Peace to the servile Yoke of Foreign Forces and an Insolent Soldiery King Philip was inwardly displeased with this Liberty yet suppressed his Resentment and that he might not seem to go thence offended with these Great Men he promised to withdraw those Forces within four Months After this he took Shipping at Flushing August 26. being attended by a Fleet of 90 Ships He takes Ship at Flushing He met with so great a Tempest on the Shoars of Gallicia that the Ship in which he went perished the King being hardly got out of her into a small Bark that waited upon him Thuanus saith He ascribed his Delivery to Heaven and said He was preserved by the singular Providence of God to extirpate Lutheranism And Meteren That this Tempest was an Omen of the great Calamities that attended him and his States a great part of the Fleet being Shipwrecked He soon fell to the Work he believed God had call'd him He raiseth a great Persecution in Spain and began with the extirpation of Heresie some few had been put to Death before his arrival here and there but the greatest part were kept that he might have the joy of seeing them burnt at Vallidolid and Seville September 24. this pompous Shew was begun in the Person of John Ponce a Son of the Count de Baylen who was brought forth with great State and burnt as an Obstinate Lutheran and with him John Gonsalo a Preacher After these Isabella Venia Maria Viroesia Cornelia and Bohorquia which was a Spectacle of great Compassion and Envy the last of these being not above 21 Years old yet suffering with great Constancy After these followed Ferdinad de St. Jean and Julian Ferdinando John de Leone and Frances Chavesia a Nun Christopher Losada a Physician and Christopher de Arles a Monk and Garsia de Arras This last was the Man who had brought that Spark into Spain and by his constant and learned Preaching improved it so far that he had brought over to his Opinion the greatest Part of the Monks of S. Isiodore and of the Inhabitants of Seville yet afterwards he had deserted his Companions and disputed against them too before the Inquisitors but being at last convinced of the Wickedness of it he repented and being brought before the Inquisitors reproached them as fitter for Mule-Drivers than Judges of the true Faith of which they were brutishly Ignorant tho' they impudently assumed that Title and Office. Constantio the Confessor of Charles V burnt after he was dead Giles and Constantio were reserved to bring up the Reere but they both died yet their Bodies were burnt This last was Confessor to Charles V in the last two Years of his Life and Retirement Soon after his Death he was imprisoned and died in durance His Body was carried about in a preaching Posture and the dreadful ghastly look it had brought Tears from some whilst others laughed at the theatrical Hypocrisie and Bloody Folly of the Monks From hence this Cruel Scene was removed to Vallidolid in October following Twenty eight Nobles burnt at Vallidolid where in the presence of Philip 28 of the Principal Nobility of that Country were bound to Stakes and most Catholickly and Charitably burnt Whether Thuanus were weary of the former Cruelties or wanted exact Informations of the Particulars of this last I cannot say but the last is most probable but however he gives none of their Names or Qualities and saith there was some Variation in the Time. Thus Spain was preserved from Heresie as they call it not by the Learning or Piety of the Clergy but the Bloody Zeal of King Philip. Pope Paul IV The Death of Pope Paul IV. being worn out with Years and very much afflicted with a Dropsie July 29 sent for the Cardinals and told them He was going the way of all Flesh and having advised them to chose a good Successor recommended to them The most Holy Office of the Inquisition as he called it which was the only thing that could preserve that most Holy See. He after this pointed in another Discourse to King Philip whom he said God had raised up as the great Defender of the Catholick Faith and he added That he did not doubt but the Christian Religion would by his Counsels however now afflicted be restored to its Ancient State. He dyed August 18. aged 83 Years having sat Pope four Years two Months and twenty three Days Whilst he was yet dying The People of Rome express their Hatred of him and the Inquisition the People broke open all the Prisons especially those of the Inquisition which they also set on Fire and they were hardly restrained from burning the Palace of Minerva where that Court Sits with the same Fury they beat down the Image of the Pope and broke off its Head and Right-hand and three Days it lay exposed in the Streets to the Contempt and Scorn of all Men after which it was thrown into the Tiber. After this the Arms of the Caraffa's were demolished all over the Town His Body was buried with little Pomp and a Guard of Soldiers drawn up to secure it from the Rage of the Populace It is observed The Deaths of several Princes That this Year was fatal to the Princes of Europe August 17 Lawrence Prioly Duke of Venice died and was succeeded by Jerome his own Brother his rare Virtues dispensing with the Venetian Laws of not suffering Honours to continue in the same Family lest they might seem Hereditary September 1 died Hercules di Este Duke of Ferrara he married Renata a Daughter of Lewis XII King of France and was happy in all his Government except his taking part with Henry II in that unjust War against King Philip as Thuanus calls it But he was happy in this That by his Prudence he extricated himself and came off with little or no Damage in his Treaty of Peace with that Potent and provoked Prince February 12. died Otho Henry Duke of Bavaria Count Palatine of the Rhine and was succeeded by Frederick III. April 29 died Francis Otho Duke of Lunenburg January 24 died William Prince of Henneberg so that within the space of one Year died Charles V two Kings of Denmark a King of France a Duke of Venice a Pope the Elector Palatine the Duke of Ferrara and three Queens Helionora of France Mary of Hungary and Bona Sfortia Queen of Poland The Conclave was very much divided in the Election of a new Pope Pius IV elected between the French and Spanish Factions each Side labouring to have a Pope of their own Interest So that this Contest lasted three Months till at last the Embassadors of the other Princes began to remonstrate That this long Delay tended only to the improving the Differences in Religion and the increasing the Enemies of that See. At last after a Vacancy of four Months and seven Days John Angelo Medici was elected December 26. by the Suffrage of forty four Cardinals
much dispirited and weakned France And the Duke de Montmorancy who from the beginning had a great Aversion for this War which he foresaw would end in the Ruin of France was more intent in levying Soldiers to defend the Borders of the Netherlands than in prosecuting the War against King Philip and Invading his Dominions In the mean time Queen Mary of England Queen Mary joyns with Spain being over-persuaded by King Philip her Husband and disposed to it by the Arts of Dr. Wotton who was then her Embassadour in France and by his Nephew who found the French were well disposed to a Rupture with England if Calice might be the Prince of it she I say entred into the War too and sent an Herald to the French Court with a Declaration to that purpose who deliver'd it the Seventh of June The French King took no less care to raise a War between England and Scotland by way of Diversion Mary the Queen of Scotland being before this sent into France to be married to the Dauphin his Eldest Son. So that he thought he had now a Right to Command that Nation to espouse his Quarrel but the Scotch Nobility thought otherwise and would not Engage in a War against England when they had no interest of their own to do it The Spaniards were all this while intent in providing Men and Arms and the Twenty fifth of July attack'd the Fort of Rocroy in the Borders of Champagne and Hainalt four Leagues from Maribourg to the South but finding there a greater Resistance than they expected they marched away towards Picardy with an Army of Thirty five thousand Foot and Twelve thousand Horse The Body of the French Army being but Eighteen thousand Foot and Five thousand Horse and for the most part both Sides Germans so that the French thought it their Interest to coast along by the Enemy and defend their Borders and cover their Towns which was all they could safely do in this inequality of Forces There was then a very small Garrison in St. Quintin The Siege of St. Quintin under the Command of Charles de Teligny Captain of the Troop of Guards belonging to the Dauphin but the Army coming suddenly before it the Sieur de Coligny the President of Picardy put himself into the place with some few Forces and sent to Montmorancy to come up and succour him This was disapproved by those about him as Dangerous and if things succeeded not Dishonourable In the beginning of the Siege Teligny was slain in a Sally by Engaging imprudently beyond his Orders who was a Person of great Courage and Strength Industry and Fidelity and an Experienc'd Commander And Andelot The Battel of St. Quintin who was sent by Coligny to bring Two thousand Foot into the Town was by a mistake of his Guides misled and falling into the Trenches of the Besiegers he was slain and most of his Men cut off and Montmorancy attempting to relieve the same place was beaten also and lost Two thousand five hundren Men and himself was taken Prisoner This Battel had a fatal effect upon France for it made the Life of Henry II ever after Unfortunate and reducing France to the necessity of a dishonourable Peace it became the occasion of the Civil Wars which followed to the great hazard of the Ruin of that Potent Kingdom and may serve as an Example to Princes not to violate their Faith whoever dispense with it Montmorancy was from the beginning averse to this War Montmorancy ruin'd by being taken Prisoner and foretold the ill Consequences of it as he was an old experienc'd wise Commander and a great Lover of his Country so till then he had lived in great Power and enjoyed the Favour of his Prince but now when his good Fortune left him he lost the good Esteem and Regards of all Men which from thence forward were conferred upon the Duke of Guize who employ'd them to the damage of France The News of this Victory fill'd France with Terror and Sorrow and the Netherlands with Joy and Courage The Duke of Nevers and some others of the principal French Commanders however escaped If the Victorious Army had forthwith marched to Paris they might have taken it but King Philip was resolved to hazard nothing but commanded his Army to go on with the Siege of St. Quintin and the King of France leaving Compeigne where he then was and going to Paris so quieted the Minds of the People by his Presence and good Words that things began to settle and the fear in a short time to abate Coligny kept the Townsmen of St. Quintin two days in Ignorance of this Loss and when they came to hear of it though he saw the Town would at last be taken yet he persuaded them to hold it out to the last that so the King might have time to recollect his Forces and be in a condition to oppose the Victorious Enemy Another of the Andelot's got into the Town with about Five hundred Chosen Men and some few Volunteers of the Nobility but when all was done King Philip coming in Person into the Camp and the Siege being carried on with great diligence the Town was taken by Storm the 27th of August The Day of the Battel and Coligny and Andelot became Prisoners too and the latter was wounded At this Siege there was Eight thousand English employed who did great Service but finding themselves ill used after the Town was taken they returned to Calis St. Quintin taken by Storm There were above Four hundred French Soldiers slain in this Town and Three hundred taken Prisoners and more had perished if King Philip who was present had not entred the City and by Proclamation restrain'd the fury of his own Soldiers to whom he granted the Plunder of the Town which was great and took particular care that those who had not been concern'd in the danger of the Storming the Town might have no share in the Plunder of it Soon after this Victory King Philip sent an Express to the late Emperor Charles his Father who was then in his private Retirement in Spain desiring him to send his Advice how to proceed the wise and good Prince return'd him an Answer to this purpose as the Great Thuanus relates it A Letter of Charles V to his Son Philip. Though this Retreat gives me the utmost security yet I received the Account of your Victory with a joyful and a pleased Mind and I congratulate the happy and fortunate Beginnings of my beloved Sons Reign and I render to God Almighty my humblest and devoutest Thanks and Praises who hath not suffer'd the Persidy of his Enemies to go long unpunished but has thus suddenly chastised the Truce-breakers both in Italy and on the Borders of the Netherlands For though my mind foretold me it would come so to pass and I comforted my self with that hope yet I was vex'd that just at that time when I had restored Christendom
in great Prosperity and those of France in a declining Condition and the King needing the Assistance of the Switz and Protestant Princes of Germany for the Recovery of his Country he suffered the Parliament to act more mildly with them So some of them were dismissed others turned over to the Ecclesiastical Courts where by the Revocation of the Sentence they escaped Death Rantigny and Champagne two married Ladies were given to their Husbands who were very averse to that Religion and Ovarty another Lady was given into the Hands of Queen Catherine The King of France published an Edict the seventeenth of May commanding all Bishops and their Curates to reside upon their Benefices and to preach to the People or to appoint others in their stead who should do so upon pain of being deprived of the Profits of their Cures There had been a Law published to the same purpose by Lewis XI the thirteenth of January 1476 which was now revived Men judging that Preaching was a likelier way to fix Men in their Religion than Fire and Faggot But however this Edict was not much regarded by the Clergy of France who were then as Unlearned and Ignorant as they were Cruel and Bloody The Army belonging to King Philip being as I have said dissipated The Siege of Calais or put into Winter Quarters and that of France growing daily greater it was taken into Consideration How they should employ that chargable Body of Men though the Winter was then in its greatest Rigour The first Debate was Whether they should attempt the Recovery of S. Quintin and the other Places that were lost or enter upon some new Enterprize and here they resolved upon the latter and the Reduction of Calais having been proposed by Senarpont Governour of Boulogne in the latter End of the Summer if the Misfortune of S. Quintin had not broke their Measures they presently resolved to reassume that interrupted Design A part of their Forces marched under the Duke of Nevers pretending they intended to attack Luxemburg and Arlon Another Part under the Duke of Guise who was now General of all the French Forces pretended to block up S. Quintin and the other Places that were lost Nevers having passed through the Territory of Argone came to Stenay a Town in the Dukedom of Lorain and having staid there a short time suddenly sends his part of the Army to joyn the Duke of Guise who lay then at Amiens who presently marched away for Boulogne as if he had been solicitous for the Preservation of it but suddenly wheeling about the first of January year 1558 he came to Newnham-bridge a Fort seated a mile from the Town of Calais which commanded the Avenues to the Land-ward There was another called Risbank which lay near to the Town and commanded the Harbour on the North of the Town and upon these two Forts the greatest part of the Security of Calais depended The Lord Wentworth was then Governour of the Town but the Garrison was not above five hundred Men and there were not above two hundred Townsmen able to bear Arms so that the Duke of Guise sending three thousand Musqueteers and the Soldiers of Newnham-fort having made one improsperous Sally against them and not being relieved by the Governour the Cannon was brought up against it which began to batter it the next Morning The Duke of Guise knew very well the whole stress of the Success lay in the celerity of his Actions and accordingly the next Day attacked the Fort of Risbank too which were both yielded the same Day by the order of the Governour The Town of Calais is seated in a Plain The Site of Calais and on three Sides of it is almost inaccessible by reason of the River Hames part of which fills its Dikes which are Great and Deep and the rest falls with several other small Rivers into the Haven on the west Side of the Town It s Form is Square and at three of its Corners it has Royal Bastions and the fourth which is towards the South has an Ancient but strong Castle for its Defence besides it has a strong Bulwork of Earth which is very high and thick but is of so sandy a nature as the French found after this to their Damage that the force of a Cannon scattered it like dust The Rivers and Marshes encompassing the Town on all Sides there was no Passage to it but by a Causey from the Fort of Newnham nor was it possible for any Ship to enter the Town but what passed under the Fort of Risbank so that these two Forts were the great Securities of the Town which were both now in the Hands of the French after which they lodged on the Causey and Banks twenty Foot Companies and one German Regiment and one thousand one hundred Horse The Marshal de Termes secured the Way leading to Guines with the rest of the Horse and the Switz The fifth of January they began to batter the River-gate with four whole Cannon and three hundred Culverins were imployed against the other parts of the Walls and Bulworks but their main Battery was against the River-gate whilst the English drew almost all their Forces on this Side the Gate and some of the next Towers being much battered the Duke of Guise ordered fifteen Cannon suddenly to be planted against the Castle the Walls of which were not faced with Earth within this Battery was plaid with that Fury that the Noise of the Cannon was heard as far as Antwerp which is thirty three German Miles to the North A great Breach being made there Andelot was commanded to pass the River and lodge himself upon the other Side with one thousand two hundred Musqueteers after this they drew the Water out of the Town-Dike which was thought by the English the greatest defence they had and by pitched Hurdles they laid a Passage over the muddy Dikes and marshy Grounds for the Soldiers and secured the Foot from the Annoyance of the Small-shot by other Hurdles about half a foot thick which had Stakes fenced with Iron to strike into the Ground and Loop-holes to shoot through The Night after the Walls being now battered down the Duke of Guise ordered Grammont with three hundred Small-shot to play all Night into the Breach to hinder the English from making any Works within the Castle for their Defence Strozzi was ordered at the same time to lodge himself with the same number of Foot and one hundred Pioneers on the other Side near the Gate but was beaten off by the English Small-shot and forced to return to the Duke of Guise The next Morning the Duke of Guise having ordered the Breach at the Castle to be carefully viewed Grammont was ordered with three hundred Muskets to enter the place who was to be seconded by Strozzi with the same number these passed the Dike in Water up to the Navel and notwithstanding any resistance the English could make lodged themselves in the Castle driving those of
He was born at Milan of obscure Parents and took the Name of Pius IV He began his Reign with a Pardon of the Insolencies the People of Rome had committed upon the Arms and Statue of Pope Paul IV He changeth his Manners to the Worse his Predecessor But he soon changed for he that till then had seemed the most Courteous Patient Good Grateful and Liberal of Men presently became quite another Man and took up other Manners He rescinded all the Acts of his Predecessor and presently acknowledged the Imperial Dignity to be lawfully invested in Ferdinand the Brother of Charles V and received his Embassadors with great Civility and Respect To return near Home Scotch Affairs the Protestant Religion was already received in all Parts of Scotland especially in the Towns and Families of the Nobility and Gentry tho' in secret but Queen Elizabeth having entertained the Reformed Religion and setled it in England they thence presumed she would be a sure Friend to those of that Persuasion in Scotland And a Parliament being called to open May 10. 1559. at Sterling Alexander Cunigham Earl of Glencarn and Sir Hugh Cambel an eminent Knight and Sheriff of Aire appeared there in the behalf of the Ministers of the Reformed Religion who had been summoned to appear there by the Regent who was now resolved to dissemble no longer but to excert her Authority and shew her Zeal in their Ruine accordingly she threatned them severely and said She would banish all their Preachers who under pretence of Religion promoted a Rebellion The Deputies amazed with her great Words opposed Supplications remembring her of her Promises to which she famrtly replyed That the Promises of Princes were not to be expected to be fulfilled further than agreed with their Convenience A Mystery which she ought not to have revealed however if her Anger had not broken open the Recesses of her Heart At this the two Deputies replyed by Glencarne That if she would keep no Promise they would acknowledge her no more but renounce their Obedience to her the Mischief of which she ought seriously to consider The Boldness and Briskness of this Answer abated the Regents Anger and Courage and she seemed much calm'd and replyed I will consider of it The news of this being carried that Night to S. John's Town the Inhabitants of it met that Night openly in their Churches and had Sermons The Queen Regent thereupon ordered all the Ministers who were come as far as that City but attended by vast Numbers of the Nobility Gentry and Commons in order to their appearing in the Parliament to return Home saying She would not proceed in the Citation yet afterward she declared them Rebels for not appearing This made many leave her and go over to the Protestants Whereupon she commanded one James Halyburton Mayor of Dundee to apprehend one Mefan a Preacher who thought to have lien hid in that Place and ordered the People to celebrate Easter-Sunday after the ancient manner When in this no body would obey her one Areskin of Dundee went over to them and assured them The Regent was so exasperated that there was nothing but Ruine to be hoped for at her Hands and that she had no regard to her Promise Thereupon they all resolved to dissemble no longer with her but to use Force against Force One John Knox a bold and violent Preacher further inflamed their over-heated Minds by a Seditious Sermon The Nobility going to Dinner from the Sermon a Quarrel arose in the Church and the Priest that interposed being severely treated the Rabble fell upon the Statues and Altars and destroy'd them in a moment after this they fell upon the Franciscan and Dominican Abbeys where they also destroy'd the Images and Altars The next that suffered was the Carthusian Abbey which they demolish'd so intirely in two days thought very great that the Foot-steps of its Foundations were not easily to be discovered The Regent was by this time as much incensed as they and swore She would revenge this Villany with the Blood of the Inhabitants and the Ruin of the Town But in the interim the Example spread and the same things were reacted at Cupre in Fife The Regent having assembled some Forces under Hamilton Earl of Argile and the Earl of Athole marched easily towards St. John's Town that the Cannon might overtake them But the Inhabitants of that Place writing to their Friends what was doing he Earl of Glencarne came presently to their Assistance with Two thousand five hundred Horse and Foot. And shortly after they had Seven thousand Men in Arms against her so that she now saw that Force would not do upon which she sent the Lord James Steward Prior of St. Andrews and one Cambell who tho' Protestants continued in their Obedience to her to treat with the Earl of Glencarne and Areskin who agreed May 29 That all Forces being discharged the Town should be set open to the Regent that she might refresh her self a few days in it That no French should yet enter into it nor come near it by three Miles That all other Controversies should be determined in the next Parliament Whereupon she entred the Town and was honourably received But one of the Inhabitants being slain by an insolent Soldier and the Regent expressing not any Concern for it They from thence concluded the Treaty would not be long observed and accordingly about three days after she ordered the Town to be sack'd chang'd the Magistrates and restoring the mercenary Scots sworn to and paid by the French. Being hereupon urged with her Promise she answer'd That Promise was not to be kept with Hereticks and if she could make an honest Excuse after the Fact committed she would take upon her Conscience to kill and undo all that Sect concluding That Princes ought not to have their Promises so strictly urged upon them and then went back to Sterling The Convenience and Strength of the Place made her think it worth the breach of her Faith to them but the Lord James Steward the Prior of St. Andrew and the Earl of Argile were so offended with this Procedure that they left her and went over to the Protestants and gave them notice that she intended to Garrison Cupre and St. Andrews in Fife with Frenchmen Whereupon they destroyed the Franciscan and Dominican Abbies of the last City under the Archbishop's Eyes yet he durst not shew the least discontent at it but fled into Faulkland The Regent assembled all the French she had in the Kingdom which were two thousand and one thousand Scots and marchâ—d for Cupre the Thirteenth of June The Earl of Argile on the other side brought in one thousand Protestants to the Relief of St. Andrews and Patrick Lermoth Bailiff of the Regality their Chief Officer levied five hundred more of the Inhabitants of St. Andrews and before Ten of the Clock the next Morning there were above three thousand Horse and Foot which being drawn up to the best
dishonour and disquiet which too at last ended in the Ruine of those she most desired to Promote as it always happens in Breach of Faith. She would often say That if her own Counsel might take Place she doubted not but to compose all the Dissention within that Kingdom and to settle the same in a perfect Peace upon good Conditions Soon after her Death or as Thuanus saith The French forced to leave Scotland a little before it Embassadors from France and England came to Edinburg who sending for the Scoth Nobility began to treat about the sending the French out of Scotland which was at last agreed and the Sixteenth of July the French embark'd on the English Fleet for France and the English Army the same day began their march by Land for Berwick and the Fortifications of Leith and Dunbar were dismantled but sixty Frenchmen were left to keep the Castle of Dunbar and the same number the Isle of Inchkeeth until the States should find means to maintain the said Forts upon their own Charges from all Peril of Foreign Invasion In August the Parliament met A Parliament in Scotland which established a Confession of Faith contrary to the Roman Religion and pass'd three other Acts one for Abolishing the Pope's Jurisdiction and Authority another for Repealing the Laws formerly made in favour of Idolatry and a third for the Punishing the Hearers and Sayers of Mass and with these Acts Sir James Sandelands was sent into France for the Royal Assent of the King and Queen which was refused and he severely treated for undertaking that Embassy by the Guises The Oppression of the Princes of the Blood in France by the House of Guise A Conspiracy in France and of the Protestants by the Roman Catholicks caused a dreadful Conspiracy which drew in all the desperate People of that once most Fourishing Kingdom to the great hazard of its Ruine The concealed Head of this Conspiracy was Lewis Prince of Conde the apparent Godfrey de la Barre Sieur de Renaudie a Young Gentleman of an Ancient and Noble Family of Perigort who falling into a long and ruinous Suit for a Living which his Uncle had intercepted and detained from him in Angoumois had not only been overthrown by his Opposite but had also for some fraud in the management been severely Fin'd and Banish'd for some time he at Lausanne and Geneva had contracted a Friendship with some others of his Country who had fled thither on the account of Religion by whom he had been brought over to that Persuasion and after returning into France in disguise he had wandred over a great part of the Kingdom and made many Friends of that Religion and being a Stout Subtil Man and exasperated by the things he had suffered he undertook this dangerous Employment willingly as a means to revenge the Wrongs he had undergon The Conspirators met the First of February The Conspiracy of Blois formed at Nantes at Nantes in great numbers on diverse Pretences and there form'd the fatal Design of Blois for the Surprizing the King and the Court the Fifteenth of March and the bringing the Guises to a Tryal for all their Encroachments on the French Privileges and Abuses of the Royal Authority The whole Design is so well expressed in Davila his History of the Civil Wars of France that I shall rather refer the Reader thither for his Satisfaction in it than attempt to reduce it into a Dark and scarce perhaps Intelligible Compendium It was very extraordinary Thuanus his Reflection on this Conspiracy that before ever this Kingdom had in the least been shaken by any Commotion the Majesty of the King the Authrity of the Governors and Magistrates being all in their former vigor that such great numbers of Men in all Parts of the Kingdom should enter into so unheard so dangerous a Design But such was the Hatred they bore to the House of Guise and the Detestation that all Men began to entertain of the bloody Practises against the Protestants that though so very many were engaged in it yet they all kept Faith each to other and conceal'd the Secret so that the Guises had notice of it from Italy year 1559 Spain and Germany before any of their Spies in the Kingdom scented or suspected it At last one Pierre Avanelles an Advocate of the Parliament of Paris The discovery of the Conspiracy and a Protestant out of pure Conscience for the preventing so great a Scandal and Mischief discovered this Conspiracy to Stephen L'Allemont Sieur de Vouzay Secretary to the Cardinal of Lorain he having got knowledge of it from La Renaudie the Chief Agent in it who lodged in his House The King was then gone from Blois to Ambois which was a small and strong Town which had also a great and a very strong Castle and easily to be defended Here de Vouzay acquainted the King and the Council with it and was immediately Imprison'd to be produced as a Witness against the Conspirators if it proved to be true and to be treated as an Impostor Andelot and Coligny come to Court on an Invitation if it happened otherwise The Guises were very desirous that Andelot and Coligni the Admiral should be invited to Court fearing or hoping rather that they too were in the Plot. And they accordingly came presently to the Queen-Regent and Coligni in a Discourse before Oliver the Chancellor inveighed sharply against the violent Proceedings in Matters of Religion which had exasperated a great part of the People against the Government and concluded That he believed the granting Liberty of Conscience and suspending the Severity of the Laws till the Controversies of Religion were composed by a Lawful and Free Council would very much appease and quiet them Oliver who desired a Reformation Oliver the Chancellor of France hated the Persecution and desired a Reformation and hated the bloody Methods then in use was glad of this Proposition and recommended to the Guises the granting of a general Pardon and Liberty of Conscience till a Free Counsel could be had as an excellent Remedy of these Evils Which was presently granted excluding notwithstanding those who under pretence of Religion had conspired against the King his Mother Brothers or Ministers Which was published the Twelfth of March in the Parliament of Paris which yet never shock'd the Conspirators who were well resolv'd The same day Renaudie came to Carreliere in Vendosmois not far from Ambois and appointed the rest to meet him the Seventeenth of the same Month the King having changed his Abode they were forced to change the Day That day Deligneris another of the Conspirators and a Captain repenting the Undertaking discovered it to Queen Catherine The Guises had by this time got a good Body of the Nobility about the King and a Party of the Conspirators being met in Arms near Tours the Inhabitants of that City would not endeavour to take them but suffered them to escape
his Heart failed him and he either repented or durst not proceed in this Design Queen Catharine was already weary of the Insolence of the Guises and desirous to save the House of Bourbon as a Curb upon them to this purpose she gave order to the Chancellor to put what Rubs he could in their way The Guises in the mean time hastned the Tryal of Conde as much as was possible esteeming all Delays dangerous to them The sixteenth of November the King being abroad to hunt Francis II dies was taken extream ill which caused Montmorency to make the more haste to Court. The twenty sixth of that Month the Kings Disease grew very great and hopeless This turned the Rage and Fury of the Guises into Fear and Consternation when they considered what they should lose in the Death of that Prince Thereupon they began to work upon Queen Catharine by other Methods to flatter and crouch to her and to represent the King of Navarr and Prince of Conde as exasperated to that height by their late Sufferings that without doubt they would seek her Ruine but they for their Parts would stand by her and serve her with great Fidelity They desired therefore Navarr might be committed as well as his Brother had been before the King dyed The Chancellor prevented this by shewing in a grave Oration That it would certainly involve France in a Civil War. The fifth of December the King dyed having lived seventeen years and ten Months and reigned one Year five Months and twenty Days His Youth and the shortness of his Reign makes it uncertain whether he ought to be ranged with the Good or Bad Princes and the more because not he but the Guises governed This Accident changed the state of things and saved the Life of Conde Charles IX succeeds or rather the House of Bourbon Charles IX his Brother succeeded him and Navarr of a Prisoner became the second Person in that Kingdom Queen Catharine having adjusted all things with him before the late King died She sent Letters also to Montmorency who was not yet arrived at Orleans to hasten his coming to the new King because she was desirous to use his Counsel and Advice When he came to Orleans he asked the Centinels By whose Orders they were placed there and for what End and commanded them to be gone or he would hang them The Guards presently disappeared and then it was visible that the Guises and not the King needed them Though Conde was freed the same moment the King died The Prince of Conde fre'd yet he would not go out of his Prison till he knew his Accusers and Prosecutors to which the Guises replyed It was by the late King's Order and would explain the Mystery no further About twelve Days after he went to the Castle of Hane in Picardy and there attended the Orders of the new King. Francis the Second was buried with small State and less Expence to the great hatred of the Guises who in the mean time were very busie to revive the Differences between Queen Catharine and the King of Navarr who wisely prevented their Design by offering the first Place to the Queen and reserving the second to himself as President of the Kingdom This passed into a Decree the twenty first of December The Protestant Religion The Protestant Religion breaks out in the Netherlands which had got such footing in France that it seemed not possible to root it out without the Ruine of that Kingdom began this Year to shew it self more openly in Flanders and the Netherlands the Nobility espousing it in great numbers together with the rest of the States Nor could Margaret their Governess under King Philip obtain the continuance of the Taxes for the maintenance of the Spanish Forces Nor would they of Zealand acquiesce tho the Pay was sent from other Places till these Troops were sent into Spain Nor would they grant any Supplies to be disposed of by the Governess but reserved that to themselves that the Soldiers in the Frontier Towns might be certainly and regularly paid This was vigorously opposed by the new Bishops instituted by Paul IV as tending to the remitting the Reins of the Ecclesiastical Government as well as the Civil Bartholomeo Caranza The Archbishop of Toledo suspected to be a Lutheran Archbishop of Toledo in Spain was also suspected to incline to the Protestant Religion and on that account was imprisoned by the Inquisition and his Revenues were brought into the King's Treasure By an Appeal to Rome he saved his Life but was never able to recover his See again but died many Years after at Rome in a Private State. Thuanus saith He knew him and that his Learning Integrity and the Holiness of his Conversation was such as made him worthy of that Dignity The great Progress of the Protestant Religion in all Places A General Council desired by many and opposed by the Pope made all Good Men saith Thuanus desire that the General Council which had been intermitted might be reassumed and carried on but Pope Pius IV had the same Fears of it his Predecessors had lest his own Power should be abated And therefore though he judged this the only means to root out Heresies and very necessary yet he delayed it and unless he were compelled by Force or some present Danger it was apparent he would never admit it But having resolved on the other side right or wrong by Force or Fraud to accomplish his own Desires and hoping to reap great Advantages from the Ruine of the Caraffa's though he had been much assisted by them in the obtaining of the Papacy he applied himself to this with great Application and Industry But prosecutes the Caraffa's to ruine and under the Mask of Friendship And having laid his Plot he committed Charles Caraffa the Cardinal and his Kinsman the Cardinal of Naples to the Castle of S. Angelo But Anthony Marquess de Monte Bello being then not at Rome though cited also escaped the Danger and fled for his Life Though daily Accounts came to Rome of the Tumults and Disorders of France the Pope took no notice of them Though the Duke of Florence who was great with him for he pretended to be descended of that Family did very much urge his Holiness to consider the State of Affairs in France and Scotland And told him It was Uncharitable to see so many thousands of Souls Lost and Impolitick to necessitate Princes by the despair of a General Council to betake themselves to National Synods This was much inforced by the Noise the Speech of the Chancellor of France had made in the late Assembly which was then very hot in Italy He had among other things assured the French Clergy That if the Pope would not hold a General there should very speedily be a National Council assembled in France and had exhorted all the Bishops to prepare themselves for it To this the Pope answered with great anxiety seeking
it ought and would prove destructive to the Kingdome of France and having brought over Navar to their Party tho' they foresaw they should meet with great and almost insuperable Difficulties yet they thought they should at last gain their Ends. The Duke of Guise went therefore to his Country House and his Brother Charles the Cardinal soon after followed him thither So they both went to Zaberen a Town belonging to the Bishop of Strasburg where Christopher Duke of Wirtemberg met him on pretence he came to visit a Lady that was his Kinswoman bringing with him John Brent and James Andrea two eager defenders of the Augustane Confession against the Zuinglians whose Doctrine was generally followed by the Protestants in France here they conferred together three days The Cardinal of Lorrain pretended to have a great affection for the Duke of Wirtemberg and the rest of the German Princes he said also That since the Conference of Poissi he had a good opinion of the Augustane Confession and that he had often persuaded the Protestants to subscribe it and they had ever refused it because they did not so much desire the Reformation of Religion and of the Church Discipline as the spreading lewd and monstrous Opinions which tended to the filling France and Germany with new Tumults That the King of Denmark wisely foresaw this who congratulating by his Ambassador the attempt to reform the Church expressed at the same time his fear that they should embrace the Zuinglian and Geneva Confession instead of the Augustane and thereupon carefully advised the King of Navar to consider this That the Duke of Wirtemberg and the other Princes of Germany ought to fear the same thing if they desired the Peace of Germany or that of the Church For that as Germany and France were near each other so their Interests were so interwoven that the Good or Evil would be common to them That as they were derived from one of the Illustrious Families of Germany and enjoyed one of the principal Stations in France so they had left that Kingdom to confer with him the Duke of Wirtemburg and to settle by mutual Consent what might be useful and salutary to both these States and that they might conjointly oppose the Endeavours of the Zuinglians and their Doctrine They pretended they did not do this with intention to hinder the Reformation of Religion and the Worship of God For that they desired above all things but that they sought to prevent that Tempest which these Sectaries were raising both in France and Germany And therefore they desired the Duke to interpose his Authority with the Princes of Germany and to induce them to have a good Opinion of their Designs The Duke of Wirtemburg having consulted with Brent and Andrea his two Divines who were very desirous the Helvetian Confession should not be entertained in France commended the Cardinals affections towards himself and the Empire and said he approved of his Counsel for the hindering the Reception of that Confession in France which without doubt would cause great Commotions But then he said this was upon condition that the Reformation should be carried on in France in the mean time and that no Severities or Proscriptions should be employed against those who had made defection from the See of Rome The Cardinal was thought to have said this to the intent to dispose the German Protestant Princes to send Supplies against the French Protestants when it should come to a War or at least to make them less apt to succour the Prince of Condé and the Protestants Thus that Conference ended The Duke of Guise The Duke of Guise called to Court by the King of Navar The Massacre of Vassy happen'd accidentally in that â—ourny and the Cardinal returned to Joinville in Champaigne where soon after he received a Letter from the King of Navar that he should come to Court as fast as was possible whither he forthwith went. In the Borders of Champaigne there is a Town called Vassy which has high Walls and is the Capital of a Prefecture The Protestants had a Meeting-place in this Town able to contain twelve Hundred persons in which at times they preached and administred Sacraments after their way because they had as yet no setled Minister but procured one from Troyes The Bishop of which place was a favourer of them But now there was one Leonard Morel come from Geneva to settle there which was ill taken by Claude de Sainctes the Governour of the Town and by the Prior Curate and Neighbours who had frequently complained of it to Jerome de Burgos Bishop of Chaalon sur Marne in Champaigne under whom the place was The year before the Bishop came thither and had a disorderly Dispute with the Minister about imposition of Hands managed by one of his Divines which he brought with him before the People Governour and Bishop which had no good effect Antonia de Bourbon the Mother of the Guises a zealous Roman Catholick was also much offended with the nearness of this place and desired very much to be rid of it and she reproached her Son for his over-great patience in a thing wherein the Glory of God her own Honour and the Religion of his Ancestors was concerned Hereupon the first of March he went to Vassy with Lewis the Cardinal his Brother Du Brossay and his Son and a great Retinue designing rather to suppress and dissipate this Conventicle by his Presence than to offer Violence to any private person As he went he heard a Bell ring at an unusual time and asking the reason of it was told It was to call the Protestants to their Meeting Hereupon his Foot-men began to make a Noise as if there had been a Military Enterprize but the Duke went on and entred Vassy where there were 60 Horse ready to receive him and he was to dine that day at Sclaron The Curate and Prior were very earnest with him to go by the Conventicle but whilst he delayed them and seemed unwilling to do it the meaner part of his Attendants ran thither and began to call the Protestants who were there assembled Dogs and Rebels to God and the King. The Protestants also return'd their reproaches upon them and so at last they fell from words to flinging stones after which those that were on Horseback lighted and broke into the place where the Meeting was which was a Granary and was for some time defended by those within but they at last prevailing drew their Swords and began to stab and wound the Protestants A great Cry arising Guise was forced to go thither to put a stop to the Massacre but he by Accident receiving a small Wound this so inraged his Retinue that he could not restrain them in this Tumult about 60 persons were kill'd and 200 wounded amongst which last was Morell who was sent Prisoner to Disier Though this Tumult happened against his will and contrary to his expectation yet the Duke of Guise to excuse
Beauvais was also taken but died soon after of his Wounds And Anglure de Givry and the Duke de Aumale were beaten down and trod to Death by the Horse The Regiment of Bretagne was also dispersed so that there was only one Squadron of Swiss entire which repelled the Germans and there were some French Horse which make a Front but at length they were charged in the Rere by de Mouy but then he also was charged by Biron with three Troops in the Flank and soon after taken his Horse being slain The Van-Guard in which the Duke of Guise stood was all this while entire he was in the Army as a private Gentleman and had no Command because he would not fight under Montmorancy At his Advice St. Andre fell then upon the Prince of Conde when all his Forces were weary and dispersed and first broke the Prince's Foot which were very much slaughtered by the Spaniards that followed the Gascongners and Germans who first broke in upon them After this Guise Damville St. Andre by the advice of the Duke of Guise turn the Fortune of the day and gains the Victory on the King's side The Prince of Conde taken Prisoner St. Andre slain by Coligm and St. Andre all united with the rest of the King's Horse fell upon the Prince's Horse which being disordered by three Field-pieces fired upon them was soon broken Andelot doing all that was possible to rally the Germans but it proving impossible he rode to Teron and at last escaped Conde and Coligni got together 200 Horse but could not persuade the Germans to return to the Charge they pretending their Pistols were lost They also disordered and discouraged the French Horse so that the Prince of Conde was forced to flee he had received a wound in the Hand and his Horse was shot in the Thigh and fell and Danville coming up as he was remounting he was taken Prisoner Soon after this Montmorancy was in vain endeavoured to be recovered In the interim Coligni rallying 300 Armed Horse and 1000 Germans charged St. Andre and the Duke of Guise with greater Fury than they had shewed in the first In this Rencounter St. Andre was slain by one Baubigny whom he had injured after he was taken and carried off He was a Person of great Natural Parts but very lewd and wicked tho' a Man of Courage under Henry the Second he had been in good Esteem and was now employed on the account of his Abilities 'till the Divine Vengeance overtook him for his Crimes and cut him off by the Hand of one he least feared of all the World which may give great Men a good hint The Duke of Guise force Coligni to Reâ—â—â—â— not to do Injuries on presumption of their Power but to revere Fortune The King's Army was again declining when the Duke of Guise came up with a Party of Foot and charging Coligni in the Flank he retreated because not supported with equal Numbers but with a soft pace and carrying off two Pieces of Cannon The Duke of Guise followed him a while but Night coming on he was forced to give over the Pursuit Coligni went to Neufville and Guise returned to the Camp. The fight lasted four hours It was observed there was no Forlorn Hope tho' the Armies faced each other an hour before the Fight began That both the Generals were taken and the Victory changed several times between them and was at last doubtful to whom it belonged Coligni would have sought the next day Coligni would have persuaded the Germans to fight the next day which had certainly ruined the King's Army if they would have done it but they would not The Duke of Nevers was mortally wounded by a Servant of his own by accident There was about 8000 slain of which 3000 were Protestants 1500 Germans were taken by the Duke of Guise and sent home without Arms. Montmorancy was hurried to Orleans and Conde was kindly treated by the Duke of Guise who was now become General in the King's Army That Night they two lay together in one Bed as well as supped at one Table to both their great Commendations The next day the Duke of Guise sent an account of what had happen'd to the Queen to Paris who by this time was sufficiently afraid of his prevailing Fortune tho' she had no great Good-will for the Prince of Conde but then she rarely dissembled her Thoughts and ordered publick Thanks to be given to God for the Victory and sent the Duke of Guise a Commission to be General of the King's Forces The day after the Fight Coligni General of the Protestants Coligni drew up the remainder of the Protestant Army in Battel array and marching towards the Enemy that he might obscure the Fame of the overthrow and recollect such as had escaped He lodged that Night at Gailard and the next at Aunea a Castle in Beause where he was by common Consent made General during the absence of the Prince of Conde From thence he marched to Puiset and so to Patey where he stayed two days and then designed to surprise some Forces he heard were sent to Blois he followed them as far as Freteval in Vendosme and arrived at Baugy with a design to repair the Bridge and disperse his Forces into Winter Quarters in Sologne and Berry whither he heard the Duke of Guise intended to send his that they might be the nearer to besiege Orleans in the beginning of the Year Tho' there are some Particulars relating to the Year 1562 which I shall hereafter return to yet I think it the best way to carry on the Thread of the French Affairs to the end of the War here and then return back to the other The Duke of Guise in the beginning of January year 1563 thought fit to solicit Frederick Rolshouse a Subject of the Landtgrave of Hesse who said He was sent by his Master an old Friend and Allie of the Crown of France to deliver the King from the Restraint he was put under by the Enemies of his Government and to assist the faithful Defenders of the French Interest Thereupon the 22th of January the Queen went to Bloise where she published a Declaration in the King's Name and her own to assure the Landtgrave That all those Reports which had been spread abroad of the Restraint of her and her Son were false and set on foot by the Protestants only as a colour of their Sedition that they might arm and raise Forces in Germany and therefore she hoped that when he and the rest of the German Princes should understand the truth of this they would not aid or abet the Rebels of France against their lawful Prince contrary to the Oaths given by their Ancestors This Declaration was signed for the greater confirmation by Alexander the King 's youngest Brother Henry Prince of Navar Charles Cardinal of Bourbon Lewis de Bourbon Duke de Monpensier and Charles de Bourbon Prince de Roche-sur-Yon Soon after the
Fight also at Dreux there was a General Pardon published to all that should return to their Allegiance to the King. The Pope fondly overjoyed with the Victory at Dreux When the Pope heard of this Victory he was strangely joyed at it conceiving this one Battel would put an end to the Power of the Protestants in France he expecting that effect from Force and Violence which the French hoped for only from a Council But however he thought himself now delivered from a great part of his Cares and made it his business to precipitate the Council tho' he knew the Germans would protest against it whom he did not at all regard and as for the King of France he thought the Joy of the Victory would give him satisfaction enough The Council was as much joyed as any body but especially the Cardinal of Lorraine for his Brother 's good Fortune in this Battel to whom all was ascribed in a Speech made there the 10th of January Coligni entering Berry led his Army to Ceel the second of January a place which the Priests of that Province had chosen to secure the Church Treasures in which now to their great damage they persuaded the Townsmen to defend it being soon taken and all that Plate melted down and the Inhabitants very severely used for their Resistance and several of them hanged the Priests escaping in the Tumult In Beausse the Duke of Guise took Estampes after which he besieged Pluviers with 800 Horse who took the Suburbs the Garison of which sallying out retired to Orleans leaving their Carriages behind them Whilst the Duke of Guise was busie in preparing Necessaries for the Siege of this great City Andelot who had undertaken the Defence of it was as intent in fortifying and storing the City with all things that were necessary There were in it 14 Companies of Germans and 4 of Townsmen and many of the Nobility all well Armed The Queen The Prince of Conde carried to Blois when she had stayed a while at Chartres went with the King to Blois as is said carrying with them the Prince of Conde under a strong Guard from whence she sent him to the Castle of Onzain a strong place in Angoumoise Coligni was in the mean time wholly intent on the appeasing of the Germans fearing they would mutiny for their Pay which he said would be sent in a short time from England so that at last he obliged them to promise they would not desert him The Duke of Guise having quitted Beausse was by this time come to Baugy where there were some Skirmishes of no great consequence between him and the Protestants Some mention was made also of a Peace the Princess of Conde proposing That her Husband and Montmorancy should be set at liberty to that end but there was nothing done in it The Sieur Boucart a Commander under Coligni was coming before Trimoville a Town upon the Loire which was under one Potin commanded it to surrender which being refused he took it by force and put the Inhabitants to the Sword amongst whom were 36 Priests From whence he went to Gien which was preserved out of his hands by three Companies of Spaniards who were sent thither for the approaching Siege of Orleans Coligni in the mean time left Gergeau and went to Orleans to consult with the other Commanders what was best to be done and there it was resolved the Germans should be sent into Normandy to be ready to receive their Pay out of England which their Commanders readily accepted Coligni went with them and Gramont undertook the defence of Orleans Andelot being sick Coligni was all the way plied with Messages from the Queen for a Peace to hinder his Journey The first of February he arrived with 4000 Horse at Trcon and took a view of the place in which the late Battel was fought from thence he went to Eureux He took soon after St. Pere de Melun a rich Monastery and finding great Riches in its Church which had been given by the Sea-men he took its Wealth and which was worse resented destroyed those Images which were most addressed to in Distresses Soon after eight English Ships came to Havre de Grace in which were five English Companies eight Cannon great quantities of Ammunition and Money whereupon he resolved to take the Castle of Caen before he went back to Orleans and the first of March raised a Battery of four Cannon against it and took it in a few days tho' the Duke of Elboeuf was Commander of it who must have been taken too but that Coligni was in hast to relieve Orleans The Duke of Guise began the Siege of Orleans the 7th of February The Siege of Orleans and attack'd the Suburb de Olivet which Andelot had ordered to be deserted but by the negligence of the Germans had like the next day to have proved the loss of the City Guise his Forces getting into it before the Germans and French could withdraw and fire the Houses many of them perished in the Crowd at the passage of the Bridge which led to the City and was then imbarassed with the Goods the Germans had heaped up there But Andelot making a sharp Sally at the Head of a Troop of Gentlemen opened the way and kept off the Enemy it 's said however 800 of the Besieged perished in this Tumult others say not half the number But yet however it was a great loss and much incommoded the City Two days after the other Suburbs were taken The 18th of February the Duke of Guise wrote to the Queen That the Siege was very forward and that in a few days he should send her the joyful News it was taken but the same day towards night as he was riding with some Officers The Duke of Guise wounded by one Poltrot he was shot in the Side by one John Poltrot near his Arm-pit This person was a Gentleman of Engoulesme and brought up as Page in the Family of Francis Boucart Baron d' Aubeterre and having in his Childhood lived in Spain could imitate that Nation to a wonder and was commonly called The Little Spaniard he had long since resolved to be the death of this great Man and had foretold it publickly and was so much the less suspected because he was thought a close dissembling Fellow Being sent by his Master to learn an Account of the Battel of Dreux he found Coligni at the Siege of Ceel who gave him Money to buy a fleet Horse after which he never returned to his Lord and this made Coligni suspected as conscious of the Design From thence he went to the Duke of Guise his Quarters and contracted an Acquaintance with his Servants and this day after a Prayer to God to direct him lying in wait Shot him as he was returning home in the Evening Poltrot fled into the next Wood and they who pursued him could not find him and when he had rode all night and quite tired his Horse