Original in Burgundy in the Woods of the Abbey of St. Seine runs by Paris Roan Honfleur and Harfleur and disgorges it self into the Sea at Havre de Grace with a delicate Channel where it ebbs and flows It receives amongst other Rivers the Marn and the Oyse which crosseth Picardy and under Pont Oyse towards Poissy mixes with the Seine The Isle of France is inclosed by the Seine to the East and South and by the Oyse to the West The Loire springs forth in Vivarez a small Country of Languedock passes by Velay comes into Forest to Nevers Orleans Blois Amboise Tours Saumur and disburthens it self in the Sea near Nantes in Britanny with a Channel of four Leagues breadth It is the largest River of France as the Rhosne is the most rapid It receives the River of Allier which cometh out of Gevaudan in Languedock and several others France abounds in lofty and pleasant Forests that are not like those of Germany Poland and Transilvania which by reason of their greatness and thickness are not so commodious for Hunting That of Orleance is the biggest and broadest Besides those of Montargis there are a great many in the Country of Maine in Lower Britanny in Poictou in Berry in the Country of Angiers in Boulonois Vermandois Picardy in Angoumois where the Forest of Brancome is of great extent The Provinces of Burgundy Dauphine Languedock Guyenne and chiefly Rouergue and Quercy abound also with great Woods CHAP. II. Of the Air and Soil of France and its various Productions FRANCE every where enjoyeth a very wholsom and temperate Air whence it proceeds that the Plague and contagious Diseases are not so frequent and dangerous there as in other Countries She is praised for her Fertility from all â—imes not only in her fair and spacious Plains and in her Vallies but also in her Mountains which are Cultivated and bring forth Corn in such abundance that besides the Provision of her Inhabitants Spain is supplied with it from Burgundy and Languedoc To these Provinces ought to be added those of Normandy Beausse Poictou Xainconge Picardy which are also very plentiful in Corn. All sorts of Wines grow in France and such as are Excellent too Britany Normandy and Picardy by reason of the cold Air produce none but all the other Provinces do abound with it Those of Beausse grow especially about Orleance and Toury Anjou has her White-Wines which are in a particular Esteem Those of Burgundy are sold off at Baulne Sens and Auxerre whereof great Quantities are brought to Paris Guyenne is very well provided with Wines but those of Grave at Bourdeaux those of Gaillaâ— and Rabestens are most esteemed and by the Garonne Charante and Loire are Transported to England Flanders and Germany The Muscadine Wines of Frontignan and other Places near Montpellier in Languedoc are carried to Paris and Foreign Nations The Salt-Pits make the Third Wealth of that Kingdom in which they are both good and plentiful The King draws vast Revenues out of them for the Inhabitants of every Province are furnished therewith at a very high Rate and they are exported to Foreign Nations as the Switzers Dutch English and other Northern People The Salt Pits of Languedoc at Pecais are the excellentest of all There are some in Provence Poictou Xaintonge Brouage whither the Dutch come to fetch them The Hemp and Linnen of Lower Britany Calis Berry Quercy Rouergue and other Places bring likewise a great Trade and a power of Money into France Hâ—reof are made Cables and Sails for Shipping with a prodigious quantity of Cloath which is carried very far There are but some of her Provinces that produce Oyls whose Air is the hottest and sweetest Such as are Provence and Languedoc Of these is a great Trade not only in the very Kingdom but even amongst Strangers Fine Wool abounds in several Places of the Kingdom especially in Berry Soloigne Normandy and Languedoc in all which Provinces very good and fine Cloaths are Woven with Serges that are carried all over the Kingdom and into Spain Italy Piedmont and others Nations She abounds in all manner of Fruit In Normandy Britany and Picardy is a huge quantity of Apples of which they make Cyder that supplies the want of Wine Pears and other Winter-Fruit are better in these Provinces and the Isle of France where the Air is thickest than in those that are more to the South Which on the other hand are plentiful in choice Raisins Figgs Granads Musk-Mellons Apricots Peaches Nectarins Almonds and Nutts Chesnuts are in the most Mountainous Countries such as are Dauphiné the Cevennes Languedoc Auvergne the Country of Limoges and Perigord Wood is found there in some Places which is Exported into several Foreign Countries to Dye in Blue Several of her Provinces do bear Saffron Silk-Worms are fed in Languedoc Provence Dauphiné at Tours at Caen in Normandy and for this purpose a great number of Mulberry-Trees are kept She is not lacking in good Pastures both in the even and hilly Soil to feed Cattle whence comes abundance of Meat as also Milk Butter and Cheese Capons Pullets and all manner of Fowl are here in Store And Turky-Cocks and Hens are fed by Flocks Hares Conies Partridges and Thrushes do swarm There is Rice to be seen in Provence Pulse of all sorts Flowers Herbs and Simples Rosemary Juniper Myrtle-Trees Sage and all other Plants are to be found in it Box grows to a great thickness in Normandy Languedoc and other Places wherewith are made several small Moveables for Service which Strangers make use of Stones do grow in the Quarries And here are very fine Slates especially in Anjou and Marbles in Foix and in some Places of Languedoc All big Beasts for Game as Fallow Deers Chamois Stags Wild-Goats are to be found in her Forrests besides several good Races of Horses of Burgundy Normandy Britany Auvergne Poictou the Country of Limoges Gascony Foix and Languedoc yet they are not so strong as those of Germany whence they are brought to draw Carts and Coaches Spain has Mules from Auvergne and Gevaudan The Corn and Wines of France with the Salt-Houses and other Wares are the most assured Mines she has yet those of Gold and Silver are not wanting though they are not wrought at And it is not to be doubted but that in the Pyreneans and other Mountains of Auvergne Rouergue Gevaudan Languedoc and in the Cevennes may be found Veins of Gold and Silver as Germans who have visited and found them out have Related There are Mines of Iron in Auvergne and Britany of Coals Lead Pewter Azur Copperas c. in other Places Add to these the Mineral Waters as those of Pougues Mayne Bourbon Vals and the Baths of Hot Waters at Vichy Barlaruc Bagneux Encausse c. CHAP. III. Of the Inhabitants of France and of their Language THE French are Endowed with more Virtuos than Vices by the Confession even of Strangers who praise them for their Charity hospitality Courtesie
into Foreign Countries The French Monarchy strove many Ages before it came to that high Point of Grandeur to which it has attained of late The Weakness of Charlemaign's Successors and the Incursions of the Normans had reduced it to so narrow Limits that the French King was hardly Sovereign in Paris The Governors of the several Counties and Provinces taking hold of the occasion made their Charges Hereditary and soon after render'd themselves Lords of the Countries they Govern'd So that France at that time was rather an Aristocracy or a Confederacy of several Petty-Princes under the French King their Head as Germany now is under the Emperor then a Monarchy properly so call'd But the Victories which Charles VII got over the English in the Fifteenth Age during the Wars of the Houses of York and Lancaster gave him means to Unite to his Crown the large Provinces of Guyenne and Normandy together with Poictou le Maine and Tourain Lewis XI his Son and Successor after the Death of Charles the Râ—sh last Duke of Burgundy in 1477 usurp'd upon his Sole Heiress Mary Spouse of Maximilian of Austria the Dutchy of Burgundy and some part of Picardy Charles VIII and Lewis XII by their Marriage with Ann Daughter to Francis II. late Duke of Britany United that Dutchy to their Crown Anno 1514 Then it was that France began to look as a mighty Kingdom So that Francis I. King of France was a sit Match even for Charles V. Emperor and King of Spain Naples and Sicily Duke of Milan and Lord of all the Low Countries The extent of the French Kings Jurisdiction was yet increas'd by the Accession of Bearn or Lower Navarre of which Henry IV. was in Possession when he came to that Crown And by his Acquisition of the Province of Bresse with the Lands of Bugey Valromey and the Bailwick of Gex which he Exchanged with Charles Emanuel Duke of Savoy for some Pretensions on the Marquisate of Salusses in 1601. Lewis XIII his Son Divested the Duke of Lorrain of his Dutchy the Emperor and the King of Spain of a good part of Elzas and the Netherlands and this present King has not only Conquer'd the County of Burgundy and the rest of Elzas but push'd so far his Conquests in the Low Countries that what now remains in the Hands of the King of Spain is not able to withstand him any long time The Authority of the French Monarchs grew stronger and more absolute within their Kingdom as the Bounds of it were extended without at least in this latter Age. For in former times even that mighty Emperor Charlemaign would do nothing without the Advice of his Barons no not so much as establish and endow a Bishoprick and by their means it was that his Son Lewis the Pious was re-inthron'd The Power of the French Lords lasted not only under the Second Race but three or four Ages too under the Third And as these petty Princes were extinguished their Authority was transferr'd to the States of the several Provinces under whose hands it remained till the Civil Wars under the pretence of Religion gave a mighty check to it and the shrewd Policy of the Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarine made it altogether arbitrary Now the French Kings pretend that they are Emperors in France as Bodin and du Tillet have endeavoured to prove That their Authority is Absolute and Sovereign and that as to the Temporal they have no other Superior than God alone upon whom their Crown immediately depends it not being in the Power of the Prelates of their Kingdom either to excommunicate them or to publish them to be such By reason of their Consecration they are look'd upon to be of the Body of several Cathedral Churches in France where they hold the Prebends The nominating to Bishopricks Abbeys c. belongs to them even by the Pope's Consent and the Concordat made betwixt Francis I. and Leo X. They alone can make Laws in their Kingdom grant Favors and Pardons naturalize Strangers and legitimate Bastards They build Colleges Universities Courts and Companies of Justice create Offices and provide for the same The Males only by Salique Law which the French call the Fundamental of the State have Right to Succession and the Crown always is devolved to the next Heir that is to the eldest Son of the King and to the Issues of the eldest Infinitely This First-born during his Father's Life is commonly called the Dauphin by the Donative of Humbert last Dauphin of Viennois of his Lands of Dauphiné to Philip of Valois King of France upon condition that his eldest Son should be call'd Dauphin and bear quarterly the Arms of France with those of Viennois It was in the year 1343. Philip at the intreaty of John his Son who reigned after him gave the Land to his Grandson who reigned under the Name of Charles called the Wise and was the first Son of France who bore the Title of Dauphin The Arms of France are Three Flowers de Luce Or in a Field Azure King Charles VI. reduced them to Three his Predecessors having had them without number contrary to the Custom even of the first Kings The Consecration of the Kings is solemnly performed at Rheims where they are anointed with Oyl of the Holy Ampoule kept religiously in the Abbey-Church of St. Remigius whence it is carried under a Canopy by four Knights of the Holy Ampoule created by Clovis IV. The Royal Ornaments are kept at St. Denis from King St. Lewis's time The twelve Peers of France assist at the Consecration six whereof are Ecclesiastical to wit the Archbishop and Duke of Rheims who consecrates the King the Bishop and Duke of Laon the Bishop and Duke of Langres the Bishop and Earl of Bonâ—vais the Bishop and Earl of Chaalons the Bishop and Earl of Noyon The Six Lay Peers were formerly the Duke of Burgundy the Duke of Normandy the Duke of Guyonne the Earl of Tolouse the Earl of Flanders and the Earl of Champagne but these Peers subsisting no more they are represented by as many French Princes or Lords The King's Guards are composed of two strange Nations viz. Scots and Switzers and of his French Subjects The Scotch Guard is the first Company of the King's Guard du Corps However it ought to be observed that this Name is but a remainder of the ancient Alliance between the Scotch and the French for since the Reformation and the Union of England and Scotland there has hardly been a Scotch Man among these preâ—ended Scotch Guards However as this Company is the ancientest so it enjoys the greatest Privileges for their Captain precedes the three others and begins always to serâ—e the first Quarter of the Year and when the Guard du Corps are quartered they chuse the first Lodging This Company was at first composed of 100 Gentlemen or chosen Soldiers 24 of whom have yet a good Stipend are Privileged and have at their Head the first Man at Arms of France
but the New is greater and better fortified The French destroy'd its Fortifications in 1664 and afterwards repaired them There is a Chamber of Accounts and a Seneshalship This Province has also Bar le Duc Capital of the Dutchy of that Name It was built by Frederick Duke of the Mozellane Lorrain in 951 and fortified with a strong Castle to prevent the Incursions of the Champenois There were several other strong Places amongst the rest Marsal and Moyenvic whose Fortifications the French have destroyed as well as the Castle of Bar le Duc. Near Moyenvic are commodious Salt-Pits I must not forget the three Bishopricks taken from Charles V. in 1552. viz. Toul Mets and Verdun because they are included in this Province and are nearly ty'd to it especially in what concerns Spiritual Jurisdiction though as to the Civil they make a separate Government Toul Tullum Leucorum is a Town well built situated upon the Mosell twelve Miles from Nancy It 's pretty big and boasts of St. Bernard's Tomb over which is a Crown extraordinary well worked its Diocess is pretty large Verdun Verodunum a very pleasant City situated in a fruitful and good Soil on the River Meuse Twenty six Miles from Mets Its Bishops take the Title of Counts of Verdun and Princes of the Holy Empire It has a strong Citadel and Baylwick and is renowned for its Aniseed Mets is also a very pleasant Town both for its Houses its Cathedral of St. Stephen a true Master-piece of Architecture and the River Moselle and Seille that wash it It is a very ancient City since Cesar Plinius Tacite and Ptolomy mention it under the Name of Divodurum Mediomatricum and speak of it as the chief Town of that Country and of the People called Mediomatrices now Les habitans du pais Messin In process of time it became still more and more Famous and under the French Kings of the first Race was Capital of the Kingdom of Austrasia called also the Kingdom of Mets since Theodoric Son to Clovis the Great had chosen it for the Seat of his Empire In the Decay of Charlemaign's House Mets erected it self into a free Imperial Town under the Government of its own Magistrates who had Power of Life and Death and of Coining of Money And so jealous they were of their Liberty that Charles VII King of France besieging them â—n 1444 on the behalf of Renatus Duke of Lorrain they rather chose to see their Country wasted during seven Months and to redeem themselves with 300000 Livres than to loose their Liberty Thus they kept it till the Year 1552 that their City was taken by the Lord of Montmorency High Constable of France In the Month of October of the same Year Charles V. besieged it in vain and as it was the last Undertaking of this Emperour it gave occasion to this Verse alluding to the modern Name of this Town in Latin Metae Siste viam Metis haec tibi meta datur There is seen in St. Stephen's Church a Vessel of Red Porphyry ten Foot long and all of a piece which serves to keep their Holy Water in This great Town has no Subâ—urbs and is all surrounded with a strong Rampier and deep and wide Ditches that can be filled at pleasure only opening a Sluce to let in the Moselle Yet for its greater Strength a Cittadel with four Bastions have been built there of late The People are well bred Civil and Numerous and drive a great Trade into Germany The Circumference of the Town is pretty big its Bishop entitles himself Prince of the Empire and has four Arch-Deacons under him with 623 Parishes In 1633 Lewis XIII established there a Parliament which the Commissioners of the Emperour opposed saying That the French King was only Protector of the three Bishopricks and not absolute Sovereign thereof and consequently that he might not deprive the Inhabitants of their ancient Laws and the Right they had to bring their Appeals before the Imperial Chamber at Spire These Complaints lasted to the Peace of Munster in which the three Bishopricks and Moyenvic were yielded unconditionally and for ever to the Crown of France save only the Right of Metropolitan to the Archbishop of Triers This Parliament as it was the last so it was at first the least considerable next to that of Pau the three Bishopricks only resorting to it But since the Conquest of Lorrain Luxemburg and adjacent Countries its Jurisdiction is mightily inlarged It made a great Noise some time after the Peace of Nimeguen about the Year 1680 when the French King erected there a Chamber of Dependencies whose Judges summoned the Spanish Subjects to come and swear Allegiance to the French King under pretence that they were depending upon some of his new Conquests By this Shrewdness he got more Lands during the Peace than he had done in the War The Dukedom of Luxemburg is under the Governour of Lorrain but I supersede to make a particular Description of it because the Low-Countries deserve a Treatise by it self I shall only observe that there is a Soveraign Council in the Capital whereunto the whole Province resorts At a League 's distance from the Town is a Village called Jovy where are still to be seen some Remains of an Aqueduct built by the Romans with Arches of a fine white Stone cut in Form of Bricks and above Sixty Foot high Besides this there is another considerable Place near Nancy called St. Nicolas that should deserve rather to be called one of the greatest Towns of Lorrain for the Number of its Inhabitants and considerable Traffick than a simple Borough if it were walled in The other most considerable Places near the Capital are Fruart which is but a League off it Ormes Bayon Pont a Mousson famous for its University founded by Charles Cardinal of Lorrain on behalf of the Jesuits An. 1573 and very pleasant by reason of its fruitful Soil and of the Mosell which runs through the middle of the Town and is passed with 〈◊〉 Bridge whence and from a neighbouring Mountain called Mousson is derived thâ— Name of Pont à Mousson Then Vezelize Roziere Blancmont Gerbevillier Charmes Chastenoy Moranges Vaucouleur the Birth-place of Jane d' Arc called the Virgin or Maiden of Orleans Mexan-sous-Bresse Dompaire Deneure Hoden Chasteau-Rambervillier Raon Bellemont Neuf-chastel Magstat Marchainville Espinal Bruyeres Darney Ormont Valderfing Beauzains Vaigni Estraye Estival Luneville Fauquemont Sare-Louïs a new Fortress with a Presidial Vandervange the Seat of a Baylwick c. Its Counties are Vaudemont Chaligni Amence formerly the Chancery of Lorrain Mirecourt Remiremont and La Mothe At Remiremont upon the Mosell is a famous Monastery of Canonnesses where Noble Mens Daughters are only received The Abbess is not suffered to leave the Habit but all the Nuns can go out and marry if they please La Mothe was a small Town on the Frontiers of Champaign but being built on a steep Rock washed by a Brook it was accounted impregnable before
Crown restored to him in â—his Town by an Assembly of the Clergy â—ogether with the Advice and Consent of â—he French Nation It seems that part of these Priviledges were either lost or contested in process of â—ime for Charles the Bald Emperour and King of France who confirmed to these Monks the Grants of Dagobert and added to them the Lordship of Ruel near Nanterâ— with its Dependencies and a Country 〈◊〉 nine Leagues extent about the Seine Thâ— Prince I say being buried in S. Denis Church had these Verses engraven upon hâ— Tomb. Multis ablatis fuit nobis his reparator Sequanii fluvii Ruoliique dator It 's observed that this Church was neveâ— burnt nor plundered during the Civil Wars nor when the Normans and then the Engliâ— were Masters of all the Country thereâ—bouts but apparently it was fallen to decay in the XII Century since Suger Abbâ— of St. Denis and first Minister of State 〈◊〉 Lewis VIII was fain to rebuild it bâ— how rich soever he was he could not givâ— it its former Magnificence The Abbot of St. Denis is born Couâ—sellor in the Parliament of Paris he is freâ— from the Subjection to any Bishop nay hâ— may bless Church-Ornaments admit People into inferior Orders and even communicate this Power to any of his Monks They are likewise inabled to build Abbies iâ— any place of the Kingdom under his Authority and to chuse their own Bishop The Town of St. Denis has been mucâ— bigger than it is now which appears by the old Ditch that is at 200 Steps distance from the present Walls for it began to diâ—inish and its Fairs to be less frequented â—hen the Parliament was made sedentary at â—aris and the Inhabitants of St. Denis subâ—itted to the Jurisdiction of the Chastelet in â—hat City However there are still eleven â—arishes besides the Abby of St. Remy the Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Priory â—f St. Denis de Lestrée and the Ruines of an â—ncient Hermitage called St. Quentin In the Plains that are near this Town â—as given a famous Battel between the â—rotestants under the Prince of Condé and â—e Admiral of Chastillon in 1567 and the â—oman Catholicks under the High Constaâ—e of Montmorency The first were routed â—ut the General of the last was killed which â—ade the Chance pretty equal so that a â—eace ensued two or three years after The Abbatial Church of St. Denis is â—oo Foot in length 200 wide and 80 in â—eight This great Building is supported by â—o Pillars and has Copper Doors that were â—ormerly gilt with Gold The Quire is diâ—ded into three parts whereof the first â—8 foot long and 35 wide is made use of â—y the Monks the second is 45 foot wide â—nd 35 long and the third but a little less â—s for the Kings Tombs which are the â—niefest Beauty of the Place they are in â—ree Ranks in the first whereof is Charles â—e Bald's Tomb the Bodies of Lewis and Dagobert to the Right Hugh Capet's and Oâ—do's to the Left and St. Denis's Reliqueâ— richly enchased in the middle The seconâ— as well as the third are the Depositaries 〈◊〉 several other Monarchs Charles the Fifth Chappel wherein he lies buried with all 〈◊〉 Posterity Francis the First 's sumptuoâ— Monument where he and his Children lyâ— with his Wars and Victories represented oâ— fine Marble deserve to be particularly coâ—sidered as well as Lewis XII and Ann 〈◊〉 Bretaign his Wife's Tombs of Alabasteâ— The Bodies of Henry II. and Catharine 〈◊〉 Medicis with their Children Francis 〈◊〉 Charles IX and Henry III. are in the neâ— round Chappel those of Lewis XIII aâ— Henry IV. are in a little Cellar on tâ— Church-yard side which besides the King has also several other fine Tombs of famoâ— Persons and Officers of Note as that 〈◊〉 Bertrand du Guesilin Lord High Constabâ— of France and of the Marshal of Turenâ— In the so much celebrated Treasure of St. Dâ—nis are many things which the Protestanâ— would not overvalue as a pretended Naâ— of our Saviour's Cross St. Denis's Heaâ— enchassed in Silver and adorned with fâ— Pearls the Finger St. Thomas put into 〈◊〉 Saviour's Side St. Simeon's Arm St. Benâ— Head one of Solomon's Cups a Pot thâ— served at the Wedding of Cana in Galilâ— Judas's Lanthorn the Maiden of Orleanâ— Sword Charlemaign's Oratory But this Abbot has in his Custody the Ornaments of the French Kings as the Crown the Scepâ—er the Hand of Justice the Royal Mantle the Dalmatick the Golden Spurs enriched with precious Stones which he is bound to send to the Place where the Kings are consecrated Besides other Crowns of several Kings a golden Crucifix a great many gold and silver Crosses Images and Books covered with Jewels and Diamonds a golden Cup enriched with Hyacinths Emeralds and a Saphir upon which is engraven the Figure of Solomon Some of these Jewels are esteemed 50000 Crowns a piece There are likewise ancient Medals of the Roman Emperors whose Price can hardly be known so rare and curious they are This Abby has besides a Fountain very considerable for the ancient Figures of Idols that are round it Two Leagues higher to the North is the Town of Montmorency the ancientest Barony in the Kingdom that was considerable enough before the English took and burnt it in 1359 as appears by its Ruines It had then 600 Mannors depending upon it and gives yet its Name to a Deanship and Chastelny and a pleasant and fertile Valley in which it 's situated Henry II. erected it into a Dutchy and Peerdom in 1551 on behalf of Ann of Montmorency High Constable of France But this ancient Family who hâ— lasted 600 years and produced so maâ— High Constables Marshals Admirals anâ— other great Officers of the Crown was eâ—tinguished in the middle of this Centurâ— there remaining but a Daughter marrieâ— to Henry of Bourbon Prince of Condé 〈◊〉 1650 on whose behalf the Lordship 〈◊〉 Montmorency was again erected into 〈◊〉 Dutchy and Peerdom in 1633. Dammartin which Robie puts in the Pâ—risis lies in the Diocess of Meaux accordiâ— to Sampson It 's a good Borough with the Tâ—tle of a County six or seven Leagues Nortâ— East of Paris and seven Miles from Gâ—nesse Three Leagues on the North-West of Pâ—ris is Argentueuil upon the Seine whiâ— forms there a small Island Our Saviourâ— Coat without Seam was found in thâ— Town in 1156 if we believe Legeâ—daries French Brie LAgny upon the Marne six Leagues Eastwards of Paris has been a considerablâ— Town and born the Title of a County bâ— has been twice ruined by the Normans iâ— the Ninth Century and by the Duke oâ— Parma who took it upon Henry IV. for the Leaguers in 1590. John Duke of Buâ—gundy stay'd two Months at Lagny in 1416 â—ooking for an Occasion to go to Paris and wait upon Charles VI. but returning without an Answer his Flemings called him by 〈◊〉 Joke John of Lagny who makes no Speed which turned afterwards into a Proverb Lagny in Latin
〈◊〉 Kings of England France and Portugal but fiâ—â—ly remained to the Counts of Auvergne Tâ—â— last of them called Bertrand the second exchâ—â—ged it with Lewis XI for the County of Laâ—â—gais in 1477 and that this Agreement migâ—â— never be broken the shrewd King preseâ—â— our Lady of Boulogne with it In 1544. Hâ—â— VIII King of England took Boulogne fortified 〈◊〉 lower Town of it and built several Forts iâ— the Countrey but seeing that the keeping 〈◊〉 this Town would cost him much more than 〈◊〉 was worth he agreed with the French King Henry II. to restore it to him for the Summeâ— 80000 Crowns to be paid in eight Years Thâ— Treaty was concluded in 1549 but I do not heâ—â— that is was ever performed as to the paying oâ—â—â— the money Boulogne Capital of this County is a Seâ—port formerly Renown'd for being the ordinary passage from Gaul into Great Brittain bâ—â— at present not very commodious some say thâ— it was spoil'd by a Bank that the Emperor Maximinian caus'd to be rais'd before it It is divided into upper â—nd lower Town and seated upon the River Liane sixteen leagues north of Abbeville It has a Bishoprick suffragan to Rheims since the year 1566 nine years after that Teroanne was razed But De Valois pretends that the Bishoprick was rather restor'd to that City or fired in it than instituted anew because those Prelates were styl'd Bishops of Boulogne and Teroanne that the first as well as the last are call'd Givitâ—â— Morinorum and that the name of City is never given by Ancient Authors but to an Episcopal See There was formerly near the Haven an Octogone Tower called in French la Tour d'Ordre and by the English the Old man it s said to have been built by Caesar It was eighty foot in Circuit and Charlemaign looking upon it as a fit place for a Beacon caused it to be repaired but his Successors given either to Wars or to Pleasures suffer'd it to decay so far that it fell some 20 years ago The most considerable Buildings of Boulogne are the Cittadel the Cathedral Church of our Lady to whom the French Kings at their coming to the Crown are bound to offer a Heart of pure Gold weighing 2000 golden Crowns There are besides the Parochial Churches of St. Nicholas and St. Joseph the Abby of St. Willmore and the Palace where the Baily keeps his Seat Some take Boulogne for the Portus Iccius of Caesar but Adrian de proves that it is the Gesoriacum of Pliny which name about Constantine the Great 's time chang'd into that of Bononia The other Towns and considerable Buroughs are Bournonville Monthulin upon or near the Liane four or five leagues East of Boulogne Ambleteuse a Sea-port two leagues north of the same it s the same that Beda calls Amfleat or Amfleot which denotes a place where the Sea ebbs and flows Estaples Stapulae upon the mouth of the Canche almost six leagues south of Boulogne De Valois believes it to be the Portus Iccius of Caesar because Ptolomy distinguishes Portus Iccius from Gesoriacum and puts them in the Countrey of the Morini 'T is a small Town well fortified famous for being the Native Countrey of James le Fevre who for his Learning did deserve the Praises of the Roman Catholicks tho he was one of the chief Promoters of the Reformation The Recover'd Countrey THat which the French call Pais Reconquis is a small Tract of Land that has not above five leagues in length North and South and as much East and West where it is broadest coming from Boulogne you enter into the Principality of Ardres Arda or Ardea the chief Town of which is seated upon a Hill and divided into upper and lower both well fortified Before the year 1067 it was but a Village erected into a Town out of the Ruines of the Castle of Selnesse by one Arnoul Lord of that place or as others pretend by one Arnold Lord of Ardres with the Consent of Baldwin Count of Guines by reason of the great number of Shepherds who resorted to that place for its excellent Pasture-ground In 1520 Francis I. and Henry VIII had an Interview near this Town their Court was so brisk and their Attendants so richly adorn'd that the place is yet called The Field of the Golden Cloth Cardinal Albert of Austria took this Town in 1596 but restored it to the French King Henry IV. three years after by the Treaty of Vervins Guisnes is a small Town 3 miles North-west of Ardres and above 3 leagues from the Sea It has the title of a County and formerly the Towns and Burroughs of Ardres Fiennes Witsant Andriae Bredenarde Sangate and Colemude depended on it Sifri a Dane took it from the Monks of Sithiu or S. Omer and made homage of it to Arnoul Count of Flandres who countenanced him Before the French took it from the English it was environ'd with strong Forts as Blanes and St. Inglevert It came in the hands of the English under King John of France the same way that a late Conquerer has usurped so many Towns The Governour of Guisnes being gone to a Festival of the Knights of the Star Edward K. of England bought the Town from his Lieutenant There was then a Truce between the two Monarchs and therefore the wronged King John would have resented this match as a breach of it But Edward answered That this Assertion was contrary to the doctrine of late Philip of Valois the French Kings Father for when an English Traytor that would have sold to him the Town of Calice was discovered this Prince coldly answered that such Negotiations did not break a Truce The County of Oyâ— is separated from that of Guisnes by a small River which Duchesne calls a Channel drawn from the Sea 'T is a Countrey of about 4 leagues in length and 3 in breadth Modern Geographers speak of some wavering Marshes and swimming Islands between this Countrey and that of Guisnes Calice is now one of the strongest Towns and the very Key of France towards England for its Fortifications consist in nine great Bastions besides those of the Cittadel and several Out-Works lin'd with stone It has a double Ditch very large and deep that can be filled with the River Hames that runs along its Walls There is also a Marsh and several Brooks that render the approach of this Town very difficult neither can one go to it but upon the Causey or madeway called the Bridge of Nieullay As to the Haven its Entry is defended by a Fort call'd the Risban and it is divided into two the smaller is called Cadegray the bigger is shut up by two Moles faced with stone Five years ago the present French King begun to build a Mole upon great piles droven into the sand beneath the low-Water-mark which will be 30 yards wide and make an Harbour fit to receive third or fourth Rates Men of War whereas a good Merchant-man cannot get into the present Havens This
Work if once finish'd will be of dangerous consequence to the Trade of England the rather for that the Port of Dover is not capable of receiving Men of War at least but at high Spring-Tides However it is not yet so far advanc'd but a stop may be put to it by our Men of War Calice is not very big but well built and well Peopled there is a Town-House the Palace of the Baily the Tower of the Watch and several Churches Calice was but a Burrough before the Year 1228 that it was Wall'd in by Philip Count of Boulogne In 1347 King Edward III. besieged Calice which John of Vienne its Governour defended 10 or 11 months but being almost starved and having no hope of Relief he proffered at last to Capitulate which the King of England refused unless six of the chief Citizens brought him the Keys bear-headed and barefoot with Ropes about their necks and upon that condition that he should have an Absolute power over their Lives Tho these Conditions seem'd somewhat hard and that those upon whom the Lot of his Embassy should fall might scarce hope to escape with their Lives however there were Men so Zealous for the publick Good as willing to undertake it but the Generous Monarch of England sent them back without doing them any wrong The Town was Peopled with English and remained in their power 200 and ten years The French had not been Masters of it 38 years when the Cardinal of Austria took it from them in 1596 but he restored it by the formentioned Peace of Vervins CHAP. VI. Of Normandy especially the Higher THo' this Goverment comprehends only the Ancient Dutchy and Peerdom of Normandy and the French Vexin has been cut off from it however 't is still one of the biggest of France being extended East and West from Aumale to the Coasts of Coutantine above 62 leagues and 40 three South and North-east from Alencon on the Frontier of Maine to the Town of Eu near the Coasts of Picardy As the Kingdom of France was very large under the first Race of their Kings since Clovis the great and that youngest Sons had a share in the Succession to the Soveraignty so this Realm was divided into two great parts whereof the most Easterly which reached from Picardy and Champaign to Upper Germany or from the Meuse to the Rhine and beyond that River was called Ausstrie or Austrasie The other more Westerly extended it self from Normandy the Isle of France and Beausse to the Coasts of that Kingdom and was called Neustrasia Neustria sometimes Neptricum and in French Neustrie It was at first included between the Meuse and the Loire then between the Seine and the Loire and at last this name was appropriated to the second Lyonnoise considered as a part of the Kingdom of Soissons until the Year 912 that Raoul or Rollon a Swedish or Norwegian Prince having wholly subdued this Province embraced the Christian Faith and setled himself there with the consent of Charles the simple King of France and then Neustrie took the name of Normandy from its Northern Conquerours The Normans began to shew themselves under Charlemaign by Privateering in Low-Saxony Freeze and the Northern Coasts of France Their strength encreas'd through the Weakness of Lewis the meek for then they began to extort Contributions from the Freezons But the Civil Wars of Lewis's Sons made them so bold as to undertake Conquests which they at last performed under Charles the simple This Ancient Dukedom has the Isle of France on the East the Brittish Sea on the North and West Bretaign and the Government of Orleanois on the South It is divided into upper and lower The first contains the Roman Vexin the Countries of Roumois Caux and Bray and the Bishoprick of Evreux The second includes the Diocesses of Lizieux Bayeux Coutance Avranches and Seez The Soil is every where fruitful enough in Corn Meadows Hemp Apples Pears and all sorts of Fruits There are a great many Forrests and several Iron-mines but there grows little or no Wine except it be on the Southern parts towards the Isle of France and Orleanois This Province has many Noblemen but the Countrey people is extraordinary Oppressed because the Tailles or Impositions are not real or upon Lands but personal so that a Peasant that has nothing to live upon but his Spade must pay to the King ten or twelve Crowns yearly for his head and proportionably if he have a Family tho' he be not the Richer for that True it is that Provisions are cheap enough especially Fish along the Sea-coast and every where Cyder which is the ordinary drink of the Countrey people their chief Trade consists in Wood Coals Linnen and Cattle and some Herbs fit for Dyers which the Inhabitants call Garence Guesde and Pastel The chief Rivers of Normandy besides the Seyne that has been mentioned elsewhere are the Bresle that comes from the borders of Picardy washes Aumale Blangis and falls into the Ocean at Eu the Sart that runs into the Sea at Criel the Arques that receives the Eaune and discharges it self into the Sea at Dieppe the Sâ—ye and the Seane running to the Ocean not far from the said Town then you find the Aubette the Robec the Andelle and the Epte which run all into the Seyne on the north-side of it Oâ— the South-side you meet with the Eure which comes from some Lakes in Beauce on the Frontier of the Bishoprick of Seez receives the Vaupillon the Loupe washes Chartres receives the Gas and the Blaise near Dreux then encreased with the Vegre and the Iton that goes thro Evreux falls into the Seyne at Pont-de-Larche The Rille comes from a Forrest in the Diocess of Seez hides it self into the Earth near la Ferriere then coming out washes Beaumont le Roger receives the Carenton and runs into the Sea two leagues North of Ponteau de Mer. The Touques receives the Lezon the Orbec washes Lisieux Pont l'Evesque receives the Calonne and falls into the Sea near a Town of the same name call'd Touques The Dive receives the Ante the Lesson the Meance the Vye and discharges it self into the Sea near St. Sauveur The Orne comes likewise from the Bishoprick of Seez and being encreased with the Nereau and Drance washes Pont d'Olly Tury receives the Oudon near Caen and falls into the Sea at Estrehan Along the same Sea-coast you find the Seille which runs into the Ocean between Gray and Barnieres Then the Aure and the Drome or Dronine which lose themselves into a great Ditch called Fossé du Soucy The little River of Triviers the Vire and the Carenten run all three into a Bay of the Ocean called Groin de la Dune the Vire is the longest of all washes St. Lo and receives the Elle the Carenten is encreased with the Rivers of Baupteys and Ouve Betwixt la Hogue and Barfleur runs the River Sart and farther on the North that of Cherbourg On the
Inhabitants who speak the Brittish more naturally than their Neighbours call Leondoul Cozque Oudet or the Ancient Town and tell us that its Jurisdiction was at first very large but that this their Capital having been ruined its Dependencies were divided into the three Diocesses of St. Pol de Leon Treguier and St. Brieux It is likewise one of the Ancientest Viscounty's of Brittany which has been possessed by the House of Rohan issued from the first Christian Counts of this Province during 700 years till they sold it to John I. Duke of Brittany in 1254. This Town is pleasant enough and some of the Dukes of Brittany have made it their Abode There are some inland Towns as Lanhouerneau Lesneven Carvilis Lenvilis Landerneau of which I find nothing in my Authors neither of some small Islands on the West of this Diocess save that Landerneau is seated upon the River Eloene Herium six leagues North-east of Brest in the fertilest Soil of Brittany and that the Isle of Ouessant or as we pronounce it Ushant is call'd by the Latin Authors Axantis Uxantis Osa or Ossa that it is about 4 leagues in compass defended by the Castle of Lampool and by several Banks and Rocks And therefore I shall finish with the Description of Brest call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Brivates Portus by Ptolomy This famous Sea-port Town lies 16 leagues South-west of St. Pol de Leon 11 miles East of Conquests-Bay and 12 leagues North of Quimper-Corentin It 's seated on the South-side of a Bay of 5 leagues in length and 3 miles broad whose depth is in most places from 10 to 15 Fathoms and no where under 7. The entrance of the Bay is two leagues in length and half a league broad where it is largest and but half a mile where it is narrowest The Town is situated on the steep of a Hill on the side of the Port whose Entry is defended by a strong Castle digged in a Rock This Port is seated in a Gulf whereinto flows the Sea by four different places and is esteem'd the best in Europe because the greatest Men of War may continually float therein The Town is strongly fortified inhabited by many Privateers and is the Store-house of the French Admiralty for the Ocean On the South-side of this Bay is the Sea-port of Landevenec which seems to be the Vindana Portus of Ptolomy it has an Abby of Benedictine Monks CHAP. X. Of the Government Orleannois THis Government is the biggest as well as the Fertilest part of France for it reaches 110 leagues East and West from Chauteau-Chinoâ— in Nivernois to the Sea or the Isle of Nermouslier in Poictou and 70 North and South from the River Aure in Normandy to Monbrun in Angoumois It has part of the Isle of France and Normandy on the North Brittany and the Ocean on the West Saintonge Perigort Limousin and Auvergne on the South la Marche Bourbonnois Burgundy and Champaign on the East In this Government are included 14 or 15 smaller Countries situated North and South and along the River Loire which divides the whole into two parts very near equal Maine Perche High-Beauce or Land Chartrain Vendemois and part of Gatinois lye on the North of that River going from West to East Nivernois Orleanois or lower Beauce Blaisois Touraine and Anjou lye round about the Loire East and West Poictou the Land of Aunis Augoumois and Berri are the most Southern parts All these Countries are fruitful in Corn Wine Fruits Cattle and Game There are a great many Woods especially in upper and lower Beauce the most considerable of which is the Forrest of Orleans said to contain 70000 Akers of Land and to have been of greater extent in Francis I. time since it then took up 140000. The Forrest of Senonches in the Countrey of Chartres is 7 miles long and 5 broad That of S. Cyr les Antrain in the Election of Clamecy is well near 10 miles in length but of no considerable breadth There is no Province in France which has so many paved ways As to its Rivers besides the Loire which is rather a River of France since it waters 3 of its Governments than of Orleanois there are the Loing Lupa which comes from the Mountains of Auxerre near Linsec and the borders of Burgundy goes by S. Sauveur S. Fergeau Blesneau Chastillon and at Conflans receives the Ouane which rises at a Village of that Name and waters Thoussy and Château-renard The Loing pursuing its course goes thrô Montargis and by Cepoy Here is digg'd a Canal for the Communication of the Seyne and Loire which intercepting part of the Water of the Loing and that of several Rivulets is divided into two branches both Navigable by small Boats the Eastern goes through Montargis and Chatillon ends at Briare upon the Loire and is call'd the Canal of Briare the other passes by Chevillon runs through the Forest of Orleans discharges it self into the Loire near St. Denis en Vallée 3 miles East of Orleans and is call'd the Canal of Orleans Down Montargis and Cepoy the Loing becomes still more and more Navigable being encreas'd at Fontenay with the Clairy that comes from St. Martin-Dordon and washes Courtenay and Ferrieres It receives another Rivulet near Chateau-Landon goes by Nemours and Moret and a mile Northwards discharges it self into the Seine The Escolle and Essonne which fall into this last River are neither of them Navigable The Eure issues from a Lake near the Forrest of Senouches washes Bellomer Pont-gouin Courville Chartres Nogent-le-Roy Dreux and mixes with the Aure at Nonancourt The Huisne rises at some Mountains in the Countrey of Perche washes Mauves Condé Nâ—gent-le-Rotrou la Fertè-Bernard Connarey and mixes with the Sarte at le Mans. This comes from the borders of Normandy waters Alensson Fresnay Beaumont-le-Vicomte and having received the Orne near la Guierche and the Huisne at le Mans goes by la Suze Malicorn Sablé Pince Châteauneuf and mixes with the Loir and the Mayenne at Anger 's The Loir Ledus Lidericus takes its source from the Lake of Villebon in the Province of Perche waters Illiers and Alluie receives the Ousanne near Bonneval the Conie which is a Marshy River near Marboe and the Yerre near St. Hilaire below Chateaudun after it has hidden it self under the ground Then pursuing its course goes by Cloye Moree Freteval Vendome Montoire Chateau du Loir Durestail and Anger 's The Mayenne Meduana rises on the borders of Normandy waters Domfront Mayenne Laval Chatean-gontier le Lion-d ' Anger 's Anger 's and here uniting with the other two Rivers fall together into the Loire near Pont-de-cé The Charente Carantonus rises at a Village call'd Cheronoc on the borders of Limosin and Angoumois goes by Chantrezat Vieille-Chaize Bendis Sivray and Rufec it is then encreas'd with the Rivers Argent and Or the Sonne and the Tardouére This takes likewise its source in the borders of Limosin washes la Vauguion les Salles Pont Chabrot Mont-beron la Rochefoucaud and
Coâ—quests in Italy In the Year 160 from tâ—â— building of Rome Elitovius chief of the Peopâ—â— of Maine and their Prince Belovesus made 〈◊〉 Eruption into the North-eastern part of Itaâ—â— whence they drove the Natives and thâ— built the Cities of Bresse Verona Trent Câ—â—â— Bergemo Mantoua and many others Thus is that the Poet John Baptist Ignatius exprâ—â—seth himself in their Favour Cenomanique acres non ignobile semen c. This Province was subject to the Gauls tâ—â— Romans the Francks and the English In tâ—â— middle of the eighth Century Pepin Head 〈◊〉 the second Stock of the French Kings gave thâ— County with 12 others to his Brother Grisâ— or Grippon But the Names of the succeediâ—â— Counts are not known till Hugh I. in 1020. 〈◊〉 fell by Inheritance to our K. Henry II. but 〈◊〉 confiscated by the French Monarchs upon oâ— K. John under pretence of the Murther of Aâ—thur of Brittany Since that time it has beeâ— several times detatched from and reunited â—gain to the Crown of France In 1674. Leâ—â—â— XIV made bold to give it as an Appanage oâ— Portion to one of his Bastards call'd Linâ—â— whom he had got on the Wife of the Marâ—â—â—â— of Montespan bestowing upon him the Tiâ—e 〈◊〉 Duke du Maine and the Charge of Colonel Geâ—eral of the Switzers The City of Mans or le Mans in Latin Ciâ—tas Cenomanorum Suindinum or Subdinnum is â—â—tituted upon the Confluence of the Sarte and â—e Huisne having the Title of a Bishoprick â—â—ffragan of Tours It is said that this City was â—uilt by Sarrhon Grandson of Samothes K. of the â—auls and being afterwards ruined by the Druides â—nd the Sarrhonides whilst they contested for it 〈◊〉 was rebuilt by Lemant King of the Gauls who â—ive to it his Name However it be for this â—ccount is look'd upon as fabulous le Mans is 〈◊〉 very Ancient City And in Charlemaign's time â—as one of the most flourishing in the Celtick Saul but the incursions of the Normans and â—he War with the English have much abated of â—s former Grandure It is now built upon a â—ountain which is raised up high beyond the â—irte between the North and the West and as a Bailiwick and a Presidial Seat with a Caâ—â—edral Church under the Name of St. Julian â—ho is esteem'd the first Bishop of it The â—rench Kings by a Prerogative of their Crown â—e Canons born in this Church It 's observed â—â—at the English during the Siege they laid to â—is City in 1425 were the first who made use â—f great Artillery in France Mayenne-la Juhel Meduana has its Name â—â—om the River Mayenne upon which it is seatâ—d and from the Lord Juhel who liv'd under â—he Reign of Philip August It lyes not far from 〈◊〉 Frontiers of Normandy being distant from le â—â—â—s about 18 leagues towards the North-west 〈◊〉 a Town very agreeable with the Title of a Dutchy under which Charles of Guise becaâ—â—â— so famous during the Wars of the Leagâ—â— whereof he was Head In 1661. Cardinal Mâ—zarin bought this Dutchy from the Heirs oâ— that House to give it in Portion to his Nâ—â—â— Hortensia Mancini Marry'd with Armand Charâ—â— de la Porte Duke of Mazarin it had before the Title of a Marquizate Laval or Laval-Guion Vallis-Guidonis is upon the River Mayenne in lower Maine about 〈◊〉 or 7 leagues from Mayenne towards the South It has the Title of a County and belongeth tâ— the House of la Trimouille it is famous foâ— the fine Cloth which is made there as alsâ— for a Council which was held there Aâ—â— 1242. La Ferté Bernard Firmitas Bernardi a Barâ—ny is situated upon the River Huisne beiâ—â— distant from le Mans about 9 or 10 leagues towards the East and the Frontiers of Percâ—â— there is a seat of Justice which resorts immediately to the Parliament of Paris It gaâ—â— Birth to Robert Garnier who at the end of thâ— last Age before Tristan Mairet and P. Corneilâ— arose was accounted the Prince of the Tragiâ—â— Poets amongst the French The Territory â—bout this Town is call'd by the Latin Authoâ— of the French Affairs Ager Firmitatensis Sablé a Marquizate is situated near the Sâ—â—â— between the little Rivers of Vergete and Erâ—â— about 10 or 11 leagues from Mans towards 〈◊〉 South-west Beaumont le Vicomte is a fine Towâ— with the Title of a Dutchy it lyes upon 〈◊〉 Sarte 6 leagues North of Mans and 5 South 〈◊〉 Alencon Raoul who was Lord of it Assâ—â—â— Anno 1093. at the Translation of the Reliques of St. Julian the first Bishop of Mans. Chateau du Loir a Barony is situated upon the River Loir in the Frontiers of Vendomois distant from le Mans about 8 or 9 leagues to â—â—wards the South-east There are other places of some Note as Lavardin Villaine-la-Juhel Gesvres Vibray Vassé Ballon and Galerande that are Marquizats Brulon Suze and Belin are Counties Bresseau is a Viscounty and S. Suzanne is a Barony Of the Country of Perche or Le Perche LE Perche hath Normandy on the North 〈◊〉 Maine to the West Vendomois and Blaisâ—â— on the South and towards the East it hath Beauce This Country seems not to have beeâ— known to the Ancients the reason of which I imagine to be that the middle-part of it was all cover'd with Woods and the borders belonged to the Neighbouring Nations And therefore it was that an Anchoret whom Posterity has since venerated under the Name of St. Avy S. Avitus retsred into these Forrests as into a wide and impenetrable Solitude The Country was yet for the most part Woody at the beginning of the third Race of the French Kings about 700 years ago and call'd for that reason Perticus Saltus the Forrest of Pearches perhaps because it consisted in great part of Fir-trees or other long and even Wood. And you may observe by the reading of the Latin Authors of the French History how they were fell'd down and the Country peopled by degrees which however is still Woody enough It s therefore labour lost to look for its Ancient Inhabitants since there were none for the Ilnelli and the Aulerci Diablintes were an Armoâ—ick Nation who seem'd to have dwell'd the â—irst in the Western Coasts of Normandy and the â—ast on the Southern of Brittany Le Perche is divided into higher and lower â—he higher part is the County and the lower â—s call'd Perche-Gouet or rather it 's divided inâ—o Grand Perche Perche-Gouet from the Name of its Ancient Lords Terre Françoise or French Country and Terres Démembrées or Dismember'd Lands 1. Grand-Perche contains Nogent-le Rotrou Mortaigne Bellesme Perriere the Barronies of Loupe Illiers Courville and Pontgoin Nogent le Rotrou Novigentum Rotroci or Rotroldi so call'd from Rotrou its Founder Count of Perche is seated upon the Huisne where it receives the Ronne and is the Capital of Upper Perche tho' it be commonly accounted a Burrough but one of the finest and richest in France by reason of its Manufactures of Serges
Secular Clergy freed these from all Episcopal Jurisdiction and Innocent III. granted them this vain Priviledge that their Abbot might take upon him the Title of Cardinal of St. Priscus In 1563. the Protestants being Masters of this Town broke down the Images and it having since followed the League the French King Henry IV. took it by Storm in 1569. and caus'd Maillé Benehard the Governour and a Franciscan Fryer to be Executed forgiving the rest of the People In this Town there is a very ancient Castle a Colledge of the Fathers of the Oratory and some Religious Houses It is distant from Paris about thirty two Leagues to the South-West Peter Ronsard a Poet famous in the last Age was Originary of Vendomois in which I find no other considerable Places but Mâ—ntoire and Ville aux Cleres Of Anjou ANjou Ducatus Andegavensis hath Maine on the North Brittany on the West Poictou on the South and Touraine on the East This Province is about 30 Leagues in length 20 in breadth It aboundeth with great Quarries of Slate wherewith most of their Houses are covered and even oft employed by Masons instead of Stones There are reckoned about 36 or 40 Rivers whereof the principal are the Loire the Sarte the Loir the Mayenne the Dive the Vienne the Couesnon the Oudon the Authion the Tonay the Layion the Eure the Guinate and such a number of Lakes Ponds Brooks and Fountains that several believe the Name of Anjou to be derived from that of Aiguade Du Chesne rejects this Conjecture as impertinent but when I consider that most of the Names of Countries have a reference to their situation that the Gascons who in their vulgar Language have preserv'd many ancient Gaulish Words call a River Gave that the Romans named the Inhabitants of Anjou Andicavi or Andegavi and that the Celtick Speech had a great affinity with the Teutonish I am apt to look on the Name Andegavi as a word compounded of three An-degaven In the Brooks to denote Men inhabiting a Country wash'd with many Rivers However it be this abundance of Water makes the Riches of Anjou both by a vast quantity of sweet Fish and the great number of Gardens and Meadows they make therewith fruitful This Province is partly Champian and has many Woods and Forrests where abound Stags Hinds Bucks Does Hares and all sorts of great and small Game and partly mountainous and cover'd with Vineyards that produce as delicate Wine as any in France most of which together with their Brandies and those of Orleanois are transported along the Loire to Nantes and thence into Forreign Country for Brittany has none or but very little of its own This Country is divided into higher and lower following the Course of the River Loire Anger 's is in the lower and Saumur in the higher The other most considerable Towns are la Fleche Montreuil-Belley Chateau-Gontier Beaufort en valée the Dutchies of Brissac Beaupreau Brezé Vaujour le Lude the Marquisates of Jarzay Bellay Touarcé the Counties of Monsoreau Maulevrier the Barrony of Craon c. the Abbies of Fontevraut and Borguéil the Castle and Convent of Verger c. The ancient Inhabitants of Anjou call'd in French Angevins and in Latin Andes Andi Andecavi or Andegavi had their own Commanders afterwards the Romans and since them the Kings of France and those of England enjoy'd it In 861. the French King and Emperor Charles the Bald bestow'd the Countries included betwixt the Seinâ— and Loire upon Robert the Strong Duke and Marquess of France on Condition that he should defend them against the Incursions of the Normans But the Posterity of Robert having obtain'd the very French Crown for his two Sons were Crown'd Kings viz. Eudes in 898. and Robert in 922. and his great Grand-son Hugh Capet began the third Race of the French Kings the Issue of Tertulle or Terculf to whom the same Charles had given some part of Anjou were accounted sole Counts of it during part of the Ninth the Tenth and the Eleventh Century They grew so potent and famous that Fulk V. became King of Jerusalem in 1131. and Henry Plantagenet Son to Godfrey III. Count of Anjou and le Mayne succeeded in the right of his Mother Mathilda to the Crown of England under the Name of Henry II. His Son Richard I. surnam'd Lions Heart enjoy'd likewise these Counties but they were Confiscated upon his Brother K. John by Philip August whose Successors gave them since several times in Portion to their Sons The French K. John erected Anjou into a Dutchy in 1360. in behalf of his second Son Lewis who became afterwards King of Naples and Sicily Count of Provence and Titular King of Jerusalem Charles the last of that Family instituted K. Lewis XI his Universal Heir and ever since this Province has been an Apannage or part of the Portion of the second Son of the French Kings as it is now enjoy'd by Philip Duke of Orleance Lewis XIV's Brother The City of Anger 's or Juliomagus Andegavorum Andegavae or Andegavi is situated on the River Mayenne after it hath receiv'd the Sarte and the Loire It 's the Capital of this Province having divers Seats of Justice Presidial Seneschalship Bailiwick Election a Mint where Money is coyn'd at the Letterâ— an University and a Bishoprick suffragan to Tours It is seated in a Plain very fertil producing delicate Fruits and very good Wine the River Mayenne divides it into 2 parts whereof the greatest which is call'd the City lyes on the steep of a little Hill where the Church of St. Maurice and the Castle of Anger 's are to be seen This Church which is the Cathedral is distinguished from all others by 3 high Steeples raised up on the body of the Church the middle of which being built on an Arch and underpropt only by the two others is accounted a Marvel On solemn Days are shewn the Relicks as the Sword of St. Maurice one of the pretended Pitchers wherein our Lord chang'd Water into Wine said to be brought from Jerusalem by Renatus K. of Sicily and resembling a Jasper Here is the Tomb of this Prince whose Body was brought hither from Aix in Provence as also his Picture drawn by himself The Chapter of the Cathedral is composed of 29 Canons a Dean a great Archdeacon a Treasurer an Arch-deacon beyond the Mayenne an Archdeacon beyond the Loire a Singer two other Treasurers and a Penitenciary This City has been beautify'd and encreas'd from time to time by its Counts but especially by our King John who built that part which lyes now beyond the Mayenne some surname it the Black City because its all covered with Slates Anger 's is much resorted unto at a Festival which the Roman Catholicks call La-Fete-Dieu the Feast of God Then you may see all the Priests and Monks and 4000 Inhabitants bearing as many kindled Torches and withall as many engraven Histories of the Holy Scripture as there are Wards in the
a long time Here it was that Louis the XII imprisoned Ludovic Storce where that Duke died and was buried in the Church of Notre-Dame Here also is to be seen the Tomb of Agnes Surelle or Sorel Mistress of Charles the VII the fairest Woman of her time with her Statue of white Marble done to the Life Hard by is a fine Forrest where the Counts of Anjou and the French Kings used to Hunt Du Chesuc relates that in this Castle there was an Iron-Gate which through a long Lane cut in the Rock lead to a square Room where was found a Man 8 Foot long sitting on a great Stone and leaning his Head on his Hands as tho' he had slept but it went all to Dust as soon as it felt the Air excepting the biggest Bones and the Cranion which were long preserved in our Ladies Church On the South-side of the River lies the Abby of Beaulieu founded on behalf of the Benedictines by Fulk Nerra Count of Anjou There is a Pyramide 10 or 12 Fathoms long in the hollowness of which are some Characters that could never be Uncifer'd so that it is still doubted whether this is a Monument of the Goths or of the antient Gauls Loches has a Bailyff and a Royal Seat of Justice resorting to the Presidial of Tours The City Chinon or Caino almost 10 Leagues South West of Tours is situated upon the Vienne with a Castle having a Governour and Regal Seat of Justice Gregory of Tours relates that the Romans besieging this Town under the Conduct of Aegidius or Gillâ—n turn'd off the Course of the Vienne and stopt a Well whence the Besieg'd drew their Water so that they would have been forced to surrender had not a violent Rain fallen on a sudden which fill'd up their Ditches and terrified the Romans so as to make them raise the Siege Here Charles the VII made his Reâ—reat and here it was that Jeanne d' Arc since call'd the Maid of Orleans came to find him Anno 1426. Francis the first Duke of Bretagne did Homage to the same King in that place Anno 1443. Here are the Canons of the College of St. Mesme are immediately subject to the Pope This also was the Country of Fr. Rabelais famous for his Comical Tales Cande Condate lies on the Confluence of the Vienne and Loire 7 Miles North West of Chinon L' Isle-Bouchard lies in an Island of the River Vienne 9 Miles South East of Chinon with a Castle and fine Meadows La Haye â—aga Turonum 9 Leagues South of Tours and 6 South-East of L' Isle-Bouchard is seaâ—ed on the River Claise with the Title of a Barony and is now famous for being the Native Country of that great Philosopher Descartes Prully Prulliacum 6 Leagues higher to the East on the same River has been sometime the Residence of the Learned Joseph Scaliger who taught the Children of the Lord of Prully Paumy betwixt La Haye and Prully has an antient Castle and the Title of Viscounty Maizieres on the Claise near the Borders of Berry is the Capital of the small Country of Brenne abounding with Game and Fishes because of its many Ponds Chatillon on the River Indre has a Royal Seat of Justice resorting to the Presidial of Tours but its Election depends on the Generality of Bourges Langest near the Loire 11 Miles West of Tours produces excellent Melons Chenonceaux upon the Cher 8 Leagues South East of Tours is renowned for a Royal House and Castle belonging now to the Duke of Vendome It was built by Q. Katherine of Medicis and adorn'd with fine Marbles and Statues brought from Italy among which that of Scipio Africanus is much esteem'd Mont-Louis a Burrough near the Loire betwixt Amboise and Tours has all its Houses cut in the Rock nothing appearing on the ground but the top of some Chimneys amongst the green Turf The other places of note in Touraine are Montbazon and Maille or Luynes two Dutchies St. Maure a County La Roche-Pozay a considerable Lordship seated on the Creuse near the Borders of Berri St. Christopher Chateau-Renaud near the River Bransle and the Frontiers of Maine Montrichard on the Cher Montresor on the Indroise c. Of Blaisois BLaisois lieth between Berry Orleanois properly so called Vâ—nd mois and Touraine It câ—mprehends 3 small Countries Dunois Blaisois and Soulâ—gue which are as many Elections depending on the Gâ—â—erality of Orleans and reaching together to an extent of twenty five Leagues in length North and South but of a very inequal breadth as six or seven Leagues in Blaisois ten or twelve in Soulogue and even sixteen in Dunois The soil in Blaisois is very fertile agreeably interrupted with Mountains and Hillocks cover'd with Vineyards with Forests full of Game and with Plains abounding with Gardens Orchards Meadows and Cornfields besides that it is watered with many Rivers and Brooks It has had its particular Counts since the year 920 that Charles the simple King of of France to gain the Normans whom he could not subdue was forced to divide in a manner his Kingdom with them Thus he gave the Dutchy of Normandy to Raoul their General and the County of Blois to Gellon Raoul's Cousin and one of his chief Captains His Posterity were for a time the most powerful Lords in France having acquir'd the Counties of Chartres and Champaign And even after that Thibaud the IV. Câ—unt of Champaign had bestow'd the Counties of Blois and Chartres on one of his youngest Sons Thibaud or Theobald the good these Counts made yet a great figure in France till the year 1391 that Guy of Chatillon IId of that name having no hopes of an Issue sold his Estates to Lewis Duke of Orleance Grandfather to the French King Lewis XII since which time they were united to the Crown and the County of Blois became often an appanage or part of the portion of the youngest Brethren of the French Kings as it is now of Philip Duke of Orleance Dunois Dunensis Pagus is almost as fruitful as Blaisois tho' the Air be not so much esteem'd nor the Country so Trading Before the French Monarchy was fully settled they were oft at variance with their Neighbours the Blaisois and the Orleannois for Gregory of Tours relates that after the death of Chilperic the fiirst King of France the latter made an Irruption into the Country of the former Dunois had afterwards its own Viscounts since Rotrou I. Count of Mortague c. till it was sold to Lewis Duke of Orleans whose Son Charles gave or exchang'd it in 1430. for some other Lands with his Bastard Brother that famous Warriour John of Orleans to whom the present French Kings owe the best part of their Kingdom reconquer'd from the English The Issue of this great General bears now the name of Longueville and enjoys still the County of Dunois that was erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom in 1525 by Louis of Savoy Mother to K. Francis I. then Regent of the
Lady of the House 〈…〉 but after her Death the Patent Letâ—â—â— were suppress'd In 1569. the Protestants â—â—re Masters of Loudun under the conduct 〈…〉 Prince of Conde (a) Du Chesne The Duke of 〈◊〉 came to besiege it and did expect no reâ—â—stâ—ned the Town being not strongly fortiâ—â—â—â— But he was very much surmiz'd when 〈…〉 the Enemies draw out in Battalla to reâ—â—â—â— him and the ways so Freez'd that there was incoming at 'em so that after several Skirmishes therein he had still the worst he was forc'd 〈…〉 The last National Synod of the Reâ—â—â—â—'d Churches kept with the leave of the 〈◊〉 French King was assembled at Loudun in 1659. if my memory does not fail me Moncontour for Mâ—nt-Contourné Mons Contoriâ—â— for Mons Contornatus because 't is seated upon a round Mountain that appears as tho' it were turn'd upon the Wheel is wash'd by the Riveâ— Dive which tho' very small is not very fordable It lies 9 Leagues North-west of Poictierâ— and 3 South-west of Loudun It was built by Fulk III. sirnamed Norra Consul or Count oâ— Anjou and therefore call'd Mons Consularis oâ— Mons Gomitis The same Count built also Mirebeau Mirebellum 5 Leagues South-East and Faye-la-vineuse 6 Leagues North-East of Moâ—contour But this last place is the most considerable and especially famous for two Battelâ— gotten by Godfrey Martel Son and Successor to the said Fulk one over the Poictevins in which he took William Count of Poictou Prisoner worâ—â— the other over the Manseaux wherein Heâ—â—â—â— Bacon Count of Maine fell likewise into 〈◊〉 hands In 1569 on Monday October 3. the Protestants under the Admiral of Coligny lost also the day near Moncontour against the Romaâ— Catholicks headed by the Duke of Anjou finde Henry III. King of France Notwithstand 〈◊〉 which Charles IX was fain to grant an honourable Peace to the Reformed in 1571. The â—â—miral was so great a Captain that he will 〈…〉 great many shifts after his Defeats Luzignan or Lesignar Liciniacuni Castâ—â—â— or Licineium is an ancient Castle founded 〈◊〉 one Licinus upon the small Riâ—er Vonbeustâ—â— Leagues South-west of Poictiers It is called corruptively Liziniacum and Lesinâ—oâ— by Lâ—tiâ— Authors of the middle Age because the French use to change c in s. and to pronounce s between two Vowels as a z. Thus they have made from racemus raisin Sarracenus Sarrasin platere plaisir c. One John of Artois who writ the History of Luzignan in 1383. ascribes the foundation of this Castle and of the Noble Family to which it gives Name to a Fairy call'd Melusine half Woman and half Snake What has giv'n occasion to this fabulous account is uncertain Aimery of Luzignan King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem had a wise and beautiful Daughter call'd Melisinde ma ry'd to Boemond IV. Prince of Antioch but I cannot tell whether 't is she whom that romantick Author has taken for the Subject of his fables Whatever be of that the House of Luzignan is very illustrious and known in France since the Tenth Century having possest there the Counties of la Marche and Angouleme till the Year 1203 and reign'd in the Island Cyâ—â—â— from 1192 till 1473. The Castle of Luzignan was esteem'd impregnable however the brave Teligni seiz'd on it for the Protestants 〈◊〉 1569. The Duke of Montpensier lay four Months before it in 1574 and having taken it at last demolish'd it so that it is now but an inconsiderable place 〈◊〉 or Melle Metullum Castrum or Melle is 〈◊〉 Burrough of some consideration that had 〈◊〉 the right of coining Mony It lies 〈◊〉 the soâ—â—â—e of a small River that falls into 〈◊〉 Charenâ—eâ—â— 12 Leagues from Poictiers and 〈◊〉 from Lusignan to the South-west Some preâ—â—d that the famous Melusine got that Name because she was Lady of Melle and Luzignan S. Maixant Cellula S. Maxentii or S. Maxentii oppidum owes its Rise as well as its Name to Maxentius a holy Solitary who retir'd thither in the sixth Century It 's said that he miraculously preserv'd his Monastery from being plunder'd by King Clovis's Soldiers The famous S. Leger Bishop of Autun who was Minister of State under Clotaire III. and Childeric II. had been Abbot of S. Maixant This Town had then two fine Collegiate Churches The Abby has been repair'd and beautifi'd by the Emperour Lewis the Meek and by Eubulus Bishop of Limoges S. Maixant is renown'd for the Manufactory and Trade of Serges It lies on the Sevre Niortoise 7 Leagues West of Luzignan and 12 South-west of Poictiers Partenay Partiniacum or Pertinaculum haâ— the Title of a Barony and is the Capital of the small Country of Gastine so call'd from the Heaths and Wastes wherewith it is fill'd It lies 10 Leagues West-north-west of Poictiers About the end of the ninth Century there was an Assembly call'd to procure the Peace of the Churches of Aquitain where William Count of Poictou the Bishop of Chartres and S. Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux were present Thouars Toarcis Castrum 6 Leagues West of Loudun and 15 North-west of Poictiers has the Title of a Dutchy and Peerdom erected by Henry IV in 1595. It 's an indifferent good Tâ—â—â— and of a long standing since in the eight Century it was already one of the strongest Places in Aquaitain Historians mention the calling of the Castle of Thouars by King Pepin as a very remarkable conquest for this Fortresse had then its particular Count or Governour whom Pepin carry'd prisoner into France The Country and dependencies of Touars Ager Toarâ—â—sit le Touarsois had afterwards Viscounts under the Counts of Poictou since the Reign of â—aâ—â—l in the X Century Their Estate passed by Marriage first to the House of Ainboise and then to the House of La Trimeuille Niort Niortum seated in a fruitful soyl on the banks of the River Sevre Separis to which it gives the sirname of Niortoise is a considerable Town and accounted the second in upper Poictou It has a Seat of Royal Justice resorting to the Presidial of Poictiers from which it lies 16 Leagues to the South-West and four from St. Maixant The Country round about call'd Niortois breeds the best race of Mules in the whole Kingdom and the Town is rich and trading because of its Fairs Maillezais lies five Leagues West of Niort and 20 South-West of Poictiers It 's seated on the River Autise Altisa that surrounds it on all sides for which reason the Latin Chronicles of the French ordinarily call it Insula Malliacum In 1003. under the Reign of King Robert William V. Count of Poictiers Son to William IV. sirnam'd Fierabras and Grand-son to William III. sirnam'd Tete-d Etoupe founded here an Abby whether he retir'd In process of time this â—onastery made this place a Town of some â—ote so that either for this consideration or rather to lessen the Jurisdiction of the Prelate of Poictiers Pope John XXII erected Maillezais into a Bishoprick in 1317. and Godfrey of Pouvrelle the
and in latter Ages Santoni lies upon the Charante with a Bishoprick Suffragan of Bourdeaux from which it is distant 22 Leagues to the North and almost 10 from the Sea to the East It has had particular Counts as well as the whole Province and is very ancient there are still to be seen the remains of an Amphitheatre and Aqueducts of a triumphant Arch upon the Charante and many Inscriptions of the Romans S. Eutropius is accounted its first Bishop and its Cathedral Church is dedicated to St. Peter but it was almost ruin'd during the Wars of Religion Brouage Santonum portus lies on a narrow Bay over against the Isle of Oleron 8 Leagues West of Saintes It is called in vulgar Latin Broagium from the mildness of its Soyl and is the head of the Country thereabouts called le Brouageois that constitutes a particular Government in which are two of the finest Burroughs in France Marennes and la Tremblade where the French King has a Store-house for his Vessels And tho the Country be but small yet because of the customs it yields 14 Millions of Livers which amount near to 1100000 pound Sterling to the French King This together with the conveniency of the Havens and Salt-pits makes Brouage an important Town for which reason it is strongly fortified The other places of note are S. Jean d' Angeli Engeriacum or Ingeriacum on the River Boutonne 8 Leagues North of Saintes It was formerly very strong and given to the Protestants as one of their Towns of security but Lewis XIII who took it from them by storm in 1621 pull'd its Walls down Taillebourg has a Bridge on the Charante and is famous for a Battel fought there in 1242. by Lewis the IXth's Forces with the Count of La Marche that had revolted against him Soubize and Royan are two Sea-ports the first who gave the name of Duke to a famous Protestant Commander lies on the Mouth of the Charante and the other on the Bay of the Gironde Mortaigne and Chalais have titles of Principalities Posnac and Matha of Counties Aubeterre of a Viscounty Montausier was erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom in 1665. Pons is a Sirauté or ancient Lordship on which 250 fees are depending Barbezieux gives now Title of a Marquess to one of Louvoys Sons Secretary of State to Lewis XIV Jonsac and Mirembeau are also considerable Lordships Of Armagnac ARMAGNAC Armaniacum is a County in Gascogne between Languedoc on the East the Garonne and Condomois on the North Chalosse and Bigorre on the West and Cominges on the South There is a great plenty of Corn excellent Wines Cattel and Fowls This Country in Caesar's time was inhabited by the Elusates whose Capital Euse or Eause Elusa or Aceluso was then a Metropolitan and Aux a Bishoprick only but the two Dioceses having been melted in one and the Archiepiscopal Seat transferr'd to Aux Eause became an inconsiderable place and retains nothing of its former grandeur but an Archiepiscopal Palace Eause is seated on the River Gelise and the Borders of Condomus almost 14 Leagues South of Bazas so that from Serignac on the Garonne and Aragmer in the Pyrenees Armagnac is extended 43 Leagues North and South in its greatest length and 30 East and West from Verdun on the Garonne to Aire or Barcelone on the Adour Thus this County together with the Countries of Riviere and Verdun are included betwixt 42 Deg. 40 Min. and 44 Deg. 10 Min. of Latitude 19 Deg. 50 Min. and 21 Deg. 40 Min. of Longitude It has had famous Counts and has above 1800 Fees subject to the Ban and Rear-ban The most remarkable places are Ausch Archbishoprick Lectoure a Bishoprick and strong City with a Cittadel Vic d'Armagnac where the Counts of Fosensac us'd to reside who receiv'd homage of 300 Gentlemen Vic de Lomagne Capital of the Country of that Name There is also Miradou which stopp'd the designs of the Prince of Conde in 1652. Mirande Capital of the Country of Estrac Verdun Capital of the Country of that Name La Bastide Jegun Naugaro Trie c. The City of Aux or Ausch Augusta Auscorum and Ausci lies upon the Giers with a Presidial and Archbishoprick 'T is said to have been a Roman Colony which is confirmed by its Antiquities it has some remains of the magnificence of the Counts of Armagnac Clovis the Great is thought the Founder of the Cathedral which is one of the most magnificent and richest Churches in the Kingdom its first Bishop is thought to be Aufronius its Chapter consists of 15 Dignitaries and 20 Prebendaries of which 5 are Lay-men who sit in the Quire and have a share in the Distributions These are the Count of Armagnac and the four Barons of Montaut Pardillan Montesquiou and l'Ile The 15 Dignitaries are the Provost 3 Abbots of Faget Idrac and Cere 7 Archdeacons of Angles Sabanes Sos Vic d'Armagnac Magnoac Astarac and Pardillan two Priors of Montesquiou and S. Mary of Snow a Sexton who is withal a Parson and a Theolocal or Professor of Divinity There are also 36 Incumbents eight Chaplains of the Holy Ghost and St. Denys 37 Chaplains in ordinary and divers Clerks for the Divine Service The Archbishop has the Moiety of the Lordship of the City there are many other Churches and Monasteries c. Of Chalosse CHALOSSE or Gascony properly so called lies between Armagnac on the East Condomois on the North the Lanâ—â— on the West and Bearn on the South This Country bordering too much on the â—andes or wasts of Gascony produces nothing â—â—t Rye Millet and some Pastures It reaches â—3 Leagues North and South from the Source 〈◊〉 the Gelouse to the Burrough of Mant upon â—â—e Luy and 13 East and VVest from Aire to â—eyond Gaviac c. The chiefest Places are â—ires Bish Cap. S. Sever Meugron Arsac â—â—â—â—muy The City of Aires Vicus Juli Aturensium â—nitatis or Aturae is a Bishoprick Suffragan of â—â—sch seated on the Adour in a plentiful Country â—â—most 27 Leagues South of Bourdeaux It deâ—ends on the Seneschal of Bazas and the Parâ—iament of Guienne without further appeal The Kings of the Visigoths made their Residence â—here there is still to be seen on the River â—â—de the Ruins of Alaric's Palace he that made publick in 506 the Theodosian Code â—hich had been revised by Anian his Chancelâ—or Since that time this Town has often been â—â—in'd by the Saracens Normans c. it sufferâ—d much during the late Civil VVars There is an Abbey of S. Quiterne which is celebrateâ— for the Martyrdom of that Saint it is conâ—â—thedral with that of Aires which has the Blesseâ— Virgin for Patron The ancientest Bishop 〈◊〉 St. Marcel who sent in 506. one of his Priesâ— to the Council of Agde the Chapter has twâ— Archdeacons and the whole Dioceses is divideâ— under 6 Arch-priests c. Of Condomois CONDOMOIS Pagus Condomiensis is small Country betwixt Armagnac anâ— Agenois on the East Basadois on thâ— North the Landes
the Kingdom of the Visigoths It seems it is they who gave to the first Narbonnoise the name of Septimania and so jealous they were of that Title that having lost by the Battel of Vouillé where their King Alaric was killed by Clovis in 507. the Towns of Toulouse and Vzès they supplied that number by the addition of Narbonne and Careassonne The Visigoths enjoyed Septimania above 250 years which is the cause that it is sometimes call'd by the Latin Authors of the middle Age Gothia Thence some derive the modern name of Languedoc as tho it were said for Langue de Goth or Langue-Goth but this Etymology does neither agree with the spelling of Languedoc nor with the appellation of Occitania and Lingua Occitana which the said Authors give it And therefore I more approve of those who observe that the French have been distinguished time out of mind into Langue D'Ouy and Langue D' Oc that is in such as say Ouy and such as say Oc for Yes the first living on this side and the second on that side of the Loire In process of time the Sirname of Langue D'Oc was appropriated to Septimania wherein it is more general to say Oc for Yes than any where else The French having expell'd the Goths beyond the Pyrenees Charlemaign established Governors in Languedoc with the Title of Counts of Toulouse of whom the first was one Corson in 778. The second was St. William du Court-Nez or Aux Cornets whence the Princes of Orange derive their pedigree as may be infered from the hunting horn they bear in their Arms. This William who lived about the year 790 founded the Abbey of St. William the Desart in the Dioceses of Lodeve wherein he took the Habit of Monk After his death or retirement the State of Languedoc was very much troubled by the quarrels of the several pretenders who making use of the weakness of the French Kings endeavour'd to erect their Governments into Sovereign Principalities Raimond-Pons Count of Toulouse in 907. made himself Proprietary of the Dutchy of Septimania or Marquisate of Gothia but not being able to subdue some particular Governours as the Counts of Carcassonne Melgueil and Foix the Viscounts of Narbonne Besiers Agde Nismes Lodeve Vzès c. who formerly depended on the Dukes of Septimania and would now become Sovereigns as well as themselves the Counts of Toulouse allow'd them to enjoy their Usurpations In the mean while they acquired by Marriage Inheritance or War the Counties of Querei Perigord Albi the Agenois the Milhaud the Gevaudan the County Venaissin Melgueil Asterac nay they were sometime Marquesses of Provence * Godefrid Annal. as in 1235 and in that quality made homage to the Emperor These Lords being so powerful the French Kings were glad to make them the first Counts and Peers of their Kingdom that by this Title of honour they should be drawn to stick the closer to the French Interest However this House remain'd not long in its lustre for Raimond the 6th sirnamed the Old maintaining the persecuted Albigeois as his Subjects the fourth Council of Lateran excommunicated him and gave his Estate to Simon Count of Montfort in 1215. Amauri Son to Simon dead in 1218 not being able to keep the unlawful Conquests of his Father yielded them to the French K. Lewis the VIIIth in 1224. Raimond the 6th was dead two years before in 1222 and his Son Raimond the 7th or the Young perceiving that he could not withstand the whole power of Popery thought best to reconcile himself to the Church of Rome as he did in 1228. At the same time he made a Treaty with K. Lewis the VIIIth by which he betrothed Jane his only Daughter to Alfonse of Poictiers the King's Brother upon condition that if they happened to dye without Issue the States of the Counts of Toulouse should fall to the Crown of France they both died without Children in the Month of August 1271 upon which King Philip the Bold took possession of their Dominions and in 1361. King John reunited this Country to the Crown of France by his Patent Letters which were confirmed in in an Assembly of the General States of that Province These States the only ones that have yet any shadow of power are made up of the 3 Orders of a Kingdom namely the Clergy the Nobility and the People the Clergy is represented by the 22 Prelates of that Province whereof 3 are Archbishops and 19 Bishops the Nobility Votes there by the Mouth of 22 Barons of the following Families 1. Rieux 2. Mirepoix 3. Florensac 4. Vauvert 5. Castelnau d' Estrete Fons 6. Capendu 7. Haute-rive 8. Confoulens 9. St. Felix 10. Ville Neuve 11. la ' Gardiole 12. Lanta 13. Alais 14. Polignac 15. Clermont 16. Arques 17. Cauvisson 18. Ganges 19. Castries 20. Castelnau de Bonnefons 21. Ambres 22. Ferrals The People speaks in the Persons of 22 Consuls or Sheriffs deputed out of the 22 Bishopricks The Archbishop of Narbonne is President born of that Assembly which is seldom called for any thing else but to give the King money by laying besides the ordinary Taxes an extraordinary and heavy imposition under the name of Don-gratuit or free Gift Languedoc lies between 21 Deg. 16 Min. and 26 Deg. 10 Min. of Longitude 41 Deg. 45 Min. and 45 Deg. of Latitude It reaches 23 Leagues East and West from Beaucaire upon the Rhone to Rieux upon the Garonne or 79 from Crussol upon the Rhone over against Valence in Dauphine to Castel-Sarasin on the Garonne in the Diocese of Montauban It 's extent North and South is still more unequal from Moissac in Quercy to Lavet Coronat in the County of Foix it is of 40 Leagues of 53 from La Garde Biaur on the Borders of Rouergue to beyond Prat de Mollo in Roussillon and 50 from Serrieres in Vivarais to beyond Fort de Peccais near Aigues-mortes in the Diocese of Nismes It is one of the most fruitful and healthful Provinces of France divided into Upper and Lower Languedoc and the Cevennes The first comprehends the Toulousan the Albigeois the Lauragais and the County of Foix The second is distinguish'd into 3 Precincts or Quartiers that of Narbonne of Beziers and of Nimes the Cevennes are subdivided into 3 Countries Gevaudan Vivarais and Velay Both parts of Languedoc produce great quantity of Corn that they use to carry into Spain and Italy their Wines are delicious and their Fruits most esteem'd especially pickled Olives and Raisins Their Salt-pits and Dyers-wood make up a considerable Trade besides Azure Saffron Verdigrease Vermilion or artificial Cinoper Sope Glasses Box-trees and several Simples and Plants that are transported thence The Air is so wholsome that it is thought a specifick remedy against consumptions chiefly about Montpellier which temperature of the Heavens contributes not a little to make Women comely and Men ingenious as appears by the great number of Poets either in French Latin or the Country-Language and
to whom Amaury Count of Montfort yielded since his pretensions Montauban is divided into three parts the old Town along the Tarn Ville-Bourbon on the other side of that River in Languedoc which is joyn'd to the old Town by a brick Bridge The new Town is towards Cahors Thus both the Old and New Town are in the Querci but the rest of the Diocese in Languedoc whence it comes that its Bishops has right to sit in the Estates of both Provinces The Protestants were Masters of Montauban from 1562 to 1621 that it was taken from them by Lew. XIII They had here an Academy or College for Languages and Divinity and it was one of the surety's Towns which Henry IV. yielded to them But Cardinal de Richelieu designing to run down all the orders of the Realm began by asking from the Protestants to deliver their Towns of surety which they justly denying Montauban was twice besieg'd in vain but at last discord creeping amongst 'em and being betray'd by some great ones as the Duke of Lesdiguieres it was taken at the third Siege and its strong Fortifications raz'd in 1629. Montauban has an Election and a generality of Treasurers on which the Elections of Cahors and Figeac are depending Between the City and the Suburb of S. Antony is a fine Fountain call'd Griphon that has 10 Pipes and furnishes all the Inhabitants with water This Town prov'd the death of two of the most renowned Captains of the French K. Char. VII during his Wars with the English The other places of some note in this Diocese are Castel-Sarrazin built in the time of Charles Martel to oppose the incursions of the Sarracens Montech Frignan Villemur where the French King Henry the Great 's Forces got a signal Victory over the Leaguers headed by the Duke of Joâ—euse who was drown'd in the Tarn in 1592. Of the Diocese of La Vaur LA Vaur which some spelt Lavaur and others l'Avaur Vaurum Castrum is one of the new Suffragans of Toulouse and lies six Leagues of Languedoc or 8 of France Eastward of it upon the River Agout It was already a considerable Castle in the time of the Albigeois and depended upon the Bishops of Toulouse one of whom nam'd Isâ—rne gave it to Florard Abbot of S. Pons de Tomieres on condition that he should found there a Priory of regular Canons of S. Austin under the name of S. Alain as also he did This Monastery was afterwards erected into a Bishoprick in 1318 and Roger of Armagnac was its first Prelate It contains 69 Parishes In 1213 the Papists held there a Synod against Peter of Arragon who maintain'd the Albigeois Puy-Laurens Podium Laurentii that is the Mountain of Laurence is situated upon a Hill 9 Miles South-East of La Vaur and 11 Leagues of Toulouse It had formerly the Title of a Dutchy and some years before the last Persecution of the Protestants their Academy of Montauban had been transferr'd thither both to make 'em uneasie and to depress the luster of Montauban However they had here of late a famous Professor of Divinity Martel who answer'd the method of Cardinal de Richelieu William of Puy-Laurens Chaplain to Raymond the young Count of Toulouse who has written a Chronicle wherein he makes the History of the Albigeois was a Native of this Town But this Chronicle is now extraordinary rare the Papists having us'd all endeavours to suppress it because he is too sincere in relating the Opinions and behaviour of these pretended Hereticks Soreze Soricinium or Saricinium seems to have its name from the multitude of Mice Sorices that infested the Country according to Adrian de Valois or rather from the small River Sâ—r upon which it lies 7 Leagues South of La Vaur It has a very ancient Abbey of S. Bennet's Order mention'd in a Decree of Lewis the Meek as one of them that were bound to say Prayers for the Emperour's welfare The other most remarkable places in this Diocese are Viterbe Viterbium S. Pol separated from Lamiate another Town in Albigeois by the Agout Rocque-Vidal Semalens Vuviers Souarz la Bruguere Massagnet Arsons S. Alby Mazamet Aupoutz Altus-pullus Of Lauragais THE Country of Lauragais Lauriacensis or Lauracensis Pagus takes its name from the Village Laurac Lauriacum near the source of the Little Lers or according to others who spell it l'Auraguais from the Town and Barony of Auriac which is said to have been its Capital and lies 8 Leagues South-East of Toulouse In 1258 this Country belong'd to James King of Arragon who yielded it to the French King Lewis IX but in 1478 Lewis XI erected it into a County and gave it to Bertrand of La Tour Count of Auvergne Afterwards it fell by Inheritance to Catherine of Medicis Wife to the French King Henry II. and then to Queen Margaret their Daughter who made a gift of it to Lewis XIII Dauphin of France on condition that it should for ever remain united to the Crown Lauraguais abounds in Pastel or Dyers-Wood which is the chief Trade of the Country as likewise in quails better than those of Italy in July August and September Castelnaudary Castrum novum Arii upon the Fresquel 12 Leagues South-East of Toulouse is accounted the Capital It 's situated in a fruitful Soyl and the Manufacture of Woolen-Cloaths contributes much to its Riches It has a Presidial erected by Henry II. in 1553 in behalf of his Queen Countess of Lauraguais Some twenty years ago Lewis XIV to vex the Protestants transferr'd thither from Castres their Chamber of the Edict It was in the Plains of Castelnaudary that the Mareschal of Schomberg defeated the Troops of the Duke of Orleance on the 1. of September 1632 and took Prisoner the Duke of Montmorency who was since Beheaded at Toulouse S. Papoul S. Pappulus or S. Pappolus on the source of the small River Lampt 3 Miles North-East of Castelnaudary and 13 Leagues South-East of Toulouse It was formerly a famous Monastery mention'd in the Constitution of the Emperour Lewis the Meek in 817 and since erected into a Bishoprick Suffragan to Toulouse by Pope John XXII The Town is not very large and the whole Diocese has but 45 Parishes The other places of this Diocese are Ville-Franche de l'Auraguais which Sanson puts in the Diocese of Toulouse but De Valois under this Bishoprick le Mas Saintes Puelles Mansum S. â—uellarum Vignonet Avenio Castrum Villepeinte Fagnaux is reck'ned in Lauraguais but depends on the Bishop of Mirepoix It 's call'd in Latin Fanum Jovis Fan-jaux from a renown'd Temple of Jupiter that was built there Of Albigeois THis Country comprehending the Diocese of Alby and Castres has those of S. Pons Carcassonne and La vaur on the South and South-West those of Montauban Cahors and Rodez on the North and North-West and those of Vabres Lodeve and Beziers on the East and reaches 17 or 18 Leagues East and West and 21 North and South Du Chesne takes its ancient Inhabitants
like Pitch and have such a petrifying Vertue that all running they form a Bridge which the Inhabitants are oblig'd to cut lest he should grow too great Riom Ricomagus lies three Leagues North-East of Clermont upon a little Hill which reâ—ders both its Situation and Prospect agreeable It is very well built the Streets are straight and wide the Houses fine the Churches magnificent the Monasteries sumptuous the Fountains pleasant and the Gardens delicate they live there both cheap and with delicacy so that 't is call'd the Flower-Garden of AVVERGNE And its Latin Name made up of two â—aulish words Rico-magus signifies rich Habitation Riom honours for its Patron one S. Amable of whom Gregory of Tours says that he had the Vertue of putting Serpents to flight It 's the Native Country of James Sirmond and Amable Burze two very learned Men. This Town is the chief of the Dukedom of Auvergne of which all the Fiefs and Mesne-fiefs of the Province are Vassals and was erected into a Dukedom on behalf of John Duke of Berry Son to the French King in 1360. It is above 900 Years since the Judge of this Town was call'd the universal Judge of all the Province because he judged by Appeal all the Law-Suits It has a Seneschal's Jurisdiction and a Presidial which is one of the most considerable of the Realm as well as a Generality of Finances an Election and both a Marshal and Consular Jurisdiction The Lieutenant General is also a Provost of the Court of Mint and â—udge of all the differences that may arise in the Convocation of the Ban and Rear-ban of the Province which is made at Riom Justice is administred there in a Castle or Palace which John of Berry caused to be built Aygue-Perse Aqua Sparsa is the Capital of a little Country called the Dauphinè of Auvergne that is now united to the Dutchy of Montpensier which lies but a League North of it and both Towns three or four Leagues North of Riom Brioude Brivas lies upon the Allier thirteen Leagues South of Clermont It 's famous for the Grave of S. Julian a Martyr and for a Collegiate Church of Canons who are Counts of the Town and depend immediately upon the Pope The Bridge of the Burrough called Old Brioude has only an Arch but extraordinary long and high Issoire Iciodurum upon the Allier almost midway betwixt Clermont and Brioude is renown'd for its good Race of Horses and for a bottomless Lake whence rises a Vapour which resolves it self into Rain if you throw a stone into it Pont-gibaut 3 Leagues North-west of Clermont has a Silver Mine in its Neighbourhood Three Leagues more Northwards lies S. Gervais where has been as 't is said a Race of Conjurers call'd les Marques the last of whom cast himself headlong into a Pond Maringues is much frequented for its Haven upon the Allier which begins here to be navigable It lies almost seven Leagues North-East of Clermont La Queulle is a Castle near the borders of Limosin six Leagues South-west of Clermont which has in its Neighbourhood a Fountain that tastes of Wine and has say they as much strength mixt with the sixth part of that Liquor Hard by is a Mountain called Le Mont d'or The golden Mountain because of some Chaffs like Gold that are seen glittering in its Ponds and of a sort of shining yellow or golden Sand that is used by Gentlemen to dry their Writings Here is the source of the River Dordonne and of several Springs very healthful to those that hath themselves therein The other places of note in Lower Auvergne on the West-side of the Allier are S. Pourcain near that River and the Frontiers of Bourbonnois from whence to Langeac a Marquisate near the Cevennes the Allier is continually border'd with Vineyards Gannat Esbreule Menat Manatense Monastertum Effiat a Marquisate Randan a Dutchy Artonne Enezat Montserrand over against Clermont Pont au mur Hermene Orcival Cournon le Crest Pont du Chasteau Besse S. Perdoux La Tour S. Germain-Lambrun Mercaeur Ardes Blesle c. On the East of the Allier to which part of Lower Auvergne Du val appropriates the name of Limagne tho other Geographers extend it father to the West are Vic le Comte upon the Allier 11 Miles South-East of Clermont It 's the Capital of a tract of Land called the County of Auvergne has a fine Palace and a S. Chappel pretended to be built by the Dukes of Albany Billom Biliomagus is environed with pleasant Vineyards Thiers or Tiern Tigernum Castrum is renowned for the good Knives and Cizers that are made there Lezoux for the goodness of its Air and its excellent Melons Arlenc is the Capital of a small Country nam'd Livradois because it was rid or delivered of the overflowing Waters by digging a Channel a thousand foot in length through a Mountain The other places are Alegre a Marquisate S. Paullian Paulliaguet la Voute Chillac la Cheze-Dieu Casa Dei Auzon Alsona S. Germain-Lerm Ambâ—rt Saucilanges Celsinaniae S. Amand-de-Roche-Savine Corpiere Curva Petra Oliergues Puy-Guillaume Manlieu Magnus us with an Abby of Benedictins Of La MARCHE MARK in the Teutonic Tongue signifies Confines or Limits whence comes Mark-graaf-Marquis that is Governour of the Frontiers This Province having been made up of the Borders of Poictou Limosin and Auvergne has gotten from thence the name of Marka or Marchia La MARCHE It has Berry to the North Poictou to the West Limosin to the North and Auvergne that is the little Territories of Combrailles and Franc-Aleu which are of its dependencies to the East It s extent from West to East is about 30 Leagues and from South to North fifteen and in some places twenty It 's divided into Upper whose chief Town is Gueret and into Lower which has le Dorat The Lords of Lusignan or Lezignen were counts of La MARCHE afterwards of Angoulesme and those 2. Counties were united to the French Crown under King Philip the Fair. It has often been the Appannage of younger Brothers in France especially of the House of Bourbon and was at last re-annex'd to that Crown in 1331 after many Revolutions This Country is but indifferent fruitful and produces only some Pastures Oats and Rye There are good Horses and they trade also in Oxen Sheep Hogs and coarse Cloaths Several considerable Rivers have their Source here as the Vienne the Cher the Creuse and the Gartempe This Province resorts for the Temporal to the Parliament of Paris and for the Spiritual to the Bishop of Limoges Gueret Waractum Capital of Upper Marche has a Seneschalship a Presidial a Mareshal's Jurisdiction and an Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese of Limoges from which 't is 12 Leagues distant to the North-East It s name seems to come from the Latin Vervactum which signifies an unmanur'd Ground whence has been made Waractum Garactum and Gueret This Town has an Election resorting to the Generality of Moulins The other places of some
People of those Provinces suffered their hair to grow long Aquitain at Julius Caesar's time was comprehended between the River Garumn the Sea and the Pyrenaean Mountains but was afterwards extended by Augustus as far as the River Loire on the North and the Mountains of the Cevennes on the East and subdivided into first second and third Aquitain It s ancient Inhabitants had several different Names which we shall mention in the particular Description of that part of France It suffices at present to observe that it is now wholly in the French King's hands but heretofore belong'd for the most part to the English The Celtick Gallia or that of Lyons was included between the Ocean on the West and North-West the Belgick on the North-East and East Aquitain and the Province of Narbonne on the South It was divided into first second third fourth and fifth in which Division 't is worthy our Notice that a good part of the 2d and 3d was either the ancient Patrimony of our English Kings as Normandy or fell to them by Marriage and Inheritance as Le Maine Anjou and Touraine As to the fifth Lugdunensis call'd also Provincia Sequanorum before the last Peace of Nimeguen the French King possessed nothing in it but the Spaniards having yielded him the County of Burgundy and he being Master of Savoy Newchastel Elzas and Sungow the Republick of the Suitzers which lays inclosed in his Dominions must necessarily depend upon him The Narbonensis had Aquitain on the West the Celtick on the North the Alpes on the East the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenaean Mountains on the South It was divided into first second and third but afterwards extended farther on the East beyond the Alpes to the Appennin Mountains then it was called Viennensis and subdivided into first second third fourth and fifth The French having conquered during this present War the Dukedom of Savoy and the County of Nice are now Masters of all that large Country except the County Venaisin which they have restored to the Pope the Principality of Piedmont and the Land of Valais called by the Ancients Gallia Subalpina possessed by the Warlike Duke of Savoy The Belgick divided into first and second was of a vast extent comprehending not only the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries except Friese Groeningen and Overyssel but also Picardy Champaign part of the Isle of France Lorrain Elzas the Bishoprick of Liege the four Electorates along the Rhine and the Dukedoms of Cleves and Juliers The French who in the former Reigns possessed but a small part of the Belgick have almost swallow'd up all that Country there remaining nothing entire but the Dukedoms of Cleves and Juliers and the Dominions of the States-General for the Bishoprick of Liege and the four Electotates are either dismembred or lie open before them The Division of France as to the Civil Government may be made into certain Provinces The twelve Ancient whose Deputies had their Seat in the general Assemblies of the Kingdom are 1. Picardy 2. Normandy 3. The Isle of France 4. Champaign These four lie Northward of France 5. Britanny 6. Orleanois 7. The Dutchy of Burgundy 8. Lyonnois are scituated on each side of the Loire 9. Guienne 10. Languedock 11. Dâ—â—phine 12. Provence in the Southern Parts of the Kingdom To these have been added 1. The Government of Navar and Bearn 2. Of Elzas 3. Of the three Bishopricks of Metz Toul and Verdun 4. Of Lorrain 5. Of the County of Roussillon 6. Of the Province of Pignerol 7. Of the French Plantations in America In reference to the Courts of Justice France is divided into ten Parliaments to which the Seneschalships or Bailywicks do answer The Names of those ten Parliaments are Paris Toulouse for Languedock and part of Guienne Dijon for the Dutchy of Burgundy and Bresse Roan for Normandy Bourdeaux for Guyenne Rennes and lately Vannes for Britanny Grenoble for Dauphiné Aix for Provence Pau for Bearn and Navar Mets for the Country of Messin and Lorrain which extends its Jurisdiction over all the conquer'd Netherlands There are Sovereign Courts of Justice at Brisach Arras Tournny Perpignan and Pignerol they depend for the most Part on the Government of Picardy but the Dutchy of Luxemburg is annexed to that of Lorrain however bares not the Title of Parliament The Parliament for the County of Burgundy is at Bezançon whither the Spaniards transferr'd it from Dole after that Province had been restored to them by the Treaty of Aix la Chappelle An. 1668. There are sixteen Archbishopricks in France nine of which pretend to the Right of Primacy the seven others are Paris Tours Auch Alby Tolouze Ambrun and Aix the Primates are Sens Lyons Bourges Narbonne Roan Bourdeaux Vienne Arles and Rheims The New Conquests have since added two Archbishopricks viz. Cambray and Bezançon The Pyrenaean Mountains do not so much belong to France which they do part from Spain as the Cevennes which are in the heart of the Country and have been known to the ancient Greeks and Latins under the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Gebenna or Cebenna They reach along Low Languedock to Auvergne where they are extremely high France has also her Promontories upon the Coast of her Seas as well Ocean as Mediterranean On the West-side looking towards Britanny and the North over-against Kent are those of the Ocean Sea That of Talmond or Talon du monde is toward the South in the same Sea with that of Buts which has divers Names and some others Upon the Mediterranean Sea are the Cape of St. Sigo which is on the Coast of Provence the Cape of Sete on the Coast of Agde in Languedock She has but two Gulfs the Aquitanick or Tarbellick on the Ocean toward the West and the great Gulf called by the Ancients Sinus Gallicus in the Mediterranean Sea France wants no good Ports whether in the Ocean or Mediterranean Sea In the Ocean on the Coast of Britanny are Brest Conquest Blavet and Rochell on the Coast of Poictou In the Mediterranean Marseille and Toulon on the Coast of Provence good and renowned Havens by the Galleys which the French King keeps there That on the Coast of Agde is also considerable The Rivers of France are many very beautiful and of long Course The Chiefest are the Seine the Loire the Garonne and the Rhosne The Garonne springs from the Pyrenaeans and has always been the separation of the Aquitains from the Celtae receives the Dourdogne the Tart and Loth and is lost in the Ocean The Rhosne comes from the Alpes crosses the Country of Valais then the Lake of Geneva through which it runs without mixing its Waters with it receives the Saone at Lyons the Isere that runs at Grenoble the Droume and the Durance a dangerous River and which has no certain wading and lastly empties it self into the Mediterranean Sea at the Three Maries within three Leagues of Arles by six Channels The Seine which has its
Matter before the King's Council so that our Reformed seeing that no Justice was to be hoped from the Parliament made an Interest to remove the Cause before the King's Council that they might avoid expences which many other imitated not without the secret Support of the Court. CHAP. VI. Of the Religion of the French THE Reader must not here expect an Account of the Bardes and Druides or of the Idolatrous Worship of the ancient Gauls neither am I minded to assert or confute what has been said concerning St. Denis the Areopagite being Bishop of Paris or St. Martial Bishop of Limoges and both Apostles of the Gauls about the Year 70. By whomsoever the Christian Religion has been first preached in France sure it is that it was early enough since in the middle of the second Century there were two conspicuous Churches at Lyons and Vienne who endured a long and bloody Persecution under the Empire of Marc. Aurele An. 176. By what Means and Degrees Popery corrupted Christianity is not a Mystery in this Protestant Kingdom but I have some Observations to make upon the Progress and present State of that Superstitious Worship in France It 's well known that Superstition began to creep into the Church by the over-great Honour the Faithful rendered to those Christian Heroes the Martyrs who contrary to the Heathen that got a Name by their being troublesome to others signalized themselves by their own Sufferings And with great reason were they so much reverenced since the Pagan Antiquity which mentions so many Hercules can hardly supply us with an Anaxarchus While these couragious Athletes lay in Prison Sinners were released of their Penances upon their Intercession after their Death their Tombs were the Gathering-place of the Faithful and when God had given Peace to his Church Temples were built upon or near their Graves and called after their Names And as the Vulgar doth not know how to keep the golden middle Path hates or loves despises or praises to excess So this due and lawful Remembrance soon degenerated into an Idolatrous Worship Perhaps at the beginning it had been easie to Clergy-Men to put a Stop to that Superstition but the Generality found it seems their Reckoning by it and pious Men durst not oppose the Current However the Gauls had the Honour to produce one Jovinian a Monk of Milan who endured a long Persecution for openly disproving the creeping Practices of Coelibacy Vows and the Veneration of Reliques in the time of St. Ambrose But a greater Man than Jovinian whom neither Italians nor Spaniards can challenge is Vigilantius for he was born at Calaguri a small Borough near Cominges in Gascony True it is that St. Jerom disputed against him with much Violence but the Learned know that the Conduct of this Father is not so much commended as his Science and notwithstanding his Out-crys Vigilantius quietly died in the Communion of the Church and left a great many Disciples who seem to have been the Fore-fathers of the Albigenses as those of Jovinian maintained the Truth in the Churches of Italy till Claudius Archbishop of Turin arose and was succeeded by the Vaudois The second Step of Superstition was the Worship of Images which when the Emperors of the East could no longer oppose God raised Charlemaign in the West who caus'd it to be condemned together with the second Council of Nice in another held at Francfort Ann. 794. At the same time Agobard Archbishop of Lyons and Claudius of Turin preach'd and wrote againâ—â— these Idolatrous Practices which prevail'â— at last during the Weakness and Division of Charlemaign's House and Successors Transubstantiation was a casual Off-spring of Image-Worship for when thâ— Orthodox told the Iconolatre's that God'â— Son had left us but an Image of himself namely the Holy Sacrament which notwithstanding he never commanded to adore the last after many Subterfuges finally bethought themselves of this Answer 〈◊〉 That the consecrated Bread and Wine were not a simple Image of our Lord but his true Body and Blood Against this strange Doctrine Bertram or Ratramn Priest and Monk of Corby in Picardy composed a Book about the Year 850. and a little after John Scot Erigeene Professor of Divinity in the University of Paris wrote of the same Matter both by Order of Charles the Bald Emperor By the Opposition of these great Men this monstrous Tenet was somewhat suppressed but as it lifted up its Head again after their Death Berengarius Arch-Deacon of Anger 's arose for the Truth in 1035 was a long time maintained by several French Bishops against the Power and Persecution of the Popes and dy'd in the Communion of the Church Ann. 1088 not without solemnly recalling the nonsensical Confession which the Popes Nicolas II. and Gregory VII had forced upon him After Berengarius the Assertors of the Truth had more dreadful Storms to go through however France was never wanting such Christian Heroes Some rejected all the Popish Errors as Peter de Bruys and Henry of Tolose the Waldenses and Albigenses Some confuted Transubstantiation as John Dr. of Paris known under the Name of Joannes de Parisiis others bewailed the Corruption of the Church as Nicolas of Clemangis others inveighed against the Monks their Luxury and Covetousness especially William of St. Amour As to those that opposed the Tyranny and Usurpations of the Popes it would be too tedious to enumerate them and I refer my Reader to the Learned Richer and Du Pin. De potest Eccles L. 1. c. 3. De Antiq. Eccles Discipl Diss 7. The French Soyl being so well prepared to receive the Seed of the Gospel 't is not to be wondered at if the Disciples of Luther and the Writings of Calvin caused such a Harvest in that Kingdom one ought rather to be surpriz'd that it was not fruitful every where and that against all Appearance in less than 200 Years the Roman Tare has outwardly covered the whole Realm again I say against all appearance for it seems somewhat strange that some Northern Countries have generally iâ—brac'd and hitherto preserved the Refoâ—mation and that the quick-sighted Frenâ—â— have suffered themselves to be imposed uâ—on so far as to let Popery and Tyranâ— prevail after they had spilt so much Blooâ— to obtain at least a Liberty of Consciencâ— I will not presume to enter the Secrets 〈◊〉 God but as the ways of his Providenâ—â— may sometimes be discovered after the â—vent and the Faults of our Fore-fathers 〈◊〉 the Frauds of our Enemies may make 〈◊〉 wiser for the future so it will not mâ—thinks be amiss to observe the Causes thaâ— have put a stop to the Reformation iâ— France 1. In most of the Countries that reformeâ— themselves the Church-Revenues were noâ— all disposed of according to the pious Intent of the Givers but a good part waâ— appropriated to Secular Uses which alienated the Hearts of the Clergy in otheâ— Countries and gave them occasion to insinuate to the People that Covetousness anâ— not
the Love of the Truth was the chieâ— Motive of their Change This Inconvenience might have been prevented by some Foundations for promoting Learning and Piety and erecting up Schools Colledges and Places for the Retirement of the Learned who had served the Church a certain time or were fitter for Writing than Preaching 2 Calvin chancing to light upon Geneva established there a Form of Ecclesiastical Government very suitable to a Common-wealth but not at all to a Kingdom The French Protestants however set up the fame amongst them which was pardonable enough during the Persecution since they had not the Means to keep up Bishops and that they had been more exposed than simple Ministers both because of their Dignity and their Opposition to the Roman Prelates But when God had given them a Protestant King who conquered a good part of his Realm with the Dint of his Sword when so many of the Bishops and Nobility resorted to Henry IV 't is a wonder that his Presbyterian Ministers never thought of submitting to the Prelates provided the Prelates would submit to the Truth 3. Thence arose another Evil for there being no Means of Subsistence for Dignitaries amongst the Reformed no not so much as an honorable Recompence for the Learned after the Separation was made very few came over to them out of the Roman Church and a greater Number of their Ministers was seduced to the Popish Tenets 4. To cheat People of their Money the Monks had invented or adorned with fabulous Stories the Doctrine of Purgatory and made them believe at the saâ—â— time that they might redeem themselâ— either with Money or painful Satisfactioâ— which the Reformers perceiving drove perhaps too forwardly the Doctrines absolute Predestination and free Grace Tâ— subtil Controvertists of the Roman Churâ—â— let not slip this Occasion of ridiculing thâ— Adversaries and traduced them as Enemâ— to good Works and such as overthrew 〈◊〉 Moral of the Gospel These Accusatioâ— how false soever they were being set up 〈◊〉 able Pens were sufficient to amuse the Vâ—â—gar and to hinder them from opening thâ— Eyes to see the gross Errors of Popeâ— which in the mean time were not urged 5. It 's well known that there has beeâ— pretended Holy League in France for maiâ—taining the Roman Catholick Religion aâ—â— that the Dukes of Guise were Chieftenaâ—â— and Promoters of it but they who haâ—â— not read the Books of those Times are 〈◊〉 so well acquainted with the Artifices thâ— used to draw in so many of the Nobilitâ— They perswaded them that the Huguenâ—â— were Commonwealth-men who intendâ— to subvert the Kingdom and dismember 〈◊〉 into several petty Principalities and Repuâ—licks just as their Brethren the Switzers 〈◊〉 the Free Towns and Princes of Germanâ— By these Insinuations great and aspiriâ—â— Men who cannot make considerable Foâ—tunes under a weak Government stuck close them 6. As to the last Persecution of the French â—â—â—testants as it has been long and in a â—â—nner insensible during Thirty or Forty â—ars but at the latter end extreamly cruâ—â— sudden and unfore-seen so it could 〈◊〉 be prevented either by any Forreign â—wer or any Insurrection within The â—â—ench Cardinals and Jesuits no less cruel â—â—d cunning than the Wolves of the Fable â—â—ok from the Reformed their Places of â—â—rety seduced their great Men invaded â—eir Priviledges and fell upon Dragoonâ—g them when they were disarmed and â—â—t of state of making any Defence But will smart them I hope before it be long â—or besides that God never left such a perâ—iousness unpunished they are so far â—â—om having extirpated the Reformation at they have spread it farther by mingling â—â—e Protestants amongst them And any one â—ay easily suppose that during the Separatiâ—n the Reformed had not so many fair Occaâ—ons of instilling into them a secret Horror â—â—r superstitious Practices as they have now And let this suffice to the First Part of â—ur Description I had resolved to follow 〈◊〉 the Second Part the ordinary Division â—f France in Twelve Governments but â—â—nce I considered that this Method would â—e troublesome both to me and my Readers and perhaps make me overskip some of thâ— Countries included in the general Goverâ—ments Besides that there are now Nineteeâ— and not Twelve of them so that I thought more convenient to begin at one End 〈◊〉 with Lorrain then pursuing my way Nortâ—wards to make the Grand Tour of Francâ— and go out of it through the County 〈◊〉 Burgundy than to puzzle my self and â—thers with unnecessary Bounds and Divâ—sions However I will not fail to maâ— the Extent of each Government and thâ— Countries belonging to it A DESCRIPTION OF FRANCE PART II. WHEREIN â—ach of its great Provinces smaller Counties Cities Towns Royal Houses Forests Mountains Coasts Rivers and Lakes are Geographically and Historically described CHAP. I. LORRAIN the Three Bishopricks and the Dutchy of BAR. THIS Province is called thus from Lothaire Grand-Son of Lewis the Meek Emperour and King of France who was Soveraign thereof when it was far greater and bore the Name of Kingdom The whole Dutchy belongs now to thâ— King of France who has usurped the greaâ—est part of it upon Charles III. the true Sâ—veraign and forced him to make over 〈◊〉 Right to him The present Bounds of thâ— Province are Elzas and the Palatinate oâ— the East Champaign on the West Luxeâ—bourg and the Electorate of Triers on thâ— North and the County of Burgundy on thâ— South The Inhabitants are Warlike anâ— the Country for the most part covered witâ— Woods and Forests yet well stock'd witâ— Corn Vines and Minerals nor does it waâ— pleasant Rivers and good Waters It s Town are well built strong and rich NANCY the Capital of Lorrain was the ordinary Residence of the Dukes whose Courâ— was crouded with great Numbers of Nobilitâ— and Gentry It was here that those Princes Riches made a fine Sight especially two Tables of a great Length and Breadth one Marble the other Silver-gilt or washed over witâ— Gold with several Figures and Emblems and Latin Verses most artificially engraveâ— upon them There were also costly Hangings and the Effigies of a Man in Wood whose Muscles seemed to move and werâ— interwoven with so much Art that it waâ— a perfect Wonder The Dukes Tombs arâ— likewise here amongst which that of Renatus who overcame the Burgundians is moâ—â— considerable that of Charles Duke of Buâ—gundy is there also The Arsenal was well provided with all Necessaries and its Fortifications seemed to render it impregnable before the French took it There is a Bog or fenny Place pretty nigh the Town in the midst of which is a Cross of Stone with an Inscription in French that marks the Defeat of the Burgundians under Charles the Rash their last Duke An. 1477. The Town is situated about an hundred Steps from the Meurte which discharges it self into the Moselle four or five Miles from thence Nancy is divided into Old and New Town the Old has the Palace of the Dukes
Sant Câ—erny la â—rté Loupiere Aillant Brignon c. 4. Langres â—Ome put this Town in Bassigni and others account Chaumont for the Capital of it shall here follow the last in order to make particular Description of this ancient City â—lled by the Latins Lingonae and Andomainum Lingonum and famous ever since the Irruption of Sigovese and Bellovese iâ— Italy that is since 3464 of the World 164 of Rome Langres is seated upon Mountain near the source of the Marne aâ— its Territory which is not far from Bâ—gundy is accounted the highest of France bâ—cause five or six Rivers spring out of The Vandals wasted this City and put St. â—dier its Bishop to death in 704 but siâ— it was so well repaired that in the 12th Ceâ—tury Peter the Venerable calls it the Nâ—â— the Great and the Renowned and therefoâ— its Bishops were not forgotten in the Institâ—tion of the ancient Dukes and Peers France The Cathedral is dedicated 〈◊〉 St. Mammez Martyr but St. Savinian wâ— its first Bishop for ought we know about 〈◊〉 end of the fourth Age. 5. Of Bassigni Vallage and Perthois THE Country of Bassigni is included bâ—twixt that of Langres and Vallage 〈◊〉 the South and North the Dutchy aâ— County of Burgundy on the West and Eaâ— Vallage has Bassigni on the South the Pâ—cinct of Troyes on the East and North-Eaâ— Lorrain on the East Barrois and Rhemois 〈◊〉 the North. Perthois has Vallage on the Soutâ— the Dutchy of Bar on the East the Territâ— â—y of Rheims on the North and that of Troyes â—n the West Chaumont is the Capital of Bassigni and is situated upon a Hill near the Marne between Langres and Chalons It has 〈◊〉 very strong Castle built upon a Rock with a Tower called the Donjon There are likewise Montigni Gaeffi Nogente Roy Bourbonne-les-Bains Monteclar Andeâ—t Bisnay Choyseul Clermont with several â—thers that have strong Castles for their Deâ—ence Vallage for its chief Towns has Vassi â—nd Joinville erected into a Principality by King Henry II. for the youngest Sons of the House of Guise an 1552. It is situated upâ—n the Marne The other Towns of Vallage â—re Brienne County Vignoris Montirandel â—onlevand le Chasteau aux Forges Esclairon â—ar upon the River Aube which is renownâ—d for its excellent Wines and had formerly â—s particular Counts The Country of Perthois has Vitri 〈◊〉 François fortified the modern way or its Capital It was built by King â—rancis I. whose Name it bears in the Neighbourhood of Vitri le brulé that was 〈◊〉 former times a considerable Castle The â—ther less considerable Towns are Argilliers â—arzicourt Louvemain St. Dizier a strong â—own on the Frontiers of Barrois Serâ—aize c. 6. The Country of Brie and morâ— especially Brie Champenoise THis Country is included between thâ— Marne the Seine and the Diocese oâ— Chalons and is extended about 10 or 1â— Leagues in length and breadth It 's ferâ— in Fruits Meadows Corn and Wines thaâ— are delicate near Château-Thierry but morâ— rough about Meaux Brie is divided intâ— French Brie depending upon the Governmeâ— of the Isle of France and Champaigne's Brie divided again into Vpper Lower and Louâ— Brie or the Land of Glandevesse whereiâ— are the Boroughs of Gandelu Montmorâ— Tresmes Orbay c. The whole Province hâ— MEAVX for its Capital whose scituation upon the Maine is very pleasant and its Disposâ—tion or Order no less being divided in twâ— by a little River that runs through and separates the Town quite from the Markeâ— called otherwise the Fort. It 's so considerâ—ble that it deserv'd a Bishoprick Bailwicâ— and Election It s Cathedral is dedicated 〈◊〉 St. Stephen Besides that there is the Collegiate Church of St. Sanctin first Bishop 〈◊〉 Meaux the Abbey of St. Faron belonging 〈◊〉 the Benedictins of St. Maur and several Parochial Churches and Monasteries both iâ— the Town and the three Suburbs Meaâ— had formerly its particular Counts whose Country was united to the Crown with the â—est of Champaign During the Imprisonment â—f King John the Dauphin Charles V. his â—on fell at variance with the Parisians and â—etired to Meaux thence to Sens. The Parians would make use of the occasion to â—eize upon this Key of the Marne and sent â—ome Troops thither under the Conduct of a â—rocer but notwithstanding the Treason â—f the Mayor who opened them the Gates â—ey could not master the Market and â—aston-Phebus Count of Foix cut them inâ— pieces then ransack'd and burnt the Town However it was in few years so â—ell repair'd that it maintained a Siege of â—ree months against the English who at last â—ok it upon Charles VII then only Dauâ—hin of France in 1421. Meaux was one â—f the first Cities of that Kingdom wherein â—e Reformation was Preached for which â—ohn le Clerc and James Pavanes got the â—rown of Martyrdom the first being burnt 〈◊〉 Metz and the other at Paris about the â—ear 1525. CHATEAV-THIERRY is eight or ten â—eagues Eastwards of Meaux upon the same â—iver has the Title of a Dutchy a Bailâ—ick a Presidial Provostship and Election and 〈◊〉 accounted the Chief Town of Vpper Brie â—'s strong and pleasant by its situation has good Castle and several Churches The Duke of Mayenne took it in the last Age foâ— the League at which time it was plundereâ— by the Spaniards MONCEAVX is a Royal Castle anâ— Pleasure-house built upon the River Oâ—â— near its meeting with the Marn It 's adorâ—ed with Parks Forests Rivers and Gardeâ— that yield to none in the Kingdom for Beauty or Pleasure Queen Catherine of Mediâ— begun and Henry IV. finished it PROVINS Capital of Lower Brie anâ— formerly of the whole Province is situateâ— upon the little River Vuzie It has a Baiâ—wick and is renowned for its Roses and tâ— Conserve that is made of them The otheâ— Towns and Boroughs of Brie are Nogenâ— l'Artaud Vieux-Maisons Crecy Colommieâ— la Ferté-Gaucher and Sezanne all four upoâ— the Morin Nogent sur Seyne which has fine Bridge upon that River Montereâ—faut Yonne so called because the Yonne faâ— there and mixes with the Seine It has Bridge too upon which John Duke of Bâ—gundy was murthered by the Faction of Oleance in 1419. CHAP. IV. Of the Isle of France and its Dependencies ISLE of France is properly the Name of a small Country included between the Rivers Seine Oyse and Aysne Picardy Brie â—nd the Territory of Rheims but to make of it a Government somewhat suitable to â—he bigness of the Capital of so great a Kingdom part of the adjacent Countries have â—een taken from them and added to this Peninsula viz. out of Champaign part of Brie betwixt the Marne the Seine and the small River Yere with the Towns of Lagâ—y Ville-neuve-S George Brie-Comte-Robert built by the first Count of Champaign which â—as yet a Seat of Justice resorting to the Châteâ—et of Paris and Rosoy Out of Beausse have been taken three Countries namely Hureâ—oix on the South of the Seine with
Siege took occasion curiously to pry inâ—â— the Mouth of all the Cannons and whâ—â— the Duke asked him what he did I looâ— sais he for the Key of Beauvais but I cannot find it For this Warlike Resistance the Inhabitants got several priviledges as tâ— be free from the Duty of Arrear-ban witâ— the liberty of enjoying Noble Mannon without paying any Money to the Crown But the Women as they shewed a Courage much above their Sex so they were honoured above the rest For they were allowed to adorn themselves at their Wedding-Day as sumptuously as they would a Liberty very unusual in those Days Likewise to precede the Men at a Procession to be made every Year at the Festival of S. Agadresme and to bring their Offerings to the Altar before them Beauvais is a very fine City both for its Buildings as the Episcopal Palace the Cathedral Church of St. Peter which has Eight Dignitaries and Forty Canons Six Collegiate Churches and Three Abbyes and likewise for its Territory which is pleasantly interrupted with Plains Vallyes and Hills that are Fertil in Wine Corn Hay and all sorts of Fruits nay the Meadows are so good that Muttons are here bigger and fatter than in other parts of France This Town besides is well fortified the Walls being thick and strengthned with Bulwarks and Rampiers the Ditches deep and broad with Sluces to let the Water in or out S. Lucian is thought to have been the first Bishop of Beauvais in the Primitive Ages of Christianity but either of him or his Successors is little certainty till the VIII or IX Century Odet of Coligni Cardinal of Chastillâ—â— was Bishop of this Town in the last Age and being perswaded of the Truth of the Reformation refused to say Mass in the Cathedral on Easter-day 1561 and madâ— bold to Celebrate the Lords Supper in hâ—â— Private Chappel The French Kings and the Counts of Blois and Champaign have endowed this Bishoprick with great Revenueâ— and Priviledges so that its Prelate is Spiritual and Temporal Lord of this Town and County and the first among the Ecclesâ—astical Counts and Peers of France Hâ— Power howsoever is not so great as it wâ—â— before the Year 1539 that there was 〈◊〉 Royal Officer but a Judge of Priviledgâ—â— Men Since that time a Bailiwick Presidâ—â—â— Election and Mayoralship have been founded there In 1609 that Duchesne wrote hâ— Antiquities all the Judges depended yeâ— upon the Bishop He has Nine Arch-Deacons and Three Hundred and Seventy Parishes under him The Chief Trade of Beauvais consists in Serges Cloaths and the like Stuffs is Earthen Vessels which are made of an excellent Potters-Clay that abounds in this Countrey in lines which are transported into Holland and Flanders There are a great many Villages round about the Town and several Noble Families whence are issued Four great Masters of St. Johns Order John and Philip de Villiers L' Isle-Adam Claudius de la Sengle and Vignacourt But the most Illustrious of all is John of Bechencourt the first King and Discoverer of the Canaries in 1402. Among the Titles of the Bishop of Beauvais is that of Vidame or Vicedominus of Gerberoy because he is Lord Temporal of that Borough scituated on the Frontiers of Picardy upon a Mountain which has the Terrain at its foot Five Leagues North-West of Beauvais It is famous for a Battle between the English and the French fought in 1435 where the Count of Arundel lost his Life Bulles a Borough Four Leagues East of Beauvais is renown'd for its Lines and known since the Year 1075 Clermont Eleven Miles South-East of Beauvais and Six of Bulles is a pretty good Town seated upon a small Hill It has the Title of a County and has given its Name to a Noble Family known since the Eleventh Century It was extinguished within Two Ages and King Lewis the IX gave it to Robert of France his Son about the Year 1291 but in 1327 Charles the fair exchanged it with Lewis Roberts Son for some other Lands and erected the Barony of Bourbon into a Dutchy and Peerdom which made this House change their Sirname and rake that of Bourbon It 's from this Robert that the present Kings of France are descended Clermont was restored to these Lorâ— by Philip of Valois who would not keep tâ—â— Match of his Predecessor but confiscated bâ— Francis I. upon Charles of Bourbon Higâ— Constable of France because he had revoltâ— from him to the Emperour Charles V. Tâ—â— other Towns or considerable Burroughs oâ— Beauvaisis are Merlou Bury Ansac Angâ— Mony Monchy Tillart c. Valois Going over the Oyse you enter into thâ— Country of Valois call'd Pagus Vadensis in thâ— Statute-Books of the Emperour Charles the Bald. Mention is made of it since Philip I Afterwards this County was often given 〈◊〉 the Children of the French King for theâ— Portion whence it came that the Frencâ— King Philip VI. Son to Charles Count oâ— Valois Alencon c. and Grandson to Philip the Bold was surnamed de Valois and communicated this Appellation to Thirteen Kings descended from him until Henry IV. in whom began the branch of Bourbon Charles VI. Erected this County into 〈◊〉 Dutchy and Peerdom in 1402 and it makes yet part of the Portion of Philip of France Lewis XIV his Brother Creil upon the Oyse with a Fine Bridge â—nd a Provostship resorting to the Bailiwick of Senlis is the first Town you meet with coming out of Beauvaisis Charles V. built there a strong Castle which fell in the hands of the English under Charles VI. and was retaken by Charles VII in 1442. Creil is Two Leagues North of Senlis and Eleven of Paris Chantilly upon the Nonnette Three Miles South of Creil is a Royal House with fine Gardens and Water-Spouts belonging now to the Prince of Conde Verneuil upon the Oyse a League East of Creil has been Erected first into a Marquizate and lately into a Dutchy and Peerdom by Lewis XIV Anno 1652. Sonlis Augustomagus Silvanectum is scituated on a Hill betwixt Two small Rivers which mix their Waters near it and bear the Name of Nonnette with the Forest Halatre on the North and that off Senlis on the South Nine or Ten Leagues of Paris It 's the most considerable Town of this Dutchy having a Bishoprick Bayliwick and Presidial Seven Parochial and Two Collegiate Churches St. Proculus was his first Bishop The whole Diocess is interwoven with woods which has given it its Latin Name In 873 Charles the Bald assembled there the Bishops of Sens and Rheims to try his Son Carloman who was a Deacon and had revolted against him The Young Prince waâ— condemn'd and his Eyes pull'd out and waâ— put close Prisoner in the Abby of Corby 〈◊〉 Thence he made his escape to Lewis thâ— Germanick his Unkle who gave him thâ— Abby of Epternack where he died sometiâ—â— after In 1589 the Leaguers besieged thâ—â— Town but were forced to raize the Siegâ— by the Duke of Longueville
burned three times viz. in 1131 1152 and 1228 Notwithstanding it is yet a considerable Town well built and has Four Suburbs King Henry the Great took it from the Leaguers in 1591 but the Duke of Mayen having retaken it Two years after the King besieged and took it again in 1594. In 1516. a Treaty of Peace was negotiated there between Francis I. and Charles of Austria since Emperour and Calvin was born in it the 10th of July 1509. Chauny Contraginnum and Calniacum upon the River Oyse Three Leagues East of Noyon is a Royal Town and the Head of a Castelny After the Battle of St. Lawrence in 1557 the Imperialists having taken several Towns in Picardy put a strong Garrison in Chauny it being a Key of the Oyse CHAP. V. Of Picardy THIS Province hath the Isle of France on the South Champaign Haynaut and Flanders on the East the County of Artoys and the Streights of Dover on the North the British Sea and Normandy on the West It is one of the principal parts of the Antient Belgae Though the Name of Picardy be Modern and its Original contested The Opinion that seems to me the more reasonable is that of Adrian de Valois who derives it from Pique and se Piquer to have a Pick or to be passionate He conjectures that it was first a Nick-Name given by the Scholars of the University of Paris to their Fellows of that Province And indeed we see that it was first the Sirname of some Private Men as of one Clement in 1023 and one William in 1099 and that in process of time it became at last the name of the whole Province as may be read in Nicolas de Bray about the year 1215. Besides that the French especially in those Ages were wont to end in ard the words signifying the defects of the mind as Babillard Bavard Musard Fetard c. It was formerly one of the greatest Governments of France before the Country of Beauvaifis Noyon Soissons Valois and Laon were taken from it To make amends the County of Artois which by the Peace of Nimeguen in 1677 was wholly yielded to France has been added to it together with the old Conquests of Landrecy Quesnoy and Avenes in Hainaut This Country is extraordinary fruitful in Corn and has the conveniency to send it away by Sea to Paris and other places whence it is esteemed the chief Granary of the Isle of France but there grows no Wine either because the Inhabitants neglect to plant Vines or rather that the Country is too cold There is a great number of Nobility and of the Antientest in the Kingdom which has propagated in them the Martial Humour of the Antient Belgae Its Inhabitants are said to be free civil generous and good Natur'd but somewhat 〈◊〉 passionate As to the Seats of Justice Elizabeâ—â— Charles VI. Queen erected a Soveraigâ— Court of Justice or Parliament at Amieâ—â— during her Regency but as the Parliameâ—â— of Paris had an ill Eye upon this institâ—tion which restrain'd its Jurisdiction 〈◊〉 narrower limits and that the Supream Power did not remain long in her hands 〈◊〉 did not this Parliament likewise long subsâ—â—â— So that all the Bayliwicks Presidials anâ— Justices of this Province are still resorting to the Parliament of Paris Part 〈◊〉 this Country viz. all that is beyond the River Somme was formerly alienated from 〈◊〉 Crown of France by Charles VII aâ—â— yielded for ever to the Duke of Burgundy 〈◊〉 1435. Picardy is divided by some into upper aâ—â— lower but the most common and easie Division is into Seven Precincts or Countyes which last shall I follow here goinâ— from the East to the West and from the South to the North their Names are Tierache Vermandois Santerre Amienois Ponthicu Boulenois Pais Reconquis or the Recovered Countrey Its Rivers are besides the Oyse that has already been described The Serre that comes from the Borders of Champaigne washes Crecy and mixes with the Oyse at La-Fere The Somme that takes it source in â—ermandois at a place called Fonsomme washes St. Quintin Ham Peronne â—orbie receives the Avregne increased with the Noye goes through Amitens â—ext to it receives the Celle washes Pequigny Abbeville and near its mouth being increaâ—ed with the Trie Damboise Damerise falls â—nto the Ocean at St. Vallery The Maye â—omes from Gapennes near the Forest of â—recy makes a Lake between Bernay and â—ue and discharges it self into the Sea Six â—â—r Seven Leagues from its Source The Authie rises in the Amienois at a place called Chasteau d' Authie goes through Dourlans â—ompierre Douriers Nempont and runs into â—he Sea five Miles North of Crotoy and Six South-West of Montreuil The Canche riâ—es in Arroys near Hermanville washes Estreé Hâ—sdin Montreuil and discharges it self into â—he Sea near Estaples Lianne is a small Riâ—er of the Boulenois upon which Boulogne is â—eated Ostouvre Veredicque and Souduvre are Three small Rivers of the Recover'd Country which joyn together Two or Three Miles above Calice and then fall into the Sea Tierache This Country the most Easterly of Picardy is full of Woods and has taken its Name from a Forest call'd Teoracia Syâ—â— which separates it from Hainaut on the Nortâ—-West It has several considerable Towâ— whereof Guise upon the Oyse is accounted tâ—â— Capital It was formerly a County anâ— the ordinary Portion of the youngest Soâ— of the House of Lorrain but erected into 〈◊〉 Dutchy and Peerdom by Francis I on bâ—half of Claudius of Lorrain in 1528. Tâ—â— is that same Family that would have usurpâ— the Crown of France on pretence of Religion for which purpose they raised severâ— Civil Wars in France especially that calleâ— the Holy League to exclude Henry of Boâ—â—bon the Lawful Successor Seven Miles lower along the Oyse is thâ— Town of Ribemont Ribodi Mons. It has aâ—â— Abby under the Title of St. Nicholas des Prâ—â— Ansell of Ribemont was one of the Lords thâ—â— went to the Holy Land in 1096 and waâ— kill'd in the Siege of the Castle of Ptolemaâ— Seven Miles still lower in a Marshy place where the Serre falls into the Oyse is the strong Town of La Fere with thick Brick-Walls good Bastions and Rampiers and a Castle It was already a strong hold iâ— 958 so that it seems a Colony of the Antient Francs who call'd Fara such Boroughs as were inhabited by one Family or Race without mixture of any other During thâ— Wars of the League the Marquess of Maignelay Governour of that place had promised to restore it to the French King Henry IV. but he was murder'd before he could perform his promises The Duke of Mayenn gave the Government of La Fere to one Colas the Marquess's Murderer Colas deliver'd it afterwards to the Spaniards who allowed him to enjoy it under the Title of a County but Henry IV. got it from his hands in 1597 by a Capitulation that Colas subscrib'd with the Title of the Count of La Fere. Four Leagues
Dragon he is said to have â—â—vercome This History is too remarkable 〈◊〉 to be mention'd and tho it be perhaps relâ—â— in a fabulous manner however there must 〈◊〉 be something of truth because of a Câ—â—â— that is still kept to this day In the Forreâ—â— Rouvray near the Suburbs of Rouen was a Sâ—â— which much annoyed Men and Beasts 〈◊〉 Pious Prelate resolved to rid his Citizen 〈◊〉 this Monster and as no body was willing to company him he got two condemned Crâ—â—nals a Thief and a Murtherer to go aâ— with him as soon as the Serpent perceâ—â— them it ran to devour them whereupon 〈◊〉 Thief took the flight but the Saint not afrighted threw his stole at the Monsters 〈◊〉 which so well twisted it self about it that fettered Monster was forced to follow the â—â—derer who brought him as a tyed Dog 〈◊〉 the great market of the Town where it 〈◊〉 burn'd and its Ashes thrown into the â—â—ver It would be uncivil to ask whether the â—â—â—minal was pardoned But St. Ouen did 〈◊〉 for being Lord Chancellor to King Dagâ—â—â— and Successor to St. Romain he obtained 〈◊〉 his Master that a Fortnight before Ascâ—â—◠〈◊〉 four Canons with their four Chaplains â—â—ould have leave to visit the King's Prisons 〈◊〉 supersede all extraordinary proceedings aâ—â—inst them to hear their Confessions and 〈◊〉 to deliver whomsoever they pleased â—hich is performed every year on the said Asâ—â—sion day with a great deal of Ceremony â—â—e released Prisoner is oblig'd to nothing â—â—e but to appear the seven years next folâ—â—wing to accompany the new delivered and 〈◊〉 Romains Coffin in a solemn Procession On the great Gate of this Church is a Triâ—â—mphal Arch representing the French King â—â—nry IV. driving Lyons and Wolves out of â—â—s Flock On the other side are the League â—â—nd up in Chains and gnawing its Fetters â—â—d the King of Spain standing near a Bell with â—â—â—mournful and Heart-sick Countenance Besides the Cathedral Rouen with its Suburbs 〈◊〉 35 Parochial Churches and 24 Monasteâ—s the whole Diocess extending it self thrô â—â—e third part of Normandy and comprehendâ—â—g both Vexins all Caux Bray and Roumois 〈◊〉 Rural Deanships 1388 Parishes and 26 131 Abbies under 6 Archdeacons The â—ench King Philip the fair founded there a â—ourt of Exchequer in 1286. which Lewis â—â—I made Sedentary in 1499 and Francis I. â—â—dow'd it with the name and priviledge of a â—â—rliament There are other Courts of Juâ—â—ce besides that as a Bailiwick and Presidial 〈◊〉 Chamber of Accounts a Chamber of the â—â—nt which coyns Money with the Letter B. â—â—ere is a Bridge built upon Boats which is â—â—k'd upon as a Master-piece of Art because it rises and goes down with the Tide tâ— be paved and 270 steps long And thereâ— Rouen lyes very conveniently for the 〈◊〉 brings into its Key Vessels of 200 Tâ—â— and makes it one of the Richest and most â—â—ding Cities in France Rouen is not only stâ—â—â— by its situation but also well fortified 〈◊〉 Castles Bulwarks Bastions Rampiers Terrâ—â— â—lined with Freestone large Ditches into wâ—â— fall the small Rivers of Robec Aubette and â—â—â—nelle after they have passed thro' several â—â—ter-mills It 's uncertain whether the Latin name 〈◊〉 Rouen Rotomagus comes from the Idol Râ—â— or Rothon Worshipp'd there or from the sâ—â— River Rodobeccus Robec so that it should 〈◊〉 compounded name signifying the Town o◠〈◊〉 God Roth or of the Red Brook The timâ— its foundation and the name of its Fouâ—â— are still more uncertain but sure it is 〈◊〉 Rouen was already in Caesar's time the heaâ—â— the Veloicasses that is mention'd by Pâ—â— Ammian Marcellin and the Tables of Theâ—â— the Great under the name of Rotomagus 〈◊〉 had formerly an Amphitheatre and thrâ—â—â—â—tifi'd places viz. the Palace the Castle 〈◊〉 call'd Mount S. Catherine or Fort S. Catâ—â— and the Bridge This City has produc'd â—â—veral Men of Parts as that great and incoâ—â—â—rable Protestant Divine Samuel Bochart 〈◊〉 Learned Emery Bigot who has publish'd â—â—ral Writings of the Fathers amongst othâ—â— the Epistle of S. Chrysostom to Caesarius 〈◊〉 Family of Basnage renown'd for Lawyers â—â—â—ter Corneille the Prince of the Tragick Pâ—â—â— among the French Thomas Corneille his Brother â—â—â—d Pradon two other Drammatick Poets of â—â—ote Mr. De Fontenelles one of the Wittiest â—â—riters in France Mrs. Bernard who has â—â—ly carried the Prize of Poetry in the â—â—â—ench Academy I may well also give a place â—â—â—ong these Ingenious to Mr. Le Motteux Auâ—â—or of the Gentlemans Journal Caux THis Bailiwick North and North-east of Rouâ—â— en is esteemed to be the Land of the Anâ—â—ent Caletes and is included between the Riâ—â—rs Seyne and Bresle Caesar who makes the â—â—â—re the limits of the Celtae ranks the Velocassi â—â—d the Caleti among the Belgae but by the diâ—â—sion of August they were included in the â—â—cond Lyonnoise with their Capital Rotomaâ—â—s Adrian de Valois reckons nine Rivers in â—â—is Countrey viz. the Vitefleur Guitefleda â—â—e Dun Dunus the Seane or Saane Sedana the â—â—une Belnaium the Sie or Seye Seda the â—â—rennes Guarenna the River of Dieppe or Arâ—â—es Deppa or Arcae the Eaune Heldona or â—â—na and Alna the Iere Eara which Samson â—â—lls the Sart and the Ou or Bresle Aucus Through the whole Countrey of Caux the â—ldest Sons both of the Gentry and Common â—eople are Heirs of all and there is but a â—â—all Portion allow'd for the Sustenance of the Youngest Sons and Daughters which Câ—â—â— seems to be deriv'd from the Ancient Nâ—â— mans who used it to maintain the lustre 〈◊〉 their Families and to make their Youngâ—â— Sons look to themselves and seek their Fâ—â—tune with the dint of their Sword And 〈◊〉 perhaps was the Cause they conquer'd Nâ—stria Caudebec Calidum Beccum that is warm â—â—â—vulet because it s built upon a small Brook 〈◊〉 mile from the Seyne and three leagues East 〈◊〉 its mouth is a Town renow'd for several Mâ—nufactures especially Hats Three leagues West 〈◊〉 Caudebec upon another Brook near the Seyâ—â— is the small Town of Lillebonne which is taâ—â— by Sigebert and Ordericus Vitalis for Julâ—â—â— Caletorum Capital of the Country of Caux 〈◊〉 De Valois denies it Howsoever it gives 〈◊〉 its name to a branch of the House of Lorrâ—â—â— William the Conqueror call'd thither a Coâ—â—cil of the Prelates of Normandy in 1080. 〈◊〉 mile South of Lillebonne lyes the Lordship 〈◊〉 Tancarville upon the Seyne Tancardi or raâ—â— Tancredi Villa for it seems to have gotten 〈◊〉 name from that famous Tancrede Lord of Hâ—â—reville who liv'd in the time of Rollon or â—â—â—bert I. Duke of Normandy This Nobleman â—â—ving a numerous Family sent into Italy his tâ—â— Eldest Sons Dreux and Fierabras who joynâ—â— with Robert Guischard and some other Nâ—â— man Lords Warr'd against the Saracens 〈◊〉 expell'd them out of Sicily their Postenâ— setled themselves in that Island conquer'd Câ—â—labria and Appulia from the Greeks and Tâ—â—poli from the Barbarians and made themselvâ—â— famous during
Peerdom erected by the French King Henry II. in 1547. in behalf of Claudius of Lorrain Youngest Son to the Duke of Guise Aumale had its particular Counts in the twelfth Century afterwards it fell to the share of the House of Ponthieu and then of the House of Lorrain This Town is Noted for its Woollen Cloth and an Ancient Abby of St. Bennets Order Eleven miles South-west of Aumale near the source of the Epte is the Village of Forges renown'd for its Medicinal Waters Longueville Longa villa or Longus vicus a Burrough upon the River Sie eight leagues North of Rouen and four South of Dieppe was formerly a County and has been enjoyed under that Title by the famous Bertrand du Guesclin High Constable of France In 1443. Charles VII gave it to another great Warrior John Count of Dunois Bastard of the House of Orleans whence are descended the Dukes of Orleans Longueville who enjoy still that Lordship erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom in 1505 bâ— Lewis XII Five leagues West of Longueâ—â—â— and ten North-west of Rouen lyes the Bâ—â—rough of Estouteville Stota villa with the Title of a Dutchy erected by Francis I. in 153â— It has given its Name to an Illustrious Familâ— ever since the 11th Century However Na Sanson the Father has forgotten it in his Map Eight leagues Northwest of Rouen and 5 mile North of Caudebec lyes the small Village of Yvetot with the Title of a Principality and formerly with that of a Kingdom as many French Authors pretend It was erected by the Frencâ— King Clotaire I. to make amends for the Death of Walter Lord of Yvetot whom he had murdered in a Church at Soissons In consequence of the Law of the mannors that frees the Tenant of any subjection to his Liege Lord if the said Lord breaks any of his Bones or cuts any of his Members In an Ancient Record of the Court of Exchequer in Normandy and Patentees of the French Kings in the Years 1392 1401 1450 1464 the Lords of Yvetot are entituled Kings and their Soveraignty and Independency is asserted At the Coronation of Mary of Medicis Henry IV. Queen This Prince observing that the Master of the Ceremonies had assigned no place to Martin du Bellay Lord of Yvetot I will saith he that an Honourable Place be given to my little King of Yvetot Four leagues North-east of Rouen is another Village call'd Cailly which seems to be some remains of an Ancient Town ruined by the Romans that bore the Name of Casletum if we believe Duchesne Bray BRAY is an ancient Gaulish word that marks a Marshy and Dirty place and 't is the beginning or end of several Towns in France As to this Countrey it is included between the Bailiwicks of Gisors Rouen and Caux and so very small that several Geographers forget to mention it The most considerable places are La Ferté Fleury and Gournay of which I find nothing in my Authors unless that near Gournay was given a Battle between the English and the French in 1112 where the last were routed Roumois BEtwixt the Seyne and the Bishopricks of Lizieux and Evreux is included the small Countrey of Roumois Rotmensis pagus which by the Original of its Name seems to have made part of the Territory of Rouen It has not above eight leagues in length and as many in breadth from Brienne upon the Rille to Quevilly two leagues off of Rouen where the French Protestants of that City had their Temple The other Burroughs are Quillebeus upon the Seyne which might be extraordinarily fortified Montfort Mauny c. These four Countries last describ'd make up the Archbishopprick of Rouen The Bishoprick of Evreux THis Diocess is included between the Rivers Seyne and Carenton the Countrey of Roumois and the Bishopricks of Seez and Chartres It is above 17 or 18 leagues North and South and 15 or 16 East and West It was the habitation of the Aulerci Eburovices The Capital Evreux Mediolanum Aluercorum is seated upon the River Iton in a fruitful Plain and has several good Buildings Churches Abbies and Monasteries a Bishoprick Bailiwick and Presidial 'T is said that it was converted to Christianity by St. Taurin who was the first Bishop of it The most renowned of his Successors was Cardinal Du Perron that subtle Controversist who was a Protestant Apostate In Caesar's time the Senonois the Parisians and their Neighbours had a General of Evreux call'd Camalogenus Aulercus whom they oppos'd to Liabienus Evreux has had its Particular Counts issued from the Dukes of Normandy It was erected into a County and Peerdom by Lewis X in 1316 thence it came into the hands of the Kings of Navarr from whom it was redeemed by the French King Charles VI. in 1404. erected into a Dutchy in 1569 by Charles IX and given to his Brother the Duke of Alencon after whose Death it was reunited to the Crown of France in 1584 and exchang'd with the Duke of Bouillion for the Principality of Sedan in 1652. Five leagues West of Evreux near a place where the Rille hides it self under the Ground lyes Beaumont le Roger Bellus mons Rogerii with the Title of a County It was built by a Count call'd Roger whose Name it bears and strongly fortified Raoul of Meulant sold it to the French King Lewis IX in 1255 and Charles III. King of Navarr to whom it did belong â—s being Count of Evreux exchanged both Counties with the French King Charles VI. for the Dutchy and Peerdom of Nemours in 1404. Two leagues North of Beaumont le Roger lyes the Castle of Harcourt Harecortis formerly a good Burrough which has given its Name and the title of Counts to a Noble Family that has been renowned since the beginning of the twelfth Century to the end of the last Age that it fell to the share of the House of Lorrain by the Marriage of Renatus of Lorrain Marquess of Elbeuf with Louise of Rieux Heiress of Harcourt in 1574. Vernon upon the Seyne lyes 7 leagues East of Evreux and ten South-east of Rouen Some think that it had formerly a Royal Palace or Castle call'd Verno or Vernum where two Councils were kept in 755 and 844. but De Valois proves that Verno was the Name of this place and that the Royal House of Vernum was either Ver near Crespi en Valois between Paris and Compiegne or Verneuil upon the Oyse Seven leagues South of Evreux upon the River Aure lyes the Burrough of Nonancourt which has given its Name to Cardinal Nicholas of Nonancourt who was famous about the end of the thirteenth Age and descended from an Ancient House Five miles higher to the West upon the same River is the Town of Tilleres or Tuillieres Tegulariae so call'd from the Stichel-stones that were prepared there It was built by Richard Duke of Normandy but is now almost ruined Remounting the said River one meets with the Town of Vernueil Vernolium erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom by Lewis
XIV in 1652. The Duke of Alencon took it in 1424. but the English retook it and gave a great overthrow to the French in the same Year The French King Charles VII got it again from the English by the Treachery of a Miller who on a Sunday the 19th of July 1449. while the Inhabitants were at Mass introduced the French Soldiers into the Town by the means of a Ladder laid to the Walls The English retired into the Castle which was fortified with Walls and Ditches but being immediately besieg'd and without hope of Relief were forced to surrender Several Towns in France bear the Name of Verneuil and De Valois observes that they are all built near Forrests whence he conjectures that Verne or Verneuil had some such signification in the Gaulish Language Six leagues Westwards is a fine Forrest and near it the Town of Laigle Aquila upon the Rille with the title of a Barony It got this Name from an Eagles Nest that was found upon an Oak at the time of its foundation Rugles Rugulae Lyre Lyra are lower down to the North upon the same River Lyre has a famous Abby of St. Bennets Order Yvri Ibreium Castrum is situated upon the Aure between Passi or rather Paci Paciacum and Paceium and Nonancourt six leagues South-east of Evreux and is renown'd for the Victory which the French King Henry IV. got there over the Leaguers Breteuil which seems to preserve the Name of the Brittons its Founder lyes two leagues North of Verneuil upon the River Iton near a Pond Our Henry II. gave it to one Robert of Montfort whose Sister Amicia sold it to the French King Philip August Damville is seven miles Eastwards upon the same River It was erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom by Lewis XIII in 1610. but this title is now extinguish'd thô the Lordship belongs still to the house of Ventadour Duchesne mentions a place call'd Hermein ville where he says that Robert Count of Normandy routed Thibaud Count of Chartres but I could not find it either in Sanson or Du Val's Maps Conches Capital of a small Country call'd Ouche Pagus Ebroicus is seated near the source of a small River four leagues West of Evreux and has a renowned Abby of Benedictin Monks under the Name of St. Peter and St. Paul Louviers upon the Eure four leagues North of Evreux and six South of Rouen is but a small Town however famous for the noise that some Nuns who pretended to be possessed by the Devil made in the beginning of this Age. CHAP. VII Of Lower Normandy The Bishoprick of Lizieux THis Countrey called by the Inhabitants Lieuvin and by Caesar Lexovii or Lexobii is above seventeen leagues North and South and sixteen East and West It is included between the Sea and the Bishopricks of Evreux Seez and Bayeux and is one of the most fruitful parts of Normandy because of the many Rivers that water it Lizieux Noviomagus Lexoviorum the Capital is scituated upon the River Lezon Tolca six leagues South of the Sea Its Cathedral is dedicated to St. Peter and the first Bishop of it recorded in History is one Lithare who assisted to the first Council of Orleance under Clovis the Great in 511 This Town is renowned for its Fountains and Earthen Wares The other Towns or considerable Burroughs are Pont l'Evêque four leagues North of Lizieux It is renowned for its Cheese Honfleur Haneflotum a Sea-port Town four leagues Northeast upon the mouth of the Seyne over against Harfleur Pont Audemer Pons Audmari or as the Vulgar write Ponteau de Mar built by a French Nobleman of that Name is situated upon the Rille eleven leagues West of Rouen and renown'd for its Saucizes which are brought down to Paris The Inhabitants had formerly their Mayor Sheriffs and Charters André of Villars since Admiral of France took it for the League in 1592. But while he was fortifying it Bosse-rosé one of his Captains got into Fescamp and delivered it to King Henry IV. In 1279. a Council was kept there for the Reformation of Manners Brionne Brionia formerly a strong Town with the title of a County is seated upon the same River six leagues higher to the South Bernay Bernacum upon the Carentone is four leagues South-east of Brionne there is an Abby of Benedictin Monks founded by Judith Richard's of Normandy Dutchess Montreuil Largille upon the River Ternant lyes five leagues South-east of Bernay Mongommery upon a small River nine miles South-west of Lizieux has the title of a County it belonged first to the House of Ponthieu thence to that of Harcourt and has been enjoyed by the Dukes of Longueville since the Year 1485. Cormeilles Cormeliae upon the River Callone four leagues North-east of Lizieux has an Abby of S. Bennets Order and Orbec upon a River of that Name lyes four leagues South of the same Town there is also Tiberville Tibertivilla The Bishoprick of Seez THis Diocess included between the Government of Orleanois the Bishoprick of Evreux Lizieux and Bayeux reaches above 25 leagues North-west and South-east and has not above 10 or 11 leagues extent where it is broadest The Capital Seez is an Ancient Bishoprick since in the Year 540 it had already had ten or twelve Bishops of whom Sigebold is accounted the first by Duchesne This Town is not mention'd by the Ancient Geographers for ought we know for the Sessavii of Caesar were a Maritime People whereas the Saji or Sagii as the French Historian call the Inhabitants of Seez are separated from the Sea by the Lexovii The Town is situated near the source of the River Orne 13 leagues South of Lizieux and the Civil Jurisdiction is partly Royal depending upon Falaise and partly Dukal resorting to Alencon There has been of late Years a Contestation between a Jansenist Clergyman and the Bishop of this Town this Clergyman is the same who has written the Court's Bishop and several other Treatises in which he most cruelly exposes the Prelates contrary to his Party His Name is Le Noir as I take it to be and he was Theologal of Seez Alencon Alentio six leagues South-west of Seez is a good and fine Town with a Bailiwick and the title of a Dutchy and Peerdom erected by the French King Charles VI. in 1413 It lyes in a fruitful Soil between the Forrests of Escouis and Perseigne and is seated upon the Sarte where that River receives the Briante which forms a small Island within the Town In the Parish of our Lady are to be seen the Tombs of the Dukes of Alencon There was formerly a Court of Exchequer but it was suppress'd in 1584. after the Death of Francis last Duke of Alencon It is the same that would have Married Queen Elizabeth and who was Crown'd Duke of Brabant in 1582. This Town and adjacent Territories the Alenconois have been first possessed by the Posterity of these Normand Lords who conquer'd the whole Province from the French Robert the last of them
of Liâ—ux It has gotten its Name from a Forrest â—rd by and is remarkable for the fertility of 〈◊〉 Meadows chiefly at a place called Bieux-ville â—d Sainte Barbe where Grass grows so quick â—pecially in the Spring that if it be browz'd 〈◊〉 the Evening and one lays there a Stick he â—ll find it in the Morning half covered with â—â—ass for which reason a great quantity of black â—ttel are sent thither to be fatten'd Nine leagues higher to the South lyes Pont 〈◊〉 Olly an important passage upon the Orne â—here it receives the Nereau Three leagues Westâ—â—rds is the Town of Conde Condate where â—e small River Drance falls into the Nereau 5. leagues farther to the West is the Town 〈◊〉 Vire upon a River of that Name not far â—om its source It has a Castle an Election 〈◊〉 a Bailiwick resorting to the Presidial of â—en It has the Title of a Viscounty and has â—en formerly so considerable that its Inhabiâ—â—ts having stuck to the English till the Year â—50 they got Letters of Pardon from the French â—nâ— Charles VII Six leagues lower to the North lyes the Town â—origny Tauriniacum formerly very consiâ—rable as appears by the ruines of its Walls 〈◊〉 Gates It has still the Title of a County and a Bailiwick depending on the Presidiâ—â— Caen. I must not forget what is observed by chesne that the meeting of the Rivers Aure Dromine a small league North of Bayeux 〈◊〉 the Village of Maisons form a fine Haven oâ— Port Bessin The Bishoprick of Constance or Coutance THis Countrey call'd Constantin and contively Coutantin is shut up between Sea and the Bishopricks of Bayeux and Avraâ— and is thought to be the habitation of Unelli of Caesar or the Venelli of Pliny It â—bove 20 leagues North and South but hatâ— 12 East and West where it is broadest 〈◊〉 is an Ancient County which Robert Duke Normandy pawn'd to his Brother William red King of England and soon after his whâ— Dutchy for the summ of 10000 Marks of Silâ— that he might undertake a Voyage into the â—ly Land Constance or Contance Capital of 〈◊〉 Countrey is situated upon the small River â—ro 3 leagues East of the Sea and almost West of Torigny Some take it for the Asta Ramanduorum of the Ancient Geograpâ—â— Amian Mercellin calls it Castra Constantia 〈◊〉 he seems mistaken as to it's situation The 〈◊〉 â—ent Notices of the Gauls call it Constantia Ciâ—as Gregory of Tours and other Ancient Auâ—ors of the French History Constantina or â—onstantiensis Urbs. It's likely that Constantius â—lorus encamp'd thereabouts when he went â—ver into Great Brittain and that fâ—â—m a Miliâ—â—ry Station it became a Town by degrees or â—ther that the Emperor Constantius beautify'd with Triumphant Arches of which he erectâ—â—d a great number in the Gauls and in Pannoâ— For 't is not probable that these Emperors â—ould have built a Town which some Years â—â—ter was a City of Note and an Episcopal See 〈◊〉 that it seems that they only repair'd or enâ—â—rg'd Constance which thereupon lost its old â—ame of Crociatonum Venetorum mentioned by â—tolomy St. Ereptiole is taken by Duchesne â—r the first Bishop of Constance in the fourth â—entury but the first Prelate of it mention'd in â—uthentick Histories is one Leoncian who asâ—sted to the first Council of Orleance in 511. â—he situation of Constance is pleasant among â—eadows and Brooks and not far from a Forrest â—he Town is big and well Peopled but withâ—ut Walls and Ditches the French King Lewis â—I having demolished them because the Inhaâ—itants had too openly sided with the Prince â—harles his Brother In 1562. the Lord of Colomâ—iers besieged it took it and sent Philip of Cossé â—â—o Governor Prisoner to St. Lo. The Cathedral â—hurch of our Lady is a fine Building and beautiâ—â—ed with Towers upon one of which the whole Neighbouring Countrey may be discovered This Town has a Bailiwick and Presidial Visâ—ounty Election and Ecclesiastical Court Seven or eight leagues South-east of â—stance on the borders of Avranches is the Bâ—rough of Ville-Dieu with a Commandership 〈◊〉 the Knight of St. John's Order institute◠〈◊〉 Richard III. Duke of Normandy and the 〈◊〉 King of England of that Name Near to it is a Parish call'd La Land Herâ—â— or Airou which was formerly a good Bâ—rough of half a league extent as may be suppâ—sed by some Ruines There was a Castle 〈◊〉 of which nothing is remaining but the bâ— Name in a Neighbouring Field call'd the Câ—stles Meadow Duchesne relates out of Sigeâ—â— that in the year 1158. there hapned a Whâ—â—â—wind which raised up all that it met whâ— and rising in the Air there appeared at 〈◊〉 blew red Columns against which were 〈◊〉 Arrows and Darts from several places 〈◊〉 a great number of Birds of several Kinds toâ— about it He adds farther that this Proâ— was followed by a violent Plague which deppulated whole Towns Four leagues North-west of Ville-Dieu is 〈◊〉 Burrough of Gouray with the Ruines of an â—â—cient Castle upon a small Hill near the Riâ— Souille Five leagues Southwest of Gouray and 〈◊〉 of Constance is the Sea-port of Granville 〈◊〉 Town is partly seated upon a Rock and paâ—â— in a Plain where it has its Haven Nine 〈◊〉 ten leagues Eastwards are the Burrough of Mâ—on the Barony of Fessy and the Castle of 〈◊〉 Motte l'Euesque belonging to the Bishop 〈◊〉 Constance Seventeen miles East of Constance lyes 〈◊〉 strong Town of St. Lo upon the River Vire 〈◊〉 Named from the fifth Bishop of Constance â—uâ—o and in Latin Briovera or Vire's Bridge aâ—â—o and his Successors have for a long time â—orn the Title of Bishops of St. Lo because this â—own belonged to them and that they kept â—nto their ordinary Residence It is now enâ—ved by the Lords of Matignon and has a Baiâ—wick Election and Viscounty an Abby of St. â—nnets Order and a Church under the Name 〈◊〉 our Lady founded as 't is said by the Emâ—eror Charlemaign under the Title of the Holy â—his Seventeen miles North-west you meet with â—â—e Barony of Hommet divided into two Caâ—â—les the Lords of which entitle themselves â—ign Constables Hereditary of the ancient Dukes 〈◊〉 Normandy Five leagues North-west of St. Lo. upon the â—â—ting of the Rivers On and Carenton lyes the 〈◊〉 of Carentar or Querentan Carentonus or â—â—â—onium which is a well trading Place beâ—â—use it lyes but three leagues from the Sea and â—â—at the Tiâ—e brings up greaâ— Boats to it beâ—â—des the strength of â—s situation it has a Gaâ—e Walls and Ditches fill'd up with Water â—he Vulgar believe that Câ—rus one of Câ—â—stâ—s â—ontains was the Founder of it Whatever it â—ay be Carentan is pretty considerable having â—wo Suburbs a Bailiwick Election and the â—itle of a Viscounty In 1574. the Count of Montgomery took it for the Protestants but â—he Lord of Matignor retook it some time after â—nd De Lorges Montgomery's Son was made Prisoâ—er of War Five leagues Northwards lyes upon
them with abundance of Butter and Milk and their Sea-ports make them the best Fishers and Mariners in France The Inhabitants appear Clownish but are really shrewd and cunning Tho' Pliny asserts l. 4. c. 17 19. That the Galli call'd in their own Language Aremorica the Countrey included between the Garumne the Sea and the Pyrenean Mountains which the Romans nam'd afterwards Aquitain yet it appears that Caesar and other Ancient Geographers understood by Armorica and Armorici the Nations and Cities bordering upon the Ocean from the mouth of the Seyne to that of the Loire so that the Ancient Armorique comprehended all Brittany and a good part of Normandy that is all the third Lyonnoise and about one half of the second but this Name deriv'd from an old Gaulish word Armor Ad mare or near the Sea became in process of time proper to Britanny Beda relates l. 1. c. 1. That in old times some Armoricans came over into our Island and master'd the Southern parts of it however 't is not from them that our Ancestors got the Name of Brittains since these Gauls were only known by that of Armorici whereas it cannot be doubted but that our Brittains gave their Name to Brittanny Annal. Egin ad An. 786. For Eginhard testifies that about the Year 441. at the beginning of Valentinian's Empire the English and Saxons having invaded our Island a great part of the Inhabitants put to Sea and Landing on the borders of Vannes and Cornouaille made themselves Masters of the Countrey Accordingly we find one Mansuetus Bishop of these Brittains subscribing to the Council of Tours in 461. Our Refugees made not long since a great Figure in the World for about the end of the fifth Age their King â—â—othimas having made a League with the Emperor Anthemius against the Goths was defeated by them on the borders of Berry before he could joyn with his Confederates and lost in that Battle the best part of 12000 men So great a loss however was not able to run them altogether down for we find that even in the following Century they were a Terror to the French so that Clovis the Great 's Grand-Children Theodebert and Thierry were forc'd to keep Counts and Marquesses on the Frontiers to oppose the Incursions of the Brittains into the Territory of Nants They being so Warlike and their Castles and Forts being surrounded with Woods and Marshes the Captains of Charlemaign were not like to have subdued them as they did about the end of the eighth Century had they not divided themselves into several petty principalities notwithstanding they recover'd their liberty under Charles the Bald by the Valour of Nomenoius and Herispoius his Son to whom Charles yielded the Territories of Rennes Nantes and Retz when he saw that he could not recover them Others relate the Settlement and Adventures of our Brittains somewhat differently They say that about the Year 393. a Brittish Captain called Conan Meriadoc Lieutenant to Maximus who had been saluted Emperor in England in 382. obtained leave of his Master to erect a Kingdom in Little Brittain which his Successors enjoyed independently from any other till about the Year 570. that Chilpric I. King of France made them Tributary After the Death of Judicael about the Year 700 This Kingdom was rent into several petty Principalities so that Charlemaign had no great trouble to subdue them as he did in 787. Neomenes or Nomenoius descended from the Ancient Kings of Brittany was made Lieutenant to the Emperor Lewis the Meek but he revolted against him took the Title of King and dyed in 852. Heruspeus or Herispoius his Successor maintain'd the War against the French King till 866. that he was kill'd by his Cousin Solomon This last reigned 12 years and was murdered in 878. After his Death this Province was rent again by several Lords who made themselves Soveraigns in their respective Countries This lasted to the Year 930 or 935. that Alain I. subdued the whole Province and enjoyed it under the Title of County He was succeeded by twelve or thirteen more who possesesed it under the same Title but in all Soveraignty till a French Prince called Peter of Dreux Grandson to the French King Lewis the Burly having married Alix Heiress of this County in 1213. consented to acknowledge the French King Lewis IX for his Liege Lord who in recompense gave him the Title of a Duke And for having thus betray'd the Liberties of the Brittains he was surnamed by them the Duke Mauclerc that is The Ignorant or unskilful Duke Philip the fair King of France made John II. Grand-child to Peter Mauclerc Duke and Peer of France After the Death of John III. surnamed the Good in 1341. there hapned a long and bloody War between two pretenders to this Dutchy John IV. surnamed of Monfort and Charles of Blois John was Son to Arthur II. by a second Wife Charles had Spoused Jane Countess of Ponthievre Grand Daughter to the said Arthur The French King Philip of Valois maintained Charles and Edward III. King of England took the part of John This Quarrel lasted about 14 or 15 Years till John V. Son to the said John of Montfort totally routed and killed his Competitor Charles at the Battel of Aury in 1364. This Great Duke surnamed the Warlike and the Conqueror was succeeded by six others the last of whom Francis H. left but one Daughter Ann Dutchess and Heiress of Brittain Married to the French King Charles VIII and then to Lewis XII She had a Daughter by the last called Claudia Married to the French King Francis I. whose Son Henry II. was the first King of France that was Duke of Brittain by Succession and United that Dutchy inseparably to his Crown The chief Rivers of Bretagne besides the Loire of which we have spoken in the General Description are the Vilaine Vicenonia which comes from a Place in the Maine called la Croisille washes Vitrey receives the Pinelle mixes with the Lille at Rennes then encreased with the waters of Seiche Bonau and Sevonne St. Aubin Ouste Adon falls into the Sea near the Isle of Mai t six leagues South-west of Vennes and four North of the mouth of the Loire The Blavet comes from the Bishoprick of Quimpercorentin runs thrô the Bishoprick of Vennes washes Pontivy and Hennebont and having received the Elle at his mouth discharges it self into the Sea at the bay of Blavet The Laita separates the Bishopricks of Vennes and Quim percorentin and having received the Isotte at the Abby of St. Croix runs into the Sea at the Abby of St. Maurice three or four leagues West of the Bay of Blavet The Rivers of Oder and Benaudet meet at Quimpercorentin and run into the Ocean at a Village called Benaudeâ— The River Ausen or Auen washes the greatest part of this Bishoprick and falls into the Bay of Brest on the South-side which on the North-side receives the River Eloen The River of Morlaix washes the Town
mixes with the Charante at Mans-les its Genous The Charante thus swollen waters Montignac Balsac Angoulemes Chateau-neuf Balsac Vibrac Jarnac Cognac receives in its way the Bandiat the Touvre Toluera the Noere Notra the Boueme and the Nay and at its entrance into Saintonge the Seugne at Pont-Chauveau Then it washes Saintes Taillebourg St. Savinian du Port Tonnay-Charante near which it s encreas'd with the Boutonne Vultonna that washes Secondigny Chizay l'Isle Availle St. Jean d' Angely Tonay-Boutonne la Vallèe and falls into the Charante at a place call'd Port This pursuing its course goes by Rochefort Soubize and disembogues it self into the Ocean near Port-Lupin Sevre Savara or Separa is the Name of two Rivers of Poictou one is now call'd Sevre Niortoise and in the ancient Records Marinel which has its source near a Village call'd Sevre washes S. Mexant and Niort goes 6 or 7 leagues through Marshes where it is increas'd with several Rivulets and then discharges it self into the Bay of Pertuis Breton near Marans betwixt Lacon and la Rochelle The Lay rises near la Mallerat not far from the Sevre Nantoise washes Mareuil and falls into the Ocean at St. Benoit betwixt Talmond and Lusson The Sevre Nantoise springs near Secondigni goes by Maâ—contant Mortaigne Clisson Chateau-Thibaus and discharges its Waters into the Loire a mile West of Nants The Rocks that are spread along its Channel hinder it from being Navigable The Vye an inconsiderable River washes Aspremâ—nt and St. Gilles where it enters into the Sea over against Isle de Dieu The Vienne Viane or Vignane Vincenna or Vingenna issues from the Mountains of Auvergne on the borders of Limosin waters S. Leonard â—imoges S. Junien Brigueuil Confoulens Availle-Limosine Lisle-Jourdain Lussac-le-Chateau Chauvigny Chastelleraud Novastre L' Isle-Bouchard Chinon and Candes where it falls into the Loire four leagues East of Saumur The Rivers it receives are the Taurion near Limoges the Clain Clennum near Chastelleraud after it has been encreas'd with the Dive the Vonne and the Miossan Medioximi and has pass'd thro' Vivonne Poictiers and Dissay The Creuse Crosa which comes from the Mountains of Auvergne goes by Aubusson Ahun Glenic Celle Crozans in the Countrey of la Marche Argenton S. Marcel S. Gautier Ruffec-le-Chateau Blanc en Berry la Roche-pouzay la Guierche la Haye and Port de Piles near which it mixes with the Vienne after it has been increas'd with the small Creuse the Gartempe Vartimpa the Angolin and the Claize The Indre Anger Andria or Endria waters the Countries of Berry and Touraine and is not otherwise considerable but that it divides it self into several Branches and is interrupted with divers Marshes that create much difficulty to Travellers It rises in Berry and goes by la Chastre Chasteau-Rou Castrum Rodulfi Bourg de Deâ—ls Mehun sur Indre Buzansais Estrée S. Genoâ—â— Paluau Chatillon Loches Beaulieu near which it s encreas'd with the Indroise that goes by Ville-Loin and Montresor then waters le Fau Cormery Mont-bason Azay-le-rideau and discharges it self into the Loire 3 leagues East of Candes The Cher Caris springs in Bourbonnois on the borders of Auvergne washes Auzance la Marche-Combraille Mont-Lusson Ainai le Vieux S. Amand and Monrond in Bourbonnois Chateauneuss le Coudray Villeneuve Vierzon Menetou sur Cher Selle S. Aignan Montrichart Bleré St. Avertin and renders it self into the Loire 3 leagues East of the mouth of the Indre It receives at Vierzon the Eure or Yeure that goes through Bourges and Meun and is encreas'd with the Lovatier Collin Soulangis Mouron and Auron besides the Arnon that waters Reuilly and Sury the Naon encreas'd with the Fouzon and Fourion the Saudre that issues near Sancerre in Berry waters Notre-Dame de Boncard Vailly Concressant Argent Clement Pierre-Fitte la Ferte Imbaut Remorentin Chatillon sur Saudre near which it mixes with the Cher after it hath receiv'd the Nerre that goes by Aubigny the small Saudre that waters la Chappelle d' Angillon and Menetreol and the Raire that washes Nansay The Amasse runs but 4 or 5 leagues and is considerable only by that it goes through Amboise a Town pretty famous seated on the banks of the Loire five leagues East of Tours The Cisse encreas'd with the Ramberres and Branne fall into the Loire on the North-side 5 miles East of Tours The Beuvron on the borders of the Election of Gien near the Village of Coullons washes Cerdon the Isle of Chaon la Motte Beuvron la Ferte Aurain Villeneuve Newvy Brassieux receives the Boneuvre the Cenon and the Bievre and mixes with the Loire between Cande and Onzain 10 leagues North-east of Tours The Cousson has its source in the proper Orleanois at the Village of Senely passes between la Fertè-Seneterre and St. Aubin makes the small Isles of Ligny and St. Aignan goes through the pleasant Forrest of Chambort and discharges it self into the Loire almost two miles East of the mouth of the Beuvron Going up the Loire towards the East you meet with several Rivulets falling into that great River as the Dixme the Doure the Loiret which begins to be Navigable at Olivet 3 miles from its mouth tho' its whole Channel has hardly 3 leagues in length On the side of Orleance and the North side of the Loire you meet with the Rivulets of Meun and the Aisses And after having passed the Canal of Briare going Southward up you 'll find the Bonny the St. Amand the Rivulet of Cosne the Argent the Mazau the Niere c. Of the Country of Maine or La Maine MAine or Le Maine Cenomania or Cenomanicus Pagus hath Normandy on the North Perch Vendomois and Beauce on the East Breâ—agne on the West and a part of Touraine with Anjou on the South This Province is 20 leagues North and South from Bourg-le Roy near Alenâ—on in Normandy to Galerande on the borders of Anjou and about 34 East and West from la Ferté Bernard to the Frontiers of Brittany It is ordinarily divided into Higher and Lower abounds with Corn Wine Linseed Cattle and has some Mines of Iron It is watered with three principal Rivers viz. the Huisne the Sarte and the Mayenne which in their course receive the Yaigre the Jeayu the Dive the Veuve the Graine and many other little streams It s principal Forrests are Bersay Perfeigne Longaunay Sillé Dandaines c. The Inhabitants of Maine are very Witty and Courteous and so shrewd in the management of their Affairs that this has given occasion to a Proverb Qu' un Manseaâ—â—â—aut un Norman demi That an Inhabitant of Maine is worth one entire Norman and the half of another but others ascribe the Origine of that Proverb to the Money formerly used in this Province that was worth once as 〈◊〉 as that of Normandy Caesar Pliny and Ptolomy speak much to tâ—â— praise of the Inhabitants of this Countrey â—â—der the Name of Cenomani Aulerci Tit. Livâ—â—â— Polybius and Leander Alberti talk of their
of Chatillon having defeated la Valette who came to relieve it and the Duke of Anjou not daring to ventuâ—e a Battle against that great Captain But the Protestant Nobility lured with the fair promises of Liberty of Conseience by that entreaguing Princess Katherine of Medicis rais'd voluntarily the Siege whereupon ensued the short Edict of Pacification at Longjumeau Ever since Chartres followed the party of the League till Anno 1591. Henry â—he Great took it and was there Crown'd and Anointed King of France the City of Rheims still persisting in its Rebellion If you ask whether they took Consecrated Oyl to perform that Ceremony Du Kerâ—â—er will answer you that there is another holy Ampull or Vial kept at Marmoutier an Abby near Tours for that purpose and that the Oyl of that Vial is no less Sacred than that of Rheims The River Eure divides Chartres into two inequal parts which lye partly on a Valley of difficult Access and partly at the end of a large Plain the Streets are generally narrow as â—t uses to be in Ancient Towns the Houses hoâ—eveâ— are fine the Walks pleasant and the Churches Magnificent The Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Virgin is very considerable its Quire the Church under ground and its 2 Steeples are the Admiration of all Strangers The Chapter hath 72 Canons 17 whereof are Dignitaries among whom are 6 Archdeacons viz. of Chartres Blois Dunois Vendome Dreux and Pincerais 4 Provosts namely those of Ingre Normandy Mesange and Anet In this Diocess are reckon'd 30 Abbies 257 Priories and more than 1300 Parishes the Churches of St. Julien and St. Agnan are very fine In a word 't is one of the biggest and richest Diocesses of France comprehending four other Cities the heads of so many Countries each of which might conveniently enough be made the Seat of a Bishop viz. Blois Chateaudun Vendome and Dreux if we believe De Valoâ—s In the City it self are 3 Abbies viz. those of St. Josaphat St. Pere en Vallée and St. Cheron besides many other Religious Houses Several considerable Manufactures are made at Chartres by reason of the waters of the River Eure which are esteemed very proper for that purpose This City lyes 14 leagues North-west of Orleance and 16 South-west of Paris Nogent le Roi is situated upon the Euâ—e 5 miles South of Dreux and 9 North of Chartres It 's call'd Novigentum Regis because as some say King Philip VI. dyed here or as others pretend because it was given by one Isaselle to K. Philip August Dreux Durocassae Carnutum and corruptively Drocae and Drocum lyes also upon the Eure 13 miles North of Chartres on whose Bishop it depends as likewise on the Governour of Orleanois tho' as to the Exchequer its Election resorts to the Generality of Paris It has the Title of a County and the precedency of Chartres in the Assembly of the General States it being one of the Ancientest Cities in the Kingdom Nay if we believe the suppositious Berose it was built Anno 410. or thereabouts after the Deluge by Drius IV. King of the Gauls and Founder of the Druides So much at least is sure that these Druides who were together the Priests the Teachers the Judges and the Physicians of that Nation kept here their Assemblies as esteeming this Place blessed and holy and the middle or Center of Gaul Here also it was that they gather'd the Misletoe from the Oaks with many Ceremonies after the solemn Sacrifice of two young white Bulls on the sixth day of the Moon the Priests cutting the Shrub with a Gold Sickle and the People receiving it on white Cloath For those crafty fellows made the Vulgar believe that the Misletoe was an heavenly Gift a Soveraign Remedy and preservative against all Diseases Robert Son of Lewis the Burly had the County of Dreux given him Anno 1137. when he marryed the Widdow of Rotrou Count of Perche He is the Stock of the Counts of that Name and the Dukes of Brittany descended from him His Grandson Peter of Dreux having married Guy Alix Heiress of that Sovereignty in 1250. About the end of the twelfth Century our K. Henry II. and his Son Richard burn'd this Town and Vendome because Count Robert of Meular their Kinsman and Vassal had made Homage of his Lands to the French K. Philip August This Town is likewise famous for the Battle which the Roman Catholicks gained over the Protestants Anno 1562. in which the Generals of both Parties the Duke of Monmorency Lord high Constable of France and the Admiral of Coligny were made Prisoners Gaillardon Galardo is scituted upon a little River which emptieth it self into that of Eure 3 leagues and a half from Chartres to the North-East It 's remarkable for the Birth of St. Hildeburg whose Life has been not many years since published by Don Luke d' Achery Espernon Sparno lyes 5 leagues North-East of Chartres and 5 Miles East of Nogent le Roy. It has a Priory under the Name of St. Thomas but is much more famous for having been erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom in 1582. by the French King Henry III. on behalf of John Lewis of la Valette Nogaret whom he rais'd to the highest Dignities in that Kingdom and madâ— him his chief Favourite Bonneval is scituated on the Frontiers of Blaisois in a fruitful Soil where the Loir receives the Mesuve 6 Leagues and a half South of Chartres There is a famous Abby of Benedictines of which one Arnauld an intimate Friend of St. Bernard was Abbot in the 13th Century Maintenon Mesteno 7 Miles North-East of Chartres and 3 South-East of Nogent le Roy upon the River Eure is now famous for giving the Title of Dutchess to the Widdow of the Poet Scarron Fransoise d' Aubigne the principal She-minister of State and Cabinet Counsellor of Lewis XIV There are some other Towns or considerable Burroughs in this County as Auneau Ouerville Voves Viabon c. In 1682. the Duke of Guise defeated the Germans near Auneau Of Vendomois VEndomois Vindocinensis or Vindusnensis Pagus hath Perche on the North Maine on the West Touraine on the South and Blaifois on the East Here is especially remarkable Vendome Vindocinum Castrum situated upon the Loir and the Capital of Vendomois with the Title of Dutchy and Peerdom erected by Francis I. in 1514. on behalf of Charles of Bourbon Father of Antony of Bourbon and this of Henry IV. During the first Race of the French Kings this Country made part of the Kingdom of Orleance and was since possest by the Counts of Anjou In 1342. Godfrey Martel one of them built here the Abby of the Holy Trinity after he had overcome William Count of Poictiers and Conquer'd from him the City of Saintes He fill'd it with Benedictine Monks and presented it with a pretended Tear of our Saviour said to have been wept on the Grave of Lazarus The Popes who never fail'd of gratifying the Monks at the Expences of the
Garrison but since the Latin Authors of the French History call the place Saium or Seium it seems not natural to fetch from so far and without Warrant too the original of that Name Brissac Braccum Saccum or Brisiacum in old French Brachesec or Brochesac lies on the River Aubance Albantia It 's a little Town with the Title of a Dutchy erected in favour of Charles of Cosse Mareschal of France It is situated in a very fine Country nigh to Pont de Ce seven Miles South-East of Anger 's There are at Brisac a very fine Castle a great Park and a large Pond of about a League in length Doue Theotuadum Castellum Doadum or Doeum lies seven Leagues South-East of Anger 's near the source of the Touay Toedum which discharges it self into the Loire after it has receiv'd three other Rivulets the Toeret the Argenton and the Dive It 's the Tradition of the Vulgar that this Town has been considerable in the Romans time and that they built there an Amphitheater which tho' it had but 1600 foot in Circuit was able to contain 15000 Spectators The remains of this Building are still made use of by the Inhabitants to act Comedies every Year there are twenty two steps cut for the most part in the Rock and the Walls are rais'd without Mortar Besides this Monument there are vestigies of an old way from Doue to Pont de Ce several subterraneous Vaults and a Wall of an extraordinary depth Nevertheless the Learned De Valois pretends that Doue was not a Roman work but one of the four Palaces or Country-Houses of the Kings of Aquitain and grounds his opinion on several passages of the old Historians of the French besides that the Frame of this Amphitheater was not adapted to Publick Shews The French King keeps a Garrison here Bauge Balgeium or Balgiacum had yet in Dâ— Chesne's time a Presidial-Seat which has been since transfer'd to la Fleche However it has still an Electâ—on as well as Anger 's Saumur la Fleche Monstreuil-Bellay and Chateau-gontier which depend all six on the Generality of Tours Beauge has been built by Fulk Nerra Count of Anjou near the source of the Couesnon seven Leagues South-East of Anger 's In 1286. the French King Philip the Bold assign'd a Portion of 2000 Livres to Queen Margaret his Mother upon the Chastellenies of Bauge and Beaufort en Vallee which I observe to shew how scarce money was at that time Du Val speaks of a Victory obtain'd by the French over the English at Bauge in 1420 which should then be the very year of Charles the VI's Death when the English and Burgundians were most powerful and the affairs of the Dauphin Charles VII at the lowest ebb Beaufort en Vallee Bellum forte in Valle is a pretty Town and Castle as its name signifies lying betwixt the Rivers Couesnon and Authion five Leagues East of Anger 's It has the Title of a County and being of the antient Demesne of the French Crown has been oft separated from and reunited to it Now it belongs to the House of Beaumanoir-Lavardin Monsoreau Mons Sorelli near the Confluence of the Vienne and Loire and the borders of Touraine thirteen Leagues East South-East of Anger 's has the Title of a County and is noted for a Battel fought there against the Normans in 879. Brese lies three Leagues Westwards upon the Loire has the Tiâ—le of a Marquisate and a Castle fortify'd with deep Motes and subterraneous Vaults There are a fine Garden and a Wood of Cypresses belonging to it Monte-jan Mons Johannis upon the River Loire five Leagues South-West of Anger 's is noted for having given name under the Reign of Francis I. to a Vain-glorious Marshal of France who to mimick Kings sent and receiv'd Embassadors and was much laughed at the Courts of France and Spain Ingrande on the same River a League farther to the West is a good Trading Town Font-evraud Fons Everardi a famous Abby of Nuns Chief of an Order of that Name founded by Robert of Arbrissel in 1100 lies on the borders of Poictou fourteen Leagues South-East of Anger 's It 's said that the Sermons of Arbrissel drawing great number of People after him he built them Cells or Cabins in the Forest of Fontevraud and afterwards shut up the Women in a separate place Whether it was to make a Serrail or a Cloister I know not but 't is reported of this H. Man that he lay in Bed with them to mortifie the flesh However it be this Monastery has been successively governed by fourteen Princesses Craon Credo is a little Town seated on the Oudon towards the Frontiers of Maine and Bretaign twelve Leagues North-West of Anger 's It hath given Name to the Illustrious Family of the Barons of Craon known since the XIV Century This Barony fell Annâ— 1586 to the House of la Trimouille by the Marriage of Guy the VI. Lord of la Trimouille with Mary of Sulli only Daughter and Heiress of Louis of Sulli and Isabella of Craon This Town suffer'd much during the Civil Wars Anno 1562. Chateau Gontier Castellum Guntherii is on the River Mayenne ten Leagues North of Anger 's It was rais'd from a Country-House to a Castle and a Town by Fulk 111th Count of Anjou who gave it the name of his Tenant there The other Towns or Burroughs of any consideration in this Province are Cande Condate le Lyon d' Anger 's Segre Secretum Poiiancey Chateauneuf Durestail c. Of Touraine TOVRAINE or Turonus Ager is situated between Blaisois Vendomois Maine Anjou Poictou and Berri it hath the Title of a Dutchy is twenty four Leagues in its greatest length and as much in breadth Because of its fertility in all things especially in Fruit many term it the Garden of France The chief Rivers which water it are the Loire the Indre the Cher the Indroise the Vienne c. whose course may be seen in the general description of this Government The Inhabitants of Touraine called in French Tourangeaux and in Latin Turones and Turoni were already powerful in Caesar's time since their Cotta for the relief of Alesia besieged by that General amounted to six thousand Men. In the fourth Century when Gaul was divided by the Romans into seventeen Provinces Tours became the Capital of the third Lyonnoise and consequently a Metropolitan tho' the City it self and a great part of its dependencies lying on the South of the Loire seem more properly to belong to Aquitain And therefore when Charlemaigne divided his Dominions between his Sons 't is expresly noted that he gave all Aquitain and Gascony excepting Touraine to his beloved Son Louis The City and Arch-Bishoprick of Tours Turonum or rather Caesarodunum Turonum is situated upon the Loire and much frequented by Merchants because of the conveniency of that great River and the Cher but especially because of their Brocards and other Silk Manufactures The Metropolitan Church of St. Gratian is worth
hundred most of whom they had the Barbarity to kill Next to Jargeau is the Castle and Garden of Jenaille with an artificial Rock made up of Shells and little glistering Stones of different colours whence spring Water-spouts that represent various figures Sully Solliacum four Leagues South-East of Jargeau on the same side of the River Loire is an antient Castle and Town with the Title of a Barony that has produced two famous Bishops of Paris in the Twelfth Century Maurice and Odon of Sully It was erected into a Dutchy and Peerdom by Henry IV. in 1606 to gratifie the Marquis of Rosny who had done him so many services This Lord was a Protestant and continu'd so all his life notwithstanding the Apostacy of his Master He has left Memoirs of what happen'd most considerable during his life that are much esteem'd The Lords of Sully have there a fine Castle Park and Garden Clery upon the Doure seven Miles South-East of Orleans is a Village noted for a Church under the name of our Lady The English plunder'd it after the taking of Meun in 1428. but the French King Lewis XI repair'd it and richly endow'd a Colledg of Canons which he fouâ—ded there chusing it for his Grave The other places in the Election of Orleans are Chateau-Neuf Ascheres Bazoches Artenay La Ferte-Seneterre a Barony with a fine Castle St. Aubin Ouzouer on the Loire and St. Benoit Baugency or Bois-jenci Balgentiacum a Town on the River Loire almost six Leagues South-West of Orleans with an Election and an Arch-Deaconship It 's seated in a most pleasant Soil fertil in Corn Wine and Fruits and abounding with Game It 's here that Lewis VII assembled the Prelates and Barons of his Kingdom to be divorc'd from Q. Eleanor his Wife says Du Chesne to which Mezeray adds That the King pursu'd the Separation vigorously I cannot but admire the blind zeal of the French Historians who to save the honour of this Prince turn him into the greatest Blockhead that ever sate upon a Throne when they make him divorce upon pretence of Consanguinity the rich Heiress of Guyenn and to restore her Dowry which did so mightily weaken him tho' he could not ignore she would deliver it into the hands of a pâ—tent Neigbour The truth is this was a trick of the C urt of Rome to put a stop to the growth of the French Monarchy lest those Kings should keep the Popes within the due limits of a Spiritual Jurisdiction as the first Emperors of France and Germany had done To compass their End those crafty Priests made use of the love of Queen Eleanor for young Henry Plantagenet Duke of Normandy Count of Anjou Maine c. and future King of England For it was the Queen who propos'd and pursu'd the Divorce at Rome as Tho. Wikes an English Historian tells us Agitata says he diutius lite inter Alienoram Reginam Francorum virum suum Regem ipsa Regina acriter petente Divortium ratione consanguinitatis quam proposuit inter se virum suum Auctoritate Apostolica celebratum est Divortium inter eos Instantius autem laborabat ad Divortium eo quod ad Nuptias Henrici Ducis Normaniae futuri Regis Angliae ferventius aspirabat Erat ipsa filia Vnica Haeres Ducis Aquitaniae quam nos Vasconiam nuncupamus Soluto quoque Matrimonio inter ipsam Regem ad Nuptias Ducis quas concupierat illico convolavit Haec secundum Historiae veritatem huic opusculo dignum inserenda judicavi Histor Angl. script Tom. II. p. 29. Here then it was that the sentence of that Divorce so fatal to France was pronounc'd on Tuesday before Palm Sunday 1152. Forty eight years before another National Synod had been held at Baugenci on occasion of King Philip I. Marrying Bertrade of Montfort against the advice of the Barons of his Realm In 1428. Baugenci was taken by the Count of Salisbury but retaken by the French after they had master'd Meun This Town has had its own Lords since the middle of the Thirteenth Century till 1544. that it was reunited to the Fr. Crown Meun or Mehun was an antient Castle built on a Hillock near the confluence of the Mauâ—e and Loire on the North-side to oppose the irruptions of the Vandals Meun Magdunum Maidunum or Maudunum is now an indifferent good Town four Leagues South-West of Orleans and two North-East of Baugenci One St. Lifard accompanied with Vrbicius laid here the Foundation of a Monastery since turn'd into a Collegiate Church After the taking of Yanville Meun surrender'd to the Count of Salisbury who put a strong Garrison in it notwithstanding which it was soon after retaken by the French This Town was one of the Country-Houses most frequented by Charles V. and the Inhabitants have a Proverb to signifie that he dy'd there in 1381 tho' Historians relate that it was in another Country-House call'd Beauty upon the Marne Whatever be of that Meun gave its name to a famous Poet a Dominican Frier call'd John Clopinel or John of Meun who flourished about the end of the XIII Century and the beginning of the XIV and finish'd the renown'd Roman of La Rose begun by William of Lorris There are two other notable Burroughs in the Election of Baugenci viz. Chaumont and Ouzouer le Marche Pluviers or rather Pithiviers is the Head oâ— another Election and Archdeaconship The Latin Authors call it diversly Petiveris Piverum c. It 's a Town and a Castle seated with a Bridge on the small River Pituere nine Leagues North-East of Orleans near to a Village call'd Pithiviers le Vieil It has an antient Priory depending on the Abby of Cluny and founded in the Seventh Century besides a Kings Court of Regal Justice resorting to the Presidial of Orleans Yanville six Leagues West of Pithiviers is another Regal Court of the Bailiwick of Orleans The Fr. King Henry IV. took it after Estampes on a Sunday November 11. 1589. and Garrison'd the Castle Yeure le Chastel a League East of Pithiviers and Neufville four Leagues South-West are two other Regal Seats of Justice The other Towns or Burroughs in this Election are Thoury Autruy Sermaizes Soizi-Males-herbes Briares and Puizeaux This last is call'd so from the abundance of Wells that are otherwise very rare in this Election and the Country of Gastinois Of Gastinois GASTINOIS Wastinensis or Vastinensis Pagus has the Isle of France on the North and North-East Bourgogne on the East Nivernois and Berry on the South and Proper Orleanois on the West reaching thirty Leagues North and South from Mont le hery in the Isle of France to Pouilly in Nivernois and about sixteen Leagues East and West where 't is broadest as from Chastenay in the Country of Chartres to Moret in the Isle of France But 't is to be observ'd that that which now bears the name of Gastinois is made up of two Countries viz. Pagus or Comitatus Milidunensis the
County of Melun that has been united to the Government of the Isle of France and Pagus Wastinensis or Gastinois properly so call'd that still depends on the Government of Orleanois Gastinois is a Franco-German name deriv'd from the Teutonish WASTE that is yet in use in English for we call Commons Heaths wild and desart Places Wastes and the French having no W do ordinarily change it into G as Guerre for War Thence it comes that they call so other Wildernesses as le Pais de la Gastiâ—e in Berry St. Laurent en Gastine a Village in Vendomois c. The Election of Dourdan is accounted by some in Hurepoix and by others in Gastinois It lies on the borders of the Isle of France in which some place it but it resorts to the Generality of Orleans confining the Election of that City on the South that of Pithiviers on the South-East the Isle of France on the North and North-East and the Country of Chartres on the West Dourdan Dordingum was the Patrimony of Hugh Capet belonging to his Grand-Father Hugh the great Duke of France Count of Paris c. who died here in 956. And therefore it was not separated from the Crown till the time of the French King Henry II. who pawn'd it to the Duke of Guise In 1596. it was sold to a Switzer Gentleman Imbert of Dutsbach a Native of Berne Then it was acquir'd by the House of Rosny and redeemed by Lewis XIII in 1610. Dourdan lies upon the River Orge fifteen Leagues North North-East of Orleans It was formerly a pretty good Town but has been almost ruin'd during the Civil Waâ—s under pretence of Religion in 1562 and 1567. Estampes Stampae seated on the River Juine Junna near its mixing with the Loe which takes afterwaâ—ds the name of Essonne from a Village it goes by and discharges it self into the Seine was formerly a considerable Town for it had a Royal Palace under the Reign of Robert King of France The Protestants took this Town by Scalado in 1567 and the Castle by composition This Castle founded by the said King Robert was since ruin'd in 1652 during the civil War of the Princes tho' their Army had the worst in a Battel fought near it Estampes has an Election resorting to the Generality of Paris yet is reck'ned in Beauce and part of the Government Orleanois It lies three Leagues South-East of Dourdan and thirteen North East of Orleans It was antiently a Viscounty and of the Demesne of the French Crown Charles IV. erected it into a County and Peerdom in 1327 for Charles of Evreux his Cousin Then having been re-united to the Crown Charles VII gave it to Richard Duke of Britany and Lewis XII to John of Foix in 1478. Francis I. rais'd it to a Dutchy in 1536 on behalf of Ann of Pisseleu one of his Mistresses whom he Marry'd to John of la Brosse and Henry IV. to his Natural Son Caesar Duke of Vendome There are other places of some note in the Election of Dâ—urdan as Rochefort on the borders of the Isle of France towards the North which has given name to Gui and William of Rochefort Chancellors of France under Lewis XI and Charles VIII St. Arnoul Monnerville c. Montargis Mons Argisus seems to have been built by Angegisus Archbishop of Sens and Vicar of the Roman See throughout Germany and France in 876. for Argisus may be derived from Angegisus by a Syncop and the change of N into R very familiar to the French as they have made Pampre from Pampinus Diacre from Diaconus c. In 1418. the Count of Warwick block'd up this Town seated upon the Loing fifteen Leagues North-East of Orleans but the Count of Dunois coming to its Relief forc'd the Trenches of the Besiegers and kill'd fifteen hundred of them In 1528. Montargis was burnt and since rebuilt and given by Francis I. to the Lady Renee Lewis XII's Daughter in part of her Portion together with the Dutchy of Chartres Montargis has an Election resorting to the Generality of Orleans For the Spiritual it depends on the Archbishop of Sens and for the Temporal on the Presidial of Orleans if we believe Du Chesne for Morery places a Bailywick and Provostship in it The Canal of Briare that joins the Seine and the Loire by means of the Loing was begun here by Henry IV. and is of twelve Leagues extent There has been since digg'd another from Montargis to Orleans of eighteen Leagues in length making together with the Loire an irregular Polygone Chastillon sur-Loing Castellio ad Lupam is a place of some consideration and antiquity It lies upon the River Loing and the Canal of Briare nine Miles South of Montargis and five South-West of Chateau-renard upon the Ouane In 1569 both these places were taken from the Admiral of Coligny to whom they belong'd Lorris Lauriacum and Lorriacum is the head of a small Country near the Forest of Orleans call'd Pagus Lauriacensis le pais de Lorris It 's known how the Goths Franks Vandals and other Noâ—thern Nations brought into the West and Southern Parts of Europe the custom of deciding their Quarrels by Duels or single Fights and that the Magistrates not being able to oveâ—rule entirely this inclination were foâ—c'd to turn it into a Law ordering that none should fight but before the Provost or an appointed Judge and in these publick and lawful Duels the vanquish'd lost his Suit as well as the Day and was forc'd to make reparation to the Victorious either in Mony or otherwise But there was a custom in the Country of Lorris which obtain'd throughout all Gastinois That if two Men came rashly to challenge one another and then to agree with the consent of the Provost they were fin'd 2 s. 6 d. but if they fought the Bayl 's of the Vanquish'd were fined 112 Shillings And therefore 't is still said in common Proverb of a man too severely dealt with by the Judges Qu'il est des gens de Lorris ou le battu paye l'amende That He is a Lorris man beaten and fin'd Lorris is ten Leagues distant from Orleans to the West and six from Montargis to the South-East In the XIII Century under the Reign of Lewis IX it gave name to a famous Poet and Lawyer William of Lorris who began the Romance of la Roze highly esteem'd in those days The other Towns or consideâ—able Burroughs depending on the Election of Montargis are Ferrieres Beaune Boiscommun Choisi-Bellegarde and Noyan Gien Giemum or Gemiacum thirteen Leagues South-East of Orleans and fourteen West of Auxerre on whose Bishop it depends for the Spiritual It 's a pretty good Town seated on the River Loire with an Election and the Title of a County for it has had time out of mind it 's own Lords till Mathilda or Maud Countess of Nevers and Tonnerre yielded it to the French King Philip August Since it 's fall'n again into the hands of particular Lords and
has been enjoy'd by the House of Seguier which has given several eminent Magistrates to France amongst others Peter Seguier made Lord Keeper by Lewis XIII in 1633 and then Lord Chancellor in 1635. There is a Stone-Bridge to pass the Loire but it was broken in 1650. to hinder the passage of the Army of the Princes Bâ—iare Brivodurum Briobodorum or Briodorum is so call'd from a Gaulish word Briva a Bridge over which the Loire is past Here ends the Canal of Montargis that keeps the communication between the Seine and the Loire Near this place it was that the Royal Army and that of the Princes fought in sixteen hundred and fifty It lies two Leagues South-East of Gien Cosne Cona Conada or rather Condate this last being a Gaulish word that signifies Confluence because the Lore receives here the small River of Nozaim after it has water'd Antrain and Donzi Some Geographers place Cosne in Nivernois but it belongs more properly to Beauce since it resorts to the Election of Gien and the Presidial of Orleans from which it 's twenty Leagues distant to the South-East Cosne is renown'd for good Knives St. Fargeau is a Dutchy and Peerdom Erected by Charles the Ninth in 1569. This Town is the Capital of the little Country of Puisaye and lies upon the Loing near a Forest seven leagues North of Cosne and twenty East of Orleans Between Cosne and Briare seven Miles from each lies upon the Loire the Burrough of Neuvi which seems to have been formerly a considerable Town since Caesar who gives it the Name of Noviodunum design'd to have besieg'd it had he not been prevented by the Surrender of the Inhabitants Aimoin calls it Novus Vicus upon which the French name of Neuvi has undoubtedly been fram'd The other places of Note resorting to this Election are Blesneau Ozouer on the Trezee Chatillon on the Loire Bonny St. Amand in Puisaye all depending on the Bishop of Auxerre for the Spiritual and the Generality and Bayliwick of Orleans for the Temporal Of Nivernois NIVERNOIS Nivernensis Pagus has Gastinois Puisaye and Auxerrois on the North the Dutchy of Burgundy on th' East Bourbonnois on the South and Berry on the West It 's Figure resembles a round somewhat flatted and irregularly bent being of the same length and breadth viz. above twenty leagues North and South from Tizy upon the Loire to Clamecy on the Yonne and as many East and West from Chateau-Chinon to La Guierche It 's subdivided into eight smaller Countries namely the Valley of Nevers upon the Loire the Amognes on the Nieure the Valleys of Montenoison the Vallies of Yonne the Moruan the Bazois the County between the Loire and Allier and the Donizois The whole abounding with Wood Pasture-Ground and Cattle being water'd with many Rivers besides the Loire the Allier the Yonne and the Cure and comprehending thirty good Towns Here are found some Silver-Mines many more of Iron and the best Free-Stone in France Before the Romans these Countries belong'd to the Autunois Aedui whose Territories extended from the Saone to the Allier and comprehended also the greatest part of Bourbonnois So that Samson mistakes when he pretends that the Vadicasses dwelt in Nivernois for they were the Inhabitants of Chalons as we shall shew in its due place Thence it came that during the decay of the French Monarchy Nivernois pass'd into the hands of the Dukes of Burgundy the third of whom call'd Richard le Justicier gave it to one Ratier in 890 whose Posterity has kept it till Cardinal Mazarin bought it together with the Dutchy of Rethel for Philip Mancini Mazarin his Nephew from Charles of Gonzague III. Duke of Mantoue c. This County having been in the mean while successively enjoy'd by many illustrious Houses as Burgundy Courtenay France Flanders Cleves Gonzague into which the Heiresses of Nivernois Married Nevers Noviodunum Aeduorum lies between the confluence of the Nieure and Allier into the Loire 30 Leagues South-East of Orleans and to of Cosne Caesar had made it his Store-House keeping there his Corn and Mony and the Horses he had bought in Spain and Italy but Eporedorix and Virodomarus two Commanders Autunois having surpriz'd and kill'd the Garrison took away the Mony and Horses and put the Town into Flames This dependance upon Autun is the cause that the Bishoprick is not antient nor mention'd in any Notices of the Gauls before the VI. or VII Century The name of Nevers Nivernum is also new and most probably deriv'd from the Rivulet Nieure Niveris Gregory of Tours calls Nevers Nivernum but gives it only the Title of Oppidum a Town so that it seems not to have been a City or Bishop's Seat in his time that is in the VI. Age. Nevers is a pretty strong place having no manner of Suburbs and both the City and Town being included within the Walls that are defended with many thick and high Towers and surrounded with deep Motes fill'd up with Water The most considerable Buildings are 1. The Palace of the Dukes where amongst other Goods is a great Marble-Table upon which is another of less size that appears transparent at the light of the Sun or a Candle and shews most delicate Pictures 2. The Bridge upon the Loire consisting of twenty Arches and as many Pillars all of Free-Stone with a Drawing-Bridge on each side and Towers to defend them 3. The Cathedral dedicated first under the name of St. Gervais and St. Protais and then under the name of St. Cyr hath a Steeple enrich'd on the outward side with many emboss'd figures of Stone Nevers has besides Eleven Parishes an Abby of Augustinian Monks another of Nuns and several Religious Houses It has a Bayliwick resorting to the Presidial of St. Pierre le Moustier a Chamber of Accounts and an Election depending on the Generality of Moulins Nevers was Erected into a Peerdom in 1459. by Charles VII which Erection was confirm'd by Lewis XI in 1464. by Lewis XII in 1505 by Francis I. in 1521. That King rais'd it to the Dignity of Dutchy and Peerdom in 1538. which Cardinal Mazarin got ratifi'd by Lewis XIV in 1660. Abundance of Earthen wares but especially Glass-works are made in this City because most of the Inhabitants meddle with those Trades the last being no disparagement to a Gentleman in France Decize Decetia lies in a rocky and rugged Island of the River Loire where it receives the Airon seven Leagues South-East of Nevers and is the Capital of the Country of Bazois That learned Lawyer and Antiquary Gui Coquille who flourish'd from the middle of the last Age to the beginning of this was a Native of this Town He pretends in the History of Nivernois that this Island was cut off from the Continent and call'd Decize from Decisus But Aethicus in his Itinerary calls it Dececia that seems to be its antient name and Decize a corruption of it Whatever be of that Decize is a Town of some Antiquity as
by this great General In the Division of Augustus Berry was made a part of Aquitain and continu'd so under the French During the weakness of Charlemaigne's Successors the Governors of this Province made themselves Sovereigns and had the Title of Counts of Bourges till Harpin undertaking a Journey into the Holy Land sold his Estate to the French King Philip I. for sixty thousand golden Pence This Lord turning a Monk at his return this County was united to the Crown till the year 1360 that the French King John erected it into a Dutchy and Peerdom for his youngest Son John who dying without Male Issue Berry return'd to the Crown King Charles VI. gave it in portion to his fifth Son Charles since the VII of that name King of France and because during the Wars with the English this Province stood firm to his Int'rest his Enemies call'd him contemptuously King of Bourges Since that time Berry has often been the portion of youngest Sons Daughters and Queen Dowagers of France This Province is about 28 Leagues North and South and as many East and West being divided into two Parts almost equal by the Cher and water'd by a vast number of other Rivers which make this Country very pleasant and fertile in all the necessary Conveniencies of Life It especially abounds in Corn and the Pasture-Ground is so excellent that the Wooll and Cloth of Berry out-do all the others in France The Name of Berry is derived from a Latin word us'd in the decay of that Tongue Biturium More antient Authors call the Berruyers Bituriges Cubi to distinguish them from the Inhabitants of Bourdeaux Bituriges Vivisci who seem to be a Colony of the former Bourges Avaricum Biturigum and in latter Ages Biturigae Bituricae Betoricae lies 19 Leagues South South-East of Orleans upon the River Eure or Yeure Avara or Avera whence the Latin Name of this City Avaricum seems to come It 's seated in a Soil fertile in Fruits and Wine that is not so delicate but more healthful than that of Orleans The River Eure divides it self into three Branches one of which serves to cleanse the Town and withal to Dyers Tanners and the like the other refreshes the Ditches that surround the Walls and the third runs along the Suburb of St. Peter These three Branches being joined and the Eure encreased with the Waters of the Oron Vtrio the Aurette Avara Minor and the Moulon Molo near the Monastery of St. Sulpice this River begins to be Navigable The Situation of Bourges is not only convenient but also very strong for besides these Rivers and Ditches it is defended by broad and deep Marshes surrounded with good Walls fortified with eighty Towers so that three Camps would needs be required to besiege it on all sides as one at Bourbon's Gate the other at Oron's Gate and the other at the Gate of St. Privatus Cesaer observes that he could not shut it up with Trenches and laid siege to it only on that side that was between the River and the Marsh Nevertheless he took it partly by Storm and partly by Stratagem having raised two high Towers whence his Soldiers leaped on the Wall which so frighted the Garison and Inhabitants that they retir'd to the great Market and thence endeavoured to make their escape thorough the Gates but the Romans having master'd them spar'd neither Sex nor Age they were so incens'd at the Murther of their Fellow Soldiers in Gien This was the Cause that of 40000 People that were in this City 800 hardly could save their Lives by retiring into the Army of Vercingentorix General of the Gauls In the V. Century Bourges was taken from the Romans by the Visigots and from them by Clovis and made part of the Kingdom of Orleans under Clodomir and of that of Burgundy under Gontran his Nephews Desiderius or Didier General of Chilperic the first King of Paris or France took it from the last in 583 and burnt it almost intirely Charlemaign repair'd it and Phillip August fortified and adorn'd it with a Castle call'd the Great Tower which was almost quite ruined in 1651. It was cut Diamond wise on the outside and rais'd so high that from the top the Country might be viewed four Leagues round about There has been seen a long time a Wood or Iron-Cage where the jealous King Charles the VIII kept Lewis of Orleans Prisoner who nevertheless succeeded him In 1412 the Duke of Burgundy brought the French King Charles the VI. before Bourges whither the Duke of Orleans and his Confederates had retir'd and laid siege to it with an Army of 100000 Men but in vain for at last both Parties were glad to accept of the Mediation of the Duke of Guyenn then Dauphin of France In 1562 The Count of Montgommery Commander of the Protestants under the Prince of Conde seiz'd on this Town May 27 but left Governour therein one Yvoy a Man of no great Courage and Trust who surrendered it the same Year to the Duke of Guise and therefore it remained in the Power of the Leaguers till 1594 that it was reduced by the French King Henry the IV. Notwithstanding these various Changes Bourges is still a considerable City being of an Oval Figure with seven Gates and as many Suburbs Its Walls seem to be a Roman Work being still almost intire and so strongly built that it requires a great deal of Labour to pluck some few Stones out of them It has seventeen Parochial and seven Collegiate Churches three Abbies a College of Jesuites and a vast number of Monasteries besides the Cathedral of St. Stephen said to be buiâ—t in 254 and the St. Chappel founded by John Duke of Berry Brother to the French King Charles the V. and therefore depending immediately on the See of Rome That Duke was buried there in 1417 and there is still his Crown with several Vessels of Gold and Silver curiously wrought There are likewise shewn the pretended Bones of a certain Giant call'd Briat said to have been 15 Cubits high The Romans had here a Pallace which K. Pepin repair'd and called there an Assembly of his Barons in 767 but I know not whether it be the same which the Dukes of Berry made afterward use of and is now the Seat of the Presidial Besides the Bailiwick Bourges has a Generality to which the Elections of Chateau-Roux and la Chastre in Berry and St. Amand in Bourbonnois are resorting as also a Chamber of Acompts for all the lands depending on this Dutchy erected by the said Duke in 1379. It s University is famous for the Civil and Canon Law the best Lawyers in France having taught here in the last Age and the beginning of this such as Alciat Baroâ— Duarenus Baldwin Conti Hortomun Cujus c. It was founded by the French King Lewis the IX re-establisht by Charles Duke of Berry Brother to Lewis the XI and endow'd with many Priviledges by Pope Paul II. in 1464. But now I am
Chastillon Sur Indre-Igorandis Aigurande Montfaucon Monsfalconis towards Nivernois has one of the finest Ponds in the Country Nancey Pelluau Charrox Corrocium have the Title of Counties Ligneres Lineriae and St. Severe are Buronies Valansay Vatan Vastinum Culant Cullencum are considerable Lâ—rdships La Cheze-al-Benoit is an Abby the chief of St. Benet's Order Of Poictou THis Province is the biggest of those that are comprehended in the Government Orleanois for it reaches 48 Leagues East and West from Port de Piles in Tourain to the Isle of Nermoutier and 20 North and South from Loudun to Aunay or 26 from Champigni on the Vienne to Marsillai on the Charante and the Borders of Angoumois It 's included betwixt Britany Anjou and Tourain on the North. Berri and La Marche on the East Angoumois Saintonge and Aunis on the South and the Sea on the West It 's divided into upper and lower the latter extending along the Ocean from Fontenay le Comte to Mortaigne and the former taking up the rest of the Province The whole Country is fruitful in Corn Wine and Pasture-Grounds and feeds great numbers of Sheep and Herds of Cattle besides that there is good Fishing on the Sea-Coast and a vast quantity of Game in the Forrests and Warrens The Inhabitants of POICTOV are mentioned by Cesar Strabo Ptol my and other antient Geographers under the Name of Poictones But there is little appearance they should have gotten that Name from a Scythian Nation call'd properly Agathyrses and sirnam'd Picti because they used to Paint their Hair and Faces to make themselves the more terrible to their Enemies That these Pictes having possest themselves of the Northern Parts of great Britain should have Shipp'd over a Colony that made a Descent on the Coasts of POICTOV Conquered the Country and gave their Sirname to it All this is grounded upon a bare Resemblance of Words without any Foundation on History for theses Pictes began to appear in the Year 87. of our Lord under the Empire a Domitian and we have quoted Cesar who call'd the Inhabitants of POICTOV Pictones an hundred Years before So that this must needs be a Gaulish Name whose original is unknown that Tongue being almost altogether lost The swiftness of Cesars Conquests in the Gauls will not surprise those who shall consider the Constitution of that Country separated into a vast number of petty States independing from one another That Great Captain us'd the methods that have ever prov'd so successful to Conquerors to sow dissension among their Enemies make Alliances with some profer Neutrality to others and use the Forces of the vanquished to subdue the unconquered Thus Cesar having submitted the Inhabitants of the Country of POICTOV and Saintonge imbark'd his Troops in their Vessels to Land Men into the Country of Vennes and by those means subdued the most potent Nation that liv'd on the Sea-Coast of Gaul Neither could the League which Vercingentorix a young Gentleman of Auvergne endeavoured to make among several Nations of the Celtick Gaul restore their broken Power The Quota of the Pictones came then to 8000 Men which shews how considerable they were in those days Notwithstanding Alesia whose relief was intended by this League was taken and destroyed by the Romans the Pictones with all their Confederates being likewise subdu'd Ever since the Pictones remained under the Romans and not long after the Emperour Claudius going over into England was accompanied with the Flower of their Nobility whom at his Return he allow'd to rebuild their Capital City in Recompence of their good Services But in 410 the Vandals plundered and destroyed it in part and two Years after it fell with all POICTOV Guienn and Languedoc in the Power of the Wisigoths who maintained themselves in the Possesion of all those Provinces 84 Years under six Kings that is till 509 that Clovis King of the French won the Battel of Civaux near Poictiers kill'd Alaric King of the Wisigoths and drove them out of POICTOV and a great part of Guienn and Languedoc Under the French King and Emperour Charles the Bald this Province began to have Counts of its own who in process of Time beeame Dukes of Guienn William the X. the last of them Married Alienor his only Daughter and Heires to the French King Lewis the VII but the crafty Policy of the Popes procuring a Divorce betwixt them this rich Princess spous'd Henri Plantagenet afterwards King of England which was the Source of continual Wars betwixt the two Kingdoms during two or three Centuries Pictones is the true Latin Name of the Inhabitants that has been since corrupted into Pictavi Pictavenses and Pictavini whence comes the French Poitevins and likewise the Name of Petaux given to some part of the French Foot by Froissard and Thibaud de Maroiles as most probably the Name of Bidaux in the same Historians signifies the Foot-Soldiers levied in the Province of Berry Bituriges As there are great Numbers of Gentry in this Province and the Inhabitants of Towns are well bred and live at Ease the Reformation made great progresses in POICTOV and was oft therefore the Seat of War in the last Age. But nothing can be compar'd to the Cruelties which the Intendant of Marillac and his Officers exercised upon the Protestants of this Province in the Years 1680. and 1681 by Lewis the XIV's Order The waste of their Goods and the plunder of their Houses were tolerable Vexations in comparison of the Racks and Tortures which they put those poor Men upon without any other Cause than that they were pretended Hereticks The Reader may consult two Books Erat des Reformez en France Par. 1. Chap. 8 to 14. but especially Pag. 141 142. and Les derniers efforts de l'innocence affligee Pag. 82 -123 Besides the general Division of POICTOV into Upper and Lower 't is subdivided into ten smaller Countries as le Chastelleraudois le Loudunois le Miâ—aâ—elois le Toâ—â—rcois la Gastine Arbauge le Lussonois 〈◊〉 â—â—oâ—â—ois les Mauges and le Pais de Tifaâ—â—◠〈…〉 I shall describe under the Towns whom they hâ—ve their name Poictiers Capital of the whole Province lies forty Leagues from Orleans and sixty five from Paris to the South East It s antient Name is Augustoritum according to Ptolomy who also mentions another City under the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Limonum which Sanson takes for Poictiers but that antient Geographer distinguishes them so plainly that I had rather to confess I know not what place Limonum is than to contradict him In process of Time Augustoritum was call'd Pictavi by the Name of the People of which it was the Head as Parisii Remi and many other Cities in the Gauls and afterwards Pictava Pictavorum Vrbs and Pictavium It seems to have formerly stood lower to the North at a place call'd le Vieux Poictiers not far from Chastelleraud because of the name of old Poictiers and of some Ruins of old Walls that are yet to be
Posterity are Nobilitated for ever â—lâ— the Briars and Thorns round about this City 〈◊〉 found great numbers of Vipers that are carried â—â—ough all Parts of France and even transportâ—â— into foreign Countries the Trochisque of â—â—per made in Poictiers it self is of great reâ—â—wn Dissay three Leagues North-East of Poictiers 〈◊〉 a small Lordship betwixt the Clain and the â—â—â—ne where the Bishop of Poictiers makes his â—esidence Bonnivet with the Title of Marquizate lies 〈◊〉 the other side of the Clain two Leagues â—â—rth-West of Dissay and almost four North 〈◊〉 Poictiers It has a very fine Castle begun 〈◊〉 William Gouffier Admiral of France under â—rancis the I. to whom it gave Name Chastelleraud Castellum Heraldi or Airaldi 〈◊〉 fifteen Miles North-East of Poictiers It 〈◊〉 formerly a Viscounty but erected into a â—â—chy and Peerdom by Francis the I. on beâ—â—â— of Francis of Bourbon Count of Montpenâ—â— in 1514. Some Years after the French â—â—â—g took it from Charles of Bourbon Brother â— Successor to the latter and Lord High-Conâ—â—ble of France as being forfeited by Rebelâ—â— But Henry the III. restor'd it by way of â—â—â—gement to Francis of Bourbon Duke of â—â—pensier in 1584. Chastelleraud is pleasant-â—â—â—ated having a prospect Westwards upon â—â—al Warren and being wash'd with the 〈◊〉 Vienne which increased with the Clain begins here to be navigable The Town is bâ— meanly built however renown'd for the gooâ— Knives that are made there tho' much morâ— for its sumptuous Bridge that has 230 Paces iâ— Length 66 in Breadth and stands upon â— Arches It was begun by Catherine of Mediciâ— but finished by the Duke of Sully Governor of POICTOV under Henry the IV. League from this Bridge a Hind is said to havâ— shewn a Ford to K. Clovis's Army when he waâ— in pursuit of Alaric King of the Wisigoths I the Ruins of an old Castle near this Town aâ—â— found little Stones which the vulgar call'd Dâ—â—amonds of Chastelleraud for being cut and pâ—â—lish'd they look'd almost as well and glistâ— as much as true Diamonds The Country dâ—pending on the Election Dutchy and Royâ—â— Justice of Chastelleraud is nam'd Pagus Castrâ— Heraldensis le Chastelleraudâ—is and comprehends many Lordships and Villages The Prâ—testants were Masters of this Town during thâ— Civil Wars and repulsed the Duke of Anâ— attempting to take it by Storm so that he wâ—â— forc'd to raâ—se the Siege Even till of late theâ—â— had free exercise of their Religion and a coâ—siderable Church at Chastelleraud Port de Piles Portus Pilae is an importaâ—â— Passage upon the Creuse near its mixing 〈◊〉 the Vienne seven Miles North North-East Chastelleraud It seems to be a Place of some Anâ—â—quity because 't is mention'd in the Records â— the Consuls or Antient Counts of Anjou 〈◊〉 name is derived from a Pile or Tower of Ericâ— that stands there Thirteen Miles West of Port de Piles beyâ—â—â— the Vienne six Leagues North-West of Chasteleraâ—d and Ten North of Poictiers lies near 〈◊〉 Source of the small River Amable the fine Town of Richelieu in the midst of pleasant â—â—â—ins abounding in Fruit Wine Corn and â—ame of all sorts It bears the name of its â—â—â—lder Armand du Plessis Cardinal of Richelieu â—â—e famous Minister of State who under Lewis â—III brought France to that point of Grandure 〈◊〉 which it stands as yet He built it on the â—attern of Manheim the prettiest Town in â—ermany before the Barbarity of Lewis XIV â—â—ried it in its ruins It s Figure is Square â—â—ring four Markets at the four Corners and 〈◊〉 great one in the Middle in which stands 〈◊〉 Church that is a very sumptuous Building â—orn'd with many Marble Pillars enrich'd â—ith a great quantity of Plate and serv'd by 〈◊〉 Fathers of the Oratory The Streets are â—â—â—cious as straight as a Line and meet all 〈◊〉 the five Markets and the Houses are so well â—pon the Level that there is nothing on one â—â—de but has its Parallel on the other Which â—â—gether with its Halls Fountains Walks and â—urdens its fine Walls and Towers its great 〈◊〉 deep Ditches cover'd with Swans The 〈◊〉 of the Duke that is as regular a Buildâ—â—â— is any in Europe its Rooms Halls Galâ—â—â— and other Apartments being beautified â—â—th all the Ornaments that Tapistry Painting 〈◊〉 Statuary can afford and surrounded with 〈◊〉 Alleys charming Parks Orchards Garâ—â—â—â—loce Springs and Grotto's All this I 〈◊〉 contribute to render Richelieu an indiffeâ—â—â—â—â—â—stâ—â—ng Place and one of the finest in France 〈◊〉 XIII erected it into a Dutchy and Peerdom for Males and Females in 1631. established a Seneschalship in it and gave great Priviledges to its Inhabitants Champigny upon the same River Amable â— League only from its fall into the Vienne anâ— five Miles North of Richelieu had formerly â— Castle belonging to the Duke of Montpensuâ—â— together with a H. Chappel where in they us'â— to be Burie'd but this Noble Family havinâ— exchang'd this Lordship with Cardinal de Râ—chelieu that Castle and Chappel were demolished to Build and Beautify the foremention'â— new Town However Champigny is still a gooâ— Burrough and has a very fine Park Loudun Lausdunum Castrum as the ancietâ— Records call it or Lodunum as 't is nam'd bâ— William the Brittain lies four Leagues West 〈◊〉 Richelieu and eleven North-West of Poictierâ— Macrinus and Scevole de Ste Marthe make it verâ— ancient and call it Juliodunum pretending â— was Built by Julius Cesar or some of his Successors but there are no footsteps of so greaâ— Antiquity It 's an indifferent good Towâ— with an Election and inferior Bayliwick resorâ—ing to the Generality and Presidial of Tourâ— tho' for the Spiritual it depends on the Bishoâ— of Poictiers It has a great Parochial Churcâ— under the name of S. Peter a Colleglaâ— Church surnam'd the H. Cross with severâ— Monasterios amongst others a Convent â— Carmelites whether Superstitious People comâ— in Pilgrimage to a Statue call'd our Lady 〈◊〉 Recovery Nostre-Dame de Recouvrance It wâ— to underprop the decaying repute of this Idoâ— as well as of the whole trade that the Men◠〈◊〉 up some Nuns to counterfeit those that are Possest with the Devil The cheat was discovered and oppos'd by a Secular Priest who suffer'd very much for it but at last it was stopp'd by the Parliament of Paris The history of this Imposture has been lately Written 〈◊〉 French by a very good Pen and deserves to be read by such as desire to know the Spirit of the Church of Rome Loudun is the head of a small Country called le Loudunois on which many other Boroughs and Villages are depending William III Duke of Aquitain gave it to Godfrey Grise-Gonellè Count of Anjou to keep it in Fealty of him â—â—der the Reign of Hugh-Capet The French King Philip August increas'd his Dominions with it Charles V. separated it from his Domesâ—â—â— but Lewis XI reunited it to the French â—own Henry III. erected the Loudunois into 〈◊〉 â—â—â—chy for the sake of a
and Chalosse on the VVesâ— and part of Chalosse and Armagnac on the Soutâ— It reaches 30 Leagues East and West from â—staffort on the Giers to beyond the Gelouse bâ— its greatest extent North and South is hardâ— 12 Leagues and in some places only 2 4 6 â— 7. However 't is subdivided in other smallâ— Countries as Mursan Gavardan Fesensagueâ— c. They say that Condomois yields all the nâ—cessaries for life and borrows nothing of iâ— Neighbours The most considerable Places aâ— Condom Bish Gondrin Corrensan Mezin Sâ— Rimbes Montreal Gabaret Cap. of Gavardaâ— Mauvesin Capital of Fesen saguet Mont de Maâ—san with Roquefort and St. Justin c. The City of Condom Condomium Vasconum is â—â—â—ted upon the Baise Balisa with a Bishopâ—â—er Suffragan of Bourdeaux three Leagues â—â—om Nerac it has a Presidial and Election â—â—â—e it was separated from the Bishoprick and â—â—â—schalship of Agen. The Pope John XXII ereâ—ed it into a Bishoprick in 1327. and gave it â—â—e revenues of an Abbey of St. Benedict conâ—â—crated to St. Peter which is now the Catheâ—â—al Raimond Gontard last Abbot of that Abâ—â—ey was the first Bishop of Condom and the â—anons were secularized in 1549. There are â—any other Churches and several Monasteries This City was taken in 1569. by Gabriel of â—â—tmorency Commander of the Protestants Of the Landes THE LANDES are along the Sea between the Country of Labourd on thâ— South Chalosse on the VVest and Bourdelois oâ— the North. This is a barren Country that haâ— in some places nothing but Heaths and Pastures where abundance of Cattel is feeding in somâ— other places it yields a little Corn and a greaâ— deal of Rye by the means of burnt Earth whicâ— mixed with the sandy Soyl fattens it and makeâ— it fruitful It 's extended 33 Leagues North East and South-West from Belin to Bayonne Buâ— only 12 in its largest breadth from Tartas oâ— the Adour to the Sea It was the Habitation oâ— the ancient Tarbelli whom Caesar and Strabâ— describe as living on the Sea-Coast of Aquitaâ— from Bourdeaux to the Pyrenees The Places tâ— be noted are Dax Bish Tartas Belin le Mâ—ret Magese Albret c. The City of Dax or Aqs Aquae Augustâ— or Aquae Tarbellicae lies upon the Adouâ— with a Bishoprick Suffragan of Ausch and a Sâ—neschal's Court 13 Leagues North-East of Baâ—onne It is a trading City rich and well builâ— with a Castle flank'd by many big rounâ— Towers with a Garrison in it it is famouâ— for its warm and healthful Bathes which werâ— in great consideration in the times of the Râ—mans whence comes its name of Aquae and that of Aquitain Of Labourd THE Land or Country of LABOVRD or rather Lapord Lapurdensis pagus lies on the Frontiers of Spain between Bearn on the East the Landes on the North and the Ocean on the West This Country has in most â—â—tees little Corn and Wine but is plentiful in Fruits especially Pears and Apples of which they make excellent Syder It yields a great deal of Millet and Physical Herbs of great Virtue Whales have been taken upon its Coasts and there are Mineral Waters good for several Distempers This Country reaches 17 Leagues East and West from Bidache to Fontarabie but his extent North and South is not above six or seven Leagues The chief Places are Bayonne Bish St. J hn de Luz Luisium that is muddy places Bidache Siboule c. The City of Bayonne Lapurdum Boatium Ciâ—itos and vulgarly Baiona lies on the Confluence of the Adour and Nive which three Miles after disburthen themselves into the Sea It has a Bishoprick Suffragan of Ausch and is one of the Keys of the French Kingdom toward Spain it is very rich because of its Trading and very strong The word Bayonne comes from Baie a Port and from Juna which signifies gooâ— in the Bask or Country Language so that it as much as to say Good Port. 'T is in the Castâ— of this City called Lapurdum that the Tribâ—â— of the Novem Populan Cohort made his Residence it is under the Seneschal's Jurisdictioâ— of Dax Near this City is a Hill on the top 〈◊〉 which one may see part of three Kingdoms viâ— of France Castile and Navarre The Cathedral is dedicated to the blessed Virgin anâ— St. Leon There are many other Churches anâ— several Monasteries This Bishoprick was onâ—â— extended into three Kingdoms viz. France Nâ—varre and Castile but in 1565. Philip II. 〈◊〉 of Spain obtained from the Court of Roâ—â— the dismemb ing of it on behalf of Pampeluâ—â— This Country had formerly its own Viscounts Ships of any rate come up the River which 〈◊〉 very deep as far as the middle of the City Of Lower Navarre THE LOWER NAVARRE Borders on the Country of Labourd to the North-West and West on the Pyrenees to the South and the Viscounty of Soule to the East It is a Mounâ—â—inous Country which produces little Corn or Wine and yields only Millet Oates Pears and Apples of which they make Syder that is the usual drink of the Inhabitants Pasture ground is very good here the flesh of Cattel very delicate and the Wool very fine Game both small and great is likewise very common The most remarkable places are St. Palais the Capital St. John pie de Port S. Johannes â—â—â—pyrenaei Garris Garrucium la Bastide de Clarences S. Palais Fanum Sancti Pelagii is seated on the Rivers Bidouse almost 12 Leagues South-East of Bayonne It was the Seat of Chancery and Sovereign Justice before the Institution of the Parliament of Pau in 1620. it has still a Court of Mint c. Of Soule THE Viscounty of SOVLE Subola is 〈◊〉 little Country that makes part of Navarreâ— and lies betwixt it and Bearn There is no remarkable place but Mauleon of Soule which iâ— its chief Town called by the Latins Malleâ— Oppidum or Castrum and is seated in the hearâ— of it It 's the birth place of Henry Sponde Bishop of Pamiez who has continued the Annalâ— of Baronius Of Bearn BEARN or Benearnensis pagus with the Title of Principality lies near the Pyrenees bordering on the County of Bigorre to the East Lower Armagnac to the North the Precincts of the Provost of Acqs Lower Navarre and the Viscounty of Soule to the West and the Mountains of Arragon and Ronçal to the South The chief Town of this Province is Pau the other most remarkable are Benearnum now Lescar Lascurris Oleron Iluro Nay Ourtes or Ortez Navarreins Morrane Sauveterre Pontac Sanbege Salies and 434 Burroughs or Villages 2 Bishopricks and 3 Abbeys It lies betwixt 42 Deg. 50 Min. and 43 Deg. 40 Min. Latitude and between 18 Deg. 50 Min. and 20 Deg. of Longitude its greatest strength East and West being about 22 Leagues and 20 North and South There are two Principal Rivers called Gave one has its source in the Mountains of Bareges in Bigorre and is called the Gave of Bearn and the other is that of Oleron which is a compound of
the Gave of Alpe and Ossau it has its source in the highest part of the Pyrenees where Bearn is divided from Spain these Rivers are not navigable but the plenty of Fish they afford makes amends for it from the highest Mountain of Ossau one may see both the Seas and the Mountains of Castile The Soil is rendred fruitful only by the labour and industry of the Inhabitants By the care and piety of Jaâ—â— Queen of Navarre this Province and her other Countries embrac'd the Reformation So thaâ— after the reconciliation of Henry the Great her Son to the Church of Rome the Sovereign Court of Pau petition'd the King who would re-establish the exercise of the Roman Religion in their Country that the Jesuits might be excluded from it which was granted to them and observed from the year 1599 to 1620 thaâ— Lewis XIII repealed this Edict against his Fathers Murtherers In 1684. Lewis XIV forced the Bearnois with Dragoons to abjure thaâ— Holy Religion they had profest almost an Age. The City of PAV upon the Gave of Pau or Bearn with a Parliament is pretty large and well built and the native Place of Henry the Great there is also a Court of Accounts and a College of Jesuits Pau lies 27 Leagues South East of Bayonne Of the County of Bigorre THE County of BIGORRE Bigerrones or Bigerri borders upon Armagnac to the North and East on Bearn to the West and part of Arragon to the South It s length North and South from the Pyrenees to Marbouquet is above 22 Leagues its largest breadth East-West 14 and in some places but 3 or 4 Leagues It is divided into three parts viz. the Mountains the Plain and the Rustan The first contains two Principal Valleys that of Lavedan the other of Barege the Plain is 5 Leagues long and 1 broad The Rustan has some little Hills along the River Arroz The Mountains are like a rail betwixt France and Spain there are four narrow and difficult passages viz. Azun Cauteres Barege and Campan which the Inhabitants are obliged to keep This Country yields a great deal of Jasp and Slate the Mountains have Silver Iron Copper and Lead Mines but they are not digg'd out There are 3 Lakes and 4 Principal Rivers viz. Adour Eschez Arroz and Lavedan which is composed of the Gaves of Barege Cauteres and Azun Eneco Arista was in possession of this County in 828. before he founded the Kingdom of Navarre and after many changes and revolutions Henry IV. annexed it to the Crown by an Edict in the Month October 1607. The most remarkable places are Tarbe Bish Vic de Bigorre Lourde Campan Rabasteins Bagneres Luz Cauteres c. The City of TARBE or Turba or Tarvia lies upon the Adour 10 Leagues East of Pau it 's a plentiful Country with a Bishop Suffragan of Ausch and a Seneschal the Cathedral is under the name of our Lady Lourde has a good strong Castle Benac is a Dutchy Barege is famous for its Waters Of Comminge COMMINGE Pagus Convenicus lies between Languedoc and Conserans on the East Armagnac on the North the County of Bigorre on the West and the Pyrenees on the South It is divided into upper properly Comminge and into Lower or the Diocese of Lombez This Country has had its own particular Counts before it was annexed to the French Crown It is pretty plentiful in Wheat Oates Wines Pastures Fruits and especially Walnuts which yield great quantity of Oyl it also abounds in all sorts of Fowl The most remarkable places are S. Bertrand of Comminge Bish Lombez Bish Montpezat Rieume Muret S. Beat Bagneres S. Gaudens L'Ile Dodon c. The City of S. BERTRAND of Comminge or Convene or Lugdunum Convenarum lies upon the Garonne 14 Leagues South-East of Tarbe with a Bishoprick Suffragan of Ausch and a Royal Court of Justice under the Seneschal and Parliament of Toulâ—use the Bishop Seat is in the States of Languedoc Lombez is one of the Bishopricks erected by Pope John XXII in 1317. It 's Suffragan to Toulouse from which it is distant above 12 Leagues to the South-West and 12 North of S. Bertrand de Comminge It 's seated upon the Save in a very fruitful Soil bounded on one side with Hills covered with Vineyards and on the other with Plains abundant in Corn and Hay Of Conserans COSERANS or Conserans Pagus Consarannensis lies on the South of Comminge properly so called between Languedoc and the Pyrenees 't is a Viscounty which is thought to have been possessed by Arnold of Spain under the Title of a County whence the House of Montespan derives its Original After that it went over to the Counts of Carcassonne and from thence to the Kings of Navarre The chief place is S. LIZER of Conserans upon the River Salat 13 Miles East of S. Bertrand de Comminge with a Bishoprick Suffragan of Ausch and a Royal Court of Justice under the Parliament of Toulouses It is divided in two viz. City and Town the first is properly Coserans with the Concathedral Notre-Dame and the other is S. Lizier where is also the other Concathedral of the same name the Chapter consists of 12 Canons of which the first is Archdeacon of two Sextons two Precentors and one Almoner of 24 Priests Prebendaries with a Parson in each of these two Churches where the Service is perform'd at the same time Conserans is said to be properly the Episcopal See and that Valerius was its first Bishop and S. Lizier Glycerius the Fifth The other places of some note are S. Julian Cazeres Bonpaux S. Girons La Cour Castillon CHAP. XIII Of Languedoc THis Government is separated from Provence and Dauphiné by the River Rhone on the East it borders upon Auvergne Rovergue and Quercy on the North on the West and South-West the Garonne and some Mountains divide it from Gascony and Catalogne and on the South it has the Mediterranean Sea It is the first Province which the Romans conquered after Provence and the Allobroges In Caesar's time Narbonne one of the Capital Cities of this Government gave its name to Languedoc Provence Dauphiné and Savoy but Augustus divided it into two Provinces the Viennoise and Narbonnoise and this last was again subdivided into two whereof the first is our Languedoc Before Caesar the Inhabitants were called Volcae and subdivided into two powerful Nations viz. The Volcae Tectosages who possest the Western or Upper Languedoc from the Garonne and the Pyrenees to the Cevennes and the Mediterranean Sea and the Volcae Arecomici who enjoy'd Eastern or Lower Languedoc from these Mountains and Sea to the Rhone About the end of the 6th Century it began to be called Septimania from its 7 Capital Cities viz. Tolosa Toulouse Biterrae Beziers Nemausus Nimes Agatha Agde Magalona Maguelonne Leuteva Lodeve Vcecia Vzès By the Treason of Stilicon the Romans were forced to yield to the Goths all the first Narbonnoise Catalogne and a good part of Navarre and Aragon where they settled themselves and established
Tence Duniere S. Didier Monistrol en Velay Craponne Chalencon Issignaux on the North East side of the Woods S. Paulian La Volte Solignac S. Privat Chapteys Le Monastier S. Chastie on the South West CHAP. XVI Of PROVENCE IT 's known that 60 or 70 years before the intire Conquest of the Gauls by Julius Caesar the Romans having vanquish'd the Salians and the Allobroges in 631 and 632 of Rome reduc'd into a Province the South-Eastern part of the Gauls included betwixt the Cevennes Mount-Jura the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea and call'd Gallia Braccata or the Gauls wearing Breaches They pleased themselves more in this Country than in any other of their Conquests for which reason they us'd to name it Our Province or absolutely the Province In process of time several Changes Divisions and Subdivisions having been made that part nearest to the Sea and Italy carried alone the name of Provincia or Provence in the Country Language probably because of the strict relation it kept with Italy in the midst of all those Revolutions Gallia Narbonensis was subdivided into five Provinces the first and second Narbonnoise the Viennoise the Greek the Apennin and the Maritim Alps. PROVENCE is made of the second Narbonnoise except Gap the Maritim Alps except Embrun together with the Dioceses of Vaison Orange Caraillon Avignon Carpentras Arles and Marseille taken from the Viennoise And therefore it borders to the North on the Tricastinois Diois Gapencois and Embrunois which make part of Dauphiné to the East the Alps and the Rivers Var and Tence separate it from the County of Nice and Marquisate of Saluces to the South and South East it has the Mediterranean Sea and to the West the Rhone divides it from the Dioceses of Nismes and Vzès in Languedoc so that it reaches above 42 Leagues North and South from La Breoulz on the fronteers of Embrunois to Cape de Dormes in the Isle of Porquerolles and above 53 East and West from the Confluence of the Tence and Var to the Rhone betwixt Condoules in Languedoc and Caderousse in the Principality of Orange In the decay of the Roman Empire the Wisigoths and Burgundians conquer'd this Province Theodoric an Ostrogoth King having master'd Italy seiz'd upon PROVENCE under pretence of Guardianship to Atalaric King of the Wisigoths his great Grandson The French King Clovis and his four Sons expell'd the Goths out of PROVENCE and when that famous General of the Emperor Justinian Belisarius had reconquer'd Italy by the defeat of Theodat and Vitiges Kings of the Goths he thought fit to yield PROVENCE to the French lest he should draw such powerful Enemies upon him In the division the Sons of the Emperor Lewis the Meek made of his Dominions PROVENCE together with Italy fell to the share of Lotharius the eldest of ' em And though during the weakness of the French Monarchy Counts usurp'd the Sovereign Power in PROVENCE as did one Robaud or Râ—tbâ—ld about the year 900 which was continued almost six Centuries through several Families yet these Counts were sometimes Kings in Italy as Boson his Son Hugh and the Dukes of Anjou who were Counts of PROVENCE and Kings of Naples and Sicily from Charles II. call'd the Lamb in 1285 to Charles IV. Sirnamed du Maine that bequeathed by his Will the County of PROVENCE to Lewis XI and the French King's Successors in 1481. The Rivers of PROVENCE besides the Buech and the Durance that are describ'd in Dauphiné are the Rivulets of Sosse Jabron Bleone Targue Laro and Asse falling into the Durance from Sisteron to Manosque The Verdon rises in the Mountains of the Diocese of Digne washes Colmars Castellane Montpezat receives the Issolet the Nartabre and the Auvestre and mixes with the Durance at S. Paol The Rocks and steep downfalls of the Durance hinder it from being navigable till about this place however it 's yet increas'd with the Tese the Durancole the Calevon that goes through Apt and some other Rivulets before it discharges it self into the Rhone betwixt Avignon and Barbentane The Louveze springs in the Baronies at a place call'd Montauban goes through le Buys Mâ—olans Valzon receives the Russe that waters Carpentras and the Sorgues at Pont de Sorgues that falls into the Rhone a Leagues North of Avignon The Tolobre and the Arc and Lionne fall into the Gulph of Martegue The Veaune into the Bay of Marseille near Chateau d'if the Aran discharges it self into the Sea near La Ciutat the Gapcau near Hyeres the Batailler into Cape negre the Gisole into Gulf de Grimaut Then you meet with the Alla the Candune the Caranne the Caujou or Chalilan the Pis the Tendole which joyn together betwixt Roquebrune and Frejus and mix with the Sea near Cape S. Vincent Farther Eastwards are the Rairan or River d' Agan the Bencon the Siagne and the Loup At last you find the Var that takes its source in Embrunois receives the Tuebie the Coremp the Vaine goes through Glandeves and La Pene is increased with the Tence the Vesubie and the Esterâ—n and disembogues its Waters into the Sea betwixt Nice and S. Laurens PROVENCE view'd in a Map affords but an unpleasant prospect for it seems as though the greatest part of it were cover'd with barren Mountains However it is not so for except in some few places of the Bayliwick of Seyne bordering upon Embrunois all the other Mountains are fruitful Hills or Hillocks which not only produce the best Corn and the most delicious Wine in France but sometimes one and the same Mountain will yield such Fruits as require a different Climate being cover'd on the South side with Vines Plume and Olive-trees Pomegranates Oranges Citrons Limons and on the North side with Cherries Apples Pears Almonds and Walnuts Neither does the Country want Pastures and Woods especially in the Northern parts though the latter be not in great quantity because of the industry of the Inhabitants The Air is as temperate as the Soyl is fruitful for the Sky is clear most part of the year and rain falls very seldom The Southern parts along the Sea-coast would be very hot were it not for the Bize or North Wind that refreshes and purifies the Air but creates a severe cold when it blows in Winter Those that keep there Sheep and Herds of Cattel send them in Summer to Devolui and other Mountains of Dauphiné having Pastures of their own the greatest part of the Winter They make vast quantity of Silk by feeding Silk-worms with leaves of Mulberry-trees as also Salt upon the Sea-coasts Thence are transported into Foreign Countries the Salicor a kind of Ashes fit to make Glasses and Soap of together with Saffron Vermilion Cork and Rosin an oily juice running out of the Male Pine-trees The few heaths and wastes that are there are covered with Thyme Hysop Lavander Rosemary Sage Juniper and Myrtle-trees The Provencaux or Inhabitants of PROVENCE aâ—e ingenious and industrious Dante and Petrarcha two famous
East and West is but 5 Leagues and not quite 4 North and South That it belongs by right to His Majesty William III. as part of his Patrimonial Estate is undeniable though to put an affront if it were possible upon that great Prince the Parliament of Paris have adjudg'd it to Charles Paris of Orleans last Duke of Longueville kill'd in the Dutch War of 1672 and tho Lewis XIV pretending to be his Heir lords now over it as though it were his own But to determine whether the French Kings as Counts and Marquesses of Provence are Lords Paramount of this Principality would require too long a discussion I shall only observe 1st That in 793 William au Cornet or au Court-nez High Constable of France having conquered Orange from a Sarracen King called Theobard took the Title of Count by the Grace of Goâ— which was then proper to Sovereigns 2dly That since the Right Prince of Orange is now King of England he may in compensation justly lay his claim to those vast and rich Dutchies and Counties of Normandy Guienne Poictou Maine Touraine Anjou that were the undisputable inheritance of his Predecessors besides his right to the whole Kingdom of France The City of ORANGE Aurasio Cavarum or Secundanorum Colonia lies a League West of the Rhone and 6 North of Avignon with the Title of Principality and a Bishoprick Suffâ—agan of Arles This was formerly a Roman Colony of the second Legion there are still to be seen the remains of a Cinque and a Triumphal Arch almost whole There was a kind â—f little Parliament whose Members were one half Roman Catholicks and the other Protestants but it was cashier'd by the French King in 1687 and changed into a Viguiers Jurisdiction under the Parliament of Aix It has still a Mint and an University It s strong Cittadel and other Fortifications were razed in 1660. against the Agreement made some Months before with Count Dhona Governour of the Town The Protestant Religion was forbidden there though there are 12 or 15 Jewish Families offered in the City and above as many in the dependencies of it The other places of note are Caderousse Courtezon Jonquieres Vaqueyras and Gigondas but formerly this Principality extended much farther within Tricastinois Diois Valentinois Gapencois Sisteronnois the County of Nice the County Venaissin and even beyond the Rhone into the Dioceses of Montpellier Nismes and Lodeve in Languedoc Of the Islands of Provence THE Isles of Martegues Maritimae Avaticorum which are called by some Venice of France are made of a Triple Town with the Title of Principality belonging to the Duke of Vendome For they are divided into 3 Parts Ferriere l'Isle and Jonquieres and seated on the Pond of Berre from whence they have digg'd great Ditches for a Communication with the Sea distant about an English Mile so that the greatest Boats come up to the Town from the Sea and go through the Pond for the conveniency of Trade and they may easily go from one Town to the other upon Bridges There are all sorts of good Fish caught in certain high Sea-rushes called Bourdigaux the Inhabitants are great Lovers of Dancing and Mirth whence comes the common Proverb to dance the Martingale This Town has had several Masters for it belong'd once to the Viscounts of Marseille then to the Counts of Provence Francis of Lorrain Dutchess of Mercoeur Estampes Ponthievre Princess of Martegues brought all her Estate into the House of Vendome by her Marriage with Caesar Duke of Vendome a Legitimated Son to Henry IV. These Islands lye 8 Leagues West of Marseille 10 South East of Arles and 12 South West of Aix The Islands Stacades call'd also the Golden â—â—ands or Hyeres Olbia and Areae because â—ey lie over against the Town of that name â—e 3 in number call'd by the Latins Sturium â—henice Phila and in French Island of Leâ—ant or of Tilan Porte-Cross which has a Garâ—ison and Porquerolles all three in the Diocese â—f Toulon In Cassian's time these Islands were â—nhabited by Monks some of whom under â—ope Innocent the III. were Cisternians They â—re so fertile that after the loss of Rhodes the â—nights of S. John designed to settle there with â—he French King's leave The Islands of Lerins Lero Planasia or Leâ—iâ—us are but two in number oveâ— against the Town of Cannes towards Antibes which are call'd Islands of S. Margaret or Lero and of S. Hâ—norat Planasiae or Lerinus The first draws â—ts name from a Chappel dedicated to that Saint â—t is three quarters of a League long and one quarter broad there are five Ports and a Cittadel newly fortified to defend it The other draws it from S. Honorat who founded there a Monastery in 375. driving away as 't is said the Serpents that made it desart and cauâ—ing a Fountain of fresh-water to spring there which is still in being He was afterwards Biâ—hop of Arles This Solitude has been for â—any Ages together the Nursery of the Preâ—ates of Provence and of the neighbouring Churches For thence are issued 12 Archbiâ—hops as many Bishops 10 Abbots 4 Monks numbred among the Holy Confessors and 105 Martyrs The Air is very temperate the Soâ— fertile The Spaniards surpriz'd these Islanâ— in the beginning of this Age laid waste thâ—â— holy place pull'd down those fine Forests oâ— Pine-trees which formed many covered Walks adorned by a vast number of Oratories but iâ— 1637. they were turned out of them Therâ— are in the Island of S. Honorat 3 Walls and â— Chappels they Fish there a great deal of Corral As for Chateau-d'if it is a little Island twâ— Leagues South of Marseille with a good stronâ— hold where the biggest Ships stop becausâ— they cannot get in the Port of that City foâ— want of Water There are some Islands oâ— the Mouth of the Rhone but cover'd only witâ— Grass and Mountains CHAP. XVII Of Dauphiné THis Province the nearest to Italy confines on the North to that of Bresse and the Dukedom of Savoy is separâ—ted from Piedmont by the Alps on the East from the County of Nice Provence the County Venaissin and the Principality of Orange by the samâ— Mountains tho' interrupted in some places towards the South and from Languedoe on the West by the Rhone It reaches above fifty common Leagues of France or 38 of DAVPHINE East and West from Pignerol to the Rhone and above forty North and South from Fort de Baraux on the Borders of Savoy to Cisteron in Provence The Country is Mountainous all over except in the North-West of Low Dauphine however it produces excellent Wine and abundance of Corn of all sorts as Wheat Rye Barly Oats Spelt Lentil Beans Pease and other kind of Pulse There are also many Woods and some of them are pretty large and full of Bucks Deers Shamoys and other Beasts of Game but the greatest part of their Woods are Warrens that abound with Hares Conies Pheasants red and gray Pratridges c. Neither does it want
good Village not otherwise considerable than that it gives its name to a River and is one of the Passes of Dauphine into the Marquisate of Saluces and so farther into Piemont Of Brianconois THis Mountainous Country reaches 18 or 20 Leagues East and West from Pignerol to the Mountains call'd Produissen and 16 North and South from Chateau-Dauphin to Col de La Roue It was formerly of a narrower extent before Pignerol and the adjacent Vallies were yielded to the French King In this Territory falls a sweet and purging Dew called La Manne de BRIANCON and accounted one of the seven Wonders of this Province The Capital BRIANCON is now the head of that Bailiwick and the Seat of a Presidial but was never a Bishoprick tho Robbe calls it so Under the Dauphins it had the Title of a Principality of which they bore the name but under the Romans it was at first one of the places where they used to incamp but by little and little it became a Place of some note Both this Town and Country made part of the Kingdom of Cottius that famous Gaulish Prince whom Augustus not being able to subdue persented with the Alliance of the Roman Empire His whole Realm consisted in 12 Towns of which Suse was the Capital but he knew so well how to inâ—â—ench himself that both his Subjects and his Enemies concurr'd to give his name to the Mountains whereon he reign'd calling them Cottian Alps during the extent of 14 Leagues â—rom Mount Viso to Mount Cenis This Town â—n Latin Brigantio or Brigantium depended for â— long time upon the Segusiones or the Princes â—f Suze BRIANCON is now built on the foot of â— Rock near Mount Genevre on the meeting â—f two small Brooks one of which bears the â—â—me of Dure viz. the most Easterly and the â—â—ther that of Ance but after their junction â—he common name of Durance BRIANCON is esteemed by reason of its Situation the â—ighest Town in Europe tho it be commanded â—y a Castle built upon the Rock at the bottom â—f which the Town lies Two Leagues South 〈◊〉 BRIANCON is a pierced Rock call'd â—â—tuis Rostan some believe that Caesar caused â—â—is Passage to be made thorough this Rock for â—is Troops at his entrance into the Gaules Others â—e of opinion that it is the same Rock which â—nnibal caused to be pierced with Fire and â—inegar that his Elephants might pass thorough â—thers again think that it is a Work of King â—â—tius in honour of Augustus whose Statue he â—â—ected upon it Whatsoever it may be BRIâ—NCON has not been considerable before 〈◊〉 13th Century In the last Age the Leaguers â—â—zed upon it but the Duke of Lesdiguieres â—ok it from them in 1590. This Town has produced one of the learnedest Mathematicians of France called Oronce Finé who was professor Royal at Paris and died in 1555. Pignerol is properly a City of Piedmâ—nt and formerly was the Title and Portion of the Dukes of Savoy's youngest Sons It is seated upon the small River Cluson or Chisson which falls into the Po near Moncallier two Leagues South of Turin It had formerly a good Cittadel only but since the French have it in their possession they have fortified it so as to make it almost an impregnable place The Cittadel is built on a Rock and the Town between the last Mountains of the Alps seven Leagues South-East of Turin and 12 North West of BRIANCON There 's is a Fort call'd St. Bridge which has communication with the Cittadel by a cover'd way and subterraneous passages The Duke of Savoy at the head of the Confederate Forces took it this year 1693. But instead of going on vigorously with the Siege of the Town and Cittadel they left them block'd up and went to sight Catinat the French General who lay incamp'd with 12 or 14000 Men betwixt the Mountains of Col de Fenestrelles and Col de Rossa seven or eight Leagues North West of Pignerol But when they were gone so far they perceived they could not come at him So that after much time lost they went back and open'd the Trenches before Pignerol in September rais'd the Siege and were deseated October the 4th 1693. 'T is a pleasure to read the cunning fetches of that shrewd Politician Cardinal Rihelieu to get this Strong-hold into his Master's Hands There arose a Civil War in Piedmont perhaps by this subtle Minister's Devices The Uncles of the young Duke pretending to the Regency against the Dutchess Dowager who had been left in possession of it by her Husband As she was a Princess of the French Blood she presently implor'd the assistance of her Cousin especially seeing that her Competitors were assisted by the Spaniards It had been an easy matter for the French Monarch to maintain the Dutchess in the quiet possession of her Right But the Policy of his chief Minister suffered her to come to that extremity that she kept nothing else beyond the Alps besides Turin and its Cittadel Whilst she was in those Fears she was promised a sufficient Succor to restore her into all her Dominions provided she would yield to the French King Pignerol and all the Vallies of Piedmont She was very loath to part with such a large Portion of her Territories but at last for fear of loosing all she consented to yield Pignerol with the Vallies on the East-side of the River Cluson whereupon the Treaty was secretly concluded in the Town of Queyras the 31th of March 1631 so that ever since the important Vallies of Perouse and Pragelas belong'd to the French King There are some other places that give their Name to Vallies as the Burough of Bardonanche the Town of Queyras with a strong Castle and a Mountain washed by the River Guillestre the Burough of Chasteau-Dauphin which seems to have been built by the Princes of that Country against the Incursions of the Piemontois for it lies on the utmost Borders of Dauphine ten Leagues South East of BRIANCON The Fort of Exilles is another considerable passage from France into Italy 13 Miles North-West of Brianon and but 3 East of Suze Caesar makes mention of it in the first Book of his Commentaries under the name of Ocelum The Country about it is called by the Inhabitants the Valley of Duren CHAP. XVIII Of Low DAUPHINE Of VIENNOIS THis Country that now comprehends the Bayliwicks of Vienne and St. Marcellin was formerly called the Isle of the Allobroges it being included between the Rivers Rhosne on the North and West the Isere on the South and the Giare on the East and reaching 24 Leagues North and South and 18 East and West it is the best and most inhabited part of Dauphiné being water'd with several Rivers and less interrupted with Mountains than the others The Capital Vienne built upon the Rhone where it receives the small River Gere lies 8 Leagues South of Lyons 18 Norli of Valence and as many North-West of Grenâ—ble It is accounted one
of Francis I. Henry II. and his three Sons and was one of the most Learned Men of his time He favoured the Protestant Doctrine openly enough and often Preached it at Court But whether he could not as easily resolve to for sake his Kitchin as Transubstantiation as he himself used to say or that he thought that his stay at Court would be more serviceable to the good side than a publick abjuration or that he did not like a Presbyterian Reformation as 't is reported that when the Ministers of Geneve wrote to him he should come over to them to make a publick Profession of the Truth he answer'd they ought rather to come to and take orders from him they having no lawful Mission whatsoever it may be he dyed in the Communion of the Roman Church at Toulouse in 1579. Among the Monasteries of Valence is most eminent the Abby of St. Ruff chief of the Order of St. Augustin esteemed one of the most sumptuous Buildings of all Dauphine The Foundation of this Town is uncertain but it appears by several Inscriptions and Roman Monuments that it is very antient It is divided into Town and Burrough and is defended by a Cittadel for the other Fortifications which Francis the I. designed to make at Grenoble and Valence were never finished In the Town are two Fountains whose Conduits said to have been built by Julius Caesar are indeed a Work of the Roman Magnificence for they are vaulted and so big that a Man may walk upright in them the source and the end of one cannot be discovered and along the other which waters the Neighbouring Meadows are the ruins of several antient Buildings The Country People do not want fabulous Traditions no more than their Neighbours at Vienne for they will tell you strange Stories of a Giant called Briard who was 15 Cubits high and shew you some monstrous remains of his Bones nay the Dominican Fryers assure that they have still his true Picture which they do not fail to shew to Strangers Duchesne relates that in the Neighbouring Vineyards was discovered a Grave at the opening of which was seen a Woman having a golden Ring at each of her ears with a Turky-stone and Emerald inchased in them at her Feet was a Cup of Cristal and at her Head a Lamp of Glass but assoon as this dead Body was exposed to the piercing Air it turned into dust Between Valence and the fall of the Isere into the Rhone at a Leagues distance from both is the Village of Confolen where Fabius Maximus gave a total overthrow to the Gaulish Forces in the Year 633 of Rome Thirteen Miles South-East of Valence upon the River Drome lies the Town of Crest formerly a dependance of the Segalauni and a Castle of the Counts of VALENTINOIS This French name is derived from the Latin Crista because this Castle being seated between the River and a Neighbouring Mountain appear'd as the Cap or the Comb of a Cock and therefore it was the place of Arms of the Counts of VALENTINOIS and the Count of Montfort besieged it in vain in the 13th Age. As this Town is conveniently seated between the Diocesses of Valence and Die so it was the Seat of Justice for the upper part of both Counties 'T is observed that in 1469 one John Rabot made a new Statute-Book divided in a hundred Articles which were afterwards confirmed by the Parliament of Dauphiné Crest had declared it self for the League in the last Century but its Governor Montoison surrender'd it to the French King Henry the Great in 1589 and since that time its Tower has been demolished Six Leagues South of Valence near the Mouth of the Drome is the Burrough of Lauriol or l'Auriol Laureolum or Aureolum with a Priorate of S. John's Order Mâ—utelimar almost nine Leagues South West of Crest and 13 South of Valence is a considerable Town seated upon a Mountain washed by the River Rubion whence and from its Founders the Lords of Grignan call'd Adhemar of Monteil it has taken the name of Montilium Adhemari and in Frencâ— Montilly Monteil-Aymar and Montelimar 〈◊〉 it was that one Milon the Pope's Legate assembled the Bishops of the Neighbouring Provincâ— against Raymond the VI. Count of Touloâ—â— â—nd the Albigeois in 1208. One Girard 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r made Homage of this Town to Pope Graâ—â—â—â— the XI and exchanged it with Clement the â—II for the Lordship of Grillon but the Dauphin Lewis the XI not liking this barter goâ— the Town of Montelimar again restored Grillon to the Pope and gave the Lordship of Marsanne to Adhemar in 1446. In the last age the Inhabitants of this Town were among the first who declared for the Reformation which drew several troubles upon them and was the cause that it was taken and retaken several times Montelimar has a very fine prospect and is but a League East of the Rhone It produces excellent Wines which are almost the sole in that Country that will bear Carriage and therefore are transported by Land as far as Grenoble and Chambery That famous Contoversist Chamier so much known among the Protestants of France by his Panstratia was Minister of Montelimar In this Dutchy are farther remarkable the Burroughs of Chabeuil Estoille Livron L' Auriol and Diou le Fit renowned for its Ear then-ware the County of Monteillez c. Of Tricastinois THis Country which makes a kind of Triangle between the County Venaissin on the East South and South West the River Rhâ—ne on the West and the Vice-seneschalship of Montelimar on the North is hardly extended 6 Leagues where it is broadest The Capital St. Paul Tricastin or as the vulgar calls it St. Paul Trois Chateaux bears the name of one of its Bishops and of its antient Inhabitants the Tricastini Pliny calls it Augusta Tricastinorum but Ptolomy Noviomagus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which makes Jos Scaliger and the Learned Jesuit Sirmond take it for 2 different Towns whereof the last Noviomagus should denote Nions upon the River Aygues almost 9 Leagues East of St. Paul but Adrian de Valois does not think it reasonable to ascribe two Capital Cities to such an inconsiderable People as the Tricastins ever were for all what we find remembred of them is that Hannibal went through their Country in his Journey to the Alpes The first Bishop of St. Paul mention'd in History is one Florentius who assisted to the Council of Epaone or Ponay in 517. In the last Age the Protestants were Masters of that Town during near 50 years but in 1590. Antony Du Cros who had been named to that Bishoprick sang Mass again in the Cathedral after the Popish Worship had been expelled from it 44 years Grignan is a small Burrough seated upon a Mountain 4 Leagues North East of St. Paul It has the Title of a Barony but is much more considerable by the lustre of its Lords who are known since the 10th or 12th Century and have been intrusted with several important
Palaces of Cante-Croix and Granvelle and the Town-House deserve to be seen In the last is a Brazen â—â—gle bearing the statue of the Emperor Charles V. and throwing Water by its two bills The Diocese of Besancon contains 780 Parishes under 15 Deanships and 5 Arch-deaconships Since Franche-County is in the power of the French the Parliament and Chamber of Accounts which had their Seat at Dole have been transfer'd hither so that Besancon may now be accounted the Capital of this Province DOLE Dola is situated on the Dou in a very pleasant and fertil Country and is still the Seat of the Baily of this Division It 's a Town of some Antiquity Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy did found its University in 1426 and the Dutchess Margaret enlarged its Priviledges and indowments in 1404. The French King Lewis the XI took that Town Anno 1479 and sack'd it in a lamentable manner which gave occasion to call it Dola Dolens Mournfull Dâ—le Anno 1530. the Emperour Charles the V. did fortity it with seven Bastions which afterwards were augmented but Anno 1668 Lewis the XIV took it with the rest of the Province threw down the Walls ruined the Fortifications and then restor'd it to the Spaniards but afterwards Anno 1674 he retook it with the whole Franche-County Other Towns in this Division aâ—e Ornans Quingey Verceil la Loye Rochefort Chasteau-neuf Raon c. Of the Bayliwick of Poligny THE BAYLIWICK of Poligny or d'Aval in the South-West of Burgundy County is situated between Switzerland on the East Bresse on the South the Dutchy of Burgundy on the West and the Bayliwick of Dole on the North. The cheif Towns are Poligny Salins and S. Claude Poligny the Seat of the Baily lies on the Source of the River Glanstine which emptieth it self into the Dou eight leagues from Dole towards the South-East Salins Salinae Sequanorum is situated between two Mountains nigh the River Forica that discharges it self into the Louve 9 leagues from Besancon towards the South It derives its name from Salt-Springs which did the French King allow it would supply most part of the Country with Salt In the Spaniards time it was extraordinary strong and had a Castle almost impregnable Saint Claude was also pretty well fortify'd It 's situated towards the Frontiers of Bugey and the Country of Gex 7 leagues North-West of Geneve There is a famous Abby that boasts of the Body of St. Claude Archbishop of Besancon in the 7 Century whence the Town hath its name The other places Worthy to be mention'd are Lyon-le-Saunier Arley Ruffey Blesterans Carlaâ—u Mommorot Monet le Chasteau Sorlin Mirâ—heau Champagnole Chastel-Chalon Arbois St. Lothain Burgille Nozeret Pontarlier St. Anne Monthenoit c. FINIS THE CONTENTS PART I. A General and Particular Description of France Page 1. CHAP I. Of the ancient and modern Bounds and Divisions of France Of its Mountains Ports Rivers and Forests p. 2. CHAP. II. Of the Air and Soil of France and its various Productions p. 10. CHAP III. Of the Inhabitants of France and of their Language p. 15. CHAP IV. Of the Riches Strength and Government of France p. 20. CHAP V. Of the Chief Officers of the Crown and Kingdom p. 29. CHAP VI. Of the Religion of the French p. 37. PART II. A Description of France wherein each of its great Provinces smaller Counties Cities Royal Houses Forests Mountains Coasts Rivers and Lakes are Geographically and Historically described CHAP I. â—orrain the three Bishopricks and the Dutchy of Bar. p. 47. CHAP II. The Principality of Sedan and Dukedom of Bouillon and Rethel p. 58. CHAP III. Of Champaign p. 62. 1. Rheims p. 64. 2. Precinct of Caalons and Troyes p. 67. 3. Senonois 4. Langres 5. Bassigni Vallage and Perthois p. 70 71 72. 6. The County of Briâ— and more especially Briâ— Champenoise p. 74. CHAP IV. Of the Isle of France and its dependencies p. 77. Paris p. 80. Towns and Places of Note in the Parisis or the Territory of Paris p. 97. Versailles Trianon p. 99. 113. Other Towns Royal Houses and Places of Note in the Parisis p. 115. French Brie Hurepoix p. 126. 127. Mantoan p. 137. â—rench Vexin Beauvaisis p. 145. 147. Soissonuois Laonnois p. 156 157. Noyonnois p. 159. CHAP V. Of Picardy p. 160 Tierache Vermandois p. 163. 166. Santerre Amienois p. 169. 171. Vimeux Ponthieu p. 175 176. Boulenois p. 179. The Recovered Country p. 182. CHAP VI. Of Normandy especially the Higher p. 186. Norman Vexin p. 191. Caux Bray Roumois 197 205 206. The Bishoprick of Evreux p. 206. CHAP VII Of Lower Normandy The Bishoprick of Lizieux p. 211. The Bishoprick of Seez p. 213. The Bishoprick of Bayeux p. 216. The Bishoprick of Constance or Coutance p. 220. The Bishoprick of Avranches p. 226. CHAP VIII Of Britanny p. 229. Of High Britanny The Bishoprick of Rennes p. 235. Of the Bishoprick of Dol. p. 238. Of the Bishoprick of St. Malo p. 239. Of the Bishoprick of St. Brieux p. 241. Of the Bishoprick of Nants p. 243. CHAP. IX Of Lower Britanny The Bishoprick of Vennes p. 248. Of the Bishoprick of Quimper-Corentin p. 252 Of the Bishoprick of Treguier p. 254. Of the Bishoprick of St. Pol De Leon. p. 256. CHAp X. Of the Government Orleanois p. 258 Of the Country of Maine or Le Maine p. 265. Of the Country of Perche or Le Perche p. 270. Of Beauce Proper Beauce p. 274 275. Of Vendomois p. 281. Of Anjou p. 283. Of Touraine p. 295. Of Blaisois p. 303. Of Proper Orleanois p. 312. Of Gastinois p. 324. Of Nivernois p. 331. CHAP. XI Of Orleanois on the South of the Loire Of Berry p. 338. Of Poictou p. 414. Of Aunis p. 435. Of Angoumois p. 439. Of the Islands depending on the Government Orleâ—nois p. 441. CHAP. XII Of the Government of Guienne p. 443. Of Proper Guienne p. 448. Of Bazadois Of Agenois p. 450 451. Of Quercy p. 452. Of Rouergue p. 455. Of Limosin p. 459. Of Perigord p. 461. Of Saintonge p. 463. Of Armagnac p. 466 Of Chaloffe p. 469 Of Condomois p. 470. Of the Landes Of Lower Navarre p. 452 473 Of Soule Of Labourd p. 474 475 Of Beâ—â—n p. 477 Of the County of Bigorre p. 479 Of Comminge p. 481 Of Conferans p. 482 CHAP. XIII Of Languedoc p. 484 Of Toulousan p. 495 Of the Diocese of Toulouse p. 496 Of the Diocese of Montauban p. 508 Of the Diocese of La Vâ—ur p. 510 Of Lauragais p. 512 Of Albigeois p. 515 Of the County of Foix. p. 522 CHAP. XIV Of Lower Languedoc Of the Precinct of Narbonne p. 527 Of the Precinct of Beziers p. 539 Of the Precinct of Nismes p. 545 CHAP. XV. Of the Cevennes p. 565 Of Vivarais p. 569 Of the Diocese of Uzès p. 562 Of Gevaudan p. 572 Of Velay p. 575 CHAP. XVI Of Provence p. 578 Of the Diocese of Aix p. 584 Of the Diocese of Riez p. 587 Of the Diocese of Senez p.
April 1617. Moreuil upon the Auregne is above 〈◊〉 leagues Southwest of Peronne and Mondidier 〈◊〉 This last is strong has a particular Governâ— and has often repulsed the Spaniards 〈◊〉 Town of Roye is four leagues Northeast of â—â—dider It is a Lordship which has given 〈◊〉 Name to the noble Family of Roye that subâ— from the tenth or eleventh Century Creâ—â— is a small Town with the Title of a Marquiâ—â— 8 leagues West of Mondidier Nesle is anâ—â— small Town which has given the Title of Mâ—quess to a noble and Ancient Family in tâ— Countrey whence are issu'd high Constables France as Raoul de Nesle under Philip the bâ— It is scituated upon the little River Ignoâ—â— â—gnon above four Leagues South of Peronne and â—e miles North-east of Roye It was taken by â—arles the rash last Duke of Burgundy in 1472 â—d all its Inhabitants were either put to the â—ord hang'd or had their Fists cut off beâ—use they had killed one of the Dukes Heralds â—hom he sent to summon them and withal two â—his men during a Truce Chaunes a Dutchy â—d Peerdom erected by Lewis XIII in 1621. â—scituated between Nesle and Peronne Halluin 〈◊〉 Maignelay is another Dutchy and Peerdom â—rdering to Beauvaisis six leagues South-west 〈◊〉 Roye Amienois THIS Countrey is otherwise called Proper Picardy and is extended about ten leagues â—â—st and West where it is broadest and twenâ—â— North and South But formerly it reached â—uch farther as appears yet by the Jurisdictiâ—â— of the Bishop of Amiens which compreâ—ends besides this Countrey that of Vimeux â—nd Ponthieu and a good part of the County of â—rtois It is watered with several Brooks and â—ivers and beautified with divers small Woods â—he first Town you meet with coming from â—anterre is the Town of Corbie upon the Somme â—ear its receiving another small River that â—kes here the name of Corbie It has the Title â—f a County and was but at the beginning an Abby founded by King Clotaire the III. and his Queen Bathilde in 662. The famous Rairâ— who opposed the monstrous Tenet of Tranâ—stantiation in its very Birth was Monk in 〈◊〉 Abby Corby is yet a strong Town which 〈◊〉 Spaniards had surprized in 1636 but soâ—time after being besieged in it and streightâ— by the French 't is said that they wrote to Priâ— Thomas of Savoy their General in the followâ— words O Lord have mercy on us as we have trâ—ed in thee Fiat miserecordia tua Domine sâ—â— nos quem ad modum speravimus in te Four Leagues farther upon the same Riâ—â— is the Town and Bishoprick of Amiens suffâ—â—gan to Rheims and Capital of this whole Gâ—vernment Its Foundation is uncertain tho 〈◊〉 be very Ancient since the Ambiani who douâ—â—-less signifie the Inhabitants of the Amiâ—â— were already powerful in Caesar's time Thâ— Capital was then call'd Samarobriva a Gaulâ— name that signifies Samara's bridge for the â—ver Somme was then call'd Samara and aftâ—wards Sumina as Samarobriva it self lost 〈◊〉 name in process of time and took that of Aâ—biani from its Inhabitants Several Roman Eâ—perorâ— strove to beautifie it and some took 〈◊〉 for their Residence-place when they were 〈◊〉 the Gauls but in the fifth sixth and folloâ—ing Ages it was much annoy'd and impaireâ— by the Incursion of the Alains Vandals aâ—â— Normans so far that it was almost wholly buâ—â—ed in 925. In 1329 Edward III. King of Enâ—land made here homage to King Philip of Vâ—lois for the Dukedom of Guyenne and Counâ—â— of Ponthieu in the presence of the Kings 〈◊〉 Aragon Navarr Bohem and Majorque 〈◊〉 were then gathered to undertake a Journey and â—litary Expedition into the Holy Land This â—onarch began to fortifie Amiens in 1347 but 〈◊〉 was Lewis XI who brought this Design to â—y perfection In the Month of March 1597 â—e Spaniards took this City by a War-strataâ—m having caused a Cart full of Nuts to be â—oken as by chance within one of the Gates â—d while the Garrison was gathering the â—nts and the Gate could not be shut the Spaâ—sh Army that was hard by fell upon them â—d master'd the Town But Henry IV. retook 〈◊〉 with plain Force before the end of the Year â—d then raised there a Cittadel which was â—counted in his time one of the best and most â—gulâ—r in Europe This City has a Bailiwick â—residial and Generality Its Rampiers are aâ—orned with great Alleys of Trees The River â—omme enters into the Town by three Chanâ—â—ls and serves for the use of several Manufaâ—ures Its Cathedral is one of the biggest and â—nest in the Kingdom There they make a â—ow of several pretended Reliques as the Boâ—y of St. Firmin first Bishop of Amiens in Dioâ—esian's time of St. Dominick of St. John the â—aptists head Amiens had during an Age or â—wo its particular Counts but they were deâ—rived of their Sovereignty by Lewis the Burly â—bout the year 1109. Pequigni three leagues almost from Amiens â—pon the same River is remarkable for the Death of William surnamed Long-sword Duke â—f Normandy whom Baldwin Count of Cambray â—r Arnoul Count of Flanders caused to be killed â—here And for defeat of the English who were known in a Pass from the French becâ—â— they could not pronounce the word Pequiâ—â— as directly as a Frenchman born Add to 〈◊〉 that the Steward of the Bishoprick of Aâ—â—â— bears the Title of Vidame of Pequigni Four leagues South of Amiens is the Prâ—cipality of Conti upon the River Celle and â—miles more Eastwards the Principality of 〈◊〉 upon the same River they are both sâ—â— but very pleasant because of the many Wâ—â— and Game with which they abound Two leagues East of Poix on the Frontier 〈◊〉 Normandy three miles North-west of Aâ—â—â— lies the Burrough and Lordship of Ligneres 〈◊〉 famous for having given its name to the Faâ—â— of that late Traytor Bartholomew of Grandval 〈◊〉 at the instigation of the French King and 〈◊〉 Councellors would have murthered His Mâ—sty William III. King of Great Brittain Seven leagues almost on the North of Aâ—ens lyes the strong Town of Dourlens or Dâ—lens Donincum upon the Authie near the bordâ— of Artoys It was already a Strong-hold in 〈◊〉 when the French K. Raoul took it upon one â—ribert It belonged afterwards to the Coâ—â— of Ponthieu but was yielded by the Couâ—â— Mary to Lewis VIII in 1225 and since aliâ—â—ted from the Crown of France and given 〈◊〉 Philip III. Duke of Burgundy in 1435 and 〈◊〉 united to it in 1463 Antony of Bayencourt eâ—joyed Dourlens in the last Age but the Kiâ—â— Attorney seized on it in 1559 and caused it 〈◊〉 be reunited to the Royal Demesne Dourleâ—s 〈◊〉 divided into high and low Town both very wâ— fortified Vimeux â—Amson the Father confounds this Countrey with that of Ponthieu but more modern Geoâ—phers as Robbe and Samson the Son distinguish â—em and the Learned Collections of Adrian 〈◊〉 Valois in his Notitia Galliarum are agreeable 〈◊〉 it According then to the last Pagus
Vineâ—cus the Land of Vimeux is included between â—nienois and Normandy from which it is seâ—â—rated by the River Bresle call'd likewise Auâ—â— and betwixt the Sea and the River Somme â—at divides it from the County of Ponthieu â—s extended above 14 leagues East and West â—om Molien le Vidame in Amienois to Cayeu on â—e Sea-cost and 5 North and South from S. â—â—lery to Bauchen upon the Bresle S. Valery â—â—e Capital is seated on a Hill near a Bay made â—y the mouth of the Somme and call'd S. Valery â—r mer to distinguish it from another Sea-town 〈◊〉 Normandy call'd S. Valery en Caux or S. Vaâ—ry les Plains It 's Port is not extreamly good â—ecause of the great quantity of Downs that â—re about it neither are Cayeu Cadocum Augst 〈◊〉 Augusta better tho they seem to have formerly â—een of some Consideration Notwithstanding â—he Countrey is fill'd with a vast number of Villages and good Burroughs whereof the chief â—re Bauchen Gamaches a Marquizate Anssennes â—nd Sennerpont all upon the Bresle Arguel Riencour Oysemont Bailleul whence John de Bailleul that became King of Scotland wâ—â—ther Lord or Ordinary or of another â—leul in the Countrey of Dieppe Ponthieu THis County included between the Riâ—â— Somme and Canche on the South and Noâ—â— the Ocean on the West Amienois and Artoiâ—â— the East is about nine leagues East and Wâ—â— and nine or ten North and South It is waâ—â—ed with many fine Rivers as the Somme 〈◊〉 Maye Authie c. It was in former Aâ—â— but thinly inhabited because of the mâ—â— Woods that almost took up the whole Coâ—trey but it s now very thick peopled tâ— there be still several Forrests This County 〈◊〉 been often given in Portion to the Câ—â—dren of the French Kings and has had befâ—â— its particular Counts since the tenth Centuâ—â— In 1279 Eleanor of Castile Heiress of Ponthâ—â— was Married to Edward I. King of England 〈◊〉 brought this County to these Monarchs whâ— was the occasion of many bloody Wars Abbeville upon the Somme is the Capâ—â— of this County eight or nine leagues Nortâ—west of Amiens It is one of the biggest aâ— strongest in this Province and some will 〈◊〉 it was never taken for which reason they 〈◊〉 it the Faithful or the Virgin City of that Coâ—â—trey It has a Bailiwick Presidial five Gaâ—â— twelve or thirteen great Parishes and seveâ— Monasteries The River Somme and the small â—ver Cardon which discharges it self into it â—ake it a great Trading Town and give it the â—nveniency of exchanging its Linnen Cloth â—ooll and Corn for other Commodities that â—e brought in Boats from the Sea into the very â—own 'T is uncertain in what time this City â—as built for I find no mention made of it beâ—â—re the tenth Century That Hugh Capet gave 〈◊〉 in Portion to his Daughter Giselle Howâ—er it seems by the Original of the Name of â—bbeville Abbattis villa that it was built by â—me Abbot of St. Riquier for there is yet a â—own of that Name two leagues North-east â—on the River Cardon which Opinion Adrian 〈◊〉 Valois seems to confirm Abbeville has lately produced the best Geoâ—aphers of France as Nicolas Sanson who dyâ—â— 1667 William Sanson his Son and Peter du â—l who are yet alive for ought I know and the â—esuit Philip Briet who died in 1669. It is said â—at in 1636. some Women disguised in Mens â—oaths fought the Spaniards near S. Riquier â—d brought away two of their Colours Nine miles North-west of Abbeville on the â—orthside of the mouth of the Somme is the Seaâ—ort Town Le Crotoy Two leagues South east 〈◊〉 Abbeville is an important passage in an â—land formed by the same River called Pontâ—-Remi near to which are to be seen the reâ—ains of one of Caesar's Camps Rue upon the â—aye five leagues North-west of Abbeville is a â—rong Town by reason of its scituation being â—viron'd with Marshes and having a Pond or â—ake on the East-side Near the source of the same River is 〈◊〉 Burrough of Crecy which gives its name 〈◊〉 Forrest hard by but is much more famous 〈◊〉 a Battel fought there between the English 〈◊〉 the French in 1346 King Edward III. coâ— into Ponthieu of which he was Lord encâ—â—ed at the Village of Crecy King Philip of Vâ— came to encounter him on the 26th of Aâ—gâ— But the last was totally routed and left 30â—â— Foot upon the spot and 1200 Horse beâ—â— that he lost fourscore Colours and the Fâ—â—â—er of his Nobility as John of Luxenburg 〈◊〉 of Bohem. Charles Count of Alencon the Kiâ—â— Brother Raoul Duke of Lorrain the Count 〈◊〉 Flanders Harcourt and Sanserre the Dauphâ—â— Viennois c But the greatest mischief for 〈◊〉 French was that a Fog having kept them sâ—â— the sight of the Enemy till nine or ten a Clâ— in the morning the English in the mean wâ— planted the Colours they had taken fâ—â— them upon a height which the deceiâ—â— French taking for their own resorted to thâ— and received a greater overthrow than the 〈◊〉 day Their dead Bodies were Interred by Kâ— Edward's order at Monstreuil and the burâ—â— lasted 3 days Crecy had formerly a Royal House whâ— Ebroin Mayor of the Palace besieg'd when 〈◊〉 Warr'd against K. Thierry and his Mayor Lâ—â—â—sius and took both the King and the Town Fredegarius relates The Town of Monstreâ—â— scituated upon the Canche nine leagues 〈◊〉 of Abbeville five North-west of Crecy and tâ—â— East of the Sea It was but at first a Villaâ— which encreased into a Town by the builâ—◠〈◊〉 a Castle and of a Monastery by S. Salvius â—â—shop of Amiens where he would be Intterr'd â—d whence it has gotten the name of Monasteâ—â—lum Monstreuil or Monstrelet Besides there â—e still two Ancient Abbyes of St. Bennets Orâ—r one of Monks and the other of Nuns â—ng Philip I. having divorced from him his â—ife Berthe sent her away to this Town upâ—â— which he assigned her Dowry and where â—e dyed in 1093. Monstreuil is divided into â—pper and lower Town and has a strong Citâ—del and Baillwick Great Bâ—ats can go up â—he River by the help of the Tide to this â—own Boulenois THis County is but 13 or 14 leagues long North and South and about 7 broad East and West It was Anciently inhabited by the Morini as well as Teronane if it be true that Boulogne is the Gesoriacum of Pliny and Ptolomy It is still the most mountainous paâ—t of Picardy especially along the Coast which render them almost unaccessible However it does not want either Woods or Rivers and affords such a good race of Horses that the Inhabitants can furnish 3000 Troopers It was erected into a County together with St. Paul Guines and Artois by Charles the Bald Emperor and King of France when he marryed his Daughter Judith to Baldwin Ironside Count of Flanders in 863. The County of Boulogne was successiâ— enjoyed by several illustrious Houses whâ—â— allied themselves at one time or other with
Linnen and Leather and of its excellent Knives call'd also by the Name of the Country Coutaux Pergois The Inhabitants having rebell'd against the English the Count of Salisbury took it and caus'd many of them to be hang'd but the French King Charles VII retook it in 1449. It lyes 30 leagues South-west of Paris and almost 22 North-west of Orleance Mortagne Moritolium or Moritonium near the source of the Huisne 8 leagues North-west of Nogent le Rotrou is a goodly Town well peopled and adorned with several Churches It has a Castle and had formerly the Title of a County Perriere is now of little consideration having been ruin'd by the Wars â—eâ—me Bellismum or Bellissimum sup Castruâ— is seated on a Brook that encreases the Huifâ—â— la Ferte-Bernard and has near it a Mines Fountain as much esteem'd as those of Pougâ— and Forges The States of the Province use 〈◊〉 be kept in this Town which has the first Voâ—â— and is distant 6 leagues from Nogent le Rotrou 〈◊〉 the South-west The Barony of Pontgouin belongs to the Bâ—shop of Chartres and has several Lordships depending on it Conde sur Huisne Condate ad Egâ—â—nam is of some Consideration and lyes 2 leaguâ— North of Nogent le Rotrou 2. Perche-Gouet hath 5 Ancient Barronies tâ— wit Auton Monmirail Alluye Basoche and Brou 3. La Terre-Françoise consists in the Bailiwick of La Tour-Grise upon the River Aure over against Verneuil in Normandy 4. Les Terres â—membrées have the small Countrey of Timeraâ—â— the Town of Château-neuf and the Principality and Town of Senonches This little Province is about 18 leagues in length and almost as much in breadth It 's very fertile in Corn and well furnisht with Meadows and Pasture-ground which together with their Forrests and the Manufactures formerly mention'd make the Inhabitants subsist Remy Belleau a Lyrick Poet famous in the last Age was Originary of this Province Perche hath a dependance upon the Generallty's of Orleans and Alençon as to the Court of Exchequer on the Parliament of Paris for secular Justice and for the Spiritual it resorts to the Bishops of Chartres and Seez It had its â—articular Counts the most Ancient of whom â—s named Agombert or Albert in the time of Louis le Debonnaire in the IX Century But â—hey were call'd Counts of Bellesme Alençon or Mortagne and the first who took the Title of Count du Perche was Rotrou II. in 1149 that Country having been before of too little Consideration to give Title to a great Lord. Of Beauce DU Val and several other Geographers comprehend under the Name of Beauce Belsa or Belsia several small Countries as the Territory of Chartres le pais Chartrain that part of Gastinois which is annexed to the Government Orleanois besides Vendosmois Dunois Puisaye proper Orleanois Sologne and the Southern part of Blaisois which make up an extent of 35 leagues North and South from Dreux to Remorentin and above 50 leagues East and West from the borders of Champaign and Burgundy to the Frontiers of Maine being included with Berri and Nivernois on the South Perche on the North Maine and Touraine on the West and Champaign and Burgundy on the East These Countries taken together consist in large and fruitful Plains so very abundant in Corn that they are call'd the Granary of France The Learned Adrian de Valois following Ancient Authors gives to this Province an extent of 15 leagues and divides it into three parts Belsa Carnutensis le pais Chartrain Belsa Dunensis or Dunois Belsa Pitiverensis the Election of Pithiviers To avoid confusion I shall speak first of the County of Chartres or Pays Chartrain which is call'd by some Proper Beauce THis Country is situated between the Isle of France Perche Blaisois and Orleanois The City of Chartres call'd in Latin Autricum Carnutum from the River Autura Eure on which it lyes has a Presidial Seat and Bishoprick formerly suffragan of Sens and now of Paris since the Year 1622. This City is so Ancient that some Authors believed that the Issue of Gomer having pass'd into the Gauls some time after Noah did lay the Foundation of it Others maintain that the Druides and Sarrhonides the Ancient Priests of the Gauls did build it and foretold that a Virgin should one day grow big with Child without the Company of a Man It was this which obliged Prisâ—ns Governour for the Romans to erect a Temple to that Blessed Virgin with this Inscription Virgini Pariturae or to the Virgin who is to bring forth Thus it was that they ador'd at Athens an unknown God But whatever be of it the People of this Countrey made a long and bold Resistance to the Romans kill'd one Tasgetus tho' he was of the Royal Blood of their own King's because Caesar had set him over them and after that great Conqueror had subdued them he was glad that they would accept of the Alliance of the Romans and keep their Peace The Bishops of this City are thought to be of very Ancient Institution for Solemnis who informed K. Clovis in the Christian Religion is reckon'd its 14 Prelate by Duchesne At least 't is probable that under the French Kings of the first and second Race they were Lords Temporal as well as Spiritual of it if what the same Author relates be true that one Elias the 40th Bishop gave the Revenues of the Abby of S. Pere en Vallée to the Nobility of Chartres and that Hardwin the 50th Prelate was the first who Dismember'd the County from the Bishoprick to enrich a Nephew of his call'd Odo or Eudes I know not whether his Posterity forfeited their Estates but Hugh the Great Father to Hugh Capet the first French King of the 3d. Race being then very powerful in that Kingdom gave this Country together with those of Blois and Tours to a Kinsman of his call'd Theobald the Old or the Tricker His issue in process of time viz. in 1037. acquired the County of Champaign and had been the greatest Lords in France had they not weak'ned themselves by the Portions they gave to Youngest Sons In 1286. Lewis IX bought the County of Chartres from Jane of Chatillon the Heiress of it It has been since united to the French Crown and separated from it several times and now it makes part of the Portion of Monsieur Lewis XIV.'s Brother his Eldest Son bearing the Title of Duke of Chartres This City and Country have under gone several Revolutions for at the end of the sixth Age Thierry K. of Burgundy took it by Storm from his Brother Clotaire In 743. Hunold Duke of Aquitain took Chartres and burn'd it Francis I. erected it into a Dutchy in Favour of Madam Reneâ— of France Dutchess of Ferrara Anno 911. Rollon chief of the Normans besieged it and Anno 1019. it was almost quite burnt down Anno 1568. the Protestants laid Seige to it under the Reign of Charles IX and would certainly have taken it the Admiral