French Lords for the Holy Land 301 Croisade new by St. Lewis for succouring the Christians in the Levant 312 Croisades during the Thirteenth Age. 336 Cunibert Bishop of Colen 56 D. Dagobert Son of Clotaire the miraculous protection of his Person 45 Builds the Abby of St. Denis ib. His Father gives him the Kingdom of Austrasia 46 His Marriage quarrel between the Father and the Son ib. Dagobert I. of that name King of Neustria Austrasia and Burgundy 54 He gives part of Aquitain to his Brother Aribert 54 Too much licence in his Marriage ib. Remains sole King after the death of his Brother Aribert 55 Establishes his Son Sigebert King of Austrasia 56 Disposes of Neustria and Burgundy in favour of his Son Clovis ib. Subdues the Gascons and brings them to reason 57 His death ib. Dagobert Son of Sigebert King of Austrasia shaved and banish'd 60 Is recalled and acknowledged King of Austrasia 66 His death 68 Dagobert II. King of France 77 The Danes and Normands infest the Coasts of France 106 Continue their Piracies 211 St. Denis Areopagite his Corps found intire in the Monastery of St. Denis in France 233 Devotion and Piety admirable in our ancient Kings of France 73 St. Didier Bishop of Lyons suffers Martyrdom 43 Didier King of the Lombards conceives the design of abating the power of the Popes and making himself Master of Italy excites Troubles and Schisms in the Church of Rome 98 Causes of particular enmity between him and Charlemain 98 Is dispossest of his Estate 99 His death ib. Didier is elected King of the Romans after the death of Astolphus Anno 755. Differences between Hugh de Vermandois and Artold for the Archbishoprick of Reims 180 Difference between King Lotair and the Children of Hugh the Great 184 Dispensations their beginning 182 Dissentry horrible in France 34 Divorce of a Marriage the cause of great Troubles 243 Dol in Bretagne made a Metropolitan 134 Brought again under that of Tours 274 Dominion Example of an enraged passion for Dominion 296 Dominicans their Institution and Establishment 339 Dreux Bishop of Mets. 127 Drogo or Dreux Son of Pepin 72 Drogon Duke of Bretagne his death 184 Dutchy of Lorrain given to Godfrey Earl of Verdin Bouillon and Verdun 209 Dutchies of two sorts in France 183 Duel proposed to the King by his Subjects 235 E. Ebles Count of Auvergne and Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine 170 Ebles Baron de Roucy a famous Warrier humbled and brought to reason 227 Ebon Bishop of Reims deposed and degraded 128 Ebroin Maire of the Palace perfidious and wicked 62 69 Is shaved and confined to the Monastery of Luxieu 64 Quits the Monastery to take up Arms. 67 His retreat into Austrasia he there supposes a false Clovis in the place of King Thierry whom he feigns to be dead 67 Causes St. Leger to attaqu'd in his City of Autun puts his Eyes out and shuts him up in a Monastery ib. Is received Maire of Thierries Palace 68 Great Tyranny his death 69 Eclipse of the Sun 213 Ecclesiasticks go to Rome to visit the Holy Places 269 Edmund Brother of Edward King of England his death 326 Edward eldest Son of the King of England goes to make War in the Holy Land 312 Edward Son and Successor of Henry King of England 315 At his return from the Holy Land passes thorough France ib. Passes by Sea and comes to the City of Amiens 319 His Voyage to Burdeaux by France 322 Employs himself to accommodate the differences betwixt the Kingdoms of Arragon and Sicilia 323 A Riot between some particular People makes him break the Peace with France 324 325 Makes a powerful League against France 326 Attaques the Scots and brings them under his Laws 327 Marries with Margaret of France 330 Makes Peace with the King of France 331 His death 334 Edward Son of King Edward Marries Isabella of France 327 Edward II. King of England 332 His Contest with Charles the Fair King of France 351 Odious to his People by reason of his Favourites his unfortunate end 352 Ega Maire of the Palace of Neustria his death 58 Election and the Investiture of the Popes in the power of the Emperor Otho 186 Election of Popes 3â—6 Elections to Benefices 285 Emma Queen of France 168 Emma or Emina Wife of King Lothaire 198 Empire Rome when it ended 13 Empire troubled about the Election of an Emperor after the death of Henry VI. 259 Empire of Greece difference between Michael and Baldwin determined 318 Empire ruined by its dis-union Engelberge Wife of the Emperor Lew's of Italy 156 Enguerrand de Marigny his unhappy end 336 Enterprise of the Pope upon the Bishops of France 203 Enterview of the three Kings of France of Germany and of Burgundy 170 Enterview between Lewis Transmarine and Otho of Lorraine 180 Enterview of the Emperor Henry and King Robert 211 Enterview and Enterparlance of the Emperor Henry III. and Henry King of France 217 Enterview of the King of France Lewis the Young and the Emperor Federic 247 Enterview of the Kings of France and Arragon 308 Enterview of the two Kings of France and England in the City of Amiens 319 Enterview of the Kings of France and Castille at Bayonne 323 Enterview of the King of France and the Emperor at Vaucouleurs 328 Eon de L'Estoille His ignorance passes for a great Prophet is apprehended his death 291 Erchinoald Maire of the Palace 61 Era or manner of accompting of the times by the Mahometans 47 Estate of the Gallican Church after the Conversion of Lewis or Clovis the Great 50 The Fourth Age. 4 During the Fifth and Sixth Ages 17 The Seventh 73 The Eighth 112 The Ninth 170 The Tenth 205 The Eleventh Age or Century 228 Eudes Duke of Aquitaine 80 Makes a League with the Sarecens of Spain and draws them into France 81 c. His death 82 Eudes Count of Paris and Duke of France succeeds in the Estates of Hugh the Great his Brother 155 Is raised to his Dignity and declared King of West France 156 Defeats and cuts the Normans in pieces 157 Quarrel betwixt him and Charles the Simple 159 His death 160 Eudes first Earl of Champagne 203 Eudes Count de Pontieure 211 Eudes Son of King Robert Earl of Champagne disputes the Crown with Henry his Brother 214 Reduced to reason 215 Undertakes
upon the Kingdom of Burgundy and upon the Loire to his own confusion his death 217 Eudes or Otho Duke of Aquitain and Gascongne 221 Rebellion of his Subjects his death Eudes Earl of Corbeil 234 Eudes Duke of Burgundy 347 Eudon Earl of Pontieure seizes the Dutchy of Bretagne to the prejudice of Hoel 245 Eugenius II. elected Pope 124 Comes into France 127 Exarchat of Ravenna and its dependances 92 King Pepin makes a donation of it to the Apostle St. Peter and St. Paul not to the Emperor Constantine ib. Excommunications rendred despisable 270 Their force 290 Exemptions and Immunitles granted to Monasteries 271 Exemptions of Bishops were granted by the Diocesan but with the Consent of his Brethren ib. Exemptions of Monasteries by whom granted and the reasons 268 Expeditions beyond Seas 244 F. Faction strange 150 c. Famine great 〈◊〉 France 59 Famine horrible and cruel 213 Faramond or Pharamond first King of France 6 His death 7 Fastrade Queen of France her Marriage her death 105 c. Favourites of Princes cause of great troubles and uproars 333 Federic II. King of Sicilia is elected Emperor and repasses into Germany 265 Renews the Alliance between France and Germany 266 Federic II. cause of a Schism 272 Federic I. of the name called the Barbarossa Emperor 246 Federic I. Emperor his ambition put a stop by Pope Adrian uphold Victor against Alexander III. Pope 289 Upholds Calistus III. ib. Is unfortunate ib. Asks pardon of his Holines at Venice ib. Goes to the Holy Land 303 Shares his Empire amongst his Children his death 306 Federic Grandson of the Emperor of that name Duke of Austrasia 306 Federic Duke of Austria joyns with Couradin in the War of Sicily his unhappy end 311 Federic of Arragon takes the name of King of Sicily 325 Ferdinand of Castille called la Cerde his death 317 Ferrand of Portugal Earl of Flanders 266 Feast of Fools 293 Feasts or Festivals and of their Celebration 52 53 Feasts of Christmas and Easter Celebrated by the Kings of France with great solemnity 93 Fiefs and their Original 35 St. Filibert imprisoned 68 Financiers prosecuted 344 Financiers and Maloistiers call'd in question and punished 350 Flagellants 309 Flanders made a County 104 Given to William Duke of Normandy Son of Robert 238 Subject of a great feud ib. Divided 330 Revolts and is lost as to France ib. In trouble 351 Flochat Quarrel betwixt him and the Duke of Transjurains 59 Florence Republick in Troubles by reason of the Factions which torment it 330 Flota Peter a Man violent and covetous 329 Formosa Pope cause of a horrible scandal to the Roman Church 161 Forces Difference there was otherwhile betwixt those belonging to the King and those of the Kingdoâ—â— 238 Fulk Archbishop of Reims is assassinated and the Murtherer eaten up of Lice 162 Fulk le Roux or the Red Earl of Anjou his death 164 Fulk le Bon or the Good Earl of Anjou 164 His death 180 Fulk Earl of Anjou a Capital Enemy of the Bretons his death 184 Fulk le Rechin takes Beltrade for his third Wife 223 Fulk King of Jerusalem his death 243 Fulk Archbishop of Reims menaces his King to withdraw his Subjects 266 France and its first establishment in Gall. 20 Divided into Oosterich or Eastern part and Westrich or Western part 20 France the Western part without a Chief 155 Dismember'd in divers parts ib. France united preserves it self against the Authority of the Popes 287 Franciscans and Dominicans of their jealousies against each others and their Enterprises on the Functions of Ordinary Pastors 303 Their Quarrel with St. Amour Vide Quarrel Franciscans Religious their Institution and Establishment 339 French and their Original 2 Their incursions into Gall. ib. The French Nation divided into diverse People 3 Occupy a part of Germania Secunda 6 Their first Kings and of their inauguration ib. Chaced byond the Rhine by the Romans 7 French their Conversion to the Christian Religion 15 They snare the Lands of Gall amongst them to the Loire 17 Their Manners and Customs ib. Cross themselves and make an Expedition for the recovery of the Holy Land Their Conquests 260 c. Fredegonda causes Sigebert to be assassinated and her Husband Chilperic 32 c. She likewise causes Pretextat Archbishop of Rouen to be assassinated 38 Her death 41 Friers Minors or Cordeliers their institution 264 Friers Preachers or Jacobins their institution ib. Friers Preachers and Frier Minors and of their Enterprizes upon the Rights of the Ordinaries 339 Frisons and Neustrians attaque the Austrasians 79 G. Gaifre Duke of Aquitain his obstinacy not to acknowledge King Pepin chastized 93 c. His death 94 Ganelon and his fable 140 Gascogne divided into Dutchy and County its extent 121 Gascogne and Aquitania Secunda ransack'd and desolated by the Normands 142 Gascogne The House of Gascogne resolved into that of Poitiers or Aquitaine 209 Gascons make irruptions upon the French 35 Make themselves Masters of a part of the Novempopulania or Aquitania Tertia 42 Subdued by the French 56 Punish'd for their insolence 121 Reduced under a Duke of their own Nation 143 Brought to reason 209 Gaveston Favourite of the King of England 334 Gaul its situation 1 Conquer'd by Caesar ib. Divided by the Romans into divers Provinces and Governments ib. Its Towns and Cities 1 2 Of their Revolts 2 Part of it conquer'd by the Visigoths another part by the Burgundians and the remainder by the French 3 4 c. Gautier de Bevierre crosses himself for the Holy Land 260 Gauzzelin Abbot of St. Germain des Prez 145 Gedoin Abbot of St. Victor 276 Geffroy Plantagenest Earl of Anjou Marries the King of Englands Daughter 239 Quarrels with his Father in Law 240 Dispossessed in part of his Dutchy of Normandy ib. Geffroy Martel Earl of Anjou 216 Besieges and takes the City of Tours An Act of Piety ib. Geoffrey Martel quits the World and shuts himself up in a Monastery 217 Geoffrey the Bearded 217 Geoffrey Martel ib. Gefrey Brother of Henry King of England is made Earl of Nantes His death 247 Geffrey of Bretagne takes up Arms against the King of England his Father 250 Geffroy Duke of Normandy and Bretagne 249 His death 254 Gelasius is elected Pope 236 Is driven from Rome by the Emperor Henry V. and comes into France ib. Gelasius II. acknowledges the power of Councils 289 General of an Army The divisions betwixt Generals of Armies of a pernicious Consequence 40 Generosity admirable 165 Genseric King of the Vandals sacks the City of Rome 11 Gerfroy Grise-gonnelle Earl of Anjou his death 188 Gerfroy Duke or Earl of Bretagne his death 211 St. Gerard. 205 Gerard Bishop of Angoulesme acknowledges Anaclet for Pope 274 Subject of that acknowledgment ib. His death 275 Gerberge Queen of France endeavours to release her Husband of his Imprisonment 179 Governs the State under the King of Lotaire her Son 184 Gerbert elected Archbishop of Rheims very skilful in
the Mathematicks 203 Deposed 204 Gibellins in Italy 348 Giles Bishop of Rheims degraded of his Bishoprick and banished to Strasburgh 40 Gillon is elected King of France in the place of Childeric 12 Revolt of the French against him 13 Godfrey King of Denmark undertakes against the French 109 Descends into Frisia and pillages the Country ib. Godfrey of Buillon Head of the first Croisade to the Holy Land elected King of Jerusalem his glorious Exploits 224 c. His death Gondebaud King of Burgundy 15 Conquers the two Narbonnensi 16 The Armor between the Seine and the Loire unite with the French 15 Gondebaud calling himself Son of Clotaire comes from Constantinople into France to reap the Succession of his Father his unhappy end 35 38 Gondebaud a Monk employs himself for the deliverance of the Emperor Lewis the Debonnaire 126 Gondemar King of Burgundy 21 Gondioche King of the Burgundians his death and his Kingdom divided amongst his four Sons 13 Gontran King of Orleans and of Burgundy takes too much licence in his Marriage 29 Leagues himself with Chilperic against Sigebert their Brother 32 Adopts his Nephew Childebert and places him in his Throne 33 Seizes upon the Kingdom of Paris and a part of Neustria 37 Takes Fredegonda into his protection ib. Gontran King of Orleans makes War against the Visigoths in Languedoc 39 Effects of the inconstancy of the mind 40 His death ib. Gotelen Duke of Lorraine 221 Goths and their Country divided into Ostrogoths and Visigoths 2 Gregory II. Pope opposes the Emperor Leo stoutly in defence of Images 84 Gregory III. Excommunicates the Emperor Leo. Gregory VII menaces Philip King of France to Excommunicate him if he do not reform himself 221 Gregory VIII Antipope 272 Gregory IX Pope in contest with the Emperor Violent proceeding His death 301 Gregory X. Pope 315 Griffon Son of Charles Martel by his Brothers shut up in Chasteauneuf in Ardenne 84 Is set at liberty by Pepin his Brother 87 Grimoald Maire of the Palace of Austrasia 58 Causes the young King Dagobert to be shaved and sets his Son upon the Royal Throne 60 Grimoald Son of Pepin Espouses the Daughter of the King of Frisia 77 Assassinated and slain 78 Guelphes and Gibbelins two Factions in Italy 303 Girard de la Guette a Financier of Paris advanced to the Gallows 350 Guy Duke of Spoleta Emperour of Italy 156 Chaced out of Lombardy 160 His death ib. Guy of Burgundy dispoiled of those Lands he held in Normandy 2 6 Guy-Geofrey-William Duke of Aquitaine Re-conquers Saintonge then passes into Spain against the Saracens 220 His death 222 Guy Earl of Auvergne deprived of his Earldom 265 Guy Count de Saint Pol. 298 Guy Earl of Flanders vanquish'd and made Prisoner 308 Guy de Dampiere Earl of Flanders 322 Is held Prisoner at Paris with his Wife and Children 325 Guy Earl of Flanders is restored to his County Guy Brother to the Daufin of Vienne a Templer burnt alive 336 Guyemans a faithful Friend of King Childeric's 12 H. Hatred mortal between William of Normandy and Arnold Earl of Flanders 127 Hatred mortal of the Flemmings against the French its beginning 257 Hebert Count of Vermandois His death 162 Hebert Count of Meaux and of Troyes his death 178 Henry Duke of Friuly falls into the Country of the Huns. 105 Henry Duke of Saxony comes to the relief of Paris his death 155 Henry the Bird-Catcher King of Germany 165 His death 170 Henry II. called the Lame Emperour 208 Henry Duke of Burgundy his death 209 Henry Son of King Robert is Crowned and Associated by his Father 212 213 Henry King of France surmounts his Enemies 214 Chastises the Felony of the Sons of the Earl of Champagne his Nephews 216 Expedition of small effect in Normandy 217 He assists the Duke of Normandy against his rebel Subjects ib. Coldness between his Majesty and the Earl of Anjou ib. Divers Emparlances with the Emperor Henry III. 218 Second Expedition into Normandy unsucsessful Causes his eldest Son Philip to be Crowned 218 His death his Wife his Children 218 219 Henry IV. Emperor in contention with the Popes 209 Seized by his Son Henry his death ib. Henry V. Emperor in contention with the Popes Pascal II. and Galasius for the nomination to Bishopricks 223 Is Excommunicated ib. Reconciled to the Pope 234 Arms powerfully against France to his confusion ib. Henry King of England in contention with the King of France 234 235 Is obliged to make Peace with him 236 Renewing of the Quarrel ib. Loses his three Sons at Sea 237 Conspiracy of his Domestick Officers against his Person ib. Declares his Daughter Matilda Heiress of all his Estates In contention with his Son in Law the Earl of Anjou his death 240 Henry Duke of Normandy Espouses Alienor 246 Gets into possession of the Kingdom of England ib. Henry King of England becomes very powerful undertakes against Languedoc for the County of Tholoze 247 Makes War again upon the King of France 249 Arms his own Children against him ib. Accused of the Murther of the Archbishop of Canterbury 250 In debate with the King of France 254 Takes up the Croisade for the recovery of the Holy Land His death 255 Henry the Young takes up Arms against the King of England his Father 252 His death 253 Henry VI. Emperor 256 His death 259 Henry Earl of Champagne Generalissimo of the Christians in the Holy Land 257 His death 259 Henry IV. deprived of the Empire by his Son 272 His ill conduct ib. Henry V. Emperour the cause of a Schism 272 Forces the Pope to agree to what he pleases 273 Renounces the Investitures ib. His death ib. Henry VI. Emperour is Excommunicated 275 Henry pretended King of the Romans his death 304 Henry of Castille takes up Arms against Charles of Anjou King of Sicilia 311 Henry III. King of England comes into France and treats with the King for Normandy and other the Lands his Predecessors had been possessed of 310 Feud with the Barons of his Kingdom ib. His death 315 Henry the Fat King of Navarre 315 His death 317 Henry Count of Luxemburg is elected Emperor 334 Passes into Italy his death 335 Hermengarde Empress her death 123 Hermenegilde takes up Arms against the King of Spain her death 38 Peter the Hermit a Gentleman of Picardy 223 Hildebrand Popes Legat in France 229 Hildegarde Queen of France 102 Hilduin Bishop of Liege unsaithful to his Prince 205 Hinomar Bishop of Laon deposed and persecuted 142 Reabilitated 161 Hinomar Archbishop of Reims 139 His death 153 Hoel Son of the Duke of Bretagne Assassinated 184 Hoel Duke of Bretagne 221 Disputes the Dutchy of Bretagne against Eudes de Pontieure 244 Abandoned by the Nantois 247 Honorius II. Pope his death 239 Hugh Son of Valdrade 151 Hugh Bastard of Valdrade ib. Hugh the Great Tutor to Charles the Simple 155 Hugh King of Italy comes into France 168 Hated of his Subjects 170 Hugh le Blanc Earl of
causes him to be degraded after his publick Pennance 127 128 Lothaire King of Italy difference between him and Charles his Brother touching their shares after the death of their Father 134 Reconciliation with Charles his Brother 138 Changes his Imperial Purple for a Friers Frock ib. His Wife and Children ib. Lothaire II. of Lorraine 139 He repudiates Thietberge his Wife to Espouse Valdrade and that made a great deal of noise 140 The said Marriage annull'd and he Excommunicated by the Pope 141 Passes into Italy against the Saracens his death by Divine Punishment 142 His Children ib. Lothaire Son of the King of Italy 179 Lothaire King of France 183 His Marriage with Emma or Emina Daughter of Lothaire King of Italy 187 Enterprize upon Lorraine 188 Repels and chases the Germans out of France where they had made an irruption 189 Repasses into Lorraine Causes his Son Lewis to be Crowned and to Reign with him ib. His death 189 Lothaire Duke of Saxony elected Emperor 238 Lothaire II. Emperor his death 243 Louis of Aquitaine passes into Italy to the assistance of his Brother Pepin 104 Besieges and takes Narbonne and Tortosae 106 c. Louis or Lewis the Debonaire his coming to the Crown 120 Purges the Court of Scandal ib. His Coronation and of the Empress Hermengarde His continual exercises of Piety and Devotion 122 Concerns himself in the reformation of the Clergy and draws upon him the hatred of the Churchmen 122 Associates Lothaire his eldest Son in the Empire and shares for his other Children ib. Severely punishes the King of Italy his Nephew who had conspired against his Person and his Complices 122 123 Causes all his Bastard Brothers to be shaved ib. Reduces Bretagne to a Dutchy ib. Marries a second Wife after the death of Hermengarde ib. Marries all his Sons 124 Subdues the Bretons ib. Gives occasion of discontent to his Children who conspire against him and shut him up Prisoner in the Abby St. Medard of Soissons 125 c. Does publick Pennance and is degraded 126 c. Is re-established in his Royal Throne 128 Divides again his Estates of France Eastern and Western 129 His death his Wives his Children 130 Of his great care in regulating all that concerned the advantage and administration of the Church the discipline of the Clergy c. 170 Louis Son of Lewis the Debonaire is made King of Bavaria 122 Louis King of Bavaria embraces the Cause of his Father Lewis the Debonaire afterwards turns against him 126 Louis Emperor King of Italy 138 Louis the Germanick usurps Neustria upon his Brother Charles 139 Divides Lorraine with him 142 Troubled and disquieted by his Children 144 His death ib. Louis the Emperor and King of Italy despised by his Subjects 138 Makes a League with Lewis the Germanick against Charles the Bald. 139 Difference about Lorraine 143 Is despised of his Subjects ib. His death 144 Louis the Stammerer Emperor and King of Neustria or West France Aquitain and Burgundy 148 Is Crowned Emperor by Pope John ib. His death 149 Louis III. and Carloman his Brother Kings of West France Burgundy and Aquitain 148 c. Death of Lewis 152 Louis Son of Boson seizes upon Provence 156 c. Louis Son of Arnold Emperor of Germany and King of Lorraine 162 His death 163 Louis the Blind King of Provence 170 Louis IV. called Transmarine is recalled from England owned and Crowned King of France 175 6 Abandoned of all his Subjects in Neustria is constrained to save his life by a shameful flight 177 Makes a Peace and is reconciled to his Subjects 179 Seizes Richard Duke of Normandy ib. His precipitate revenge draws great difficulties upon him 178 Is carried Prisoner to Rouen ib. Is restored to liberty 179 Brouilleries in France 180 c. Is reconciled with Hugh le Blanc and they make Peace together 181 His death ib. Louis King of Aquitain chastises the Revolt of the Gascons 110 Associated to the Empire and declared Emperor by Charlemain his Father 111 Louis King of France called the idle or Lazy Marries a Princess of Aquitain named Blanch. 198 His death ib. Louis called the Gross Son of King Philip designed King takes up the Government of Affairs 226 Passes into England 227 Betrothed to Luciane Daughter of Guy de Rochefort 227 His pretended Marriage with Luciana broken by the Pope ib. Quarrels and brouilleries with his Subjects 234 Defeats the English in Battle about Gisors 35 Renewing of the War between those two Princes 236 Strongly opposes the Emperors Efforts who would needs be revenged because he had protected Pope Calixtus II. 236 c. Reduces the Count d'Auvergne to reason 238 Revenges the Parricide committed on the Person of the Earl of Flanders 239 Causes his Son Philip to be Crown'd ib. Becomes an Enemy to the Clergy his Subjects and is Excommunicated 239 c. His death his Wives his Children 241 Lewis the Young Crowned in the life time of his Father Lewis the Gross 240 Louis the Young he Marries Alienor Daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine ib. Establishes Justice and secures the publick safety 242 Is Excommunicated and his Kingdom put under an interdiction by the Pope 243 Receives Pope Eugenius into France 244 Takes the Cross and goes into the Holy Land ib. His return into France 245 Repudiates Queen Alienor and Marries the Daughter of Alphonso VII King of Castille 243 Goes to St. Jago in Gallicia out of Devotion 246 Difference with Henry King of England for the County of Touloze 248 He makes Alliance by Marriage with the House of Champagne 249 Suppresses the disorders of his Kingdom ib. Enters into War again with the King of England their Reconciliation ib. Takes the protection of the King of England's Children against their Father 250 Passes over into England and goes to visit the Tomb of St. Thomas of Canterbury ib. His death his Wives his Children 251 Louis VIII King of France his Birth 254 Parlies with the Emperor Federic II. 266 His Coronation at Reims 295 Enterview with Henry Son of the Emperor Federic 295 Crosses himself against the Albigenses and makes War upon them in Person 296 His death his Wife and his Children 296 297 St. Louis King of France his Coronation 298 Great disturbances in the State at the beginning of his Reign ib. c. He Vowes to make War against the Infidels 303 Voyage to the Holy Land 304 c. His Army entirely defeated and he made Prisoner of War by the Infidels 305 Is set at liberty with all the rest of the French Prisoners 306 Whether it be true he gave a Consecrated Wafer as a pawn for his Word 305 He visits the Holy Places in the Holy Land 307 His return into France ib. He entertains the King of England magnificently ib. Regulates his Kingdom by good Laws and exercises himself in good Works 308 Endeavours to accommodate Affairs between the Barons and their King Henry 309 Undertakes a new Crosade for relief of
out the French declaring himself the Soveraign 135 Is Crowned King of Bretagne 136 Over-runs and ransacks Anjou 137 Nera Foulges 204 Neustria and its extent 17 Nicephorous Emperor of the East 107 His death 110 Nicholas Moine or Monk of Soissons contradicted by a Modern Author Church of the Twelfth Age. Nicholas I. Pope Excommunicates a Council of Bishops in France who declare him Excommunicate 141 Annul the second Marriage of Lotaire King of Lorraine with Valdrade and confirm the first with Thietberge ib. Nicholas III. Pope conspires against Charles King of Sicilia 318 His death 319 Nogaret William seizes on the Person of Pope Boniface 332 c. St. Norbert Founder of the Order of Premonstre afterwards Archbishop of Magdeburg Church in the Twelfth Age. Normandy first erected to a Dutchy 163 Ravaged by a Civil War between the Heirs of Henry King of England after his death 170 c. All in Blood and Fire by the quarrels of the particular Lords of the Country 215 Normans course along the Coasts of France 123 Their descents and pillaging of Gascogne and Aquitania Secunda 134 Course along the Coasts of Spain and take Sevill 125 Course along the Coasts of Flanders 129 Land in Neustria and Bretagne 135 Enter upon Neustria again ib. Called Truands 146 Scowre pillage and ravage France 151 c. Besieges the City of Paris 155 Defeated and cut in pieces 157 Whence so great numbers of such barbarous People could come into France 158 Re-enter France by the Mouth of the River Seine 160 Become Masters of that Province called since Normandy and on Bretagne 163 Revolt against their Duke 178 Their name began to grow glorious and powerful in Italy 215 Nantes County Difference between Henry King of England and Conan Count of Renes or of the Lesser Bretagne 247 O. Odo Duke of Burgundy 237 Odo third Duke of Burgundy 248 Reduced to reason 254 Odo I. Abbot of St. Genevieve 278 Office of Constable 295 Officers Princes are responsable for the faults of their Officers 304 Ogine Queen of France 175 Onfroy Chief of the Normans in Italy and of his Conquests 216 Orders Sacred and of such as were admitted during the Eighth Century 115 Orders famous which took beginning during the Eleventh Age. 233 Orders Religious established during the Third Age. 339 Orders Sacred have each their Function 286 Order of Fontevraud and its confirmation 290 Organs when first brought and used in France 93 Oriflame born as a Standar in time of War 244 Ostrogoths over-run and ravage all Italy 217 Otho William chief of the Earls of Burgundy that is to say of the Franche-Comte 209 His death 212 Othelin Earl of Burgundy puts himself under protection of the King of France and gives him his Earldom 324 Othomans or Ottomans and the beginning of their dreadful Family or House 329 Otho King of Germany and Lorrain assists Lewis the Transmarine against his Subjects 179 Otho Duke of Burgundy 184 Otho King of Germany makes himself Master of Italy Is Crowned King of Lombardy afterwards Crowned Emperor 185 Remedies several Commotions in Italy by severe punishments ib. Causes his Son Otho to be Crowned and Associated in the Empire 186 His death 187 Otho II. Emperor and King of Germany 186 Gives Lorraine to his Brother Charles 188 Makes an irruption in France to his confusion ib. His death 189 Otho III. Emperor and King of Germany his death 209 Otho Emperor 263 Is Excommunicated by Pope Innocent 264 P. Paganis Hugh Institutor of the Order of the Templers 275 Pairs of France who were to assist at the Coronation of the Kings reduced to the number of Twelve 240 Paleologus Michael becomes Master of the City of Constantinople 309 Pamiez made a Bishoprick 326 Paris very much consider'd by the Kings of the first Race 31 Paving of its Streets 254 Surrounded with Walls 255 Parliament of Wormes 142 Of Attigny 265 Parliament of Poissy 142 Parliament of Compeigne 184 Parliament of Wormes 152 Parliament of Estampes 217 Parliament of Soissons 266 Parliament of Amiens 309 Pascal Pope Murther committed in his House in hatred of the French His death 124 Paschal II. Pope comes into France and holds a Council at Troyes in Champagne 227 Ill treated by the Emperor 236 Paschal III. Antipope 272 Pastorels Crossed 306 Patarins Hereticks 278 Peasants and Pastorels take up Arms for the recovery of the Holy Land 348 Peace with the Danes 110 With the Saracens of Spain ib. With the Greecks ib. Peace between King Lewis the Transmarine and his Rebellious Subjects 178 Peace between King Lewis the Transmarine and Hugh le Blanc 180 Peace between the two Empires Between the French and the Danes 123 With the Saracens of Spain 123 Peace between King Lothaire and the Emperor Otho II. 188 Peace with the English 236 Penitence publick 274 Penitents publick excluded from Functions Civil Military and from Marriage ib. Pepin Maire of the Palace of Austrasia his death 58 Pepin the Gross or d'Herstal Prince of Austrasia 69 Makes War upon Thierry King of Neustria seizes his Person and the Government of all France ib. Reduceth the Revolted Frisians ib. Assembles a Council 70 Expedition against the Almans 72 Makes an Alliance with Bathod Duke or King of the Frisons ib. His death his Children 78 Pepin the Brief Son of Charles Martel Duke and Prince of the French in Neustria 84 He with his Brother ranges the Dukes of Aquitain who were revolted to reason 86 Pepin called the Brief Elected Annointed and Crowned King of France 90 A generous action that made him more considerable amongst the French Lords of his Court ib. Makes the Saxons Tributaries to France 92 Becomes Protector of the Roman Church against the Lombards Marches into Italy with his Army and compels Astolphus to give up the Exarchat of Ravenna and the Justices of St. Peter 92 93 Receives the Oath of Fidelity of the Duke of Bavaria 94 Forces the Saxons to do the same and to pay him Tribute ib. Subdues all Aquitain in divers and several Expeditions 95 His death his Wives and Children ib. Pepin King of Italy his feats of Arms. 109 Unfortunate Enterprize against the Venetians 110 His death ib. Pepin Son of Lewis the Debonaire is made King of Aquitain 122 Espouses Engheltrude 123 Pepin Son of Bernard King of Italy chief of the first Branch of Vermandois 123 Pepin King of Aquitain 122 He embraces the Cause of the Emperor his Father against his Brother Lothaire then turns against him 126 His death his Wife and his Children 129 Pepin King of Aquitain shaved and confined in a Monastery and afterwards in the Castle of Senlis 137 Perfidiousness of the Emperor against the Christians of the second Croisade to the Holy Land 225 Phenomenas very extraordinary 109 Philip King of France 220 Concerns himself in the Quarrel of the Flemings unsuccessfully 222 Runs into disorders and vexations with his Subjects ib. Is threatned with Excommunication by the Pope ib. Repudiates Berthe his
Wife and Marries Bertrade 223 Is Excommunicated because of this new Marriage by the Bishops by the Pope and by a Council at Poitiers ib. Braved by the Lord de Montlehery ib. In fine obtains a dispensation in the Court of Rome is absolved and his Marriage is confirmed 226 His death his Wives and Children 227 Philip Brother of King Lewis the Gross sides with the discontented Party 2â—5 Philip Augustus King of France his Birth 249 His Coronation 250 His Marriage with Isabella Alix 251 He begins his Reign and Government with Piety and Justice 252 He withdraws Vermandois from the hands of the Earl of Flanders 252 He sends succours to the Holy Land and causes the Croisade to be preached 253 Difference between him and the King of England 254 Takes the Cross on him with the King of England for the recovery of the Holy Land 255 Gives chace to the King of England who was entred upon France ib. His Voyage to the Holy Land Order for the Regency of his Son and Kingdom during his absence ib. Difference intervened between him and Richard King of England 256 Takes the City of Acre or Ptolemais ib. Falls sick and returns into France 257 Withdraws the County of Artois from the hands of the Earl of Flanders ib. Declares War against the King of England 258 Repudiates Isemberge his Wife then takes her again ib. Reconciles himself with John King of England 259 Endeavours to accustom the Ecclesiasticks to furnish him with Subsidies 261 Conquers all the Territories of King John which held of the Crown 261 c. Philip the Fair King of France Marries the Queen of Navarre 320 Is Crowned at Reims 322 Accommodates and makes Peace with the Castillian 323 Causes search to be made amongst the Banquers 324 Opposes the designs of the King of England for the subjecting of Scotland and recovering the Cities in Guyenne 325 Is offended with Pope Boniface 326 A great Conspiracy against him 326 Makes War in Flanders his progress 327 c. Confers with the Emperor Albertus 328 Enters into a quarrel with the Pope and hinders the French Prelats from going to Rome whither the Pope sent for them 329 Is Excommunicated by the Pope ib. Takes up Arms to chastize the Rebellion of the Flemings 330 Treats a Peace with the English ib. Makes a Voyage into Guyenne and Languedoc 331 Fore-arms himself against the Bâ—lls of Bâ—niface ib. Assists at the Coronation of Pope Clement at Lyons 332 Appears at the General Council of Vienne in Daufine ib. Undertakes War against the Flemings His three Sons Wives accused of Adultery His death his Wives and Children 336 Philip of Alsace Earl of Flanders his death 257 Philip of Dreux Bishop of Beauvais is held Prisoner 258 Philip Earl of Boulogne 299 Philip Emperor assassinated 264 Philip the Hardy King of France 314 Returns from Afric into France ib. He Arms against the King of Castille in favour of the Princes of Navarre his Nephews 316 Takes up Arms and passes the Pyrenean Mountains against the King of Arragon 320 His death his Wives and his Children 321 Philip the Long espouses Jane of Burgundy 324 Philip d'Euvreux 348 Philip the Long King of France 347 His Wife accused of Adultery 336 Brouilleries in the State 348 His death his Children 349 Philip de Valois passes into Italy against the Gibbelins 348 Philippa Daughter of the Earl of Hainault 352 Peter Son of King Lewis the Gross chief of the House of Courtenay 241 Peter Duke of Bretagne takes Arms against the King 296 Surnamed Mauclerc or Illiterate or Witless 300 His death 301 Peter Earl of Alencon 312 Peter Earl of Arragon Crowned King of Sicilia 317 A villanous and shameful slight 320 Is Excommunicated and degraded by the Pope ib. His death 321 Peter Abbot of Cane refuses the Miter 270 Planet Mars not visible in a whole year 105 Plectrude Widow of Pepin intrudes into the whole Government of France 78 She is constrained to quit the Government to Charles Martel 79 Poissy Gerard Financier 254 Politicks Hereticks 276 Poland honour'd with the Title of a Kingdom 209 Ponce Abbot of Clugny by his Debauches loses the Reputation of his Order 279 Papeliâ—ans Hereticks their Forces and Erâ—ors 276 Popes of the Fourth Age. 5 Popes when they began to change names at their creation 136 Memorable example of their Soveraign power and of an extream severity 209 Of their Elections 247 Have a right to exhort not to command the Kings of France 326 Acts of Temporal Soveraignty they assumed on all occasions during the Thirteenth Age. 337 They would raise themselves above all Soveraigns 293 Gilbert Porct Bishop of Poitiers condemned 289 Port-Royal its foundation 83 Portugal of a Dutchy made a Kingdom 243 Pragmatick of St. Lewis 312 Pretextat Archbishop of Rouen 32 Restored to his See and assassinated 38 Prior of the Monastery of Gristan his History 288 Primacy of the Church of Lyons over the four Lyonnoises 232 Prince that oppresses his Subjects is easily abandonned by them 45 Prince dispoiled of his Estate because of his ill Conduct 161 Priviledges of Monks 282 Bring a Scandal to the Church Buy it off dearly at Rome ib. Prodigy unheard of of Snakes and other Serpents who fought most obstinately 2â—8 Protade Maire of the Palace 43 Provenceaux rise against their Earl and Lord. 301 Provisions of the Pope 236 Petro Brusians Hereticks 276 Puisset Hugh 235 Q. Quarrel between Thierry and Boson 146 Quarrel for the Archbishoprick of Reims 177 c. Quarrel and hatred of the â—arls of Charâ—res and Flanders against the Normans 186 Quarrel famous between the Pope and the Emperors 223 Quarrel between Robert Duke of Normandy and Henry his younger Brother for the Kingdom of England 226 Quarrel of the Popes with the Emperor Henry IV. 227 c. Quarrel between the Bishops and the Monks for the Tenths 228 Quarrel between the Emperor and the Pope for the investiture of Bishopricks 236 Quarrel between the Secular Doctors of Theology and the Orders of Religious Mendicants 307 Quarrel of the Count d'Armagnac and the Lord de Casaubon 315 Quarrel bloody and long for the Succession of the Crown of Scotland 323 Quarrels Little particular Riots do often produce very great Quarrels 325 Qâ—iâ—alet Bishoprick transfer'd to St. Malo's Church of the Twelfth Century R. Rabanus Maurus Archbishop of Ments 173 Race Carolovinian and the end of it Causes of its ruine 198 199 Rachis King of the Lombards turns Monk 91 Leaves his Monastery whither he is forced to return again Radbod King of the Frisians 72 Radegonda Sainct 22 Raillery that cost very dear 222 Raimond Earl of Tolose principal Favourer of the Hereticks in Languedoc is Excommunicated 264 Reconciles himself to the Church 295 Is brought to reason 299 Raimond Earl of Toloze pretends to be Lord of the Marsellois c. 300 Raimond Prince of Antioch Rainfroy Maire of the Neustrians 79 His death 81 Rambold of Orange 224 Ranulf Duke of Aquitaine
Rapes The Emperors Daughter taken away 136 Rebellion of the Sorabes 121 Of the Gascons ib. Of the Bretons 124 Rebellion of Children against their Father punished 144 Rebellion of the Earl of Poitou and Duke of Aquitain 184 Rebellion punished 211 Rebellion of the Aquitains against their Duke 216 Rebellion of the Children of the King of England 250 Reconciliation of the two Brothers Lewis and Charles and their Nephew Lotaire 140 Reformation of Monasteries and Religious Houses 205 Regency of a Woman causes great troubles in the Kingdom 298 Regency of the Kingdom without a King 345 Reliques of St. Denis and his Companions 45 Reliques of Saints carried for Ensigns of War 216 Remistang hanged 94 Remond Count of Tolouse 224 Renauld de Dampmartin 259 Renauld Earl of Boulogne suspected of Intelligence with the English refuses to obey the King 266 Reputation of Isemburge of Denmark by King Philip Augustus 257 Of Havoise of Glocester by King John without Land 261 Retreat of many great Persons into the Monasteries 112 Revolt of Verdun 15 Of Auvergne against their King Thierry 22 Revolt of the Saxons chastised 46 Revolt of the Visigoths in Septimania 65 Revolt of the Turingians the Frisons the Saxons and the Almans who shook off the Yoak of the French 71 The same the Aquitanians and the Gascons ib. Revolt of the Frisons 72 Revolt of Aquitaine 95 Of the Saxons 98 Revolt of the Gascons chastised 107 Of the Duke of Benevent 108 Revolt of Panonia inferior 123 Revolt in Aquitaine 158 Revolt of the Neustrians against their King 177 Of the Normans against their young Duke Richard 178 Revolt in Lombardy 186 Revolt of a Son against his Father 227 Revolt and rising of the Flemings against their Count. 299 Revolt of the Romans against Pope Eugenius 244 Revolt of the Marseillois against the Earl of Provence attended with a long War 300 Revolt and general conspiracy of all Sicilia against the French 319 Reims otherwhile Metropolis of Liege Church of the Twelfth Age. Richard Duke of Normandy 178 Taken away by King Lewis the Transmarine is industriously saved both he and his Dutchess 178 Richard Duke of Normandy in War with the Earl of Chartres 187 Richard without Fear Duke of Normandy his death 204 Richard I. Duke of Normandy his death 208 Richard II. called the Good Duke of Normandy his death 212 Richard III. Duke of Normandy 212 His death 213 Richard Duke of Aquitaine betrothed to Alix of France 250 Richard Duke of Aquitaine takes Arms against the King of England his Father ib. Richard Earl of Poitou refuses his Homage to the King for his County of Poitou 254 Richard Earl of Poitou He quarrels for the County of Tolose and strives to invade it by force of Arms. 255 Falls out with the King of England his Father ib. Richard King of England before Earl of Poitou 256 He accompanies the King of France in his Expedition to the Holy Land ib. Great mis-understanding happens betwixt these two Princes ib. His admirable progress in his Voyage 257 Quits the Holy Land to return to his own Kingdom and is taken Prisoner in Germany ib. Had great Wars with the French 258 His death 259 Richard Brother of Henry King of England lands at Bourdeaux with a potent Army 296 Richard pretended King of the Romans 309 His death 315 Richilda Wife of Charles the Bald is Crowned by the Pope 145 Richilda Countess of Flanders 221 Robert the Strong or the Valiant the Stock of the Capetine Race 140 His death his Children 142 Robert elected and Crowned King of France to the prejudice of Charles the Simple 165 His death ib. Robert Earl of Troyes and of Chaalons 184 Robert I. Duke of Burgundy Chief of the first Race of the Dukes of Burgundy 214 His death 215 Robert called the Frison Earl of Flanders his death 221 Robert King of France 202 He Marries Lutgarde for his first Wife and for his second Bertha Sister of Rodolph the idle King of Burgundy 202 209 Excommunicated by the Pope because of his second Marriage 209 Recovers by the Sword the Dutchy of Burgundy which Otho-Guilliame had usurped ib. Marries for his third Wife Constance Blanche 210 Addicts himself wholly to works of Piety ib. Causes his Son Hugh to be Crown'd 211 Re-joyns the County of Sens to his Domaine ib. Admirable patience 212 Act of Bounty or Goodness more then Royal. ib. He refuses the Kingdom of Italy for his Son ib. Causes his Son Henry to be Crowned after the death of his Son Hugh ib. Institutes by his Authority a Bishop at Langres 213 His death and his Children ib. Robert becomes Duke of Normandy by a fratricide 212 Assists King Henry against his Enemies 215 Constrains the Bretons to do him Homage ib. His death ib. Robert Guischard a Normand Conquers Calabria 218 Robert called of Jerusalem Earl of Flanders 222 Robert Duke of Normandy ib. One of the Chiefs of the first Croisade 224 At his return from the Holy Land he demands the Kingdom of England of Henry his Brother who had seized it during his absence his death 227 Robert Earl of Flanders his death 235 Robert Earl of Auvergne tyrannizes the Bishop of Clairmont is reduced to reason by the King 238 Robert Son of King Lewis the Gross chief of the House of Dreux 241 Robert Earl of Dreux 299 Robert Earl of Glocester 243 Robert Earl of Artois chief of the Branch of that name 297 Accompanies King Lewis in his Voyage to the Holy Land 304 His death 305 Robert II. Earl of Flanders 312 Robert Earl of Clairmont in Beauvaisis Original of the Branch of Bourbon 313 Robert Earl of Artois 315 Commands an Army for the King in Navarre 318 Robert Earl of Artois makes War in Flanders 327 Robert Earl of Flanders 335 Robert de Bethune Earl of Flanders breaks the Truce 348 Rochefort Guy makes War upon his King 234 Rochel taken from the English 296 Rodolph or Ralph King of Burgundy Transjurane and Arles his death 214 Rodolf his Election to the Empire confirm'd 316 Rodolf Rufus elected Emperor Rodolfe Emperor his death 324 Roger Duke of the Normands of Italy passes from thence into Sicilia against the Saracens and makes himself Master of all the Island 221 Roger Earl of Foix. 315 Roger Duke of Pouille or Puglia Crossed by the Pope who makes War upon him 239 The first King of Sicilia 241 Roger I. King of Sicilia his death 246 Roger de Lauria a famous Captain 331 Roger de Mortimer 352 Roger Earl of Alby favours the Albigensis 278 Rollo Rol or Rodolf Chief of the Normands makes himself Master of part of Lyonnois 164 First Duke of Normandy his Conversion to Christianity and his Marriage ib. His death ib. Romain Cardinal Legat Favourite of Queen Blaâ—ch of Castille 140 Rome rebelleth against the Pope 272 Rotrou du Perche 224 Rousselin his Heresies 276 Routiers a sort of Soldiers 248 Routiers Bandits and Robbers favour the Hereticks 249 S. Sacramentaries Hereticks
228 c. Saint Amour William great quarrel with the Orders of the Friers Mendicants 307 Saintonge the subject of a great War 208 Saladin King of Egypt tears the holy City of Jerusalem out of the hands of the Christians 254 Saliens ancient People of the French 7 Salomon seizes on the Kingdom of Bretagne 140 His unhappy end 144 Sanc first of the Hereditary Dukes of Gascongne 137 Sanche Duke of Castille makes a Peace with the King of France 323 Saracens become Mahometans 59 Saracens of Africa become the Masters of Spain 77 Saracens pass from Spain into France and make some Conquests there 80 They enter into Languedoc and destroy all that Country 83 Wherefore called Moors 83 They over-run all Provence and lay it waste ib. Torment Italy 146 Savari de Mauleon General for the English in Guyenne 296 The Saxons revolt 52 Throw off the Yoak of the French Dominion 79 Divided into several People ib. Made Tributary to the French 91 Entirely subdued become Christians 108 Schism in the Church caused by the dispute concerning the Worshipping of Images 84 Sclavonians have a quarrel with the French Austrasians 55 Make inroads upon Turingia 56 Sergius II. elected Pope without permission of the Emperor 136 He was not the first who changed his name but Sergius IV. ib. St. Ademar Institutor of the Order of the Templers 290 Sicilia a Kingdom its beginning and extent 242 243 By what means Sicilia fell under the Dominion of the Kings of Arragon 310 Dismembred in two 326 Siege and taking of Angens 144 Sigebert King of Austrasia chastises the Avari out of Turingia 29 Marries Brunehaud 30 Unfortunate taking upon the City of Arles 31 War with Chilperic his Brother 31 Assassinated and slain 32 Sigebert Bishop 62 Sigeric King of the Visigoths 4 Sigismund King of Burgundy abjures Arianism and receives the Orthodox Faith 20 Causes his Son Sigeric to be Strangled his retreat into a Monastery 21 His unhappy end ib. Silingi a barbarous People 4 Silvester II. Pope Example of extream severity 209 Simon de Montfort does Cross himself to go into the Holy Land 260 Simon Count de Nesles Regent of the Kingdom in the absence of St. Lewis the King 312 Of Simony 18 Bishops of Bretagne accused and convicted of that Crime 136 Prelats in France who voluntarily renounced their Benefices for this cause 229 Simplicity too great in a Prince 167 Sobrarve a little Territory in the Kingdom of Arragon 125 Sorabes reduced to reason 121 Spencers Hugh Father and Son Favourites of the King of England 351 c. Their unhappy end 352 Stilicon Massacred 4 Succession of Males to the Crown by preference to the Females 346 Suedes embrace the Christian Religion 110 Suevi over-run and ravage Gaul and then pass into Spain 270 Swiss Their generous Conspiracy against the oppressions of the Lieutenants of the House of Austria 334 T. Tanchelin his errors Church of the Twelfth Age. Tancred Son of Rebert Guischard 224 Tancred causes great discord between the Kings of France and England 256 Tartars make their irruptions their Original 302 Tassilon Duke of Bavaria and his Son Theudon shaved and confined to a Monastery 103 Te Deum Sung by the Benedictins in time of Lent 231 Templers their Institution and Confirmation Church of the Twelfth Age. Are utterly exterminated and their Order abolished throughout all Christendom 333 Thassilon Duke of Bavaria gives an Oath of Fidelity to King Pepin 93 Theodad King of the Ostrogoths his death 23 Theodald Maire of the Neustrians Theodald Son of Grimoald his death 78 Theodebald King of Mets. 25 His death 26 Theodebert Son of Thierry makes War in Languedoc then named Septimania 24 Theodebert Son of Thierry succeeds to the Crown of his Father and makes War against Clotair his Uncle 24 25 Carries his Arms into Italy his death his Children 24 Theodebert Son of Chilperic his death 32 Theodebert King of Austrasia vanquished in Battle and exterminated with his whole Race 43 Theoderic King of the Visigoths joyns with the Romans against Attila his death 10 11 Theoderic King of the Ostrogoths establishes the Kingdom of Italy 14 Theoderic King of Italy passes into Gall and comes to relieve the Visigoths against the French and the Burgundians and becomes King of the Visigoths 16 His death 21 Theudis King of the Visigoths in Spain his death 25 Thibauld Earl of Chartres and Tours 216 Thibauld Earl of Chartres declares War against the King 235 Thibauld Earl of Champagne falls into the Kings disgrace and is severely handled 243 Thibauld Earl of Blois and Chartres 245 Thibauld Earl of Champagne his death 246 Thibauld Earl of Champagne 260 Thibauld Earl of Champagne difference about Alix Queen of Cyprus his Cousin 299 Thibauld Earl of Champagne becomes King of Navarre 301 Thibauld Earl of Champagne becomes Chief of a new Croisade His death ib. Thibaud King of Navarre 312 His death 315 Thierry King of Austrasia otherwise of Mets treacherously abandons Clodomir his Brother 20 c. Makes himself Master of Turingia 21 Chastises the Auvergnats who had revolted against him ib. His death ib. Thierry King of Neustria and of Burgundy 64 He is shaved and confined to the Monastery of St. Denis ib. Recalled and resetled in his Royal Throne 6 Fights unfortunately against Ebroin Maire of the Palace and falls into his hands His death his Wife and his Children 70 Thierry called de Chelles King of France 81 His death 83 Thierry Earl of Alsatia disputes the Earldom of Flanders and remains sole Master and Possessor 168 Thierry of Alsatia Earl of Flanders he passes into the Holy Land 243 Thierry first Earl of Holland 146 Thierry Earl of Alsatia and Flanders his death 249 Thibauld III. Earl of Blois 259 Thibauld Earl of Champagne 296 A Conspiracy against him 299 Tietgaud Archbishop of Triers deposed and Excommunicated 140 St. Thomas Aquinas his death 316 Thomas Prior of St. Victor assassinated in the Arms of a Bishop Church of the Twelfth Age. Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury undertakes the defence of the Church is assassinated in his Cathedral ib. Thuringia falls under the Dominion of the French 22 Title of King of Jerusalem annexed to that of Sicilia 319 Treason divinely punished 178 Translation of a Bishop from one See to another condemned 160 Trebisond Kingdom its beginning 263 Truce between the French and the Saracens of Spain broken 123 Truce or Peace of God established in France to prevent Factions Murthers and Robberies 253 Truce with the English and the Fleming 327 Truce with the English 299 Truce granted to the Flemings 330 Trincavel Son of the Earl of Beziers comes hostily upon the Kings Territories 301 Toloze County subject of a War 138 Subject of a great quarrel between the Kings of France and the Kings of England 248 Totila King of the Ostrogoths his death 26 Touars Guy Duke of Bretagne 263 Tournay erected to a Bishoprick Church of the Twelfth Age. Troubles and Factions in Normandy
of Austria Emperour comes from Spain into the Low-Countries is Crowned at Aix la Chapelle 564 His Cession and Renunciation of the Empire and his retreat into a Convent 645 Charlotta Queen of Cyprus her Death 512 Charles Bastard Brother to the King of Navarre 589 Charles Duke of Savoy not well looked upon by the King Francis I. 599 Besieges the City of Geneva without Success ib. His Death 636 Charles Duke of Lorraine Son of Francis is brought to the Court of France 646 Count Charolois out of favour with Lewis XI 481 482 483. Joyns with the other Princes and discontented Party and takes the Field 484 c. Makes an Alliance with the English by marrying his Sister Margaret 486 Goes against the Liegeois and chastises the insolence of those of Dinant 488 Chastillon made Prisoner by the English 388 389 Chaumont Governor of the Milanois chaces the Venetians from the Territories of Ferrara 547 Chastisement of Robels after a most noble and royal manner 612 613 Cherifs and the beginning of their Reign 551 Christiern III. King of Denmark 607 Christopher Columbus discovers the New World 516 517 Claude of France Marries Francis I. then Duke of Valois 555 Clement V. Pope 441 Clement VI. Pope 364 His Death 372 Clement VII his Election to the prejudice of Vrban VI. the Cause of a Schism in the Church 396 His Death Coligny Admiral of France 645 Combat of Birds in the Air the one against the other 513 Combat or Battle of Renty between the Emperour Charles V. and Henry II. 638 Combat Naval 642 Combat bloody betwixt Birds of all sorts of Species 426 Comets of an extraordinary magnitude 494 Comines quits the Duke of Burgundy ib. Is taken Prisoner 511 Cominges County United to the Church 458 County otherwhile preferred to that of Dutchy 434 Council of Trent assigned by Pope Paul III. who sends his Legates thither 613 Councel of Eighteen Persons established 485 Councel a Prince that will have sincere Advice ought to hide his own Sentiments 545 Constantinople taken by force by the Turks 465 Michael Corbier a Monk Antipope 359 Courtray Pillaged Burnt and Sacked by the French 406 Creation of a Chamber in each Parliament 357 Croisade in England against the Clementines 407 Crosses appear in the Air and on their Clothes 536 de Crouy Count de Reux ravages the Frontiers of Picardy 606 D Oliver DAin Barber to Lewis XI punished with Death 508 Dampierre Admiral his Death 433 Daufin of France Commands an Army in Roussillon 612 Daufine United and incorporated to the Crown of France 369 David King of Scotland driven from his Kingdom 360 His Death 391 Diepe Escalado'd by the French 455 Difference and Quarrel between the Pope and the Emperour 359 Difference between France and Austria 516 Difference quarrel between the French and the Arragonians for the Limits of the Partage of the Kingdom of Naples 537 Difference and quarrel raised at Venice between the French and Spaniards for Precedency 652 And Doria General of the French Galleys 587 Quits the King's Service and goes into the Emperour's 588 589 Chaces the French out of Genoa 590 Dragut a famous Corsaire or Pyrate gives chace to Andr. Doria's Galleys 634 Joyns the Galleys of France on the Coasts of Tuscany 639 Charles Prince of Duras 368 Most dexterously ruines the Duke of Anjou's Army and remains quietly in Possession of the Kingdom of Sicilia 408 Is Crowned King of Sicilia and Besieges Queen Jane in Naples Usurps Hungary his Death 409 E EClipses 616 Edict of Chasteau-Brian for a search after the Religionaries 631 Edward III. King of England Marries the Daughter of the Earl of Hainault 357 Renounces to the Crown of France ib. 380 Renders Homage to the King of France 358 Declares War against him 361 Recommences War with France 365 Lands in the Lower Normandy comes and defies King Philip de Valois to Fight him under the Walls of Paris and from thence retires to his County of Ponthieu 366 Defeats the French in the Battle of Crecy ibid. Besieges and takes Calais 367 Lands at Calais with a dreadful Army 379 Makes a Peace with France and with Flanders 380 Is defied by the King of France who denounces War against him 388 His Death and his Children 394 Edward Earl of Savoy his Death 358 Edward Son of John Baliol King of Scotland 360 Edward Duke of York Crowned King of England 467 Edward of York King of England utterly forsaken by the English flies into Flanders to the Duke of Burgundy 492 Returns into England and recovers the Throne 493 Lands at Calais 496 Accommodation with France 497 His Death 509 Eleonor Queen of France procures an Enterview between the Emperour and the King 608 Elizabeth Queen of England 651 Openly embraces the Protestant Religion ib. Emmanuel Emperour of Greece comes into France 419 Emmanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy Commands the Imperial Army in the Low-Countries 635 Empire of the East its end 465 C. d'Enguien gives Battle to the Imperialists and gloriously gains the Victory 616 Enterprise of the French upon Genoa very shameful 522 Enterview of the Kings of France and England Charles and Richard 413 Enterview of the King of France and Castille 482 Enterview of the Kings of Fr. Engl. 497 Enterview of the Kings of France and of Arragon 544 Eugenius IV. Pope 454 d'Eureux John in Bretagne 394 Expedition of the French and the Venetians against the Turks without Success 536 F FAction very pernicious in Paris 377 Famine and Plague 393 Federic utterly dispoiled of his Kingdom of Naples takes refuge in France 536 His Death 542 Felix lays down his Papacy in favour of Pope Nicholas 461 Ferdinand otherwise Ferrand Bastard of Alphonso of Arragon King of Naples 518 His Death ib. Ferdinand and Isabella conquer the Kingdom of Granada 516 League themselves with the Venetians and the Pope against the French 521 Surnamed in Raillery John Gipon makes Inroads upon the French 525 Usurps Navarre 551 Shares the Conquests of the Kingdom of Naples with the King of France 536 Drives out the French and makes himself Master of all 538 c. Makes a Peace with King Lewis XII 542 Receives from the Pope the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples 554 His Death 560 Ferdinand Son of Alphonso King of Naples abandons his Kingdom 520 Restored by means of the Italian Confederate Princes 521 His Death 525 Ferdinand Brother of Charles V. elected King of Hungary 584 Elected King of the Romans 593 Emperour 652 Ferdinand King of Hungary defeated of his Armies by the Turks 606 Flemmings abandon the French and acknowledge Edward of England for their King 362 Flanders over-run and ravaged by the English 397 In great Troubles split into divers Factions 403 Florence troubled by the two Factions of the Passy and the Medecis 501 Cast off the yoak of the Medicis and return to their popular State 586 Reduced under the Dominion of the Medicis 562 De Foix Gaston General of the King's
Armies beyond the Alpes his noble Exploits and glorious Death 550 Francis I. King of France heretofore Duke of Valois 556 Seeks the Alliance and Amity of his Neighbour Princes 527 Passes the Mountains for recovering the Milanois his happy Progress 558 c. Renews the Alliance with Charles of Austria 562 Birth of a Daufin ib. Renews the Alliance also with the English 563 Aspires to the Empire after the Death of Maximilian ib. Is hurt with Jeasting and Sporting 566 Sends an Army into Italy 569 Spaniards enter upon Guienne the English into Picardy 572 575 Drives the Imperialists out of Provence pursues them into Italy and lays Siege to Pavia 578 Is made Prisoner of War before Pavia and transferr'd to Spain 579 Is set at Liberty 582 Unites Bretagne to the Crown 594 Makes an Alliance with Solyman against the Emperour and the Venetians 606 Gives passage thorow France to the Emperour Charles V. to go into Flanders and does him all the Honour imaginable 608 Demands reparation of him for the Murther of two of his Ambassadors declares War against him and does attaque him in five several places 612 Carries his greatest Forces towards the Low-Countries and makes a considerable Progress there 614 Attaques the English in his own Country 619 Joyns in league with the Protestant Princes of Germany 620 His Death his Elogie his Wives and his Children 620 621 G GAbelle taken off from Guienne 640 Galeas John his Death 518 Gaunt Revolt and rising the Gantois 465 Gaston Phebus Earl of Foix makes the King his Heir 373 His Death 413 Gaucourt Lewis Prisoner of War 448 Governor of Daufiné beats the Duke of Savoy and the Prince of Savoy 452 Gentdarmerie reduced all into Companies d'Ordonance 457 Genoa puts its self under the Obedience of the King of France 416 Falls under the Dominion of Fregosa 460 Revolts against the King of France who brings them to reason 543 Is surprized by the Italians 572 Brought again to obey the King 587 Restored to Liberty 590 Geneva Revolt drives out their Bishop and changes their Government and Religion 599 Besieged in vain by the Duke of Savoy ib. Genoese relieved by the French against the Barbarians of Tunis 412 Revolt against France 551 Restored to obedience of the King 552 Gentlemen Pensioners of the King 501 Gonsalvo Ferdinand Great Captain 523 Federic de Gonzague first Duke of Mantoua 580 Ferdinand de Gonzague Governor of Milan 623 Gravelle Chancellour of the Empire 600 Gregory XI Pope restored to the See of Rome 394 His Death 396 Gregory XII Pope of Rome 422 Grignan Governor of Provence 618 The M. du Guast Governor of the Milanese for the Emperour 604 Defeated in Battle makes his Escape to Milan 616 Causes two Ambassadors of France to be killed 612 Guerin Kings Attorney in the Parliament of Provence 629 Gueschin Bertrand defeats the Navarrois 384 Made Prisoner in the Battle of Auroy 385 Brings from Spain the Bastard Henry de Castille against King Peter the Cruel his Brother 387 After is vanquish'd and taken Prisoner ibid. Is recalled from Spain by K. Charles 390 Is made Connestable of France his happy Progress 391 Secures all Bretagne for the King of France 392 His Death 397 c. Guienne is all regained by the French from the English 463 Gueldres Adolf Chief of the Gantois Forces 500 501 Guise the Duke Commands the King's Army in Italy 643 c. Guise Claude Duke at the Battle of Marignan 558 The C. de Guise Governor of Champagne repels the Germans 575 The D. of Guise refreshes with Men and Ammunition the City of Peronne 604 de Gyac 437 Beheaded 450 H. HAbits and their Reformation 386 Hangest de Hugueville 427 Harcourt Geffrey calls the English into Normandy 374 Harcourt Lewis Count Beheaded ib. Harfleur taken by Assault and Sacked by the English 418 Henry of Castille rises against King Henry his Brother to his Confusion 386 Denies his Brother in his turn and seizes on the Crown 387 Defeated again in Battle retires into France ib. He returns into Spain and remains King of Castille by the Death of his Brother 388 Henry of Castille defeats the English in a Sea Fight 391 Henry IV. King of England his Death 431 Henry V. King of England he Besieges and takes Rouen and Masters all Normandy 435 c. Marries Catherine of France 439 His Entry and his Coronation in Paris 440. ib. His Death ib. Henry VI. is Proclaimed and Crowned King of France 454 Marries the Daughter of Renee of Anjou 459 Causes Humphrey Earl of Glocester to be put to Death 460 Is vanquish'd by the Duke of York saves himself in Scotland 467 Is set at Liberty 492 Henry VII King of England His Death 547 Henry VIII King of England sees King Francis I. and they make a League betwixt them 594 Causes his Marriage with Catherine of Arragon to be dissolved and Espouses Anne of Boulen 595 Withdraws himself wholly from the obedience of the Pope and declares himself Head of the Church of England 596 Sollicites the French in vain to break with the Pope 597 His Cruelties draw the hatred of his Subjects upon him 611 Henry II. King of France 622 Seeks the Preservation of the Alliance with the Turks 625 Visits the Provinces of his Kingdom 626 Rupture between his Majesty and Pope Julius III. 630 c. Sollicites Solyman to break the Truce in Hungary ib. Quarrels openly with the Emperor 631 Makes a League with the Princes of Germany 632 Makes divers Edicts to procure and raise Money even on the Churches 632 Seizes upon Lorrain and gets the Cities of Mets Toul and Verdun ib. Takes divers places in Luxemburgh 633 Design against Naples miscarries 634 Great arming to small purpose 636 Ravages Brabant Hainault Cambresis the Country of Namur and Artois 638 Makes Peace with the Spaniard 651 Pursues the Religionaries most curelly 653 His Death and his Children 654 Heresies which appeared during the Fourteenth Age. 445 And infected France in the Fifteenth 527 Hesdin forced demolished and razed by the Imperialists 637 Hesse Landgrave takes the quarrel of the Dukes of Wittemburgh Hungary attaqued and desolated by the Turks 597 Humbert Daufin of Viennois makes a Donation of his Seignory of Daufiné to the King of France 369 Humieres Governor for the King beyond the Mountains 606 John Huss burnt alive 435 I JAcqueline Countess of Hainault Holland Zealand and Frizeland is carried away by the English 440 La Jacquerie 378 La Jaille beaten in Artois 642 Jane Queen of Sicily causes her Husband to be Strangled 368 Jane of Burgundy Queen of France her Death 369 Jane or Joan Queen of Naples dethroned by Charles de Duraz. 404 Her Death ibid. Jane or Joan II. Queen of Naples 431 Jane or Joan the Pucelle Chaces the English from before Orleans 451 Carries the King to Reims to be Crowned 451 Her other Exploits 452 c. She is taken Prisoner of War at the Siege of Compiegne by the English her Death
453 Her Memory justified 466 Jane Queen of Naples her death 448. 454 Jane Queen of France takes upon her the sacred Vail in a Convent 534 Jane of Castille loses her Wits 642 Jane Queen of Spain her Death 642 Indies West by whom discovered 516 517 John I. King of France 371 Defeated and vanquish'd in Battle and taken Prisoner by the English near Poitiers 374 Makes Peace with the English and is set at Liberty 380 Repasses into England 382 His Death his Wives and his Children 383 John XXII Pope degraded and another substituted in his place 359 His Death 361 John King of Arragon in War with the Castillian 482 John d'Albret King of Navarre deprived of his Kingdom by the Arragonians 551 Innocent VI. Pope 372 Innocent VII Pope of Rome 420 his Death 422 Innocent VIII Pope favours Reneé Duke of Lorrain against Ferdinand King of Naples 514 Inquisition cause of great Troubles in the Kingdom of Naples 625. Interim granted to the Protestants of Germany 610 Investiture granted to King Lewis XII of the Milanois by the Emperour 541 Investiture of the Kingdom of Naples given by the Pope to Ferdinand of Arragon 547 Isabella de Valois Dutchess Widdow of Bourbon made Prisoner by the English 389 Isabella of Bavaria Queen of France claims the Regency 435 c. Her death 456 Isabella of Bavaria Wife of King Charles VI. the too strict Union of this Princess with the Duke of Orleans gives a Scandal 421 Held Prisoner and afterwards gotten away by the Duke of Burgundy 435 Isabella Queen of Arragon her Death 542 Iscalin Paulin afterwards called the Baron de la Garde goes on behalf of the King to Solyman at Constantinople 612 Italy divided into two Factions for the Pope and for the Duke of Milan 629 Jubilé Centenary celebrated 536 Julius Pope 541 Recovers Bolognia upon John Bentivoglio 543 Enemy of France 547 He Leagues and Arms against the Venetians 545 Reconciled with them 546 Quarrels with the Duke of Ferrara about some Salt-Pits 547 Sollicites the Swiss and the King of England against France ib. Besieges the City of Miranda in Person 548 His Death 552 Julius III. Pope 628 Leagues with the Emperour against the Duke of Parma and the Count de la Miranda 629 Breaks with the King of France 630 c. Juliers the Duke kill'd in a Battle 389 Juvenal John Chancellor 430 K KNoles an English Captain 379 L LAdislas seizes upon Rome and the Lands of the Church 425 Ladislas the Young King of Hungary 460 Landgrave of Hesse Prisoner 624 Languedoc the Government of it given to the Lord de Chevreuse 416 Lanoy 583 Vice-Roy of Naples 584 Laon the Cardinal de Laon his Death 411 Lautrec bravely defends Bayonne 575 General of the Armies of the League in Italy his Exploits 587 c. Governor of the Milanois his Death 590 Lancaster Duke Lands at Calais with an English Army traverses and runs thorow all France without doing any considerable Exploit 387 Lands at Calais and over-runs the Country of Caux 388 Enters France in Arms. 427 Passes into Spain and Conquers a part of Castille 408 League of the King with the Venetians the Florentines and Sforsa for the deliverance of the Pope and the Children of France that were Prisoners 420 League of the Princes against the House of Burgundy 426 League the first the Kings had with the Swisse 501 League and rising of the Spaniards called the Santa Junta 565 League Holy League in England to prevent a Schism League offensive and defensive between the Pope the King of France and the Holy See 605 Leon King of Armenia flying from the cruelty of the Turks takes refuge in France 408 Leo X. Pope 552 His Death 552 D Leve Anthony General for the Emperour in Piedmont 602 Liege in great Troubles about the Election and Establishment of a Bishop 424 Taken by Storm sacked and burnt by the Duke of Burgundy 490 Implacable hatred of the Liegois against the House of Burgundy 424 Limoges taken by Storm by the English 392 Loire the River Loire frozen in the Month of June 484 Lorain Charles Cardinal raises himself and his House very much 629 c. Longueville Duke Prisoner in England 554 Lewis or Lovis of Bavaria Emperour Excommunicated by the Pope degraded from the Empire his Death 367 Lowis the Great King of Hungary Revenges the Death of the King of Sicilia his Brother 368 Lovis Duke of Anjou seizes on the Regency after the Death of Charles V. c. 400 His Death 408 Louis Duke of Orleance Brother of King Charles VI. 412 Is assassinated by order of the Duke of Burgundy 423 The Dutchess his Wife comes from Blois to Paris to complain to the King 424 c. Louis II. Duke of Anjou invested with the Kingdom of Naples 426 Louis of Anjou King of Sicily 430 Louis of Anjou King of Naples 454 His Death ib. Louis XI King of France his return from Flanders and his Coronation at Reims 481 Ill Conduct in the beginning of his Reign 482 His Death his Elogy his Wives and his Children 505 506. Louis King of Hungary vanquished by the Turks 584 Louis or Lewis XII King of France heretofore Lewis Duke of Orleance 532 His Marriage with Jane Daughter of Lewis XI declared null 534 Makes Peace and Alliance by Marriage with the King of England His Death 554 Louysa of Savoy Mother of King Francis I. Regent of the Kingdom during the Voyage of her Son into Italy 580 c. Her Death 594 Luther and of his Defection and going out of the Church the Birth of Lutheranisme 562 Lutheranisme introduced in Sweden in Denmark and Norway 606 Lutherans sought after in France 575 Punished ib. Called Protestants 562 Louret President of Provence 449 Luxury breeds from Desolation 374 M Perrin MAcé 377 Island of Madera's discover'd 439 Mahomet takes the City of Constantinople by force 465 His Death 503 Majority of the Eldest Sons of France Memorable Ordonance 393 c. Mantoua from a Marquisate erected to a Dutchy 592 Marcellus II. Pope 642 Mareschals of France 623 Margaret of Burgundy marries the Daufin of France 504 Margaret of Scotland Queen of France Her Death 506 Margaret of Austria Wife of Charles VIII is sent back into Germany to Maximilian her Father 516 Margaret Sister of King Francis I. passes into Spain 581 Marriage of Charles VI. with Isabella of Bavaria and of John of Burgundy with Margaret of Bavaria 408 Marriage of the Daufin of France with the Daughter of the Duke of Burgundy and the eldest Son of the Burgundian with Michel of France 421 Marriage of Catherine of France with the King of England 439 Marriage of Margarite of Anjou with the King of England 459 Marriage of King Lewis XII with Mary Sister of the King of England 544 Marriage of Philip of Spain with Isabella of France 654 Of the Duke of Savoy with Margaret Sister of King Henry II. 653 Mary Queen of England her Death 651 Mary Queen
of France Wife of Lewis XII 554 Takes the Duke of Suffolk for her second Husband 568 Mary Queen Widdow of Hungary Governess of the Low-Countries 601 Mary Princess of Scotland 613 Mary Queen of Scots great Troubles in Scotland for her concern 618 Brought into France 624 Mary Queen of England declares War against France 646 William de la Mark called the Wildboard of Ardenne Beheaded 504 Marseilles Besieged by the Imperialists without Success 577 Martin V. Pope transfers the Council of Siena to Basil 448 Prince Maurice 631 Maximilian Emperour Besieges Terouene 502 Maximilian is Elected and Crowned King of the Romans 510 His Death 563 Maximilian King of Bohemia in contest with Charles V. his Uncle 638 Meaux Besieged and taken by the English 440 Medicis Peter chaced and banished from Florence 520 Medicis Laurence invested in the Dutchy of Vrbin 561 The Medicis restablished in Florence 591 Laurence de Medicis Assassinates and kills the Duke of Florence his unhappy end 606 Cosmo de Medicis Duke of Florence ib. Declares himself against the French and against Siena 640 Melfe the Prince of Melfe or Malsy 616 Mercier Sieur de Novain Favorite of King Charles VI. 411 Milan conquer'd by King Lewis XII and by the Venetians 534 The investiture granted to Lewis XII by the Emperour 542 Abandoned by the French 550 c. Regained by the French and as soon lost for them 552 Falls under the Dominion of the Emperour 578 Mines the way to fill them with Powder to blow up a Wall 539 Pic Mirandulus his Death 520 Moncado Vice-roy of Sicilia slain in Fight 589 Moncins Governor of Guyenne Massacred by the Bourdelois 627 John de Montaigu Favorite of Charles VI. 411 Montargis surprized by the English 453 Montecuculi drawn by four Horses for Poisoning the Daufin 603 John de Montfort remains sole Duke of Bretagne by the death of Charles de Blois 385 Defeats in Battle Charles de Blois abandons Bretagne and retires to England 367 Returns into Bretagne 393 Montmorency a Town not inconsiderable burnt 379 Montpelliers Mutinies of the People because of the Imposts 397 John de Montaigue Surintendant punished with Death 425 Montpensier the Duke made a Prisoner of War 647 Moscovy 502 Muley-Assan King of Tunis dispoiled of his Kingdom by his Son who puts out his Eyes 456 Mutinies and Popular Commotions because of the Imposts and excessive Subsidies 402 403 c. N NAples Kingdom conquer'd by the French and soon after retaken from them 521 Strange Revolution against the French who are driven out of that Kingdom 538 C. of Nassau Prisoner of War 512 The C. of Nassau Ambassador in France 557 Enters into Champagne and Besieges Mouson 567 Makes an irruption upon Picardy Louis of Navarre 603 Navarre Usurped by Ferdinand of Arragon 551 Reconquer'd by the French but soon lost again 565 The D. of Nemours General of the Army for the King in the Kingdom of Naples 537 Slain in the Battle of Cerignoles 538 I. Earl of Nevers goes to the Assistance of the King of Hungary against the Turks 417 Nice Besieged in vain by Barbarossa 615 Nicholas I. Antipope 359 Nicholas the Pope is owned in France 461 The Duke of Normandy Commands a very Potent Army with small Success 365 Normandy over-run and ravaged by the English 374 United inseparably to the Crown 381 Falls under the Power of the English 437 Is wholly regained from the English 463 Is put under the Power of a new Duke 487 Brought to the Obedience of the King 488 O OBservance strickt of the Order of Saint Francis 443 Officers maintain'd in their Offices 489 The mutation of Officers a Cause of great trouble ib. Oliver de Blois attempts upon the Person of the Duke of Bretagne 436 He and his Brothers Condemned to Death 437 Oliver Francis Chancellour of France 623 Orange Prince 510 Orange Prince Prisoner of War 513 Is made Lieutenant for the King in Bretagne ib. General of an Army without Power 586 Order of the Star Instituted or rather renewed abandoned to the Chevalier du Guet 372 Order of the Garter Instituted 371 Order of the Collar its Institution 408 Order of Saint Maurice Instituted 526 Orleans Besieged by the English succour'd and deliver'd by the Pucelle Joane 450 Orleans Charles Duke set at Liberty 458 Orleans John Bastard Earl of Dunois and great Chamberlain his Death 492 Orleans Charles Duke his death 483 Orleans Louis Duke Espouses the Princess Jane of France 503 Orleans Louis Duke Chief of the Council 508 Makes a League and a new Party against the State with the Duke of Bourbon and others 510 Absents far from Court retires into Bretagne forms a new Party against the Government and raises Forces ib. Is made Prisoner of War 513 Commands the French Ships in Italy 519 c. Duke of Orleans second Son of France Commands an Army in Luxemburg his Exploits 612 c. His Death 619 Regal Ornaments 441 Ottranto taken by Assault by the Turks 503 Retaken by the Christians ib. P PAlavicini Manf. 569 De la Palisse Mareschal of France 567 His Death 579 Ambrose Paré Chyrurgeon 619 Paris enlarged and fortified 375 Is oppressed and suffers strangely during the Contest and War between the Houses of Orleans and of Burgundy 426 c. Reduced to obedience of King Charles VII 464 Blocked up by the Princes 486 In great Astonishment 604 Parisians Enterprize upon the City of Meaux to their Confusion 378 Stick to the King of Navarre ib. Divided into Factions Insolence insupportable 377 c. Mutiny because of Imposts take up Arms Arm themselves with Iron Mallets for that reason named Mallotins 403. c. Chastized severely 406 Arm and range themselves under Colonels and Captains 488 Parliaments of Bourdeaux and Burgundy their Institution 506 Parliament of Paris made Semestre 640 Parliament of Bretagne Established ib. Parma Subject of a War between the Pope and the King of France 629 630 c. Pavia Besieged by the King of France 577 c. Taken by Assault and Sacked by the French 585 Paul III. Pope 597 Mediator of a Peace between the Emperour and the King and confers with them 607 608 His Death 628 Paul IV. Pope 642 Makes a League offensive and defensive with the King against the Spaniard 644 Strips the Caraffes his Nephews of all their Offices and chaces them out of Rome 653 Paulin a brave Captain 618 Pembrook E. Lands in Bretagne over-runs Anjou and Poitou 388 Vanquish'd in a Naval Fight by the Spaniards and taken Prisoner 391 The C. de Perigord Archambauld Talegrand Condemned to Death 418 Perpignan surprized by the Spaniard or King of Arragon Philip de Valois King of France 357 Sends to the Navarrins their lawful King and Queen 358 The English declare War against him 361 His advantage over his Enemy 362 Makes a Truce with Edward ib. Becomes hated of the Nobility 365 Is Defeated 366 His Death 370 Philip King of Navarre his Death 365 Philip of Navarre calls the
His indiscretion 666 St. Bartholomew's a fatal Day to the Huguenots 721 Battle of Dreux 686 The two Generals are taken ib. Battle near Paris 697 Battle of Moncontour 711 Battle of Lepanto 714 Battle of Ivry 804 Bathory elected King of Poland 740 Bauais demanded of the Flemings by the Queen of England 751 Bavaria Duke enters into the League made by Hen. IV. 935 Bayeux seized by the Huguenots 681 Bayonne feels not the Sainct Bartholomew's bloody Effects 721 The Bearnois a Name given to Henry IV. 800 Beia Lewis Duke pretends to the Crown of Portugal 752 Belle-Isle erected to a Marquisate 724 Bertrand Peter Son of Blaise de Montluc passes into Affrick his death 701 Berghe rendred to the Spaniards 763 Besancon in a fright 846 Beza at the Colloquy of Poissy 677 Judgment on that famous Man ib. Bigarrats a Name given to the Royalists 808 La Bigny Secretary of the Conspiracy at Amboise 666 Bins Besieged and taken by the Duke of Alenson 751 Birague Chancellour his Speech to the Estates of Blois 745 Birague Keeper of the Seals 717 Birague the Cardinal René his Death 766 His Defects ib. Biron the Mareschal same 699 An ill Catholique 709 His Courage 763 In danger at the Saint Bartholomew's saves himself by his resolution 720 Sent Governor to Rochel 722 Invests that place 723 Pursues the Army of the Dukes of Mayenne and of Parma 822 His death 824 Biron swears Fidelity to Henry IV. 797 Hinders the King from going to Paris 705 Concerns himself in every thing 809 Sent before Rouen 812 The King takes away the Office of Admiral from him first cause of his Discontent 839 Treats with the Spaniards 881 Does well and talks ill 884 His anger proceeds to rage ib. Goes into England 889 Goes into Swisserland 892 Comes to Court 894 His obstinacy 895 896 Condemned to Death 897 Blois regained from the Huguenots 683 Bobigny Meziere kills the Mareschal de Saint André 686 Bodin his Liberty in the Assembly of Estates held at Blois 747 Bois de Vincennes the place where died Charles IX 729 Bonne de Lesdiguieres his Condition and Qualities 740 Receives the one half of a piece of Gold broken from Henry King of Navarre 755 Makes War in Daufiné 771. Quits Savoy to go and succour Aix 841 Is thwarted by the King's Order without diminishing any thing of his Fidelity 852 Resists the Duke of Savoy and carries the War into his own Country 859 Is astonished at the taking of Crequi 864 Takes Barraux and puts a stop to the Duke's Progress ib. Commands an Army in Savoy at the same time with Biron 882 Seizes upon all the Valley of Saint John de Maurienne 883 Bouchard Chancellour to the King of Navarre reveals the Secrets of the Prince of Condé 668 A Butcher Kills a Hundred and fifty Huguenots 719 Burbon the Cardinal persuades his Brothers to come to Court 669 Secur'd in Peronne 769 Seized in Blois 786 Concurrent with Henry 797 Proclaimed King 799 His death 807 Lewis of Bourbon Prince of Condé instructed in Calvinism 665 Declared Head of the Pretended Reformed 665 Is accused of being concerned in the Conspiracy of Amboise 666 Comes not to the Assembly at Melun 669 Comes to Court ib. Is Condemned to Death 670 Is declared Innocent 674 Reconciled to the Duke of Guise 675 Makes a League with the Germans 679 Made Prisoner at the Battle of Dreux 686 Recommences the War 696 Appears in Arms before the King's Army ib. Is almost surprized at Noyers 702 His death 710 Bourbon the young Cardinal makes a Party Du Bourg burnt 662 Bourges Besieged by the King's Army Commanded by the King of Navarre and the Duke of Guise 683 Surrenders to Henry IV. 836 Bragadin defends Famagusta Greatness of his Courage during that Siege and after the taking of the place 714 Is flayed alive ib. John of Braganza restored to his Kingdom and Crown of Portugal 753 Branch of the Valois ends in Henry III. 795 Brandenburgh Marquiss refuses Succour to the Huguenots 697 Breda taken by the Duke of Parma 758 Bretagne feels little of the fury of the Saint Bartholomew 721 Acquired to France by the Conduct of the Valois 795 Vexed by the French and by Strangers 817 Brissac Mareschal of France a great Partisan of the Guises 670 Bruxels invested by the D. of Parma 760 Bruges enters into the Union of the Vnited Provinces 757 Bucentauro a Vessel in which Henry III. was received at Venice 733 Bulls of the Pope without effect 815 Bouillon Duke suspected of Huguenotisme 682 Bouillon declares the Sentiments of Henry IV. to the Duke of Savoy 873 Bussy Favorite of the Duke of Anjou affronts those of Henry III. which causes the detention of his Master 751 Bussy comes to the Duke of Alenson at Dreux 741 Favorite of the Duke of Alenson 751 His Death 754 Bussy le Clerc his Impudence 788 C CAen seized by the Huguenots 681 Caesar Monsieur Natural Son of Henry IV. 865 Is Contracted with the Daughter of the Duke of Mercoeur ib. Calais redemanded by the English 689 Calvin becomes as Powerful as Luther Vide Church of the 16 th Age. Cambray Besieged by the Spaniards 849 La Capelle Besieged by Mansfeild 838 Captains possessing Benefices 16 th Age. Capucins their Founder Ch. 16 th Age. Carcistes Factionaries 754 Cardinals Inquisitors cite the Prelates suspected of Heresie Ch. 16 th Age. Casimir sent by Eliz. Queen of England into the Low-Countries is ill look'd upon by the Prince of Orange 751 Castres retained by the Huguenots 701 Catanea Albert drives the Vaudois out of their Valleys Ch. 16 th Age. The Catelet taken by the Spaniard 855 Rendred to the French 868 Catherine de Medicis her Maxime 667 Is declared Regent 673 She favours the Huguenots 675 Causes Charles IX to visit all the Kingdom 692 Demands the Kingdom of Tunis for the Duke of Alenson 722 Is declared Regent of the Kingdom after the Death of Charles IX 731 Her aim the day of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew 717 Her Galantery 712 Comforts her Son the King of Poland promising him a quick return 726 Would have her Daughters Children reign in France 767 Her Death 789 Catherine Sister of Henry IV. Married to the Duke of Bar. 868 Is forsaken by her Husband 879 Catholicks persecuted in England under Queen Elizabeth 903 Cavagnes Master of Requests Chancellour of the Cause Condemned Drawn on a Sledge with the Effigies or Fantosme of the Admiral 721 Robert Cecil Enemy of the French 903 Chaalons retaken from the Huguenots 683 Chiverny Chancellour 870 His Death 874 End of that Family ib. Charbonieres taken by the Duke of Savoy 864 Charles IX King 673 Crowned by the Cardinal de Lorrain 674 Is declared Major in the Parliament of Rouen 690 Courts Elizabeth Queen of England 712 The said Queens Excuse ib. Marries Elizabeth the Emperour's Daughter 713 Forms the Design to Massacre the Huguenots 715 Authorizes that Cruelty 717 Makes his Brother depart for Poland 726 Becomes good
763 Send Deputies to King Henry III. to proffer him the Government of the Country 769 d'Estree beloved of Henry IV. goes to the Siege of Amiens the murmurings of the whole Army obliges her to quit the Camp 859 Sollicites the King to marry her 869 Her death 871 Europe began to be more enlightned in the 16th Age. Chu 16 th Age. F FAbian Son of Blaise de Montluc assists his Brother Bertrand in his Design for the East-Indies 701 Famagusta the Capital City of Cyprus gainedby the Turks 713 Federick Marquiss of Baden assists the King against the Huguenots 710 Ferdinand Emperour Brother of Charles V. 692 His death ib. Flemmings cannot endure the Inquisition 695 Final taken by the Spaniards 893 Florida whence the Name 700 Florence Duke assists the Duke of Nevers to seize upon Marseilles 769 la Force Massacred at the Saint Bartholomews 720 His Son Escapes ib. Fort Charles in Florida built by the Spaniards and taken by Dowinique de Gourgues 701 Fra Paolo otherwise Pol Soaue writes for the Republique of Venice against the Pope 926 Is like to be Murthered 928 France in Civil War for Religion 679 Hath always the preference before Spain 685 Afflicted with two most cruel Maladies 757 Their King essentially most Christian 798 Francis I. settles the Art of making Silk in Poitou 904 Was not severe against the Huguenots Church 16 th Age. Recalls his Legats from the Councel of Trent ib. Francis II. King of France 657 Falls Sick 670 His Death and Burial 671 Franche-Comte attaqued by the French 842 Promised to Biron with a Daughter of Spain 884 Given to Isabella Clara Eugenia Infanta of Spain 869 Conditions of that Donation ib. Frisia gives all Power to the Prince of Orange 751 Fuentes Governor of the Low-Countries 843 Besieges Cambray 847 Gains a Victory upon the French 847 Obliges Prince Maurice to raise the Siege of Grol 848 Takes Cambray and does not make an ill use of his Victory over the French ibid. Personal Enemy of Henry IV. 878 Fulgentius writes for the Venetians against the Pope 926 G GAbriella d'Estreé beloved of Henry IV. assists at the Ceremony of his Conversion 832 Gantois hate the French and the Roman Religion 762 Gascons in Dispute with the Provenceaux 825 Gaspard Bishop of Modena Nuncio in France 871 Delegated to take cognisance of the Nullity of Marriage of Henry IV. and Margaret of Valois 871 Geneva the Duke of Savoy endeavours to seize it 802 Withdraw from their Obedience to the Bishop Church 16 th Age. Call in Calvin and Farel to be their Pastors ib. Is as it were the Pontifical seat of Calvinisme ib. Gerard Balthazar a Franc-Comtois Emissary of the Spaniards Kills the Prince of Orange with a Pistol 767 Gondi the Cardinal confers with Biron 806 Golf of Venice the Ceremonies used there at the Reception of Henry III. 733 Gregory XIII Pope regulates the Calender 761 Gregory XIV declared an Enemy of the Peace and Union of the Church Enemy of the King and of the State 815 His death 818 Grisons renew the Alliance with Henry IV. 892 Quit the Roman Religion Chur. 16 th Age. Guiche the Countess beloved by the King of Navarre 773 Angry at the King 's forsaking her she endeavours to debauch his Sister 814 Guienne acknowledges Henry IV. 824 Guises make themselves Masters at Court under Francis II. 657 c. Duke of Guise possesses the whole favour of Francis II. 660 The Huguenots would ceaze him to make his Process 665 Fortifies himself with the Name of the King 669 Causes the Prince to be apprehended and prosecuted 670 Gains the Battle of Dreux 686 And makes the Prince Prisoner ib. His Courtesie and Gallantry ib. Lays Siege to Orleans 887 Is assassinated by Paltrot ib. Justifies himself of the Murther at Vassy 887 His Praises ib. Guise Duke returns into France with his Uncle the Cardinal of Lorrain 692 Defends Poitiers bravely and acquires much reputation 706 Is the Principal Author of the Saint Bartholomew 717 Is made the Chief to execute that Massacre 718 Declares for the League and seizes on the Cardinal of Bourbon 768 The Pope compares him to the Machabees 784 Has several Advertisements given him of his Danger 786 Is assassinated by the Order of Henry III. at the Estates of Blois ib. His Body is burnt by Richelieu 787 Guise the Cardinal bears the Cross in a Procession 764 Would make himself Master of Normandy 781 Is hindred by the Duke of Espernon ib. Guise Duke before Prince of Joinville made Prisoner at the Death of his Father 787 Escapes out of Prison 817 Is attaqu'd near Abbeville by King Henry IV. 821 Aspires to the Crown 832 Kills Saint Pol Governor of Reims and makes his accommodation with Henry IV. 841 Reduces Marseilles to obedience of the King 852 Gustavus Ericson introduces the Confession of Ausburgh in Sweden 913 H. HAinaut suffers scarcity 760 Hampton-Court the place in England where the Treaty between Queen Elizabeth and the Huguenots was concluded 683 Havre de Grace deliver'd to the English ibid. Besieged by the French Surrendred 689 Henry d'Angoulesme Bastard Brother to Charles IX has Order from the King to kill the Duke of Guise 712 Henry of Navarre Espouses Margaret of Valois 717 Generosity of that Prince who refuses to kill the Sole Heir of the Kingdom 740 Hates his Wife who hath as little Love for him 750 Henry III. is kill'd on the same day and at the same place where he advised the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 795 Henry Cardinal Archbishop of Evora King of Portugal after the death of Sebastian 752 Henry grand Prior of France Bastard Brother to the King 753 Henry III. King of France and of Poland 737 Leaves Poland 732 Makes his Entrance into Paris 739 Hates the House of Guise 745 Loves the Princess of Condé 757 Forms the design of putting the Duke of Guise to death 780 Besieges Paris reduces it to extremity and is kill'd at Sainct Cloud 795 Heemskerk Admiral for the States of the United Provinces attaques the Spanish Flota is slain his death glorious 790 Henry IV. his coming to the Crown 797 Gains the Battle of Ivry 705 Besieges Rouen 821 820 Beats up the Duke of Guise's Quarters at Abbeville 821 Opposes at Fontaine-Francoise and bears the brunt of the whole Spanish Army and gives proofs of his Heroick Courage 845 Receives his absolution from Rome 849 His consternation upon the loss of Amiens 858 Regains that Town in Sight of the Arch-Duke 862 Demands of the Duke of Savoy the Restitution of the Marquisate of Salusses 876 His Marriage with Mary de Medicis 885 Does what he can possibly to save Biron and in fine leaves him to the Law 895 Loves the Princess of Condé and is ready almost to declare War against the Arch-Duke upon her occasion 936 c. Forms the Design to pull down the House of Austria 938 His Wife Mary de Medicis Crowned 941 Is Murthered 942 Predictions of his death 941
Protests to Francis her Brother she will forsake her Errors ib. She repents it again and writes to Calvin ibid. Mary Stuart Wife of Francis II. 671 Is beheaded Mary of Cleves espouses the Prince of Condé 717 Mary de Medicis Married to Henry IV. 885 Is Crowned and declared Regent 941 Massacre of Vassy the first Signal of the War for Religion 679 Matthias Arch-Duke Brother to the Emperour in the Low-Country 751 Matilda Wife of Alphonso III. King of Portugal the Subject of the Pretensions of Catherine de Medicis to that Kingdom 753 Prince Maurice besieges Newport is beaten at first by the Arch-Duke Albert and at length gains the Victory 880 Maximilian II. succeeds to Ferdinand I. 692 Maximilian Emperour Elected King of Poland 740 Duke of Mayenne leads an Army Royal against the Prince 742 The Spaniards in deliberation for cutting off his head 842 Agrees with the King 851 Puts the King upon the Siege of Amiens 858 Serves well in that Siege 859 Horace de Monte a Neapolitan Archbishop of Arles Named for the dissolving of the Marriage of Henry IV. 871 Montmorency Connestable of France comes to the Assembly of the Grandees Convocated by Catherine de Medicis at Fontainbleau 668 Harrasses the Army of the Huguenots 697 Gives them Battle is wounded to death his great courage in that last moment ibid. The Prince of Montpensier at the Estates of Orleans 670 Seeks the Heyress of Sedan for his Son 818 His Death 824 Morisco's exterminated in Spain 933 Mouker the place where Requesens gained a Battle 751 Moulins place of the Assembly where they made the Famous Edict of that Name 694 Mustapha Bassa enters the Island of Cyprus 713 N. NAmur Surprized by Don Juan of Austria Governor of the Low-Countries 751 Nani Ordinary Ambassadour of Venice to the Pope retires with Duodi the Extraordinary Ambassador 926 Nantes the Parliament of Renes is transfer'd thither 665 The place of the Famous Edict of that name 866 Adolphus of Nassaw vanquish'd by Albert 880 Philip of Nassaw restored to Liberty marries Eleonor of Condé and is restored to his Principality 924 Nemurs Duke put in Prison after the death of the Duke of Guise 787 Escapes 789 Is made Governor of Paris 806 Aspires to the Crown 831 His strange Kind of Death 844 Nerac Jane d'Albret banishes thence the Roman Religion which Charles IX re-establishes 693 Nerestan Philibert Captain of the Guard du Corps is made Grand-Maistre of the Order of Nostre-Dame of Mount Carmel Church 16 th Age. Neyen John or Ney a Cordelier deputed by the Arch-Dukes to mediate a Peace between them and the United Provinces 929 Nevers Duke pursues the Huguenots receives a blow which he feels all his life after 698 Nicholas III. Pope Chu 16th Age. Nicosia taken by the Turks 713 Fra. Noialles Bishop of Dags Ambassadour in Turky 716 Notables assembled at Saint Germains en Laye 765 La Noue Francis a Huguenot Captain his Wisdom in admiration amongst the Catholiques 698 The Nouueaux a Cabal under Charles IX 724 Noyers a Castle of the Prince of Condés a Soldier measures the Fosse or Graft and they would have surprized that Prince 702 Noyon taken by the Duke of Mayenne 829 Besieged by Henry IV. 839 Is taken ib. O d'O Surintendant of the Finances under Henry III. 752 Upon the refusal of the Duke of Longueville declares to Henry IV. the Sentiments of those Catholiques who follow'd him 798 His death 840 His Vices ib. d'Ognagne a Spanish Captain Conducts the Soldiers who surprized Amiens 857 Ochinus Bernardinus Apostatises question whether he were the Institutor of the Capucins Chur. 16 th Age. Orange Prince Founder of the States of the United Provinces 699 Orange Prince is thwarted by the Flemmish Lords 752 Provinces that obey'd him 751. 757 Is elected Lieutenant by the Arch-duke Matthias 751 Puts the Ducal Vesture upon the Duke of Anjou 759 Is assassinated ib. Recovers of his Wounds ib. Discovers the Treachery of Salsede ib. Thwarts the Duke of Anjou 762 Treats the French courteously after their Attempt upon Antwerp Retires to Antwerp 763 Is Kill'd 767 Order of Saint Michael greatly vilified 753 Its Institutor and reasons for its Establishment 753 754 Orders new of Religious are the Promoters of the League Ch. 16 th Age. Order of the Annunciation ib. Order of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem Ch. 16 th Age. Order of Saint Lazarus ib. Order of the Celestial Annunciado's ib. Order of the Templers ib. Orleans the Prince of Condé goes thither and the Huguenots make it their place of Arms. 686 d'Ossun Surnamed the Brave flies at the Battle of Dreux and for madness starves himself to Death 687 Ostend attempted by the Duke of Anjou but misses his aim 762 Besieged by Duke Albertus 889 How long the Siege lasted 913 c. Oysans a Fort built by Lesdiguieres 785 P PAceco Duke of Ascalone Ambassadour from Spain foments the Division between the Pope and the Venetians 926 Pacification of Ghent 695 Papaux a Name given to the Catholiques by the Huguenots 673 Pareus Ambros accused of having Poisoned Francis II. 671 Paris besieged by Henry III. reduced to extremity and saved by a detestable Monk 794 795 Parliament of Paris gives the Name of Conservator of the Country to the Duke of Guise 667 Parma Duke brings Relief to Don Juan of Austria 751 Commands the Army after the Death of that Prince 752 Takes Maestrickt 757 Takes Breda 758 Takes Tournay after it had been bravely defended by a Lady ib. Invests Antwerp Hath much ado to resolve to come into France 811 Enters Paris and hath Compassion of them 812 Takes Corbeil ib. Retires from Ivetot with great industry 822 Dies at Arras 827 Paul IV. his Death 662 Endeavours to set up the Inquisition every where ib. The Romans beat down his Statuas ib. Paul III. suspends the Council of Trent 668 Approves of the Jesuites Ch. 16 th Age. Paul V. declares the Cardinal de Joyeuse Legate in France for three Months that he may represent him as Godfather to the Daufin the Son of Henry IV. 923 The Paulette its Author and its Establishment 912 Perigueux sacked 740 Perthau Bassa escapes at the Battle of Lepanto 714 Philibert Emanuel Duke of Savoy yields his Right in Portugal to the King of Spain 752 His Death 757 Philip of Spain intermeddles with the Affairs of France under pretence of Religion 678 Sends Ambassadors to Charles IX to sollicite him to depute to Nancy where the Assembly of Christian Princes was assigned 691 Causes the Council of Trent to be Published and sets up the Inquisition in the Low-Countries 695 His merciless Councils ib. Puts his Son to Death and causes his Wife to be Poisoned 700 Seizes upon Portugal 753 Equipps a mighty Fleet against England 783 Gives the Low-Countries to his Daughter Isabella the Conditions of the Donative 869 His Malady his Death his Age and his Successor ib. Philip III. King of Spain is married to Margaret of France
869 Du Perron Cardinal made choice of to go to Rome to demand the Absolution of Henry IV. 848 Compleats the said important Affair 849 His Birth Church 16 th Age. Piali Bassa Admiral of the Forces sent by the Turk to Malta 693 Pius IV. takes the Alarm at a National Council in France 668 His Vanity Vide Chur. 16 th Age. Pius V. makes a League between the Spaniards and Venetians 715 De Piles valiantly defends Saint John d'Angely 708 Poissy the place of the famous Colloquy of that Name 676 Politiques a Faction Ch. 16 th Age. John Poltrot Meré Assassinates the Duke of Guise 687 Prodigles at the Deaths of Henry II. Henry III. and Henry IV. 941 Provinces-Vnited sollicite the French and the English to enter into a League 931 Pseffercon a Renegado Jew advises the Emperor to cause all the Jewish Books to be Burned Chur. 16 th Age. Writes against Renchin ib. Q QVarante of Paris chosen out of several Cities 788 Proclaim Charles Cardinal of Bourbon King 799 Quercy Appenage of Margaret of Valois 755 Quin̄ones Conde de Luna Ambassador of Spain at the Council of Trent disputes the precedency with France 685 John Quintin Speaker for the Clergy at the meeting of the Estates under Charles IX 673 Gives the Admiral Satisfaction 674 R RAbastains Besieged by Montluc where he was hurt 740 The Mareschal de Rais by his Practises hinders Rochel from receiving any relief from England 724 Rambouillet beats the leagued at Sablé and takes many Prisoners releases his Wife 807 Rasats a Faction under Henry III. 740 Rapin sent to Touloze by the Prince they make his Process 699 His death revenged 709 Reformed Religion at what time the Huguenots took that Title 743 Religion makes People undergo every thing 723 Makes even the very Women become couragious ib. La Renaudie chosen by the Huguenots to assemble those of their belief 665 Indiscreetly discovers his Design ib. Kills his Cousin and is Kill'd 666 Re-Union Edict given by Henry III. 783 Is sworn to by the King 784 Jo. Ribaud returns to Florida is ill treated by the Winds and worse yet by the Spaniards 700 Jo. Ribaud sent to Florida by the Admiral builds a Fort there and returns ib. His Men coming away after him are reduced to such Streights by Famine that they eat one of their Sick Company are relieved by the English ib. Rochel enters into the Huguenot Party 698 Fortifie themselves after the Saint Bartholomew 722 Is invested 723 Fortified by the Huguenots it defends its self wonderfully well ib. Rodolph King of the Romans Son of the Emperor Conducts Henry III. 733 Requesens Governor of the Low-Countries 750 Gains a famous Battle ib. A League against him ib. Rosny Surintendant of the Finances 840 Ambassador in England 903 Rosoy in Brie the Rendezvous of the Huguenots to surprize Charles IX at Monceaux 696 Rossius a Physician Hanged 825 De Roüet a Damoiselle beloved by the King of Navarre is cause of his Death 684 Rouen besieged by the Kings Army conducted by the King of Navarre and the Duke of Guise 683 Their Fort Saint Catherine taken by Assault ib. The City taken by Storm and Sacked ib. Besieged and quitted by Henry IV. 800 Roussel Francis May David surprizes the Castle of Vernueil and makes himself Master of the Town after a long Fight 682 N. de Roye Mother-in-Law to the Prince of Condé seized at the Estates of Orleans 670 Rybeirac Second in a Duel to Entragues the first Example of that kind 750 S. SAbellius his Errors in Vogue Sacierge Peter Chancellour under Lewis XII Church 16th Age. Sacramentaries a Name given to the Huguenots ib. Sagner Advoyer of Berne brings a Message for renewing of the Alliance with Henry IV. 898 Saint Cloud the place where Henry III. was lodged during the Siege of Paris and Murther'd 795 Sainte-Croix Marquess takes the Acores upon Don Antonio 760 His cruelty ib. Sainte Soulene draws off his Ships when they were ready to engage 760 They make his Process ib. Saint John d'Angely Besieged by the Duke of Anjou is taken after a rude Siege 708 Saint Luo Favorite of Henry III. forfeits his favour because he would undeceive his Master 772 Hurts the Prince of Condé to whom he afterwards Surrenders himself a Prisoner 778 Salsede Nicholas his Original his Treason and his Death 759 Salusses Marquisate seized by the Duke of Savoy 785 The King redemands it 870 Treaty for the exchange of it 887 Saveuse a brave Picard his death 793 Schomberg passes into Germany on behalf of Charles IX 716 Scbastian King of Portugal loses a Battle against the Moors 752 The Seize or the Sixteen Henry III. resolves to punish them 780 Sollicite the Duke of Guise to come to their assistance ib. Seize upon the Gates of Paris and elect the Duke of Aumale for their Governor 781 Will set up the Government of a Common-wealth or Republick Devote themselves to the Spaniard 814 Own the Duke of Guise for their Head 819 Cause some Presidents and Councellors to be Hanged ib. Obstruct the Reduction of Paris 836 Serini Count defends Liget bravely his generous Death 693 694 Sigismund of Austria King of Poland is infirm 715 Sixtus V. Pope his Ambition 792 Solyman enraged for having missed Malta falls upon Hungary 693 Dies before Ziget ib. Sonnas a Commander of the Savoy Forces that attempted to surprize Geneva is taken and Executed 900 Example of the extraordinary and unheard of Love of his Wife ib. James Spifame quits a Bishoprick to take a Wife Church 16 th Age. Strasburgh redoubles their Guards after the Saint Bartholomew 722 Strossi Cardinal makes a League 744 Surenne place of the famous Conference between the Royalists and the Parisians 830 The Swiss depute to Henry III. in favour of the Huguenots 774 Remain in the Service of Henry IV. 976 Are received and feasted at Paris 898 T TAlsy a place of Conference between the Queen and the Prince of Condé 678 Tanneguy du Chastel his Generosity and Acknowledgment 671 Tanguerel Batchellor of the Sorbonne Condemned by the Parliament for having maintained a Thesis against Kings 678 Tard-advisez rebels under Henry IV. 840 de Thiard a Poet and a Mathematician Church 16 th Age. de Thou Nicholas Bishop of Chartres Crowns Henry IV. 836 de Toledo Roderique General of the Milan Forces for the Duke of Savoy beaten and slain by Lesdiguieres 833 Truchard Maire of Rochel makes the Town enter into the Huguenots Party 698 Toloza exercises many Cruelties at the Saint Bartholomews and Hangs five Councellors 721 Henry de la Tour Vicount de Turenne Contriver of the Association of the Duke of Alenson the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé 724 Is made Mareschal of France upon his Marriage with the Heiress of Sedan 818 Surprizes Stenay the Evening before his Nuptials ib. de Tournon Cardinal refuses to give place to the Princes of the Blood 676 Trans the Marquess his two Sons are slain 756 Tremblecour Commands the
two causes One was that Richard refused to do Hommage to Year of our Lord 1186 the King for his County of Poitou grounded perhaps on this that it held immediately of the Dutchy of Aquitain The other Henry deferr'd to surrender Gisors and other places of the Vexin which Louis VII had given in Dowre to Margaret who had no Year of our Lord 1187 Children by young Henry Philip sets upon him towards Berry took Issoudun and besieged the Castle-Ruouel The King of England and his Son came to its Relief and sent to bid Battle but the two Armies being ranged Henry's heart failed him he talks of an Agreement promises Satisfaction to Philip and leaves him Issoudun for his Expences in that War Year of our Lord 1187 The Fifth of September Lewis the first born Son of Philip came into the World for which the City of Paris expressed so much Joy that they made the whole week but one Holy-day keeping all darkness at a distance by the infinite numbers of Flambeaux every where Saladin King of Syria and Egypt who from a low Birth was raised to that high power not without great desert after his having obtained many Victories over the Christians at last tears the Holy City of Jerusalem from them whereof Guy de Luzignan was then King it was taken the Second day of October and all the Holy-Land excepting only Tyre Tripoly Antioch and some strong Holds Thus at the end of Eigthy eight years Ended the Kingdom of Jerusalem which Title after it had ambitiously passed through the Houses of divers Princes does at this day make us part of the Catholick Kings At this dreadful news which arrived towards the end of the year 1187. all the Faithful made a great moan never was any sorrow so great or so universal The Kings Philip and Henry being sensibly touched Conferr'd together at Gisors and Trie and resolved to take up the Cross with great numbers of Princes Lords and Prelats to recover those Holy Places out of the hands of the Infidels In remembrance whereof they erected a Cross in the Field where they had resolved upon this Croisade and mutually promised to leave all Disputes in the same posture they then were till after their return from this holy Expedition Year of our Lord 1188 The Month of March following Philip Assembles a Parliament at Paris where it was resolv'd by Advice of the Bishops and Barons to take the Tenths of all Goods Movables and Immovables of all Persons as well Ecclesiasticks as of the Laity excepting only the Monks de Cisteaux the Chartreux de Fontevrault and the Spittles belonging to the poor Leprous People This Impost was called the Saladine Tith Year of our Lord 1188 Whilst they were preparing with great chearfulness and courage for this Expedition Richard for I not what little Injury received of Alfonso Earl of Thoulouze renew'd the old Pretention of his Mother Alienor to that County and endeavoured to recover it by the Sword Philip to disengage his Brother-in-Law and make a Diversion falls into Berry takes all the places the English were possessed of drove out old Henry who was got thither with an Army and pursued him as far as Normandy Year of our Lord 1189 Winter brought them to a Truce In the mean time Richard falls out with his Father and threw himself into the Arms of Philip. His discontent proceeded from his Fathers delay in giving him Alix of France betroathed to him Some believe the old Man cast other looks upon her then he ought towards his Sons Wife and besides by compleating this Marriage he had been obliged according to the Contract to let his be Crowned and give him the Title of King The Physitian Rigord in the History of Philip relates That being at Argenteuil when the Moon was at Full and the Night very clear a little before day-break the Prior of that Monastery and several of the Monks saw that Planet descend in a Moment to the Earth where having rested some time it went slowly up again and took its former place Year of our Lord 1189 The following Spring Philip takes the Field Conquers all the Countrey of Mayne and the City of Mans Touraine and the City of Tours himself having as by Miracle found a Foard in the Loire which he discover'd to his Army At the same time John surnamed Without-Land the Third Son of Henry likewise takes up Arms against his Father who not knowing which way to turn himself leaves Chinon and advances towards King Philip humbly to desire a Peace Philip grants it and reconciles him to Richard upon condition that one of them should accompany him to the Holy-Land Year of our Lord 1189 But Henry as unfortunate in War as he was unfortunate in his Children overcome with shame and sorrow dies three days after he was returned to Chinon Richard succeeds him and then Philip his Brother-in-Law generously restores to him all he had Conquer'd of his excepting Issoudun and the Fiefs he held in Auvergne settling Gisors and all the Vexin for his Wives Portion The two Princes thus united in a Friendship which appeared to be very cordial and so firm that one would imagine nothing could untie or shake it fitted themselves for their Expedition to the Holy-Land appointed the Rendezvous for their Armies at Vezelay and took Shipping Richard at Marseilles and Philip at Genoa Both of them landed in Sicily but Philip not so happily as Richard a furious Tempest having forced him to throw over-board part of his Horses and his Equipage Year of our Lord 1190 Before their departure Philip with the leave and by the agreement of all his Barons left the Guardianship of his Son and the Government of the Kingdom to the Queen his Mother Alix de Champagne and to William Cardinal-Archbishop of Reims Brother to that Queen But fearing they might abuse it he left an Authentick Order in Writing Signed by the Great Officers belonging to the Crown which limited their Power and prescribed their Lesson in many cases Amongst others he would have them bestow vacant Benefices of the Regalia by the Advice of Brother Bernard who was a devout Hermit living in the Bois de Vincennes and that during his absence no Tailles should be levied by any Lords upon their Lands nor in case he should happen to dye by the Regents during the Minority of his Son Year of our Lord 1190 He likewise ordered the Sheriffs of Paris that they should take care to enclose it with Walls and Towers There were no Ditches made the Enclosure on the left hand of the River upwards hath been often enlarged and altred The Burghers of other Cities by their example were ambitious to Wall their Towns and make Ramparts for defence William the Good King of Sicily Son of William the Wicked or Bad being dead without Children Anno 1189. He had an Aunt the Daughter of King Roger named Constance who being almost Thirty years of Age not a Nun as some have
trial at least three Months Duret was the only Man who maintain'd she was possess'd His great Reputation gave them the confidence to call in other Physicians These were of his opinion and thereupon they once more open the Scene The People ran thither in Multitudes and with Emotion great heats there were for and against it and it was to be feared lest this Oracle should give some Seditious Answers unless they made good haste to stop her Mouth The Parliament therefore put the Possessed into the hands and guard of Lugoli Lieutenant Criminel and the Kings Attorney in the Chastelet for twenty days together and in the mean time appointed eleven Physicians of the most famous of that Faculty to visit her These made their Report they could discover nothing which was above the power of Nature The Preachers notwithstanding cry'd aloud they undertook upon the Jurisdiction of the Church and stifled a miraculous Voice which God had sent amongst them to convince the Hereticks The Parliament was fain to use their Authority and impose Silence upon them and as for Martha they gave Order to Rapin Prevost de Robe Course to convey her back to Râ—morantin and there leave her in the custody of her Father with command she should not stir out of that Town without express leave from the Judge of the place upon pain of Corporal Punishment to either of them The Comedy did not end for all this Alexander de la Rochefoâ—caud Abbot de Sainct Martin and Brother of that Count de Randan who was slain at the Battle Year of our Lord 1599 of Issoire and of Francis Bishop of Clermont afterward a Cardinal stole away this month April wretched Creature by advice of the Bishop as was guessed and carried her to Avignon then to Rome fancying she would act better on that grand Theatre and that he should find more credulity in that place which is the Spring head of Belief But the Agents of France having already pre-possessed the Pope and all that Court with the fear of offending the King those Friends by whom he thought to be there supported failed him and he could meet with none that would believe a thing so contrary to their interest Therefore finding himself mistaken he was forced by Letters humbly to beg pardon of the King and soon after fell sick and died of Grief as it was said for having gone so far to be despised Martha and her Father forsaken of all the World had now no other refuge but an Hospital The Reader will not be displeased if I mention three very great Rarities which were observed in three several Persons this year The one was in Gaspard de Schomberg who had served the King very successfully in his Armies and in some Negociations He was from time to time troubled with sudden and great difficulty of breathing coming one day from Conflans to Paris being near St. Anthonies Gate he was in a moment seized with this difficulty and lost both his Respiration and Life The Chyrurgeon that open'd him to search the Cause found the left side of that Membrane called the Pericardium which encompasseth the Heart and serves as a Bellows to refresh it was turned into a Bony Substance so that it hindred Respiration The second was that in the Country of Mayne was seen a Peasant named Francis Trouillu aged Thirty five years who had a Horn growing upon his Head which began to appear when he was but Seven years old It was shaped almost like that of a Ram only the Wreathings were not spiral but strait and the end bowed inwards toward the Cranium The fore-part of his Head was bald his Beard red and in Tufts such as Painters bestow upon Satyrs He retired to the Woods to hide this monstrous deformity and wrought in the Cole-pits The Mareschal de Laverdin going one day a Hunting his Servants spying this Fellow who fled ran after him and he not uncovering himself to salute their Master they tore off his Cap and so discover'd his Horn. The Mareschal sent him to the King who bestow'd him upon some body that made Money by shewing him to the People This poor Fellow took it so much to Heart to be thus Bear-led about and his shame exposed to the Laughter and Censures of all the World that he soon after died The third Curiosity is the Daughter of a Country Smith of Conflants a Burrough upon the limits of Poitou and Limosin who was three whole years without eating or drinking which proceeded from a Relaxation of the Aesophage after a Year of our Lord 1599 great fit of Sickness in so much as this Maid could not swallow any thing but had a month April horrible aversion for all sorts of Meats and Drinks Neither did she void any Excrements her Belly was quite flat there was nothing but a kind of Parchment Skin covering her Sides she was very cold to the touch in every part of her Body excepting near her Heart but otherwise her Arms and Legs were pretty fleshy her Breast plumpish her Visage passable Hair long and thick walked to and fro without trouble and did all manner of work in the Family as well as any other Now after she had remained three years in this condition some Physicians going thither with Orders from the King to bring her to Paris and her Friends advising her that she might thereby avoid such trouble to endeavour to swallow something she forced down some Broath which having with difficulty for the two or three first times assayed she found good in it and by this means open'd the Conduits of Nourishment and by little and little brought her self to the eating of solid Viands The like had formerly hapned Anno 825. to a Girle under the Empire of Lotaire after she had been three years without swallowing any Food In these years a new and very odd kind of Distemper over-spread Potukia a Province of Poland bordering upon Hungary whence it extended thorough all those Countries It hath its seat in the Hair which it twists together in one or two Locks and at first causes no inconvenience but in some space suppurates and breeds an infinite of Vermine and if they cut them off that acid and fuliginous humour which so entangleth them flows back upon all the parts of the Body and begets cruel Pains Contortions Dislocations Ulcers Exostosae and all the strangest Accidents imaginable Physicians have given it the name of Plica because it hath such effect upon the Hair and that of Cirragra as being a kind of Gout which begins by that odd kind of weaving A Peace being made the Grandees of the Kingdom were but little consider'd in the Administration of Affairs the Council composed all of Men of the Quil desired to bring them lower that they might stand on equal ground Those that had been of the League were so well treated as to have no just cause of complaint but rather gave a jealousie to the others As for the Duke of Mayenne
otherwhile their Head being ruin'd both in his Estate and Credit he lived meanly and affected to appear yet poorer then he was knowing his want of Power and Riches was now his only security But divers of those that had served the King taking themselves to be ill used absented yet more from him then he was alienated from them The most discontented were the Mareschal de Bouillon the Duke de la Trimouille the Constable de Year of our Lord 1599 month April Montmorency the Duke of Montpensier More then these yet the Duke d'Espernon and the Mareschal de Biron This last more bold and confident then the rest exhal'd his discontents by odious complaints and vauntings not to be endured He could speak well of no body but himself which was his Eternal Theme and Entertainment He exalted himself above the greatest Captains it was he alone that had done all there was no Place or Dignity he did not think beneath his Merit Nought but the Soveraignty could satisfie him and he would Crown himself with his own hands Too great applause had corrupted this brave Courage the King himself had praised him too much had raised him too high After the loss of Dourlens and Cambray the Nobless and the Soldiery all cast their Eyes upon him only as both the Sword and Buckler of the State At his return from the Siege of Amiens he was intoxicated by the fondness of the Parisians and when he went into Flanders to Witness the Archdukes Swearing to the Peace the Spaniards knowing his Vanity and ill disposition gave him such lofty Elogies as filled his Head with Air and Vanity and his Heart with wicked Thoughts and Sentiments From that time nay even before he sought and courted the favour of the Populace affected for the Catholick Religion a Zeal that proceeded even to Beads and month May and June Confrairies as if he would again set up that League his Sword had beaten down This year in the Month of May having made a Journey into Guyenne he there regaled the Nobility with Feasts Presents and Caresses held private Conference with such as had most Credit in the Province and behaved himself after such a manner that the King apprehending some Disturbance there descended to Blois month June c. and set a Report on Wing that he would pass on to Poitiers thereby to prevent many who might have engaged themselves in his Contrivances He was yet there when the news of the Duke of Savoy's Voyage obliged him to return to Fontainebleau During his abode in that Country Philip Hurat Chiverny Chancellor of France who had desired leave to go and see his House of Chiverny did there fall sick and died the Nine and twentieth day of June He stood much upon his Nobility and did as much affect the Quality of Earl and of Governor of Orleannois and Blesois as that of Chancellor which he had held twenty years His Posterity as almost all those that attain great Fortunes at Court sunk in a short time Pompone de Bellievre succeeded him in that great Office and at first began with two things which were most necessary viz. a severe Edict against Duels and a Rule that none should be admitted to the Office of Master of Requests till he had been ten years in the Soveraign Courts or twenty in some Court Subordinate Year of our Lord 1599 month June c. This new Chancellor Villeroy Secretary of State Sillery President in the Parliament of Paris Jannin in that of Burgundy and the Marquiss de Rosny Sur-Intendant of the Finances had the greatest share in the Administration of Affairs The last governing the Purse had great advantage over the others besides the King made himself more familiar with him and consider'd him as a Creature he had raised and one that had never held any Party but his own And indeed he was shaped every way to his humour and very fit to manage that Office as he intended it should be For besides that he was indefatigable thrifty and a Man of great order he was rough in denial impenetrable to Prayers and importunities and with both hands greedily scraping Money into the Kings Coffers To this purpose he received all manner of Proposals the easiest he made benefit of in his time and the refuse was left to glut the following Reign He made thorough inquisition after such Money as had been mis-employ'd and wherever that lighted he fell upon the great as boldly as the little ones took the hatred and blame of all denials or disappointments upon himself stopt his Ears at their Complaints or Reproaches not minding any other thing but where to raise new Fonds from day to day Hereby did he become most necessary to the King and got into his favour more and more He often shewed him a just state of Receipts and Payments in every Concern distinctly as likewise the Projects of such Expences as were to be made and the Inventories of all the Arms Ammunition and Cannon in his several Places all by Summary Abridgments to give the more gusto in perusal and inform him without tiring him For he knew very well that the King being of a ready and quick apprehension could not dwell long upon any one particular neither in Reading or Writing nor endure any tedious Discourse or Reasoning Those that had managed the Revenues or Finances had put things in a most horrible disorder and confusion and the Expences in the Civil War had drained them so low that it was almost impossible to remedy them by the ordinary ways The King was charged with Six Millions of yearly Rents and Pensions above five Millions Salary for his Officers of Justice and the Treasury with Petitions of an infinite number of brave Soldiers Officers Gentlemen and Lords who prayed some for Rewards others for some Benevolence and Charity that they might at least subsist It would therefore have been but reasonable if for a time they had exceeded the bounds of the common methods to repair these Disorders were it not that such Examples remain even after the necessity is over and that a Tax or Charge once imposed turns to a common Right or Claim ☜ Year of our Lord 1599 That they might bring the Revenues into the grand Channel of the Exchequer or Espargne he studied in the first place to open all the Springs from whence they were to slow and stop up all by-leaks which made them drop aside and lose themselves Most enormous abuses were committed upon the levying of such Moneys as were raised by extraordinary Commissions and it was the custom of some of the Council to procure very easie Adjudications that they might share in the profit As to the former he order'd the Receivers to make Receipts for these as for the other and as to the second having found out that the Sub-farms amounted to twice as much as the general Adjudication he tied up the hands of the Principal Farmers and caused the whole to be brought into the
Protestants and did not fully satisfie the Catholicks The Nuncio who knew not the intentions of his Master could not keep silence those that were yet tainted with the Leaven of the old League endeavour'd to patch up a new one And it was said the foundations of it were laid at la Flesche For a Woman affirmed she had seen in a house where they kept many Scholars certain Registers in which many had subscribed with Signatures of Blood It is certain that this year there were great numbers of persons imprisoned at Paris and elsewhere for some kind of Conspiracies and that they were released immediately after the death of the Year of our Lord 1610 King none daring or perhaps none desiring to search deeper into so dangerous a Secret It could not but notoriously be known by this time that the King had in hand month April and May. greater Designs than these only concerning the Affairs of Cleves and Juliers for he had above Thirty thousand Foot and Six thousand Horse all select Men marching towards Champagne Lesdiguieres whom he had made Mareschal of France after the Death of d'Ornane had Twelve thousand Foot and Two thousand Horse the Duke of Savoy and the Venetians were to joyn him with Thirty thousand more the Princes of Germany had but few less and the Vnited Provinces upward of Sixteen thousand I do not mention the Sea-forces which with those of Denmark and Sweden would have made up a Fleet of near Six-score Sail all great Ships and well mann'd and provided It was reck'ned this War not including the advance Money and Charges for raising of Men besides the Ammunitions and Artillery would cost the King Twelve hundred and Fifty thousand Crowns per mensem and as much for Payment of the Armies of his Allies viz. The Duke of Savoys the Venetians the Popes the German Princes the Danes the Swedes and the Vnited Provinces and he had wherewithal to maintain these Expences five years together without grinding his People by new Taxes for he had above Forty one Millions of ready Money whereof Two and twenty lay in the Bastille besides his certain Revenue of which there came effectually into his Coffers all Charges defray'd Six Millions yearly Moreover his Super-Intendant in case of necessity promised an Hundred seventy and five more upon Parties extraordinary but which we may well doubt they could never have gotten in without greatly grieving and burthening the Kingdom The House of Austria took no great care to provide themselves against so rude a Shoe which made it be believed they relied upon some strange accident concealed from their Enemies but whereof they held the Instruments and secret Engines in their own disposal which they could let loose to do the certain execution in any case of extremity Many fancied they were in the bosom of France and even hid in the Royal Family A certain Damoiselle named Anne de Comans gave Information of a horrible Conspiracy against the Person of the King After he was dead she persisted in the same discovery and gave her Narrative in Writing but they pretended she was mad and shut her up Whether she were so or not such as did hear and had examin'd her might have left us their opinions but the Juncture of those times and the too great importance of the subject have wholly suppressed many strange things It is most certain that there were more than one single Conspiracy against this good King his Enemies had forged of so many sorts and on so many sides that it was very improbable if not impossible he should escape They looked upon his Death as so certain a thing in Foreign Countries that there came News of it from Spain to France that they Published it in Milan almost a Month before that several Merchants of the Low-Countries writing to their Correspondents in Paris desired to be informed whether the report was true and that on the Eight of the Month May whereas he was killed the Fourteenth a Courrier passed thorow Liege and bawled aloud that he was going to carry the News to the Princes of Germany Was it that they thought to intimidate him therewith and would emply their menaces before they would proceed to the execution Conchine in the mean time and those of his Cabal did incessantly encrease the Queens jealousies and maliciously made her believe that the infinite Love the King had for the Princess might transport him to dangerous Extremities Assuredly a Prince so good and so just could not be capable of it neither did he omit any devoir or tenderness of a Husband to take away all such-like Suspitions He month April and May. left the Regency of the Kingdom to her but because he did but moderate or qualifie it by a Council and such Orders as were necessary the precaution did much displease Conchine who to extend his Authority by enlarging the Queens Power inspired her that it was necessary she should be crowned before the King's departure Already the Forces were marching towards the Frontiers of Champagne the Train of Artillery was gone and they had sent to demand passage of the Arch-Duke thorow his Territories this demand was to be followed close the least demurr would have been prejudicial and besides that Ceremony of a Coronation did not agree well with the great Embarass of present Affairs no more than the Expence which she required could be compatible with the vast Charges necessary Year of our Lord 1610 for so great a War Moreover could the thing in its own Nature have been agreeable to him the obstinate eagerness she pressed him withal must have given him some aversion Nevertheless as he could refuse nothing to importunities when they were very earnest he suffer'd himself to be persuaded to give her this Satisfaction month May. She received it in the Church of Sainct Denis the 12th day of May with the accustomed Ceremonies and a Pomp extraordinary Magnificent himself taking the care to do the Honours and to give the Orders There was some contest between the Ambassadors of Spain and those of Venice who proceeding to blows rather augmented the pleasure of the day than any way less'ned or discomposed it The Count de Soissons being picqu'd upon I know not what Punctilio of Honour touching the Ornaments of his Wives Robes and the Habits of the King 's Natural Children did not appear at this Festival but retired to his house of Blandy an Absence which in few days proved very prejudicial to his Affairs After the Coronation of the Queen her entrance into Paris was appointed for the fifteenth of the Month they caused Portico's to be Erected Triumphant Arches Inscriptions Statues and Scaffolds in those Streets she was to pass thorow and were preparing a stately Treat in the Palais for which reason the Parliament to leave the place at full liberty held their Session in the Augustins The King in the interim overwhelmed with cruel anxiety and a melancholly of which he could not possibly divine
the cause felt in himself the Symptomes of that unhappiness which threatned him One would have said he had the Dagger already in his bosom He was often heard to send forth doleful sighs and words of ill presage the Heavens and Earth if we may give faith to such things did also afford him some very sinister ones It was observed that some days before the May which had been Planted in the Court-Yard of the Louvre was faln down of it self A Star appeared visibly at Noon-day in the Year 1609. the year preceding that a great Comet had been seen and the Loire over-flow'd most furiously as it had done a while before the violent deaths of the two Kings Henry II. and Henry III. The same year likewise the Inhabitants of Angoulmois both Gentry and Peasants affirmed they had beheld a frightful prodigy it was a fantastique Army which seemed to consist of about eight or ten thousand Men with Ensigns party-colour'd of blew and red Drummers ready to beat and a Commander of great appearance at the head of them who having Marched upon the Earth for above a League together lost himself in a Wood. It was about two years past that a Priest found upon an Altar at Montargis a Ticket which gave notice the King would be Assassinated And about the same time two Gentlemen of Gascogny of different places and of different Religions came expresly to Court to advertise him of the doleful and pressing Visions they affirmed to have had upon the same subject Of three or four of his Horoscopes terminated his life in his fifty seventh year Divers Prognosticators amongst others he who had otherwhile foretold the Duke of Mayenne the Murther of the Duke of Guise his Brother and the loss of the Battel of Ivry advertis'd him of an approaching and very sudden danger There was one so bold as to tell the Queen that Festival would conclude in Mourning and in Tears and that Princess starting one night out of her sleep weeping told the King she dreamt they were stabbing him with a Knife Himself was not ignorant that the number of the years of his Reign according as a Magician had computed to Queen Catherine de Medicis were even almost accomplished and he had some kind of confused knowledge of divers Conspiracies which were hatching against his person He in his life time had discovered above fifty many contrived or fomented by Church-men or some of the religious Orders such pernicious effects does indiscreet zeal produce but he could not avoid this last his hour was come and it seems all the former warnings which Heaven gave him were not so much to save him from the fatal blow as to make men certainly see and understand that there is a Soveraign Power ☜ which disposes of futurity Since it so certainly knows and fore-tells it month May. It had been a long time this execrable Monster named Francis Ravaillac had formed this resolution to Murther him He was a Native of Angoulesme Aged about two and thirty years Son of a Man belonging to the Law living at that time In the beginning he had follow'd the Trade of his Father then ran into a Convent of the Fueillans and was a Novice there but they thrust him out Year of our Lord 1610 for his extravagant whimsies Some while after he was imprisoned for a Murther of which notwithstanding he was never convicted being freed from thence he began anew to sollicite Law-Suits of which he had lost one in his own name for an Estate and Succession insomuch as he was reduced to turn Pedant and teach the poor peoples Children in the City of Angoulesme The austerity of the Cloister the obscurity of his Prison the loss of his process and the extreme necessity whereunto he was reduced confounded his judgment and irritated more and more his atrabilary humour From his early youth the Frenzies of the League their Libels and the Factious Sermons of their Ignivomous and Sanguinary Pulpiteers had imprinted in his mind a very great aversion for the King with this belief That it was lawful to kill those who brought the Catholick Religion into danger or made a War upon the Pope He was so very hot in these matters that he could not so much as hear any body pronounce the name of Huguenot but he fell into a fury Those that had premeditated to ridd themselves of the King finding this instrument so proper to act their Design knew very well how to confirm him in his Sentiments they had people at their beck who haunted him eternally though he knew not their intents who caused him to be instructed by their Doctors and enchanted him with supposed Visions and the other the like diabolical Arts. There are proofs that they carried him as far as Naples where in an Assembly at the Vice-Roy's Palace he met with many others who had all devoted themselves to the same end They made him come from Angoulesme to Paris two or three times in fine they managed and guided him so well to their liking and purpose that by his sacrilegious hand they perpetrated the detestable resolutions of their own wicked and accursed hearts The day after that of the Queens entrance the King was to have made the Marriage of Mademoiselle de Vandosme the eldest of his natural Daughters and the following day the Feast then the next Morning to mount on Horse-back and go to his Army But on the Evening of the Day of Entrance which was a Friday a little before four of the Clock as he was going to the Arsenal without Guards to confer with the Duke of Sully an Embarrass of certain Carts having stopt his Coach in the midst of the Street de la Feronerie and his Valets or Foot-men passing under the Channels of Sainct Innocents this Devil incarnate stept upon a spoak of one of the hind Wheels and advancing his Body into the Coach gave him two stabbs in the Breast with a Knife the first glanced along the fifth and sixth Ribb and did not enter his Body but the second cut the Arterial Vein above the Ventricle of the heart so that the Blood bursting forth with impetuosity choacked him in a moment he not being able to utter one word It had been foretold him he should die in a Coach so that upon the least jolt he would cry out as if he beheld the Grave open'd ready to swallow him But yet imagin'd he had escaped the effect of that prediction after two great hazards he run thorow the one at his going to visit the Dutchess of Beaufort the other in the Ferry-boat of Nully whereof we have made mention So strange an amazement and terror seized upon those who were present at this Tragical Accident that if Ravaillac had but dropt his Knife they could not then have discover'd him but being taken holding it yet in his hand he owned the Fact as boldly as if he had performed some Heroique Action There were two things then observed