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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	france_n	henry_n	king_n	9,923	5	4.7664	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54743	The minority of St. Lewis With the politick conduct of affairs by his mother Queen Blanch of Spain, during her regency. Being a relation of what happen'd most memorable under his reign during the year, 1226, 1227, 1228, and 1229.	Philipps, Edward, 1630-1696?.	1685 (1685)	Wing P2065; ESTC R220520	46,829	160

Bretaign became an arrier-fief to the Crown of France In this State it continued till the death of Covan Earl of Bretaign who left Issue only one daughter nam'd Constance This rich Heiress was courted by many but Henry the second King of England pretended as Duke of Normandy the Right of Marriage and partly by his Authority partly by his Addresses of Courtship obtain'd her and had four Sons by her Henry Richard Geoffry and John He design'd to leave to Henry the Crown of England to Richard the Provinces of Normandy Main Anjou and Tourain which fell to him by Succession from his Father and Mother and the Provinces of Guien and Poictou which he had in Marriage by his former Wife Eleanor Between these two young Princes and the two daughters of the most Christian King Lewis the 7th there was a solemn Treaty of Marriage and the King of England had Interest enough to bring both to effect John his 4th Son was design'd for Ecclesiastical Preferment so that a Match having been propos'd between the Heiress of Bretaign and the house of England she must now of necessity be married if to any to Geoffry King Henry's third Son In fine the was married to him upon considerations meerly Political for his person was no way taking with the young Lady but his death soon deliver'd her and left her to a second Marriage more to her content for she her self then made choice of Guy de Thouars a Knight the handsomest and bravest person of his Age by whom she had but one daughter her first Husband had left her big with Child of a Son nam'd Arthur whose death was the more unhappy for that he was depriv'd thereby of such an accumulation of Successions that of England and the French Provinces thereunto appendant fell to him by the death without Issue of his Fathers two Eldest Brothers and Bretaign being his at the same time in Right of his Mother he had doubtless in prospect had he liv'd the vastest Monarchy that had been known since the partage of the Imperial Dominion of Charles the Great but John sirnamed Lackland the only Uncle who surviv'd procur'd his death to get his Estate and by this means the daughter of Guy de Thouars became sole Heiress of the Earldom of Bretaign Philip the August who taking advantage of the villany of John Lackland had reunited the Dutchy of Normandy to the Crown of France pretended that since Henry these cond King of England had power as being Duke of Normandy to dispose of the Mother he both as Duke of Normandy and King of France together had so much the better Title to dispose of the daughter The branch of Dreux was at that time the most proper branch of the Royal Family his appennage was small he had neither Office nor Government his Alliances had not enrich'd him and it was to be fear'd he might lose his Rank for want of Estate as it hapned some time since to the branch of Cortenai supposing his publih'd Genealogy be altogether exact This made Philip the August the more willing to give the Heiress of Bretaign to Peter de Dreux with this Condition that Bretaign should henceforth be immediately held of the Crown of France that is to say that it should no more do homage to whoever should be Masters of Normandy in case that Province should ever be again dismembred from the Crown The Condition was advantagious to both the new married Parties since their Estates were now no longer held in arrier fiefs nor would depend for the time to come upon a single Duke of Normandy but only upon the first of Christian Kings Nor did any one receive prejudice by it in regard Normandy was reunited to the Crown No wonder then if Peter de Dreux and his Wife accepted gladly the Condition and observ'd it in all particulars But that soon befel the new Duke of Bretaign which is but too frequent with men of slender virtue that is to say he suffer'd himself to be drawn away and transported by this flowing Tide of good fortune The large Extent of this Country of Bretaign and its advantageous Situation gave it a very sufficient Title and Merit in this Princes opinion to an absolute and independent Sovereignty besides he was pleas'd to flatter himself with this conceit that his carrying on so high a design as the shaking of the French yoke would immortalize his Name to all Posterity which great undertaking the better to accomplish he was really perswaded that his siding with the Earl of Boulogne and his Party was as fair an opportunity as he could have wisht for taking it for granted that if the Earl succeeded he could do no less than remit his homage of Bretaign in recompense of his declaring for him In case he did not succeed the Regent in revenge that she might oblige those Princes of the blood who had taken part with him to desert him would be glad to condescend to what ever they should demand of her Thus the Duke of Bretaign turn'd Rebel upon false surmises with which he fed his fancy but the most cross and untoward occurrence in his Revolt was his drawing in upon a quite contrary principle his Brother Robert de Dreux This Person had a Soul so sensible of all benefits and so prone to grateful returns that he thought he could not better testifie the high obligation he had to the Duke of Bretaign for having left entire to him the Apennage of their branch than by serving him for or against whom soever he desir'd except the King Thus he put himself under the Banner of the Malecontents by a Motive the most excusable that ever was if any excuse can be admitted in matters of Treason The last Prince of the blood that the Earl of Boulogne drew in to his Party was Robert of Courtenay whom he found the more pliable to his Temptations by discontent because the branch of the Dreux had been preferr'd before his by the Match of Bretaign and to engage him the more deeply he had opportunity given him to make himself Master of certain summs of the Kings mony Raimond the 7th of that Name Earl of Tholouse sirnamed the young was before hand with the Malecontents to whom without staying for any Invitation from them he went and joyned of his own accord upon the first prospect he had of a civil war His main inducement to this proceeding for he had none of those pretences which the rest made use of was only to save himself by fishing in other mens troubled waters The Court of Rome whose Thunders ruin'd without Exception all those petty Princes upon whom they lighted was altogether inexorable toward this Prince and would not quit him of those Ecclesiastical Censures which had been pronounc'd against him though the refusal thereof was the greatest obstacle to the recovery of Languedoc This Interdiction had so powerful an ascendant upon his Subjects minds that they thought they might be very well

since he could not dive into the true cause and was not satisfied with any of those he revolved in his mind he fix'd upon that which had been suggested to him never examining the probability of it or considering that it was infinitely more ridiculous than any thing he could imagine beside Thus imputing the Queens indifference for him to the love which it was surmised she had for the Legate upon this sullen supposition he resolv'd upon the suppressing of a passion with which he was even ready to burst Upon this he entred into the Earl of Boulogne's Party and drew along with him his Brother of Arms Hugo de Dampmartin Count of Ponthieu whose Eldest Brother was Renald Count of Dampmartin Auscon Islebon and Domfront He having married the Niece of King Philip the August took the boldness and Authority upon him under pretext of this Alliance to besiege and having taken it to rase down to the ground a Castle belonging to the Bishop of Beauvais a Prince of the blood and Cousin German to the said Philip the August who glad of an occasion to bring down this Count of Dampmartin whom he knew to be the most turbulent and dangerous person of his whole Realm took speedy course with him and confiscated all his Estate The Earl thus reduc'd from his former heighth to a dependance upon others for maintenance was forc'd at last to beg the Kings pardon but in vain for all the Answer he could obtain of the King was that though he had no obligation to give an account of his actions to any one whatsoever yet nevertheless he was content to remit the hearing of all matters in Controversie to the Chamber Royal and the Barons of the Realm But this proposal relish'd not at all with the Earl for besides that he expected no other than to be condemned if they should proceed to the utmost rigour against him he knew well enough the power and credit his Majesty had in that Court where he was to plead So that seeing no other remedy he took part with the English and had the misfortune to be taken with other Prisoners at the Battel of Bovines where he had languish'd out a long Confinement though in a spatious Prison of about 22 Years his Brother the Earl of Ponthieu not being able to procure his Releasement And indeed the two last Kings Philip the August and Lewis the 8th and after them the Regent had ever held it as a sure Political Maxim that it very much imported to keep in durance all his life time that Vassal of theirs who was most potent and formidable so long as there was any advantage to he taken without any absolute violation of Justice so that there was no probability of this Earls deliverance but by force of Arms. The Earl of Boulogne promis'd Ponthieu to act with all the vigour requisite upon such an occasion for the setting his Brother free and that if it were not done before the Overtures of a Treaty of peace the said Treaty should never be concluded but upon Condition he were first releas'd The Earl of Boulogne being thus assur'd of those Feudataries who were nearest about the heart of the French Monarchy made it his next design to gain those who were more remote and more especially address'd himself to Jane Countess of Flanders and Hainault This Princess was married to Ferdinand Infant of Portugal and Eldest Son of King Sanchius who according to the Custome of the Cadets of noble Families had sought his Fortune in France and behav'd himself like one of those old Knights errant so renown'd in Story and in truth he lighted upon better fortune than ever he could have hop'd for Balduin Emperor of Constantinople dying without Issue Male had left King Philip the August Tutor to his daughter Princess Jane with power to marry her to whom he thought fit The King having a good opinion of Ferdinand's Merit or else not willing to bestow her upon a French man for fear of making him too potent match'd her to this Portuguess who had not made his pretension to her but as resolving to stand in Competition with any pretenders whatsoever though their hopes were built upon never so much better a Foundation But no sooner was Ferdinand by this Match become Master of two Estates more considerable at that time than the Crown of Portugal it self but he stain'd his Reputation by a most horrible Ingratitude He suffer'd himself to be deluded by the same Renald de Dampmartin whom we have already mention'd so far as to bear Arms for the English against his Benefactor for which deservedly he had the same fate being likewise taken Prisoner at Bovines after he had receiv'd six wounds in the body by the valiant Hugode Marevil a Gentleman of Xaintogne However his being taken Prisoner troubled him nothing near so much as the course they took with him afterwards for the King who knew him to be the proudest Prince of that Age knew also what would most touch him to the quick and bring down the pride of his haughty heart he caus'd him to be led in Triumph through the Streets of Paris in which disgraceful march he was saluted with such kind of Language as the Mobile commonly bestow upon persons of his Circumstance After he had been kept for some time without any other hopes than of perpetual Imprisonment it was thought fit to give him up a Freeman to the tears and submissions of his Wife who was come to cast her self at the Kings feet and to let him live in peace only all the strong places of Flanders and Hainault were to be ras'd to the ground Hereupon he was shortly to have been releas'd upon Geoffry Son of the Earl of Brabant his standing surety for him but whether it were that Geoffry refus'd to yield to that clause of the Treaty or that the King had taken fresh displeasure from any words Ferdinand had let fall since this Negotiation he was still kept a Prisoner and his Wife thus frustrated of her hopes of seeing him again at liberty yielded to the first invitation made to her of entring into the League The Earl of Boulogne encourag'd by this so speedy and prosperous success made his next Address to two Brothers Princes of the Blood viz. Peter Duke of Bretaign and Robert Earl of Dreux As for the Duke of Bretaign he was no less oblig'd to the Crown of France then the Earl of Flanders and his Ingratitude was of no less tendency to the violation of all Right and Justice Now for the better understanding of an Entreague which hath not been sufficiently made known neither in the History of France nor of any other Nation it is to be noted that Rollando the first Duke of Normandy compell'd by force of Arms the first Earl of Bretaign to do him Homage for his Earldom in the same manner as the Dukes of Normandy have since done Homage for their Dutchies to the Kings of France that is to say

which was no less advantageous to their Party They laid Treason to his Charge impeaching him of the untimely death of his late Sovereign Lord King Lewis the 8th by poyson given him and offer'd to undergo the severest penalties that could be inflicted upon false accusers if they did not plainly prove him guilty of two Crimes which rendred him unfit for humane Society that is to say of high Treason against his Sovereign Lord and of being a Traitor against his Country This they urg'd with Arms in their hands and the danger which threatned the Crown from their impetuous heat was thought so considerable that all the grand Ministers of the Kings Council were of Opinion that the best way would be to give them some satisfaction The Count himself was of the same Sentiment for quietness sake and it was with his own consent that the Queen upon Treaty with them made the chief Condition of their laying down their Arms to be the Earl of Champaign's taking upon him the Croisada and setting out immediately for the holy Land attended with a hundred Knights at least to be maintain'd at his own Charge This was a very notable Expedient in regard it equally pleas'd both Parties For on the one side the Earl found it very advantageous to him in regard both his Crime met with a far gentler punishment than it really deserv'd or he could have hop'd for had he been brought to Trial and his Reputation was in a manner salv'd by going in a croud of so many innocent persons as daily went upon this Expedition upon no other motive than their most ardent zeal On the other side the Rebels also obtain'd what they desir'd for besides that they had a long time of deliverance from their Enemy and the satisfaction of having put him upon an Expedition from whence few valiant men live to return If the accusation wherewith they branded him were not made out in full it was at least in part for admitting there were among the Croisado'd Champions many innocent persons there were also many culpable and as divers Princes and Great men led Armies over into Palestine merely for the accomplishing of those religious vows they had made for the recovery of the holy places where Jesus Christ had been conversant and died for the Salvation of mankind So there were others of no less grandure who undertook this Voyage or rather Pilgrimage as a penance enjoyn'd and to obtain absolution of those Ecclesiastical Censures which they lay under And this was the case of Henry the second King of England who for his Assassination of St. Thomas of Canterbury had this penitential Voyage enjoyn'd him by Pope Alexander the third which our Earl of Champaign so willingly accepts Civil wars and the Defluctions of the body end much after the same manner that is to say by discharging themselves all at once upon the weakest part and throwing on it a greater weight than it is able to bear The French were almost brought to a right understanding yet nevertheless would not easily consent to lay down their Arms they earnestly press'd to be employ'd in prosecuting the design of Lewis the 8th and there was reason to fear lest the refusal of their demand might occasion new troubles Never was there a fairer prospect of the Conquest of Languedoc the longer the delay the greater would be the difficulty and the Interests of State were not to be neglected so long as they were seconded by those of Religion In order hereunto the Regent resolv'd to drive the Earl of Tholouse to the utmost extremity and the better to assure her self of the greatest advantage possible in all humane appearance she made it her first business to deprive this Prince whose ruine she design'd of the surest refuge he had to trust to It hath been already observ'd that the Earl of Provence was his Cousin and a Prince in like manner as himself of the house of Catalogue Languedoc had expectation of assistance more ways than one Those of Provence were in a Condition to aid them if not directly yet at least indirectly being at that time the most free from war of any people in France and their Prince the most mony'd man of any Prince in Europe Mony was the main thing the Earl of Tholouse wanted and but for the want of which he could not have wanted Souldiers notwithstanding all the Excommunications thunder'd against him from the Court of Rome Above all things therefore the Earl of Provence must of necessity be taken off him the Regent knew to be a sincere man and a most punctual observer of his word wherefore she represented to him by secret Messengers that he was now grown old and could not if he regarded his health and consider'd his true Interest engage himself in the Earl of Tholouse his quarrel without drawing an inevitable war upon Provence let him use all the faution he could That he had only our daughters and the Earl of Tholouse but one so that since the house of Catalonia was drawing toward a period he could not better consult for the honour and advantage of his Family than by making an Alliance with that of France which beyond all dispute was the noblest in the world That the Eldest of the Provencian Princesses could not be more happily matcht than with the young King of France that this proposal was not so much upon the account of her Estate as of her matchless beauty and the charming sweetness of her Nature and to evince to the Earl that this Alliance was not in the least promoted in reference to the uniting of his Estate to the Crown of France there should be a renunciation made to any such pretension upon the contract of Marriage of the King with his Eldest daughter and free leave given him to divide all he had among his three younger daughters or to give it to her of the three whom he preferr'd before the rest The Earl of Provence could never have been more easily tempted than by two such soft and obliging Proportions as the concluding his Life in Tranquility and repose and the liberty to dispose his Estate as he pleas'd For besides that he was much of the temper of those effeminate Princes who hate nothing more than business he was overtaken with the vice of those who happen to have Children in their old Age that is to say he lov'd the Princess Beatrice his youngest daughter better than any of the other three to her he design'd to leave Provence and as a man is apt for the most part to give way to the belief of what he earnestly and constantly desires he perswaded himself that in preferring the youngest he should do no wrong to the three Elder daughters since it was his intention to leave them his Treasures which he look'd upon as treble the value of his Sovereignty He fancy'd if the King of France by marrying of his Eldest daughter shewd himself an approver of what he had determin'd