£ ■III P^r-^J m i t > $ £ 4< 1/ -w^S s\£fcA. il'ilPifllllfiil 1 ; IK fflfplff Mi I *V| Ml II i h i i i *"■ * $c L SNA* •*•*•*•*•*•*•* J^phO^I #£ £ih|? UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL * * ♦ 00022230373 ^ • * • * • * • * • «r • * •.* • * • * • 4 • *••■"* *•*•#•*•*■*•*•#• *•*•*•*•#'•♦ * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • ■ # • * • * • * • * • * • * • * * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • * • i • * • * ? * • # ■• * . * . * • * . * • * . * . ■ * . * . & • * • * • * • * • .* • * • . * . * • * • * • * . * • t •#•#•#•#•#•#■•#•*•#•-■*• * . * . * • •#•*•*•#•*•*•#. *'. * . * . . * . * . * . / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://archive.org/details/youthshistoricalOOfroi THE YOUTH'S R : l S T Q-R I C A L 8! FT! CHRISTMAS, NEW-YEAR AND BIRTH-DAY PRESENT. CONTAINING '. FAMILIAR DESCRIPTIONS OF CIVIL, MILITARY AND NAVAL EVENTS, BY THE OLD ENGLISH CHRONICLERS, FROISSART, MONSTRELLET, AND OTHERS. ALSO, THE HISTORY OF JOAN OF ARC, AND HER TIMES. EDITED BY E. M. EVANS. ILLUSTRATED WITH FORTY ENGRAVINGS. NEW- YORK : D. APPLETON & CO., 200 BROADWAY. PHILADELPHIA: GEO. S. APPLETON, 143 CHESNUT-ST. MDCCCXLVII. CONTENTS. Page FIRST EVENING— THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE— Chevy Chace — Disputes between the Nevilles and Percies — The Scots make an Inroad on England — Douglas conquers Sir Henry Percy's pennon before Newcastle — Battle of Otterbourne — Death of Douglas — Adventures of Sir Mat- thew Redman 9 SECOND EVENING— THE WARS OF GHENT— Flourishing condition of Flanders — Jacob Van Artavelde — Origin of the Troubles in Ghent — John Lyon establishes the White Hoods — Murder of the Earl's Bailiff, and De- struction of his favourite Country-house — War between the Earl and the Ghent Men — Peace mediated by the Duke of Burgundy — Recommencement of the War — Siege of Ghent — Death of John de Launoy . . .54 THIRD EVENING-PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE— Philip Van Artavelde made Governor of Ghent — Second Siege of Ghent — Propositions for a Peace — Philip Van Artavelde and Peter Dubois assassinate the Deputies who bring the Earl's Answer — Great Distress in Ghent— Con- ferences in Tournay — The Ghent Men march against Bruges — Wat Tyler — The Jacquerie . . . .93 501186 4 CONTENTS. Page FOURTH EVENING— PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE, CON- CLUDED— Battle of Bruges — Danger of the Earl of Flanders — Philip Van Artavelde governs all Flanders — Siege of Oudenarde — Battle of Rosebecque — Death of Philip — The War con- tinued — Peace concluded between the Duke of Burgundy and the Ghent Men . . . . . . .131 FIFTH EVENING— JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND— Ladies' Head-dresses — " Au Hennin " — Jacqueline of Hol- land — Her unfortunate Second Marriage — Escapes to England — Marries the Duke of Gloucester — 13 joyfully re- ceived in Hainault — Betrayed by the Inhabitants of Mons — Her subsequent Adventures, and Death . . .163 JOAN OF ARC. CHAPTER I. Introductory 9 CHAPTER II. Sir Peter de Craon attempts to murder the Constable Clisson — King Charles is seized with Madness . . .16 CHAPTER III. Disputes between the Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy — Murder of the Duke of Orleans — The Duke of Burgundy justifies the Murder, and obtains a Pardon from the King 37 CHAPTER IV. Wars of the Burgundians and Armagnacs . . .48 CHAPTER V. Henry V. succeeds to the Throne of England — Makes War on France — Siege of Harfleur 57 CONTENTS. O Page CHAPTER -VI. Battle of Agincourt 64 CHAPTER VII. Imprisonment of the Duke of Orleans — King Henry again invades France — Siege of Rouen — Murder of the Duke of Burgundy ........ 77 CHAPTER VIII. Treaty of Troyes — Marriage of King Henry — Birth of his Son — Death of King Henry . . . . .88 CHAPTER IX. Death of King Charles — War against the Dauphin, or Charles VII., carried on by the Duke of Bedford, Regent for Henry VI. — Siege of Orleans . . . .95 CHAPTER X. Joan of Arc 104 CHAPTER XI. Joan declares her Mission to King Charles — Goes to Orleans — and forces the English to raise the Siege . . .118 CHAPTER XII. Siege of Jergeau : — King Charles is crowned in Rheims — Joan is wounded before the Walls of Paris — She and her Family are raised to the Rank of Nobility — She is taken Prisoner before Compiegne 125 CHAPTER XIII. Joan is delivered up to the Duke of Bedford — Tried for Witchcraft and Heresy — Sentenced to perpetual Confine- ment — Infamous Behaviour of the Bishop of Beauvais — She is condemned as a relapsed Heretic and burnt . . 139 6 CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER XIV. Decline of the English Power in France — Quarrel between the Dukes of Bedford and Burgundy — Treaty of Arras — Death of the Duke of Bedford — Loss of Paris — Marriage of King Henry — The English lose all their French Do- minions with the exception of Calais — Conclusion . . 157 LIST OF PLATES. PAGE Tke Duke of Burgundy armed, and bearing the great Ducal Sword. (.Frontispiece.) Jedburgh <, . . 22 Lochaber Axes . 22 The Death of Douglas 42 The Bishop of Durham leading his forces against the Scots , . 51 Gate of Ghent— Bruges 69 Entry of the Earl of Flanders into Ghent 83 Ancient Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy and Lille .... 107 Court of the Bishop's Palace at Liege Ill Tournay, as it appealed two hundred years ago 114 Hotel De Ville, Oudenarde 152 March of the French against the Ghent Men . 153 Battle of Rosebecqtie 156 Rejoicings at Ghent on the Conclusion of Peace 161 Female Head-dresses of the Fifteenth Century, styled Au Hennin . 165 Insurrection of the Populace at Mons 177 Antwerp 183 JOAN OF ARC. King Henry V. of England, with Military Attendants (Title.) Remains of the Wall of Harfleur 10 Castle and Fortification, erected by Henry V. in Rouen . . .12 Place de La Pucelle, Rouen 14 Shrine of St. Aquaire .......... 35 Duke of Burgundy carried in a Horse Litter 40 Duchess of Orleans, with her Son, before Charles VT. . . .44 Ceremony of Excommunication by Bell, Book, and Candle . . 53 Procession of the King to perform the funeral obsequies of the Duke of Orleans 55 Coronation of Henry V. of England 57 The Town of Harfleur during the Siege 62 8 LIST OF PLATES. PAGE Captivity of the Duke of Orleans in the Tower of London . . .77 The City of Rouen 83 View of Chateau Gaillard . 85 The Murder of the Duke of Burgundy at the Bridge of Montereau . 86 Katharine, Queen of Henry V., with attendants 90 View of Orleans 96 Earl of Suffolk battering the Walls of Orleans 98 Ruins of the Castle of Chinon 102 The Provost of Rheims presenting the Keys of the City to Charles VII. 128 Entry of Charles VII. into Rheima - . 129 The Cathedral of St. Denis 133 View of the Town of Caen 157 The Duke of Burgundy on his way to ArraB 163 EVENINGS WITH THE CHRONICLERS. FIRST EVENING. THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. Chevy Chace — Disputes between the Nevilles and Percies — The Scots make an inroad on England — Douglas conquers Sir Hen- ry Percy's Pennon before Newcastle — Battle of Otterbourne — Death of Douglas — Adventures of Sir Matthew Redman. " What are you reading, Henry ?" said uncle Rupert to his nephew, who sat by the fire with a book in his hand, on which he appeared very intent. " What are you reading, that seems to give you so much pleasure ?" " About the battle of Chevy Chace," said Henry, showing his book, a volume of the Spectator, to his uncle ; " and I was as much delighted with it as Sir Philip Sid- ney, who said — see here, uncle — ' that he never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas, that he found not his heart more 2 10 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. moved than with a trumpet ; but was there ever really such a battle ?" " No, my dear," replied uncle Rupert ; " the only battle between a Douglas and a Percy, in which an Earl of Douglas was slain, was that of Otterbourne, which was fought in the year 1388. Some of the cir- cumstances of that battle gave rise to the ballad of Chevy Chace, but the poet has completely altered the story as to the cause of the quarrel, the number of men, and many other things. At Otterbourne, Per- cy (the Earl's son, for he himself was not there) was not slain, only taken prisoner. But as the Percies and Douglases were con- tinually quarrelling, it is very probable that some such hunting in the Cheviot, as is de- scribed in the ballad, really did take place, though the mischief done was not so great as is represented, and no mention is made of it in history." " I should like to read the ballad all through," said Henry ; " there are only parts of it here." THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 11 u There are two ballads of Chevy Chace," said uncle Rupert, " one much older than the other. The one quoted in the Specta- tor is supposed to have been written before the reign of James I., and to have been occasioned by Sir Philip Sidney's complaint, that the old ballad was < so evil apparelled in the dust and cobwebs of that uncivil age ;' which caused some surprise to Mr. Addison, who wrote those papers, and who was not acquainted with the older ballad, which is written in such uncouth Old En- glish, that you would find it difficult to un- derstand. You can see both ballads, and one on Otterbourne, in Percy's ' Reliques of English Poetry,' which I think is in your father's library ; and, I dare say, he will let you read them." "But how was it, uncle, that the Lords Percy and Douglas quarrelled so often ?" said Henry. " Because they were such near neigh- bours," said uncle Rupert, with a smile. " You know, I believe, that until Scotland 12 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. and England were both ruled by the same king, they were almost continually at war ; and even when the countries were at peace, the people who lived on the borders, or marches, as they were called, that is those parts of the two countries which joined each other, still kept up a petty warfare, their favourite practice being to ride into their neighbours' territories and drive away their cattle. " To prevent such inroads, the care of the borders, both Scotch and English, was usually intrusted to the most powerful no- blemen w T ho resided in the neighbourhood, and who were called Lords Wardens of the Marches. Now, as the Earls of Percy and Douglas were among these, they were very frequently appointed Lords Wardens ; and in settling disputes between other people, they very often disputed themselves, and sometimes they would purposely insult each other, as in hunting in each other's grounds without leave, and in other ways." "Uncle," said Henry, after pausing for THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 13 a short time when his uncle had ceased speaking, "I want to ask a great favour of you. You told us last summer several very pretty stories out of a book written a great many years ago by Sir John Froissart. 1 have not forgotten them, I assure you. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me all about the battle of Otterbourne ; and I am sure Clara, who sits so still in the corner there, would like to hear it too." " Oh, that I should," cried Clara, jumping up and running to her uncle. " Pray, do, dear uncle, for I am very fond of your stories." " With all my heart," said uncle Rupert, " but we must apply to your old friend, Sir John Froissart, to whom we are indebted for the best account we possess of this re- markable battle." And taking down the book from the library shelves, and laying it open beside him, uncle Rupert thus began his tale of the battle of Otterbourne: — "The Nevilles and the Percies were the two most powerful families in the north of 14 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. England, and their united forces had gen- erally been found sufficient to repel any in- road of the Scots. But it so happened that a quarrel broke out between these families ; and their restless neighbours determined to take advantage of their disunion. The Lord Neville who had held the office of Warden of the Marches for five years was suddenly dismissed, and the Earl of Nor- thumberland was put in his place. This made Lord Neville exceedingly angry, es- pecially as he attributed the loss of his of- fice less to any displeasure of the king's, than to the contrivance of Northumberland, who had accepted it at a far lower rate of remuneration than Neville had been accus- tomed to receive. This created much ani- mosity and hatred between the Percies and Nevilles, who were neighbours, and had been friends. " The barons and knights of Scotland, knowing this quarrel would prevent the Percies and Nevilles from uniting to oppose them, thought the opportunity very favoura- THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 15 ble for making an inroad on England. The better to conceal their intentions, they ap- pointed a feast to be held at Aberdeen, on the borders of the Highlands. The greater part of the barons attended, and it was then resolved that in the middle of August, 1388, they would assemble all their forces at a castle called Judburgh, situated amongst deep forests on the borders of Cumberland. Having arranged their plans they separated, but never mentioned one word of their in- tention to the king; for they said among themselves he knew nothing about war." " But uncle,' 5 said Henry, " did the Scot- tish lords dare to make war on England without their king ? I thought kings only made war, and the lords and people followed them to battle. Could not the king of Scot- land govern his country, and why was it that the barons and knights could do as they pleased r" " Your questions are very well put, my dear boy," said uncle Rupert. " It does appear strange to see all the chief men of 16 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. a kingdom banding together to undertake a war against the most powerful enemy of the country, but carefully concealing their de- sign from their king, whose office it was to direct all warlike enterprises. It is indeed very difficult for us, living at a period when the laws are well understood, and strictly and impartially executed, — when every sub- ject's rights are precisely known and easily defended, and the power of the sovereign is exactly defined, and willingly submitted to, — to form any correct idea of the state of a country possessing wise and excellent laws, which, however, remained almost use- less for want of a sufficient authority to en- force their execution ; — where the barons and other great landholders thought them- selves superior to all law, and assumed the power of little kings in their own territories, and over their own retainers ; and even, as it is expressed in an Act of Parliament passed in England but a few years before the time we have been speaking of, ' per- sons of small lands, or other possessions, THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 17 made great retinues of people, as well of esquires as of others, in many parts of the realm, giving to them hats and other livery, of one suit by the year,' on condition ' that each should maintain the other in all quar- rels, be they reasonable or unreasonable, to the great mischief and oppression of the people.' If such were the case in Eng- land, it was still worse in Scotland. The acknowledged power of the king of Eng- land was very great, and when it was not weakened, (as by Edward III. by his long wars in France, which prevented him from giving sufficient attention to affairs at home; or as by Richard II., who disgusted both nobles and people by his attachment to un- worthy favourites, and his unbounded ex- travagance,) they were able to enforce, at least a partial obedience to the laws, and there was no single lord, however great, who possessed sufficient power to brave the authority of the king when he chose to put it forth. But in Scotland it was very different, and the kings there were but too 2* 18 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. often kings only in name. There were many single lords who were able to brave the king openly, and did not scruple to do so if at all provoked, who could with ease bring more men into the field than the king could muster, unless he had recourse to the aid of some other powerful lord. The coun- try was very thinly inhabited, and almost every man was the follower of some great lord, whom he looked up to with much more reverence than his king. There were but few towns, and very little trade was carried on in them ; and thus the kings of Scotland were deprived of one great resource possess- ed by the kings of England, 1 mean the contributions in money which were fre- quently given to them by the rich towns of London, Bristol, and others, which were already flourishing. The personal charac- ter of a king must always have some influ- ence upon the welfare of his kingdom, but in those days the execution of the laws al- most entirely depended upon the degree of power he possessed over the nobility; THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 19 and it required an active energetic man to govern such unruly subjects. Poor King Robert of Scotland was very unfit to rule over his rude and turbulent barons. He was a man of mild and gentle disposition, suffered much from a weakness in his eyes, and although a brave warrior in his youth, was now become old and infirm. It is very true, that, as his barons said at Aberdeen, he knew nothing of war; he was even averse from it, and not very long before had endeavoured to prevent them and some French knights who had come over to Scot- land, from making an inroad on England ; but they would not listen to him then, and now we see they determined to act as they pleased without consulting him at all." " Thank you, uncle," said Henry. " I understand how the barons and knights came to make war without the king's leave better than I did. But if nobody obeyed the king or the laws, and the king could not oblige the people to obey them, what use was it to have a king at all ?" 20 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. " Truly, my dear boy," replied uncle Ru- pert ; " if such had been the case, without any exception, it would have been time for the king to lay down his sceptre and pre- tend no more to rule. But as long as the people, however disobedient, acknowledged that the laws ought to be obeyed, and that the king was the person by whom the laws ought to be administered, he really possessed very considerable power ; for however con- venient it might be sometimes to break the laws, yet at others it was found equally con- venient to claim the benefit of them. Now, as even the barons and knights of whom we have been talking, did not pretend to say that the laws ought not to be obeyed, but only refused to do so when they had no mind to be obedient, the kings were always sure of the support of all who desired to ob- tain any advantage by the exercise of the law ; they had also the support of all who were desirous that good order should be maintained ; and they themselves possessed the same sort of power as their barons, over THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 21 their own landed estates, where no one could interfere in the execution of the laws, and from which they could draw support in armed followers, and supplies of money and produce. Thus, however ill the law was obeyed, still it was kept in force, and gradually, as men became richer, and had more to lose, and better educated, and therefore wiser, they grew less fond of fighting, and sought protection rather from the laws than from the sword. Thus you see that although the barons and knights chose to go to war without King Robert's leave, it was well that he did not on that ac- count refuse to be king any longer. The pro- bable consequence would have been, that they would have fallen out and fought among themselves who should be king in his stead, and the laws would most likely have been lost altogether. Now let us return to our story. " At the appointed time the Earl James of Douglas, the head of the most powerful family in Scotland, and a large company of the lords, knights, and squires of Scotland, 22 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. arrived at Jedburgh. There had not been seen for sixty years so numerous an assem- bly ; they amounted to full three thousand six hundred horsemen, one third of whom were clothed in full armour, and carried # lances, but the rest were not quite so well armed ; besides forty thousand other men and archers : the number of these last was not very great, for the Scots were but little acquainted with the use of the bow ; their favourite weapon was the axe, which they carried slung over their shoulders, and when THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 23 engaged in battle gave deadly blows with them. Here is a picture showing the forms of their axes, which went by the names of Lochaber axes, or Jedburgh staves, so called from the places were they were made and most generally used." " Oh dear, uncle," cried Clara, " what curious shapes ; here is one that looks just like the knife the cheesemonger uses to cut up his cheeses ; and what is this hook at the back for ?" " The hook," said uncle Rupert, " was used to catch hold of the knights' armour and pull them from their horses. The fig- ure to the left seems intended to be used as a lance or an axe as there was occasion ; and this on the right was, I conjecture, con- trived for the purpose of wrenching open the bars of the helmet, or forcing away other pieces of armour, to afford an oppor- tunity of dealing a deadly wound. Now we will go on : — " The Scotch lords were well pleased with meeting with each other, and declared 24 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. they would never return to their homes without having made such an inroad on England as should be remembered for twenty years to come. They then fixed another meeting to be held at a church called Kirk Yetholm, in the forest of Jed- burgh, close upon the borders, before they began their march, and where they were to settle all their plans. " Froissart tells us that every thing is known to those who are diligent in their inquiries ; and the Earl of Northumberland soon had intelligence of the feast at Aber- deen, and the meeting appointed at Kirk Yetholm. The barons and knights of Nor- thumberland, in consequence, made their preparations, but very secretly, that the Scots might not know of it, and had retired to their castles ready to sally forth on the first notice of the arrival of the enemy. They said, i If the Scots enter the coun- try through Cumberland by Carlisle, we will ride into Scotland and do them more damage than they can do us ; for theirs is THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 25 an open country which may be entered any where, but ours is defended with strong and well fortified towns and castles.' " To be more sure of the designs of the Scots, they determined to send an English gentleman, well acquainted with the coun- try to the meeting at Kirk Yetholm. He thought in such a large assembly he should run no risk of discovery ; and he managed so well, that by pretending to be a servant following his master, he got into the church and heard all that was determined on among the leaders of the enterprise. When the meeting was near breaking up he thought it was time to be gone, and leaving the church, went to a tree where he had left his horse tied up. But, alas ! his horse was gone. It had been stolen away, and the unlucky Englishman, not daring to make inquiries for fear of being found out, walked off in a sorrowful mood, plodding along in his heavy horseman's jack-boots and long jingling spurs, very doubtful as to how he should get home again. He had not gone 26 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. far from the church when he was observed by some Scots knights who were standing talking together. The first who saw him exclaimed, ' I have seen many wonderful things, but this is as wonderful as any. Look at that man walking all by himself; he seems to have lost his horse, and yet he makes no stir about it. Depend upon it, he is not one of our men. Let us follow him and see whether I am right or not.' They soon overtook the poor Englishman, who was very much alarmed, and wished him- self any where else. They asked him whith- er he was going, whence he had come, and what he had done with his horse ? As he hesitated, and contradicted himself in his an- swers, they took him back to the church, and made him give an account of himself to the Earl Douglas and the other Lords. He was obliged to tell all he knew, and to confess that the English knew very well how many men the Scots had got together ; that they expected they would enter England by way of Cumberland, (which had, in fact, been THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 27 determined on that very day in church,) and that in that case the English intended to make an inroad in Scotland, through Ber- wick-upon-Tweed, to Dunbar, Dalkeith, and Edinburgh ; and if the Scots advanced by way of Northumberland, the English would fall upon Scotland from Cumberland. The Scots upon this altered their plan, and divided their army into two bodies. Tt was agreed that the largest party should plunder and lay waste Cumberland, as far as Car- lisle ; and that the Earl of Douglas, the Earl of March and Dunbar, and the Earl of Moray, with three hundred chosen spear- men, who, with their attendants, made a body of nine hundred men, and two thou- sand common men and archers, all well mounted, should lay waste the county of Durham, and besiege the town of Newcas- tle ; and it was agreed between them that if the English attacked either party, the other should come to their assistance ; and by this plan they hoped to prevent the English, whom they believed could not muster any 28 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. force strong enough to oppose their inroad, from breaking in their turn into Scotland. " The parties then separated, and Earl Douglas and his companions riding at a good pace through by-roads, without attack- ing town, castle, or house, arrived on the lands of the Lord Percy, and crossed the river Tyne without any opposition, at the place they had fixed on, about three leagues above Newcastle, near to Brancepeth, when they entered the rich county of Durham, and instantly began their war by burning towns and slaying the inhabitants. " The barons of Northumberland hearing nothing of their squire, suspected what had befallen him ; but as they were thus left without any intelligence of the movements of the Scots, they were obliged to remain quiet, only ordering every one to be pre- pared to march at a moment's notice. The Scots had marched so secretly that nothing was heard of them until they had begun to burn and plunder in Durham, and then when the news was carried to Newcastle and the THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 29 city of Durham, it was already plain enough from the smoke that was every where seen around. 11 The Earl of Northumberland, who was at Alnwick, determined on remaining there, but he sent his two sons, Sir Henry and Sir Ralph Percy, to Newcastle, where they were joined by Sir Matthew Redman, the governor of Berwick, and so many other knights and gentlemen that the town was filled with more than it could lodge. The Scots, in the mean time, continued destroy- ing and burning all before them. They came to the gates of Durham, where they skirmished, but made no long stay, and set out on their return, driving off the cattle, and carrying away all the booty they thought worth their pains. The country is very rich between Durham and Newcastle, which are but fifteen miles apart ; there was not a town in all this district, unless well enclosed, that was not burnt. The Scots recrossed the Tyne at the same place, and came be- fore Newcastle, where they halted. They 30 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. remained there three days, which were oc- cupied by an almost continual skirmish. " The sons of the Earl of Northumber- land, from their great courage, were always first at the barriers, which I think I once told you were strong wooden palings erected before the gates of a castle or town, extend- ing to some distance, and which must be passed by the besiegers before they could reach the walls. At these barriers many valiant deeds of arms were done, the com- batants fighting with their lances, which they thrust through the barriers ; and here the Earl of Douglas had a long conflict with Sir Henry Percy, and in it, by gallantry of arms, won his pennon, to the great vexation of Sir Henry and the other English." " What is meant by a pennon, uncle ?" asked Clara. " The swallow-tailed flag, my dear, which every knight carried at the head of his lance," replied uncle Rupert. " The squires bore no flag, and it was reckoned a great dishonour for a knight's pennon to be taken THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 31 from him. The Earl of Douglas laughed at Sir Henry, when he had taken his pen- non, and called out to him, " I will carry this token of your valour with me to Scot- land, and place it on the tower of my cas- tle at Dalkeith, that it may be seen from far." ' By my faith, Earl of Douglas,' re- plied Sir Henry, c you shall not even bear it out of Northumberland, you may be well assured of this ; nor shall you have any rea- son to boast about it. 5 ' You must come then to-night to seek for your pennon,' re- plied the Earl of Douglas. ' I shall fix it before my tent, and shall see if you dare to come to carry it away.' " As it was now late, both parties went to their quarters, disarmed themselves, and sat down to supper ; they had plenty of pro- visions, especially beef and mutton, but the Scots kept a very careful watch, as they ex- pected a night attack; but Sir Henry was so strongly advised by his friends not to at- tempt it, that he was obliged, although sore- ly against his will, to remain quiet. 32 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. " The Scots set out very early next morn- ing, taking the road to their own country. They stopped about five miles from New- castle, and took and burnt the town and castle of Pentland, and then marched on about nineteen miles further to Otterbourne, where there was another castle, which was tolerably strong, and situated among mar- shes. They were too tired to attempt it that night, but the next morning they made an unsuccessful attack, and returning to their quarters they held a council, when the greater part were of opinion that they had better decamp and go to join their friends before Carlisle ; but the Earl of Douglas overruled this, by saying, { In despite of Sir Henry Percy, who, the day before yester- day, declared he would take from me his pennon, that I conquered by fair deeds of arms before the gates of Newcastle, I will not depart hence for two or three days ; and we will renew our attack on the castle, for it is to be taken. We shall thus gain dou- ble honour, and see if within that time he THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 33 will come for his pennon ; if he do, it shall be well defended.' Every one agreed to what the Earl of Douglas had said, for it was not only honourable, but he was the principal commander ; and from affection to him they quietly returned to their quar- ters. They made huts of trees and branches, and strongly fortified themselves. They placed their baggage and servants at the entrance of the marsh, on the road to New- castle, and the cattle they drove into the marsh lands. " Meantime, Sir Henry Percy was fret- ting and chafing in Newcastle. He was of such a hasty impatient disposition, that it had gained him the name of Hotspur, and you may imagine how vexed he must have been when his friends insisted upon it that he should not follow Douglas. They thought, and with some reason, that Dou- glas's party was only the forerunner of the main body of the Scots. They remonstra- ted, that if the Scots were, as was reported, forty thousand strong, they would surround 3 34 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. them and have them at their mercy ; and that it was much better to lose a pennon than two or three hundred knights and squires, besides leaving the country in a de- fenceles state. Hotspur and his brother Ralph, who was as eager as himself, were obliged to submit, but they remained very discontented, till at length some knights and squires, who had followed and observed the Scots, came in and made a faithful re- port of what they had done, and how they were then encamped at Otterbourne. When Sir Henry Percy heard this, and that their army did not exceed three thousand men 7 including all sorts, he was greatly rejoiced, and cried out, ' To horse ! to horse ! for, by my faith, I will seek to recover my pennon, and to beat up their quarters this night. 5 None of the knights and squires who heard this made any objection, but all made them- selves ready without delay. " The Bishop of Durham had been col^ lecting all the men he could raise to assist the party in Newcastle against the Scots, THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 35 and he was expected there the next day, but Hotspur would not wait, for he said that six hundred spears of knights and squires, which we may reckon as eighteen hundred men, and upwards of eight thou- sand foot soldiers, which would be more than enough to fight the Scots, who were but three hundred lances and two thousand others. But Hotspur did not take into ac- count the difference between a heavily- armed man, fatigued by a walk of full four- and-twenty miles in August, and one who is quite fresh and whose strength has just been recruited by a good supper ; nor did he reflect that the Scots had had time to fortify their position. " The English set out early in the after- noon, but they did not reach Otterbourne till the evening, for the greater part of their men were on foot ; and even supposing the miles to be somewhat short of the full measure of modern English miles, we can- not allow less than eight hours for the march. As the Scots were supping, indeed 36 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. some had gone to sleep, for they had la- boured hard during the day at the attack of the castle, and intended renewing it in the cool of the morning, the English ar- rived, and at first mistook the huts of the servants at the entrance of the camp for those of their masters. They forced their way into the camp, which was however tolerably strong, shouting ' Percy !'.« Per- cy !' In such cases the alarm is soon given ;' and it was fortunate for the Scots that the English had made their first attack on the servants : for although they only held out for a short time, it put the Scots on the alert, and made them quite aware that the English had come to beat them up. The lords sent down a number of their stoutest followers and of their footmen, (for although they were all mounted on the march, the greater part of the common men were properly foot soldiers,) to skirmish where their presence seemed most needed ; and in the mean time, the rest armed them- selves, and each repaired to his station un- THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 37 der the pennon of his Captain, and the ban- ner of one of the Earls, for each Earl had his separate charge that night. Whilst this was effected the night advanced, but it was sufficiently light ; for the moon shone, and it was the month of August, when the weather is temperate and serene. " When the Scots were quite ready and all in order, they left the camp in silence ; but they did not march to meet the English front ; but skirted the marshes and the side of a mountain which was hard by. It was a great advantage to them that they had on the preceding day examined all the country round about, and those among them who were most accustomed to arms had laid down a plan, and said among themselves, " If the English come to beat up our quarters, we will do so and so.' This saved them ; for it is of the greatest advantage to men-at- arms, when attacked in the night, to have previously arranged their mode of defence, and well to have weighed the chance of victory or defeat. 38 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. " The English had soon overpowered the servants; but as they advanced into the camp, they found fresh bodies ready to op- pose them, and continue the fight. The Scots in the mean time had made a circuit, and on a sudden fell upon the English from a quarter where they did not expect an enemy. The English were taken by sur- prise, but they formed themselves in better order, and the shouts of ' Percy V and 4 Douglas !' resounded on each side. Sir Henry and Sir Ralph Percy, burning to redeem the disgrace sustained by the loss of the pennon, pushed forward to meet the Earl of Douglas. Their banners met, and many gallant deeds of arms were done. 1 Knights and squires were of good courage on both sides to fight valiantly,' says Sir John ; ' cowards there had no place, but bravery was displayed in goodly feats of arms, for knights and squires w T ere so joined together at hand strokes, that archers had no place of either party. There the Scots showed great daring and fought well with THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 39 great desire of honour ; the Englishmen were three to one. Howbeit I say not but the Englishmen did nobly acquit themselves, for they had rather die or be taken prisoners than fly. ? Thus as I have said the ban- ners of Douglas and Percy and their men were met against each other, striving who should win the honour of that day. At the beginning the English were so strong that they drove back their enemies. Then the Earl of Douglas, who was of a great heart and high of enterprise, seeing his men fall back, that he might recover the place and show his knightly valour, took his axe in both his hands, and entered so into the press that he made himself way in such wise that none durst approach near him, and he was so well armed that he bore well of such strokes as he received. Thus he went ever forward like a hardy Hector, willing alone to conquer the field and to dis- comfit his enemies. — But at last he was en- countered with three spears all at once ; the one struck him on the shoulder, the 40 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. other on the breast, and the stroke glanced down to his belly, and the third struck him in the thigh ; and sore hurt with all these strokes, he was borne perforce to the earth. Some of his knights and squires fol- lowed him, but not all, for it was night, and no light but the shining of the moon. The Englishmen knew well that they had borne one down to the earth, but they thought not who it was, for if thej had known that it had been the Earl of Douglas, they had been thereof so joyful and so proud that the victory had been theirs. Nor did the Scots know of it till the end of the battle, for if they had known of it they would have been so sore dispirited and discouraged that they would have fled away. When the Earl of Douglas was felled to the earth, he was stricken into the head with an axe, and another stroke through the thigh ; but the Englishmen passed on and took no heed of him ; they thought they had slain only a com- mon man-at-arms. " Douglas's two squires, Robert Hart and THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 41 Simon Glendinning, and Richard Lundie, who, although a churchman and the earl's chaplain, attended him in the battle, had followed him close. Hart and Glendin- ning were slain by his side ; and when his other followers came up, they found the chaplain alone, standing over the body of Douglas, and defending him with a long spear. Sir James Lindsay and Sir John and Sir Walter Sinclair were among the first who came up. l How fares it, cousin ?' said Sir John Sinclair. < But badly,' re- plied Douglas, ' but I thank God few of my ancestors have died in their beds. Re- vege my death, for I have no hope of life ; my heart becomes every minute more faint ; raise up my banner, (for it had fallen with the valiant squire David Campbell who had borne it,) and continue to shout " Douglas !" but do not tell friend or foe whether I am in your company or not ; for should the truth be known, the enemy will be greatly rejoiced, and our friends will be dishearten- ed. There is an old prophecy, that a dead 3* 42 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. man shall gain a battle, and I hope this night it will be accomplished :' — and with these words the brave earl fell back and ex- pired." "But what became of Hotspur, uncle?" said Henry ; " was he killed too, like Percy in Chevy Chace ?" " He was not slain," replied uncle Rupert, " but was taken prisoner by lord Montgome- ry, the same who is called Sir Hugh Mont- gomery in the ballad ; and his brother Sir Ralph was terribly wounded and taken pris- oner also. When Douglas rushed into the thickest of the fight, the English were get- ting the better of the day, or rather night, but his example animated his followers, who were kept in ignorance of his death ; and the English, who now felt the effects of their long march, gave way on every side. Hot- spur had a long fight hand to hand with Montgomery before he was taken. Ralph, as I told you, was desperately wounded. He was obliged to surrender, almost faint- ing with loss of blood. Sir John Maxwell, THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 43 who took him, asked him who it was, for it it was dark, and he knew him not. Sir Ralph had scarcely strength to avow his name, but he rendered himself prisoner, and begged his captor to take some care of him, for his drawers and iron boots were full of blood. Just then a body of Scot- tish troops coming up, Sir John Maxwell gave him into their care, and they bound up and stanched his wounds, but he had to pay a heavy ransom before he regained his liberty. His captor however gave him leave to return to Newcastle to get his wounds cured, he giving his word to surrender him- self at Edinburgh, or any other part of Scot- land, as soon as he should be able to mount a horse, there to remain until his ransom was paid. " Of all the English knights and squires, none of any note escaped from the field of battle, except Sir Matthew Redman, of whom I will tell you some more presently ; but I must stop a little to tell you what Sir John says in praise of both Scotch and En- 44 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. glish, and of the noble manner in which they were used to treat their prisoners when they could resist no longer. He tells us that he heard from both parties that this battle of Otterbourne was one of the hard- est and most obstinate that was ever fought. 4 And this,' he says, ' I readily believe, for the English and Scots are excellent men-at- arms, and whenever they meet in battle they do not spare each other ; nor is there any check to their courage so long as their weapons endure. When they have fought well, and one party is victorious, they are so proud and so rejoiced at their conquest that they ransom their prisoners at once, and in such courteous manner to those who have been taken, that on their departure they re- turn them their thanks, However, when in battle there is no boy's play between them, nor do they shrink from the combat. 5 "» Thus it was after the battle of Otter-? bourne ; the Scots chased the English for five miles, killing and taking prisoners all they could overtake ; but when once they THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 45 had yielded themselves prisoners, rescued or not rescued, they trusted to their word, told them to sit down and disarm them- selves, and treated them as if they had been brothers instead of enemies." " That was very noble conduct," said Henry. " It was," replied uncle Rupert ; " but do not imagine that I tell you these stories to make you fond of war ; on the contrary, I wish to make you aware of its evils. The Scots, who thought they had cause to complain of the English, certainly did them some damage ; for besides burning and spoil- ing in Durham and Cumberland, they slew, or took prisoners, one thousand and forty men on the field, and, in the pursuit, eight hundred and forty, besides wounding more than a thousand ; and they received con- siderable sums for the ransom of their pris- oners, although in this point they behaved generously, pressing no man beyond his means. But all this was of no lasting ad- vantage to them ; and although only one 46 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. hundred of their men were slain, and two hundred taken prisoners, yet they had lost the Earl of Douglas, one of the noblest and best men that Scotland possessed, and they had increased the feeling of animosity which existed between the Scotch and English, and their success at Otterbourne led them twelve years after to attempt a similar in- road, when they were overtaken at Homel- don, on the borders, by the Earl of Nor- thumberland and his son Hotspur, totally defeated, and Archibald Douglas, the bro- ther and successor of the Earl who died at Otterbourne, and a great number of other noblemen and gentlemen, were taken pris- oners. — It is not to make you rejoice in scenes of blood and battle, that I tell you these stories. It is well for you to know that such things have been and are still likely to be ; for until the world is much farther advanced in true knowledge than it is at present, there is little probability of war being wholly banished from the earth. But I wish you to observe and imitate the THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 47 noble conduct which was exhibited in the midst of such terrible scenes. Many causes of quarrel existed between the Scotch and English. As Scotch and English they laughed at each other, fought with each other, and even hated each other. But when one became the prisoner of the other, all the national causes of quarrel were for- gotten ; the yielding of the prisoner made his captor his protector, not his tyrant ; when opposition ceased, enmity was at an end ; they acted generously by each other, and showed that, although enemies, they re- spected each other as brave and honest men. Such conduct is that which distinguishes the brave man who openly and fairly faces his enemy, from the base coward, who seeks to wreak his mean revenge in the dark." 11 Dear me, uncle," said Clara, who was rather tired by this long discourse upon hon- our, " you have forgotten to tell us about Sir Matthew Redman, who ran away ; and did really the poor widows come next day, 1 Their husbands to bewail, And wash their wounds in brinish tears V 48 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. I declare, 1 could cry now to think of it. How shocking to see the poor men all stretched out on the grass in their cold armour, and the dewdrops glittering like tears, but none near to raise them up ?" " Nay, nay, Clara, it was not so," said uncle Rupert ; " they were not left un- buried and uncared for. Next morn " ' they made them biers Of birch and hazel so grey: Many widows,- with weeping tears, Came to fetch their mates away.' " The Earl of Douglas, and his two faith- ful squires, Robert Hart and Simon Glen- dinning, were inclosed within coffins, which being placed on cars, the Scotch began their march, carrying with them Sir Hen- ry Percy, and upwards of forty English knights. They carried the bodies to Mel- rose, which was an abbey of Black Monks on the borders of the two kingdoms. There his obsequies were very reverently per- formed on the second day after their arri- val. His body was placed in a tomb of THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 49 stone, with the banner of Douglas sus- pended over it. " When the Scots, who were in Cumber- land, heard of Douglas's death, they griev- ed much that they had not been at Otter- bourne ; but the news dispirited them, and as the whole country was now arming, they retreated to Scotland before any thing could be attempted against them. — And now, Clara, I will tell you what chanced to Sir Matthew Redman. When he perceived that the battle was lost, he turned his horse's head, and spurred as fast as he could on the road to Newcastle. He was followed close by Sir James Lindsay, who galloped after him, spear in hand, and came so near, that he might, if he had chosen, have struck him; but he cried out, Ho! Sir Knight, turn about ! it is disgraceful thus to fly. I am James Lindsay, and if you do not turn, I will drive my spear into your back." Sir Matthew only spurred on the faster, and thus the chase lasted for nine miles, when Sir Matthew's horse 50 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. stumbling, he leaped off, drew his sword, and put himself in a posture of defence. The Scots knight made a thrust at him with his lance, thinking to strike him on the breast ; but Sir Matthew bounding aside escaped the blow, and the point of the lance was buried in the ground. Sir Mat- thew now stepped forward, and with his sword cut the lance in two. " Sir James Lindsay, finding he had lost his lance, flung the shaft on the ground, and dismounting, grasped his battle-axe, which was slung across his shoulder, and attacked Sir Matthew. They pursued each other for a long time, one with the battle- axe, the other with the sword, till at last Sir Matthew, who was quite out of breath, cried out, ' Lindsay, I yield myself.' ' Res- cue, or no rescue ?' asked Lindsay. l I agree,' said Redman ; < I know you will treat me well.' ' That I will,' replied his antagonist ; * and now, what would you wish to do ?' — ' I should desire to go on to Newcastle now, and I pledge myself to f i ' \ k % Ma p < 1-1 a a p THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNL. 51 come to you within fifteen days, in any part of Scotland you like to name.' 'Agreed,' said Sir James, ' provided you will meet me within three weeks, at Edinburgh, and wherever you go acknowledge yourself my prisoner.' Then each sought his horse, and taking a courteous leave of each other, they rode off in different directions, Sir James turning back to Otterbourne, and Sir Matthew riding on to Newcastle. " I told you Hotspur had bitter reason to regret his impatience in setting out in such a hurry, for that very evening the Bishop of Durham, and full seven thousand men with him, arrived at Newcastle. Though they had had a fifteen-miles' march from Dur- ham, they determined on going on to Otter- bourne ; but they had not advanced far when they fell in with the fugitives flying from the battle, and learnt from them that all was lost. Finding: it too late to be of any service in helping Hotspur, they thought it best to return to Newcastle. " When Sir James Lindsay left Sir Mat- 52 THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. thew Redman, the night had fallen very dark, for the moon had gone down, and Sir James, who was unacquainted with the country, lost his way, and on a sudden found himself in the midst of a body of armed men. He had fallen in with the Bishop of Durham and his followers return- ing to Newcastle ; they took poor Sir James prisoner, and carried him along with them. In the morning he met Sir Mat- thew, who was surprised to see him, and wondered what had brought him there, f 111 luck,' said Sir James. ' I fell in with the Bishop, to whom I am a prisoner, as you are to me. Ah, Sir Matthew, if my captor will agree, I need not trouble you to come to Edinburgh.' ' We shall find no difficulty in arranging our exchange, I doubt not,' said Sir Matthew ; ' but you must come and dine with me to-day, and this story will serve us to laugh at for many a day to come.' Thus did these two pris- oners enjoy each other's company in New- castle, and Sir Matthew had no occasion to THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 53 cross the borders, for the bishop gave Sir James his liberty, on his releasing Sir Mat- thew. 1 dare say, both often thought of their fight on the road to Otterbourne; and when next Sir James rode in the dark, he kept a better look-out lest he should meet with another Bishop of Durham. " And now, — 1 God save our queen and bless this land With plenty, joy, and peace, And grant henceforth that foul debate 'Twixt man and man may cease!' " 54 THE WARS OF GHENT. SECOND EVENING. THE WARS OF GHENT. Flourishing condition of Flanders — Jacob Van Artavelde — Origin of the Troubles in Ghent — John Lyon establishes the White-Hoods — Murder of the Earl's Bailiff, and destruction of his favourite Country-house — War between the Earl and the Ghent Men — Peace mediated by the Duke of Burgundy — Recommencement of the War — Siege of Ghent — Death of John de Launoy. " Dear uncle," cried Clara, as she ran into the hall to meet her uncle, who stood there shaking off the snow which covered him, (for she had heard his well known rap,) " Dear uncle, make haste and take off jour great-coat and come and sit down by the fireside. I have put your chair in a nice warm corner, and I have a pair of papa's slippers all ready warmed for you, that you may not sit down in your damp shoes. And now," said she, looking up laughingly in her uncle's face, " do you know what I expect jou to do for taking so much care of you ?" THE WARS OF GHENT. 55 " How can I possibly guess ?" said uncle Rupert, very gravely, as he took his seat in the easy chair, and exchanged his shoes for a cosey pair of soft slippers. But Clara spied a twinkle in the corner of his eye, and she knew that uncle Rupert was joking with her. " Oh ! uncle," said she, " I am sure you know well enough, only you won't under- stand. I want you to do something that I like very much indeed." " There," said uncle Rupert, catching her up on his knee, and giving her three very hearty kisses. " Am I right now ?" " Oh ! uncle, uncle," said Clara, laugh- ing and blushing, "you know I like your kisses very much, but I was not thinking of them then." "I'll tell you what she was thinking of, uncle," said Henry, who had all this time been sitting very quiet on the other side of the fire ; 6 she was thinking of Sir John Froissart and your pretty stories, and she wants you to tell us another ; and so do I," 56 THE WARS OF GHENT. he continued, getting up, and looking his uncle full in the face, very earnestly. " Pray do, uncle ; it makes the time pass so quickly by the fireside ; it makes me for- get all the frost and snow out of doors, and I really believe I shall not once think of my new skates that are coming home to-mor- row." "Well, my dear," said uncle Rupert, " since my stories find so much favour, I will go on with pleasure ; so now, Clara, bring your little stool and sit down by my side ; and you, Henry, draw in your chair ; and now, if mamma, who sits so silent at her work-table, will not object to our chat- tering, I will tell you of the wars of Ghent, and the history of Philip Van Artavelde, the brewer's son." " My dear brother," said mamma, look- ing up from her work, " I listened last night to your account of the battle of Otterbourne, and I really felt much interested, though I said nothing ; and I have no doubt I shall have pleasure in hearing you this evening ; THE WARS OF GHENT. 57 for though you see I am very busy, yet the ears may be open while the fingers are at work. A poor neighbour of mine expects a little baby every day, and I am making all the haste I can to get ready some warm clothes to shield it from this bitter weather. Now, I think Clara can help me and listen to you too, for I know she loves to be use- ful, and would be sorry for the poor little baby to be born before its comfortable clothes are ready for it." " Oh I am ready to help you mamma," cried Clara, " and I can sit here at uncle Rupert's feet and work nicely." " Well, ladies," said uncle Rupert, " your work does you honour, for to help one an- other is the Christian's pride ; but before I begin, I must bargain that I shall not be interrupted, as is too often the case when reading and work go on together. If one piece of work cannot go on without a con- sultation it should be laid aside and another taken up ; for we should always recollect 4 58 THE WARS OF GHENT, that we have no right to incommode other people if we can possibly avoid it." " You are rather hard upon us industri- ous workwomen," said mamma, laughing : " but if you will give us a few minutes be- fore you begin, we will try and behave very prettily." So mamma gave Clara her work, and showed her precisely how to do it ; and as Clara was an attentive little girl, and did not forget what she had been told, I am happy to say that neither scissors, thimbles, needles, nor thread ever went astray, and that there was no need of a stop to settle hemmings, foldings, plaitings, cuttings, slash- ings, or gorings, or any other mysteries of the work-table, till uncle Rupert came to an end. When every thing had been settled between Clara and mamma, Clara estab- lished herself snugly on her stool, and uncle Rupert thus took up his tale : " Flanders, that country which is now known by the name of Belgium, possesses a very fertile soil, and was very early dis- THE WARS OF GHENT. 59 tinguished for the excellence of its manu- factures, especially of cloth. The towns of Ghent and Bruges took the lead of all the others, and were very rich and populous. The former had an advantage over Bruges in being able to communicate directly with the sea, by means of the rivers Lys and Scheldt, which flowed on two sides of it; and the inhabitants were excessively jealous of the other towns, Bruges in particular, and did all they could to prevent their partaking of the benefits of this navigation, which they wished to keep entirely to themselves. This caused frequent quarrels ; and, indeed, the inhabitants of all the Flemish towns were somewhat turbulent and unruly. This may be accounted for, when we consider the extraordinary degree of liberty pos- sessed by the towns, and the inefficient manner in which they were governed. " The events I shall relate to you occurred in the year 1379, and the six succeeding years. At that period all the inhabitants of the open country, and those of almost all 60 THE WARS OF GHENT. the towns, were directly subject to their lords, and possessed little security in the laws, for person or property. But in those cities which had, by means of trade, become wealthy and populous, a greater degree of liberty was generally enjoyed. The advan- tages produced to the country in general, by an increased trade, were so great, that the lords of such towns, whether kings, dukes, earls, or barons, found it their interest to do all in their power to induce their subjects to engage in and extend it. For this pur- pose, they granted various privileges to the inhabitants of trading towns, which were not enjoyed by their other subjects. They were frequently allowed to choose their own magistrates, and the authority of their lords' officers was restricted from being exerted within their bounds ; they were often re- lieved from taxes, and imposts on goods brought from abroad ; and sometimes had power granted to levy imposts on their own account, on strangers visiting them. When they grew rich, they frequently gave large THE WARS OF GHENT. 61 sums of money to their lords to be relieved from such taxes or imposts as he had been accustomed to levy ; and 1 have seen among the charters of one of the chief of our ports, the records of repeated purchases from the king, until at last the citizens had bought up almost every impost that he had been accustomed to levy. When the citizens bought up these imposts, they usually ceased to levy them upon members of their own body, but continued to make strangers pay them." " But, uncle," said Henry, "did they ever take them from one another ? That is like taking their own money and paying it back to themselves ; taking it out of one pocket to put it into another, as 1 once heard papa say. I dori't understand it." " You do not reflect, Henry," said uncle Rupert, " that when the lord gave up the government of a town to its inhabitants, he was no longer to be called on to provide of- ficers to keep it in order, or to repair the walls and streets, or, if it was a seaport, to 62 THE WARS OF GHENT. keep the quays in a proper state. All these expenses then fell immediately upon the citizens ; and if they could not raise money enough by taxing strangers, then they were obliged to tax themselves. They were gen- erally, in those days, too much inclined to lay the whole burden upon strangers, and in the end lost by it themselves, by driving them away. But I cannot go further into this subject now, for I am afraid we should soon get out of your depth. You and I run into such grave discussions, that I am afraid we have tired Clara already. "At the period I have mentioned, 1379, manufactures were carried on more success- fully in Flanders than in any other part of the world. The people were in general very well off; the country was fertile, the towns rich ; they all possessed some privi- leges, and Ghent in particular was almost entirely self-governed, and nearly indepen- dent of its lord, the Earl of Flanders. But, as I mentioned just now, the towns were jealous of one another ; they did not man- THE WARS OF GHENT. 63 age their own internal government well, and there were continual quarrels between the rich and the poor citizens ; and, to add to the distraction of the country, the inhabi- tants of the towns bore a deadly hatred to the knights and barons, who exercised upon their estates all the oppressive power from which the citizens had been freed. The sight of this displeased them ; but they felt most keenly the scorn with which the high- born noble looked down on the citizen, who, although perhaps rich enough to buy up the estates of ten nobles, was still a trader, and one who knew not how to back a horse, or wield a lance in a tournament. " It is no wonder that in such a state of things peace was continually disturbed ; and so far was this turbulent spirit carried, that about forty years before the time I am speaking of, all Flanders had risen against their lord, the father of the present earl, had driven him from their dominions, and then, wonderful to relate, had submitted peaceably for seven years to the despotic 64 THE WARS OF GHENT. rule of a very remarkable man, a private citizen of Ghent, who had formerly been a brewer of metheglin, a sort of beer sweet- ened with honey. His name was Jacob Van Artavelde ; and, by and by, I shall have something to tell you of his son. As long as Van Artavelde retained his power, he received implicit obedience from both town and country ; he collected all the reve- nues that were due to the earl, and lived in a state of almost princely magnificence, never going out without a splendid retinue. He was a great friend of King Edward III., and persuaded the Flemings to assist him when he first invaded France, and he did every thing he could to keep up a close alli- ance between England and Flanders. In this he was wise, for both countries profited much by the trade between them ; but his attachment to the English carried him at last rather too far. He undertook to make the Flemings renounce their rightful lord alto- gether, and to give the country to the Black Prince, and make him Earl of Flanders. THE WARS OF GHENT. 65 The Ghent men resented this deeply ; and when Jacob Van Artavelde returned home, they surrounded his house, dragged him out, and murdered him. After his death the Flemings returned to their obedience ; re- called the young earl, (for his father had died w T hile Van Artavelde was yet alive,) and up to the date of my story they had lived in peace; for, says Sir John, 'the earl was wise and prudent, and carefully avoided encouraging a war between his vassals.' "But notwithstanding the earl's wisdom, he was deficient in that highest wisdom which renders men good ; and a wicked action brought great and deserved troubles upon him, and afflicted his unhappy coun- try for many years. There was a certain citizen of Ghent, named John Lyon, who was a great favourite with the earl. He was possessed of very great abilities ; was cool and determined in action ; of un- daunted bravery, and of an enterprising and ambitious character. The earl having conceived a deadly hatred against another 4* 66 THE WARS OF GHENT. citizen of Ghent, for some cause which I am ignorant of, meanly employed John Lyon to pick a quarrel with him and slay him. " John Lyon, who was not troubled with any scruples of conscience, did his lord's bidding. He soon found, or made an occa- sion of quarrel — fought with, and killed his antagonist ; and, as a punishment, was deprived of every thing he had in the city of Ghent, and was banished from it for four years ; and during the greater part of this time he lived in very good style at Douay, the earl paying all his expenses. When the term of his banishment was over, the earl interested himself so much for him, that he obtained his restoration to the freedom of Ghent, a thing never before heard of, and obtained him the appoint- ment of Deacon of the Pilots, an office which brought him a considerable yearly revenue." " What do you mean by Deacon of the Pilots, uncle ?" said Clara. THE WARS OF GHENT. 67 " I will explain it to you," said uncle Rupert. " Every man who carried on any trade in the Flemish towns was obliged to join himself in a company, guild, or fra- ternity, as they sometimes called it, with those who carried on the same trade, and was not allowed to buy and sell as he pleased, but was obliged to conform to the rates settled by his companions ; each trade chose a leader or governor, and some- times two or three, who were variously called wardens, masters, or deacons ; and for the government of the town these heads of the trades, or crafts, as they were often called, met together at the town council, and one chosen from among them, and called the mayor or provost, presided over all, and was the chief man of the town. The masters or deacons of the crafts col- lected the taxes and imposts due by their companies or fraternities, and were paid for the trouble they took in keeping all in good order. It appears that in Ghent the earl possessed the power of appointing the 68 THE WARS OP GHENT. deacons of the crafts. The pilots included the whole body of sailors belonging to Ghent, who were employed in the naviga- tion of the Lys and Scheldt. " There was at this time a man in Ghent, named Gilbert Matthew, who bore a great hatred to John Lyon, on account of a family quarrel, and he formed a cun- ning scheme to ruin him. Contriving to get an interview with the earl, who was at that time residing in Ghent, he told him that if John Lyon chose to exert himself, the earl's revenue might be much increas- ed by levying a tax on the pilots, who then paid nothing to him. The earl sent for John Lyon, who said he thought it would be too hard on the pilots ; but as the earl commanded him strictly, he called the fraternity together to propose the subject to them, when who should appear among the chief opposers of the proposition but Gilbert Matthew and his six brothers, all of whom were pilots ; and their represen- tations were so strong, that %he whole as- ,,rf#l& IN fill?" 11- • : ■: V.' \ M ■; ■ ■ i', THE WARS OF GHENT. 69 sembly, with one voice, said they could not bear the tax. John Lyon was glad to see this, for he disapproved of the earl's con- duct, and he went to him and advised him to give up his intention. But the cunning Gilbert Matthew went soon after to the earl, and told him it was all John Lyon's fault, and that if he had been deacon, he would have brought the pilots to consent. The earl was so eager for the money, that he turned out his old friend John Lyon, and put Matthew in his place, who, by the help of his six brothers, who had great in- fluence with the pilots, got them to con- sent to the tax, and thus he kept his word with the earl. "John Lyon kept himself very quiet, but he was all the while secretly medita- ting how he should revenge himself on the earl and Gilbert Matthew ; and he had not long to wait before he found an oppor- tunity. I have told you how jealous the men of Ghent were of the navigation of the Lys and Scheldt, and how they en- 70 THE WARS OF GHENT. deavoured to prevent the other cities from enjoying that advantage on equal terms with themselves. Now the people of Bruges had formed a plan of connecting their town with the Lys by a canal, and thus placing themselves on an equal foot- ting, as to freedom of navigation, with the men of Ghent ; and they sent out five hundred labourers, who worked night and day to form this canal. When news of this was brought to Ghent, the people were very angry, and many began to murmur against Gilbert Matthew, and to say, that if John Lyon had been deacon of the pilots, the people of Bruges would not have dared to make the attempt. It does not appear that Matthew was really in fault, or had neglected the interest of his fraternity ; but when any thing goes wrong, people are always inclined to grumble against those who are above them, and lay all the blame on them whether they deserve it or not. A number of the discon- tented citizens now repaired to John Lyon's THE WARS OF £HENT. 71 house to ask his advice in the matter, and how they should act. John Lyon was secretly very much rejoiced at this, but he pretended to be unwilling to interfere, or give any advice. All this he did to make himself appear of more consequence ; as one who was unwillingly forced to act by his fellow-citizens, who could do nothing without him. At last, after a great deal of pressing, he reminded the people that in former times, when upon any disturb- ance the people had risen in arms, it had been the custom for all those engaged to wear white hoods, that they might know one another in the crowd, and more easily keep close together, or again collect if they were dispersed. 'My advice, there- fore, is,' said he, i that, in the first place, all those who are determined to oppose this attempt of the men of Bruges should put on white hoods and choose a leader. 5 This proposal was received with great ap- plause, and white hoods were presently made and distributed to those ' who,' says 72 THE WARS OF GHENT. Sir John, ' loved war better than peace, and had nothing to lose.' John Lyon was chosen their leader, and he marched out at the head of two hundred i such people as preferred noting to quiet,' to attack the men of Bruges, who were at work upon the canal. " Nobody attempted to interfere with them in Ghent, for the enterprise they went upon was very pleasing to the citi- zens, and no suspicion was entertained that they meant to attempt any thing fur- ther. One man alone appears to have had any idea of John Lyon's real design for raising these white-hoods, and to have had the sense to see that it mi^ht be a dif- ficult thing to disperse such a set, being, as they were, all the most desperate idle fellows in the city, who had nothing to lose. This was Stephen, one of Gilbert Matthew's brothers. He had always been suspicious of John Lyon, and had once be- fore advised his brother to have him as- sassinated, but Gilbert had refused. Ste- THE WARS OF GHENT. 73 phen now again warned Gilbert of the danger ; but he only laughed at it, and said, if the white-hoods proved trouble- some, it was but to send to the earl, and he would put them down easily. But Gilbert was sadly mistaken. " When John Lyon and his men arrived at the place where the men of Bruges had been at work, they found them all gone — fled away in a fright to Bruges — so they returned to Ghent, and separated each man to his own home. But John Lyon told them not to lay aside their white hoods, for there soon would be more for them to do ; and some he told privately to eat and drink as much as they liked at the inns and tav- erns, and not to heed the expense, for there were those who should pay their score, who now would not give them a farthing. " Circumstances seemed to favour John Lyon's design ; for within a week from the expedition against the men of Bruges, the earl's bailiff gave great offence by arresting a man of Ghent, and confining him in the 74 THE WARS OF GHENT. earl's prison, instead of sending him to the city prison, which was against their privi- leges ; and when the magistrates remon- strated, he made an insolent answer. More- over, the burdens that had been imposed on the pilots proved so hurtful to the trade of the town, that many cities that had been used to trade with Ghent began to talk of sending their goods there no more, which would have nearly ruined Ghent. The number of white- hoods every day increas- ed, and John Lyon never went abroad without being attended by two or three hundred of them. He frequently made speeches to the people, and pretended to regret that the earl had turned so much against them. He said it was manifest he encouraged the people of Bruges, for he was living there when they attempted to cut the canal, and they had promised him a large sum of money if he would procure for them the freedom of navigation on the Lys. Then he talked about the citizen imprisoned at Eccloo, and the injury done THE WARS OF GHENT. 75 the trade of the town by the impost on the pilots, lamenting all the while that the earl should be so ill advised, and saying how desirable it was to be on good terms with their lords. Then he proposed that some of the citizens should go to the earl, and he contrived that Gilbert Matthew should be one of them ; for he thought the earl would send an ungracious answer, and that by throwing all the blame on Gilbert Matthew he might ruin him. "But Gilbert was as cunning- as John, and by his advice the earl granted every thing that was desired, and sent back the prisoner who was detained at Eccloo. But now that he had done every thing they de- sired, he begged that they would lay aside their white hoods, which was looked on as dangerous to the peace of the city. " John Lyon upon this made a speech to the people, and told them that it was very plain that unless they had taken up the white hoods they would never have gained what they required, and that as they had 76 THE WARS OF GHENT. proved so useful, it would be foolish to lay them aside. The people said he had spoken well, and they would take his ad- vice. But John suspected that Gilbert had been playing a treacherous part, and this it was that made him desirous of keeping up the white-hoods ; and he was in the right, for the earl had arranged with Matthew to send a body of men to arrest John Lyon and the chief leaders of the white-hoods, and carry them to the castle of Ghent and cut their heads off. " Accordingly, not long after Matthew's return, the bailiff of Ghent, Roger d'Au- tuerme, accompanied by two hundred men, rode into the market-place of Ghent, and planted the earl's banner before him. Gil- bert Matthew and his brothers, and the deacons of the small crafts, who had made common cause with them, immediately waited on him to arrange the arrest of John Lyon and his friends. But John Lyon had had notice of the bailiff's arrival, and of his errand, and had summoned all his white- THE WARS OF GHENT. 77 hoods to assemble ; and at the head of about four hundred of them he marched to the market-place, seized on the bailiff, threw him on the ground, and slew him, whilst the banner of the earl was dragged through the dirt and torn in pieces. The Matthews and the deacons of the small crafts fled the moment they saw the white- hoods, and hastened out of town with all their families ; and the whole passed so suddenly, that the soldiers had no time to rescue their leader ; and being terrified at the sight of so many enemies appearing on a sudden, (for they had marched into the market-place through the by-streets to avoid observation,) they turned their horses' heads and rode off without striking a stroke. John Lyon and his men next went to search for the Matthews, but they had all gone away in time ; but their houses were plundered and afterwards pulled down, and so entirely destroyed, that not a stone remained to show where they had stood. " John Lyon had now pretty well re- 78 THE WARS OF GHENT. venged himself on the Matthews ; but still he was not satisfied, since he had not jet given the earl a sufficient return for the ill offices he had received from him. " None of the citizens of Ghent had in- terfered to check the outrageous conduct of the white-hoods, and, indeed, it was openly said that they even received en- couragement from some of the magistrates and other chief men of the town. But many of the richest citizens, who were very desirous of peace, and well knew how much they should suffer if these dis- turbances continued, were very uneasy ; and at length it was agreed that twelve of the most respectable of the inhabitants should go to the earl and solicit pardon for the murder of the bailiff, and endeavour to prevent the earl from making war upon them on that account. " When the deputies had left the city John Lyon called the people together, and told them that as it was very doubtful if the earl would grant them peace, it would be THE WARS OF GHENT. 79 only prudent in them to be prepared for the worst ; therefore, he proposed, that all the citizens who could bear arms should assemble the next day in the fields out- side the city, that the state of their wea- pons might be examined, and themselves arranged in companies under proper offi- cers, so as to be quite ready to act if called upon. " John Lyon came out and reviewed them, and then proposed that they should all go to a beautiful country-house be- longing to the earl, which stood not far from the place of their assembly ; for he said he understood it was full of warlike stores and provisions, which might oc- casion great damage to them if Ghent were attacked ; he, therefore, thought it would be wise if they secured these. Away they all went, pillaged the house from top to bottom, and when they were going away set it on fire. John Lyon pre- tended to be very angry at this ; but in truth he was much pleased, for now that 80 THE WARS OF GHENT. not only the white-hoods, but the whole people of Ghent had been concerned in such an outrage, he thought the earl would never forgive them, and that he, John Lyon, should be the sole governor of the city, and perhaps of all Flanders, as Jacob Van Artavelde had been before, which was what he most desired. " The earl had received the deputies of Ghent very graciously, and had just prom- ised to pardon them, when he received the news of the destruction of his house, which was his favourite place of residence, and on which he had expended very large sums of money. He was exceedingly enraged, and sent away the deputies, de- claring he would never make peace with them until all the offenders were delivered up. He then summoned all his knights and vassals to assist him in punishing the rebellious town of Ghent. " John Lyon now found every thing ac- cording to his wishes. No hopes remained of pacifying the earl, and he was, by com- THE WARS OF GHENT. 81 mon consent, made the leader of the whole city. The first thing he recommended was to oblige or persuade the other Flem- ish towns to make common cause with Ghent against the earl. With this purpose he marched with a large body of armed men to Bruges. They were at first refused admittance, but upon threatening to break open the gates, the inhabitants let them in, and agreed to remain good friends and neighbours with the men of Ghent, and to assist them in all things against the earl. From thence he went to the town of Damme ; but there he was cut short in the midst of his apparent prosperity. One evening he had been supping very joyously in company with the ladies of Damme, but in the night he was taken exceedingly ill. He wished to be carried home to Ghent, but his bearers could not bring him further than a village a short way on the road, where he died. His body swelled terribly after his death, and it was supposed that he was poisoned. 5 82 THE WARS OF GHENT. He was taken to Ghent, where he was buried in the Church of St. Nicholas, with as much solemnity as if he had been Earl of Flanders. " But as John Lyon's death did not put an end to the war, the men of Ghent considered that they could not long re- main without leaders. The deacons of the trades and the guards of the gates selected, according to their opinion, four of the most courageous and enterprising for their com- manders, whose names were John Pruni- aux, John Boule, Rasse de Harzelle, and Peter du Bois. Under these leaders, the men of Ghent, assisted by those of Bruges, Ypres, and some other towns, carried on regular war against the earl, and besieged the town of Oudenarde, where a great num- ber of barons, knights and squires, were completely shut up. " This war did so much injury to the country that the earl was very desirous of peace, and the men of Bruges and Ypres began to wish for it also, especially as the THE WARS OF GHENT. 83 winter was now coming on. The Duke of Burgundy, who had married the earl's daughter, interposed, and by his means a peace was concluded. The earl promised to forgive every thing, and to return in a friendly manner to Ghent, there to reside, and, let what would happen, never to re- member the past ; and the Ghent men and their allies, promised to acknowledge their lord with respect, and to attempt no more against him, and within a year to re- build the earl's house which they had burned. It was also agreed that the walls of Oudenarde should be thrown down; but this was not just then insisted on by the Flemings. " The earl long delayed coming to Ghent, but at last, being much entreated by several of the chief men of the city, he left Bruges, where he had resided since the peace had been made, and visited the city. His coming was not very agreeable to the white-hoods and their leaders, but the better sort of citizens much desired 84 THE WARS OF GHENT. his protection from these turbulent men. The day after his arrival the earl made a long speech to the people, in which he set forth all the evil they had done, but said he had forgiven every thing ; but he desired, that now all strife was at an end, they would lay aside those white hoods, which were only productive of mischief, and would make some satisfaction for the death of his bailiff, Roger d' Autuerme. John Pruniaux and the other leaders of the white-hoods, had ordered all their men to appear on this occasion, and as soon as the earl began to speak of putting off the white hoods, there were marks of great dissatisfaction ; and when the earl re- turned to his lodgings, none of them would salute him as he passed. He staid but a few days at Ghent, and then went to Lille in a very ill humour. " The relations of the murdered bailiff being unable to get any satisfaction from the men of Ghent, determined to revenge them- selves, and having seized fifty boats on the THE WARS OF GHENT. 85 river, laden with corn destined for Ghent, they put out the eyes of the mariners, and sent them in that shocking condition to Ghent. This action caused the war to be renewed more fiercely than ever. The men of Ghent destroyed the walls of Oudenarde, and John Pruniaux was taken and broken upon the wheel by the earl." " What do you mean by being broken upon the wheel, uncle ?" said Henry. " It was a dreadful punishment, long in use as a mode of executing great criminals. A large cart-wheel was raised on a strong post, and the sufferer was bound upon it, his legs and arms being stretched out along the spokes. Then the executioner stand- ing over him with an iron bar, broke the bone of each limb, and sometimes broke each bone in two places. " When this was done the poor wretch was sometimes left to die a death of linger- ing agony, which lasted many hours ; but usually his life was put an end to by a blow on the breast, which was called the coup- de-grace, or blow of mercy." 86 THE WARS OF GHENT. I "Oh ! what a shocking, shocking thing," said Clara, who had dropped her work in horror, as she listened to her uncle's ac- count. " I cou]j][ not have believed that men could find it in their hearts to be so cruel." " There is scarcely any cruelty that can be imagined, Clara," said uncle Rupert, somewhat sadly, " that men have not been found wicked enough to perpetrate. It is a dreadful thing to think of, that human na- ture is capable of such enormities ; but we must not forget, also, how much good our nature can attain ; nor that, although by the indulgence of our evil dispositions, we may degrade ourselves to beasts, we may, by God's assistance — and his aid alone — at- tain to a height but a little lower than the angels." " I recollect, my dear Clara," said her mother, " a very remarkable illustration of what your uncle has just said ; the story of a wife whose holy. love made her indeed but a very little lower than the blessed spirits of THE WARS OF GHENT. 87 heaven, watching and soothing to the last the agonies of her husband, who was left to die upon the wheel. Bring me Mrs. He- man s's ' Records of Wpjuan' to-morrow, Clara, and I will read to you the poem of ' Gertrude, or Fidelity till Death,' where the tale is told in very beautiful verse." Clara, whose eyes were running over with tears, promised her mother not to forget it, and uncle Rupert went on. " The war continued for a long time, much to the disadvantage of the earl ; for not only had the towns of Bruges, Courtray, and Ypres joined Ghent, but a large extent of country had entirely thrown off his au- thority. At last a dispute that arose in Bruges, between the richer classes and the smaller handicraft trades, gave him an op- portunity of reducing that town once more to obedience ; and with Bruges he recovered many other places which had been obliged to adhere to the fortunes of the men of Bruges against their will. He now pre- pared to attack Ypres, for he was very much 88 THE WARS OF GHENT. i enraged against them for having opened their gates to the men of Ghent. When this was known at Ghent, a body of nine thou- sand men was gpt ready and sent out to help the men of Ypres. Their plan was this : one party under Peter du Bois was to go to Courtray, and join the men of that place under their governor, John de Launoy ; and the other, under John Boule, was to go to Ypres, and being joined by the men of that place, the whole were to unite and to- gether seek the earl's army and give him battle. But this scheme was disarranged by John Boule and his men, with those of Ypres, falling into an ambuscade, placed by the earl to catch them unawares, and they were quickly discomfited, and sought refuge in great disorder at Courtray, where the people were so enraged against the unhappy John Boule, who they declared had pur- posely betrayed them, that they dragged him out of his house, and literally tore him to pieces. The Ghent men had now lost two of their best leaders, and Peter du Bois, THE AVARS OF GHENT. 89 collecting all his men, marched back to Ghent without attempting any thing against the earl. " The earl now marched to Ypres, where, although the gates were open to him, he took a terrible revenge, causing no less than seven hundred of those who had been con- cerned in letting John Lyon and the Ghent men into the town to be beheaded. He next took possession of Courtray, and then besieged Ghent itself; but although he re- mained a long time before the town he could not take it ; for, as he could only approach it on two sides, the others being defended by the rivers, the people had no difficulty in procuring provisions; and there were enough within to defend the walls stoutly, for Ghent was so populous that it contained full eighty thousand men fit to bear arms. So at last he drew his army away from Ghent, and sought to reduce every other place which still held out against him. " John de Launoy, who had been gov- ernor of Courtray, had now the care of a 5* 90 THE WARS OF GHENT. strong castle, called Gavre, but as he feared the earl would attack it, and he had not men enough to defend it, he came to Ghent, and Rasse de Harzelle was sent with him, with ten thousand men, to defend Gavre, and attack the earl, if they should meet with him. The same day Peter du Bois went out with six thousand men in a different di- rection, for their object was to meet the earl's army ; but it was agreed that neither party should fight without the other, but if one met with the earl, they were to avoid a battle till they could send to the other, and bring them up to join them. Launoy and his party fell in with the earl's army sooner than they expected, and although the earl mustered nearly two to one, they rashly determined to engage him without sending to Peter du Bois, although having the town of Nevelle behind them, they could have waited for him in safety. They were entirely defeated. " Such as could escape retired towards the church of Nevelle, which was strong, THE WARS OF GHENT. 91 and having collected themselves there, a hard battle ensued, and great slaugh- ter was made of them. John de Launoy, like one distracted, rushed into the church, and posted himself, and as many men as he could, in the large tower of the steeple. Rasse de Harzelle remained behind, and, with his men, performed many valorous deeds at the door of the church ; but at last he was overpowered, and pierced with a spear, which instantly killed him. " When the Earl of Flanders arrived at the square before the church, and saw that the Ghent men had retreated into it, he or- dered it to be set on fire ; his order was obeyed, and a fire was kindled with great quantities of straw and fagots, which they placed all round the church. The flames soon ascended to the roof, when the Ghent men perished miserably ; for they were sure of being burned if they staid in the church, and if they sallied out they were slain and cast back into the fire. John de Launoy, who was in the steeple, perceiving himself 92 THE WARS OF GHENT. at the point of death, and that he must soon be burned, for the steeple was beginning to take fire, cried out to those below, i Ran- som ! Ransom !' and offered his coat, which was very valuable, for the whole was lined with florins, which he had sewed into it for safety ; but they laughed and mocked him, saying, 'John, come and speak to us through these windows, and we will receive you. Take a good leap, John, such as you have forced our friends to take this year ; — you had better take the leap.' John de Launoy finding his situation desperate, and the fire so fast approaching that he must be burned, grew furious, and preferred being slain to being burned. Both happened to him ; for he leaped out of the windows in the midst of his enemies, who received him on their spears, and after hacking him to pieces, flung him into the flames. Such was the shocking end of John de Launoy. " Now 1 have talked long enough for one evening ; but to-morrow, with mamma's permission, I will tell you of the fortunes of Philip Van Artavelde," PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 93 THIED EVENING. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Philip Van Artavelde made Governor of Ghent — Second Siege of Ghent — Propositions for a Peace — Philip Van Artavelde and Peter du Bois Assassinate the Deputies who bring the Earl's Answer — Great Distress in Ghent — Conferences in Tournay — The Ghent Men march against Bruges — Wat Ty- ler — The Jacquerie. The next evening the little party again assembled, when uncle Rupert, being set- tled in his arm chair, thus continued : " Peter du Bois had come in sight of Harzelle's and Launoy's men, and had the mortification of beholding their defeat without the possibility of helping them ; for a large tract of marshy land, which he could not cross, lay between them. He was, therefore, obliged to return very dis- consolately to Ghent. " And now Peter du Bois began to feel very uneasy when he thought of his own situation. He was the last of the four cap- 94 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDL. tains chosen as the leaders of the Ghent men, and he felt himself far better fitted for leading an army than for governing a city. The richer citizens were becoming heartily tired of the war, for it cruelly op- pressed them. The white-hoods had be- come masters of the town, and although in the beginning many of them were but poor men, scarcely worth a groat, they had now plenty of gold and silver ; for when they were in want, they complained to their leaders, who would send word to some of the rich citizens that they wished to speak to them. These dared not re- fuse the summons ; and on their arrival they were told that the good town of Ghent was in want of money to pay their sol- diers, who were aiding to guard and pre- serve their rights and franchises. They raised instantly among themselves the sum demanded ; for had they refused, they would have been put to death on pretence of being traitors to the good town of Ghent, and indifferent to its honour and profit. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 95 " Their late ill success, and the loss of so many of their captains and soldiers, had quite dispirited the more sober part of the citizens, and they began to talk of beg- ging a peace from the earl, saying that it was better that a few should suffer than a whole citv. " Peter du Bois, who knew that if they submitted to the earl he should certainly lose his life, began to consider what means he should take to prevent the citi- zens from making peace. He clearly saw that there was the greatest need of ap- pointing an able leader, who would be willingly obeyed ; and he felt that he him- self possessed neither talents nor influence with the people sufficient to enable him to fill such a station. He had heard John Lyon and the old people of Ghent say, that the whole country was never so well governed, feared, loved, and honoured, as during the time of Jacob Van Artavelde's rule ; and the people often said, that if Ja- cob were alive affairs would not be in such 96 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. a bad condition, but they should be able to obtain peace on their own terms, and the earl would be only too happy to grant a free forgiveness to every one. " When Peter thought on these sayings he bethought him that Jacob Van Artavelde had left a son called Philip, a handsome and agreeable man, to whom Philippa, queen of England, when she was at Ghent, during the siege of Tournay, in 1340, had stood godmother, and he considered within himself that this was the very man he wanted. His name would make him ac- ceptable to the people ; and although he had hitherto been living very quietly with his mother, taking no part in public affairs, yet Peter knew that he possessed sufficient talents for the office he designed for him. " Accordingly, he went one evening to Philip's house, explained all his views to him, and concluded by offering to make him the greatest man in Flanders. 6 I will,' said he, ' place you in your father's situa- tion ; and when there, if you will for a time PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 97 follow my advice, you will soon acquire the art of managing the people without further assistance.' — 4 Peter,' said Philip, « you offer me great things, and if you keep your word, I swear on my faith, that I will never act without your advice.' — Peter asked, ' Can you be cruel and proud ? For a great man among the populace, and, in particular, among such as we have to do with, will not be thought any thing worth if he be not feared and dreaded, and at times renowned even for his cruelty. It is thus only the Flemings can be governed ; and among them men's lives should be no more valued, nor should they have more pity shown to them than pigeons or larks, which are caught in proper season for the table.' — 1 By my troth,' answered Philip, ' I know well how to act that part ;' and doubtless he did, for Peter's instructions were all grounded on the conduct pursued by Phil- ip's father, who, whenever he went abroad, was attended by three or four score armed men on foot, and if he met any man whom 98 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. he hated or suspected, he had but to make a sign, and he was instantly put to death by his attendants, of whatever rank he might be. This happened very frequently, and he was so dreaded that no one dared to speak against his actions, or scarcely to contradict him. With such an example before him, Philip was well prepared to be quite as proud and cruel as Peter du Bois judged necessary. " The next day Peter summoned a meet- ing of the people to deliberate on the choice of a governor. The Lord of Har- zelle (the brother of the unfortunate Rasse) - was there ; he was accustomed to take a principal share in the management of the city, and some proposed him for governor ; but as he refused to have any thing to do with the management of affairs beyond the walls, he was not to be thought of. But when Peter got up and proposed Philip Van Artavelde, reminding the people of their prosperity under his father's rule, a universal shout of approbation arose, and PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 99 they cried out with one voice, that he was the man they would have for their governor. The whole assembly then went to Philip's house, headed by the Lord of Harzelle, Peter du Eois, Peter la Nuitee, and about ten or twelve of the principal tradesmen, who went in to Philip, and addressed him, saying, 4 That the good town of Ghent was in the greatest danger for want of a chief, with whom alliances might be formed both at home and abroad ; and that all ranks of people in Ghent had given him their voices, and chosen him to be their sovereign ; for the good remembrance of his name, and the love they had borne to his father, made him more agreeable to them than any one else ; for which reasons, they entreated him affec- tionately to take on him the government of the town, with the management of their affairs, both within and without, and they would swear to him obedience and loyalty as completely as to their lord.' They like- wise engaged to bring every one, how great soever he might be, under his obedience. 100 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. " Philip replied: ' Gentlemen, you require great things of me ; and I think you cannot have sufficiently weighed the matter when you offer me the government of Ghent. You say the affection your ancestors had for my father has been your great inducement ; yet when he had performed for them every service in his power, they murdered hirn. If I should accept the government at your request, and be afterwards murdered, 1 should have but a sorry recompense.' — ' Philip,' said Peter, who caught at these words, which seemed to make his accept- ance doubtful, ' what has passed cannot now be amended ; you will act with the advice of your council, who will share the responsibility with you, and by thus con- tinuing, you will ever be so well advised, that all mankind shall praise you.' — Philip replied, i I shall never wish to act other- wise.' They then elected him governor on the spot, and conducting him into the mar- ket-place, he was there sworn into office : PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 101 the major, sheriffs and rulers of companies were also sworn to obey him. rt Thus was Philip Van Artavelde, in the year 1381, made sovereign of Ghent. He at once became very popular, for he spoke to every one who had any business with him prudently and politely, so that he was beloved by all. He acted wisely also in making the Lord de Harzelle, who had great influence in the city, his friend ; and he gave him part of the revenues which the Earl of Flanders had in Ghent, the better to support his rank ; for, by adhesion to the party of the citizens, he had lost every thing he possessed beyond the walls of the town. " Philip soon began to practise Peter du Bois's lessons, for he had not been long go- vernor of Ghent before he had twelve per- sons beheaded in his presence ; some said they were those who had been principally concerned in the murder of his father, and that thus he revenged himself on them. He began his reign with great power, and made 102 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. himself beloved and feared by many, more especially by those who followed the pro- fession of arms : for to gain their favour he refused them nothing. " The earl again laid siege to Ghent ; but being dispirited by the losses he sus- tained, he gave it up, and determined to try another method, and try to starve the citi- zens into obedience. They had hitherto drawn their principal supplies from Holland, Hainault, Liege, and Brabant, and the earl prevailed upon the rulers of Hainault and Brabant, to give their subjects strict orders not to furnish the Ghent men with any thing ; so that if it had not been for the Hollanders, and the men of Liege, who would not comply with the earl's desire, there would have been a famine in Ghent. About this time a meeting of deputies from Brabant, Hainault and Liege, was held at Harlebecque, near Courtray, to consider on the affairs of Flanders, and determine on the course of conduct these neighbouring states should pursue in regard to the dis- PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 103 putes between the earl and the men of Ghent, and to settle among themselves whether they should still refuse to send supplies to Ghent. The earl attended this meeting, and thither came also twelve of the principal inhabitants of Ghent, of whom Sir Guisebert Grutte and Sir Simon Bete were the chief; and at their entreaties the earl made proposals for a peace, which, it was arranged, they should submit to their fellow-citizens. " On the return of the deputies, Peter du Bois, who had spies every where to bring him intelligence, soon learnt that they had brought proposals for a peace, and that they had said, ; It would be an excellent peace for those who were well inclined and wished for quiet, but that some of the wicked ones in the town would be punished.' Peter was much disquieted on hearing this, for, thought he, if any are to be punished for this war, I shall not be one of the last ; but it shall not go thus. That same evening he went to the house of Philip Van Artavelde, 104 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. and found him musing and thoughtful, lean- ing against a window in his apartment. He asked Philip ' If he had heard any ti- dings ?' — S No, truly,' said he ; 'but that I hear our men are returned from the council at Harlebecque, and to-morrow we shall hear, in the town-hall, what they have done.' — l That is true,' answered Peter ; f but I know what they have done, and pur- pose to do ; for some who were there have told all to my friends. Be assured, Philip, the treaty they have made, and would have us confirm, will put our heads in jeopardy ; for if there be peace made between the earl and this town, know for a truth, that you and I, and the Lord de Harzelle, and all such captains as have aided us in this war, shall be the first that shall die, and the rich men will be saved. They will bring us into danger, and go themselves free ; and this was ever the opinion of John Lyon. The earl has always those apes, Gilbert Matthew and his brethren, and the Provost of Harlebecque, who is their relative, and PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 105 the deacon of the small crafts, [who fled away with them, about him. We ought to take good counsel together on this matter, and consider what is best to be done.' — c How should we act ?' asked Philip. — S I will tell you my mind,' replied Peter. c Let us give knowledge of this to all our leaders and captains, that they be to-morrow, all ready armed, in the market-place ; and then let us two enter into the hall with a hundred with us, to hear the contents of the treaty. Leave me to manage the rest, so you will avow my deed, and stand stout- ly by me ; for unless we are feared among the people, we can do nothing. — Philip very well understood what Peter du Bois meditated, and he agreed to act with him. Then Peter du Bois departed, and sent to all the leaders and captains under him, com- manding them and all their men to be ready in the morning, in the market-place, to hear the news. They all obeyed, for they durst not do otherwise, and they were all ever ready to do evil. 6 106 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. " The next morning at nine o'clock, the mayor, sheriffs, and rich men of the city came to the market-place, and entered the town-hall ; then came those who had been at the conferences at Harlebecque ; and last came Peter du Bois and Philip Van Artavelde, well attended by those of their party. When they were all assembled and seated, for every one who chose it sat down, they found the Lord de Harzelle was not present ; they sent to him, but he excused himself, saying he was unwell. ' Proceed,' cried out Peter du Bois, { I will answer for him, and we are full enough ; let us hear what these gentlemen have brought from the conferences at Harlebecque.' " Upon this, Guisebert Grutte, and Si- mon Bete rose up, as being the principal deputies, when one of them spoke thus : — ' Gentlemen of Ghent, we have attended the conferences at Harlebecque ; and we have had much labour and difficulty, in con- junction with the good men of Brabant, Liege, and Hainault, in making up our dis- PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 107 putes with the earl our lord. However, at the entreaty of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant, who had sent thither their council, as well as Duke Albert of Hainault, the good town of Ghent is at peace with the earl, on condition that two hundred men- at-arms, whose names he will send within fifteen days in writing, shall surrender themselves to his prison in the castle of Lille, to his pure will : he is so noble and generous that he will show them mercy and pardon. 5 — At these words Peter du Bois started up, and cried, ' Guisebert, how have you dared to enter into any treaty that should put two hundred men-at-arms into any of the enemy's prisons ? Ghent would be indeed disgraced ; and better would it be for it if completely overturned, than to be reproached for having so scandalously concluded the war. We know well that neither you nor Simon Bete will be of the two hundred. You have taken your part, and have made your own choice ; but we will carve and cut for ourselves. Advance, 108 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Philip, on these traitors, who want to be- tray and dishonour the town of Ghent.' " With these words Peter du Bois drew his dagger, and coming up to Guisebert, struck him into the belly, so that he fell down dead. Philip also drew his dagger, and with it struck Simon Bete and slew him. They then began to cry out, ' Trea- son ! Treason V They had their partisans all round them, so that many of the richest and greatest men of the town were obliged to conceal their disapprobation of this vio- lence to save their lives. At that time only those two were killed ; but to satisfy the people, and to turn the affair to their own advantage, Peter and Philip sent some of their men to proclaim throughout the town, that Guisebert Grutte and Simon Bete had been put to death, because, like false trai- tors, they wanted to betray the good town of Ghent. Thus the matter ended : the dead were dead, and no one was called to any account for it, nor any penalty exacted. In this manner were slain two valiant and PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 109 rich men in the town of Ghent, for having acted according to the instructions of many of their fellow-citizens. They were much pitied in secret ; but no one dared to show his sorrow in public for fear of his life. " When the Earl of Flanders, who was at Bruges, heard of this, he was sorely en- raged and said, ' At the entreaties of my cousins of Brabant and Hainault, I too easily acceded to their wishes of making peace with the Ghent men, and more than once have they in return thus acted : but I will have them know, they shall never have peace until I have had given up to me such a number of the inhabitants as will satisfy me.' " The war now went on more bitterly than before. Parties of the earl's troops were in the field night and day, so that no provisions could enter the town. The Bra- banters and Hainaulters were afraid of ven- turing themselves ; for whenever they were met by the earl's men, the best that befel them was the slaughter of their horses, 110 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. sending them prisoners to Dendremonde or Oudenarde, or making them pay ransom. The whole winter of 1382 nothing was per- mitted to enter the place by land or water : all the storehouses of corn were empty, and the people could not obtain bread for money. When the bakers had baked any, it was necessary to guard their shops, for the popu- lace, who were starving, would have broken them open. People of good substance were in a miserable condition, and it was melan- choly to hear them make their daily com- plaints and cries to Philip Van Artavelde, their commander-in-chief. He took great compassion on them, and made several very good regulations, for which he was much praised. He ordered the granaries of the monasteries and rich men to be opened, and divided the corn among the poor at a fixed price. By such means he gave comfort to the town of Ghent, and governed it well. Sometimes casks of flour and baked bread were sent them from Holland and Zealand; and without such assistance they could not have held out. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Ill w The Duke of Brabant had prohibited his subjects from carrying provisions to Ghent, but had not prohibited them from trading with the Ghent men should they visit Brabant ; and at length the pressure of famine became so great, that early in the spring a body of twelve thousand Ghent men, soldiers and others, under the guidance of a leader named Francis Atremen, deter- mined to venture forth and endeavour to purchase a supply of provisions at Brussels, and bring them home in safety. They were not permitted to enter Brussels, or any other of the towns of Bral$ant ; but the good peo- ple brought them provisions, and showed much compassion for them. They staid in that country full three weeks, refreshing themselves with rest and plentiful living, after the dreadful sufferings they had en- dured at. home. In the mean time, Francis Atremen paid a visit to Liege, and had an interview with the bishop, who was the prince as well as bishop of that town and the surrounding country. He received 112 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Francis and his companions very kindly, and told them that if his country lay as near Ghent as did Brabant and Hainault, they should never have been put to such straits. ' However, 5 said he, i you are mer- chants, and we have a right to trade in our own country with whomsoever we please. We can supply you with five or six hundred cart-loads of corn and flour, and our mer- chandise will be allowed to pass freely through Brabant; from thence you must depend on yourselves to convey it safely to Ghent. 5 Francis and his companions warm- ly thanked the bishop and the Liegois for their kindness, and within two days six hundred carts laden with provision were on the road to Ghent. " Before he left the country, Francis vis- ited the Duchess of Brabant at Brussels, and entreated her to use her influence with her brother-in-law, the Earl of Flanders, to induce him to make peace with the men of Ghent. She promised to do all she could, and to send deputies to meet those of Liege PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 113 and Hainault, who had already promised to meet at Toumay, and endeavour to make up the differences between the earl and his subjects. " You may imagine how rejoiced the peo- ple of Ghent were when they heard that Francis and his men were returning with provision ; for though there was not more than enough for fifteen days' subsistence, yet that was much to people who were starving. To those who are comfortless a little thing gives hope. They went out in procession to meet the convoy ; and when they met it, they fell on their knees, and, with uplifted hands, said to the merchants and drivers, ' Ah ! good people, you do an act of great charity ; you bring comfort to the poor people of Ghent, who would not have had wherewithal to eat if you had not come. Let us first give our thanks and praises to God, and then to you.' The pro- visions were carried to the market-place, and there unloaded ; they were then deliv- ered out in small portions to those who were 6* 114 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. in the greatest want ; and five thousand men were ordered to arm themselves and to es- cort back the carts as far as Brabant, and out of all danger. " The conference at Tournay was fixed for the end of Easter, and the deputies from Liege, Hainault, and Brabant arrived there at the appointed time. Twelve deputies, of whom Philip Van Artavelde was one, came from Ghent, and they had agreed to accept any terms, provided no one was to be put to death; but they were willing to consent to the perpetual banishment of any who might be disagreeable to the earl ; and Philip expressed his readiness to go into exile if he had given offence to the earl, so much regard had he for the poor people of Ghent. The Earl of Flanders, although he had promised to come, did not make his ap- pearance, but at length some of the council went to him at Bruges. He told them that he could not come to Tournay at that time, but that he would shortly send his final an- swer. In a few days deputies arrived from PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 115 him, who delivered this message : — ' That the inhabitants of Ghent were not to ex- pect peace from him, unless all persons from the age of fifteen to sixty submitted to come out of that city, bareheaded, in their shirts, with halters about their necks, on the road between Ghent and Bruges, where the earl would wait for them, and grant them par- don, or put them to death, according to his pleasure.' When this was communicated to the deputies from Ghent, the bailiff of Hainault advised them to agree to it, for the earl, he said, would be satisfied with putting to death only a few of them who had most displeased him. Philip Van Artavelde re- plied that they were not commissioned to treat on such terms ; but if the citizens of Ghent, when they heard them, chose to ac- cept them, he should do nothing to prevent them. The deputies from Ghent then took their departure, and returned home through Brabant. The Earl of Flanders did not even inquire whether the Ghent men had given any answer to his proposals, for he 116 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. did not wish to make peace, but sought ut- terly to destroy and ruin them, and had issued summonses to collect troops, intend- ing once more to lay siege to the city. " When Philip returned to Ghent, he summoned all the people to attend him in the market-place, and there made a speech to them, showing what had been done at Tournay, and the cruel answer returned by the Earl of Flanders ; and, in conclu- sion, said, by what he could learn from his messengers, it was his intention to put to death, or imprison the greater part of the inhabitants. ' Now,' said he, l consider if you will have peace on these terms !' u When Philip had done speaking, it was a melancholy sight to behold men, women, and children bewailing with tears their husbands, fathers, brothers, and neigh- bours. Philip at length entreated silence, and again addressed them. ' Worthy in- habitants of Ghent, 5 said he, ' you who are here assembled, are the majority of its citi- zens, and you have heard all I had to re- PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 117 port to you : I see no means of remedy but a determined conduct. You know how very much we are straitened for all sorts of provision, and that there are thirty thousand persons in this town who have not tasted bread for fifteen days. In my opinion, we have but the choice of three things ; the first, that we close all our gates, and then, after having confessed ourselves, retire into the churches and monasteries, and there die like martyrs, to whom no mercy has been shown. Or, let us resolve to march out, men, women, and children, with halters about our necks, bareheaded, and with naked feet, and implore the mercy of my lord the earl ; he is not so hard-hearted, nor so obstinate, but when he shall see us in such a humiliating condition, he will be soft- ened, and take pity on his subjects ; and 1 will be the first to offer him my head, in order to assuage his hatred, and sacrifice myself for the city of Ghent. Or, let us choose from five to six thousand of the most deter- mined men in the town, and instantly march 118 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. to attack the earl in Bruges ; we will give him battle ; and if we shall be slain in the attempt, we shall at least die with honour, and God will have mercy upon us, and the world will say that we have gallantly and valorously maintained our quarrel. If, how- ever, in this battle we be victorious, and our Lord God, who in ancient times enabled Judas Maccabeus, the chief of his Jewish people, to defeat and slay the Syrians, will in like manner grant us success, we shall be every where the most honoured people since the time of the Romans. Now, con- sider which of these three propositions you will make choice of, for one of them must be adopted.' " The people said he should choose for them, and they would obey him in every thing. This was exactly what he wanted, for he and Peter du Bois, who knew that there would be no safety for them if peace was made, had settled their whole plan the night before ; and Philip's object, in his speech, had been to rouse the people to PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 119 make one more determined effort against the earl. He at once decided on making a bold attack on him. He desired them to go home and put their arms in order, and sent round his officers to choose out five thousand of the stoutest and best-armed men, who were ordered to be in readiness to march the next afternoon. They carried with them two hundred carts laden with cannon and ammunition — " " Carried their cannon in carts !" cried Henry. " How very odd ! When I went to the review at Woolwich with papa, I saw a great many cannon, but they had four wheels ; and sometimes they stopped and took off two wheels, and down fell the two sides of a sort of carriage the cannon was fixed to — unlimbering, I recollect, they call- ed that — and these kept the other wheels steady when they fired — and then present- ly the fore wheels were put on again — oh, so quick ! — and away the horses went, gal- loping, galloping, and the gunners jumped up in front, and sat on a sort of box, where 120 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. they kept their powder and ball ; but they could never have put cannon and all in a cart — besides, why should they put it in a cart when it has wheels of its own ?" " The cannon used in Van Artavelde's days," replied uncle Rupert, " were very unlike what are now in use. They had no wheels, or very small ones, and were obliged to be carried in carts or wagons. The Ghent men filled two hundred carts with cannon and ammunition, and only seven with provisions ; that is, five with bread, and two with wine : there were but two tuns of wine in the town. You may judge from this to what straits they had been reduced. " The parting with their friends who remained at home, was a sad spectacle. These last . said to them, < Good friends, you see what you leave behind ; but never think of returning, unless you can do so with honour, for you will not find any thing here. The moment we hear of your de- feat or death, we will set fire to the town, PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 121 and perish in the flames like men in des- pair.' — Those who were marching out, re- plied, ' You say well. Pray to God for us, for we place our hopes in Him, and trust he will assist both you and us before we re- turn.' " Thus did these five thousand men of Ghent march off on a Thursday afternoon, with their slender stores, and encamp about a league from Ghent ; but they touched not their provisions, contenting themselves with what they could find in the country. On Friday they marched^ the whole day, and then meddled not with their stores ; but their foragers collected a few things from the neighbouring villages, and with these they made shift ; and that evening they rest- ed a long league from Bruges. Here, as the ground seemed fitted for the purpose, they proposed to wait for their enemies. On one side they were secured by extensive marshes, and on the other they fortified themselves with the carriages ; and thus they passed the night. 122 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. " And here, I think, we must for the pres- ent leave them, for my story is too long to conclude to-night." " Dear uncle," cried Clara, " I declare you are very tantalizing. So we must leave these poor half-starved men to shiv- er in the cold fields all night, and you will not even tell us whether they conquered or not." " A capital trial of patience, Clara," said her uncle ; " it is too late to say much more to-night ; and if I went on, I should be obliged to stop ,at a time when you might be even more impatient to hear fur- ther. Be satisfied ; for it was a fine night, the 2d of May, 1382, so that you may be sure your favourites were not frozen to death." " Nay, uncle," said Clara, " do not call the Ghent men my favourites, for I cannot say I much like them. I think they ought to have left off their white hoods when the earl desired it, and it was very wrong to burn his house." PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 123 " And what do you think, uncle, of Phil- ip and Peter du Bois murdering those two poor men ?" said Henry. " Assuredly, I cannot justify it," said uncle Rupert : " but in judging of their con- duct we must recollect, that if the terms the deputies had agreed to had been accepted, Philip, Peter, and many of their compan- ions would have lost their lives, and would have been sacrificed merely for doing what their fellow-citizens had desired of them. The richer part of the citizens made but a poor figure throughout all their troubles. When first the white-hoods appeared, it was their duty to have interfered to pre- vent their lawless actions ; but as the dis- turbance of the Bruges canal diggers hap- pened to be very convenient, they were con- tent to let the white-hoods run the risk, while they enjoyed the advantage ; and if the enterprise had been unsuccessful they would have been the first to cry out against them. " Again, although they professed much 124 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. horror at the murder of the earl's bailiff, and sought to excuse themselves from any share of blame on that account, yet they never attempted to give him assistance, or to punish those concerned in it. They could not, therefore, justly complain that they were considered as responsible for all the violence committed by the white-hoods, who soon became their masters, but it is very certain that John Lyon and his suc- cessors found the most willing followers in the poorer classes of citizens, who wished to destroy all those placed above them either by rank or riches." " Did not the insurrection in England under Wat Tyler take place about the same time as the events you have been relating?" asked mamma. " It did," replied uncle Rupert : " that occurred in the month of June, 1381, just a twelvemonth before the time to which we have brought our friends of Ghent. Do you remember any thing of Wat Tyler, Henry ?" PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 125 "Yes, uncle," said Henry; a I remember that he and a great many other people assembled and marched to London, de- manding that some taxes which were very oppressive — I remember one in particular, a poll-tax, or a payment of so much a head — should be taken off; and they demanded some other things, which I do not remem- ber. And King Richard met them in Smithfield, and Wat Tyler was insolent, and Sir William Walworth, the lord mayor of London, killed him ; and then King Richard rode up to the people, and told them not to be cast down for the loss of their leader, that he would be their lead- er instead ; and then he led them to Black- heath, and granted them all that they asked." " Very fairly remembered, my boy," said uncle Rupert ; " but you might as well have added that King Richard never meant to keep his word ; but as soon as the people dispersed, gathered a large army, seized and punished many of them, 126 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. and revoked all his grants. The most im- portant demands made by Wat Tyler and his men, were the abolition of the bondage or slavery in which most of the agricultural labourers were still held ; and of the op- pressive services which were exacted by the barons and other great landholders from all their tenants under the degree of gentlemen ; such as giving so many days' service in the year ; getting in the lord's harvest, although their own might be spoil- ing; and many others much worse, but which I cannot now enumerate to you. These causes had created a deep hatred in the minds of the common people against the nobles and gentry, not only in England and Flanders, but all over France. During the whole time of the Ghent wars there were continual insurrections in Paris and other French cities ; and about thirty years before, the peasants in Beauvais, Brie upon the river Maine, in the Laonnois, and in the neighbourhood of Soissons, made one of the most frightful outbreaks that ever occurred." PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 127 11 Oh ! pray tell us about it, uncle," cried Clara, " and I will forgive you for leaving the poor Ghent men all night in the fields." "Indeed, Miss Impertinence!" said uncle Rupert, laughing. " Well, if you will turn to the map of France, and look for Beau- vais, Brie on the Maine, and Soissons, I will indulge you, for there is not much to tell, and some things they did are too shocking for me to repeat. "What particular circumstance first caused the people to rise I do not know, but about a hundred collected in the month of May, 1328, and having determined that all the nobles, knights, and squires of France dis- graced and ruined the kingdom, and that it would be an excellent thing if they were all destroyed, they proceeded to accomplish their purpose ; and although only armed with knives, or staves shod with iron, they marched to the house of a knight who lived near, and breaking it open, murdered the knight, his lady, and all the children, both great and small, and then burned the house. 128 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Their numbers quickly increased, till they amounted to many thousands. They chose a captain, whom they called their king; his real name was Guillaume Caillet, but he was called by them Jacques Bonhomme, or Good- man James, and from this nickname the rioters were called the Jacquerie. " They traversed the country, destroying every where the houses of all the gentlemen, and committing the most horrible atrocities. I will only relate one instance, which will give you an idea of what these wretches were capable. They murdered a knight, and having fastened his dead body to a spit, roasted it before the eyes of his wife and children, and after forcing his wife to eat some of her husband's flesh, dashed out her brains. " The king of Navarre, and many knights and gentlemen, attacked them, and slew a great many ; but they were entirely crushed by the Earl of Foix, and his cousin, the Captal of Buch, two of the most renowned knights of the time, who, hearing on their PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 129 return from an expedition to Prussia, that the Duchess of Normandy, the Duchess of Orleans, and three hundred other ladies had taken refuge in the town of Meaux, deter- mined to go and protect them ; and it was well they did so, for full nine thousand of these Jacquerie were marching there, little suspecting what was to befall them. The gates were opened to them, and they were permitted to march on till they reached the market-place, when the knights, who were drawn up there ready to receive them, with their men, (altogether about one hun- dred and eighty in number,) rushed upon the Jacquerie, who, when they felt the weight of their blows, began to give back, and, through fear, turned about so fast that they fell one over the other. The towns- people then rushed out upon them, drove them before them, striking them down like beasts, and cleared the town of them, (for they kept neither their ranks nor any sort of order,) slaying so many that they were tired. They killed full seven thousand, flinging 7 130 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE- numbers of them into the river ; and none would have escaped, had they chosen to pursue them further. " When the men-at-arms returned from the chase, they drove all the peasants they could find into the town, shut them up there, set fire to it, and burned all together. Jacques Bonhomme was taken alive, and sent to the Dauphin, who, understanding that he had called himself a king, caused him to be crowned with a trivet, or the three-legged frame of an iron skellet, redhot, and so to be hanged, in requital of all his barbarous cruelties. But, truly, the punishment was as horrible as the wickedness it was intended to avenge. It is a terrible proof of the bar- barism that still disgraced a period which, in some particulars, was one of considerable refinement ; and the remembrance of such events gives us fresh cause to bless the good- ness of God to us, whom he has sent into the world in happier days. " And now, Henry, bring me my coat, for it is getting late, and I must be going." PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 131 FOURTH EVENING. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. Battle of Bruges — Danger of the Earl of Flanders — Philip Van Artavelde governs all Flanders — Siege of Oudenarde — Battle of Rosebecque — Death of Philip — The War continued — Peace concluded between the Duke of Burgundy and the Ghent Men. "Now Clara," said uncle Rupert, as he took his station by the fireside, " you shall be satisfied as to the fate of the poor Ghent men. " Saturday morning, which you will re- collect was the 3d of May, 1382, was a fine bright day. Philip, before giving any other directions, ordered his whole army to pay their devotions to God, and masses to be said in different places, (for with them were several priests and monks,) that every man should confess himself, and make other be- coming preparations, and that they should 132 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. pray to God with such truth as is felt by people looking alone to Him for mercy." " I do not clearly understand what you mean by masses and confessing, uncle," said Henry. " I remember your speaking of con- fessing before, when you told us of the speech Philip made to the people ; but I did not like to interrupt you just then." " The mass, my dear," replied uncle Ru- pert, " means, properly, the administration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which always forms a part of the ordinary public worship in Roman Catholic churches. The Roman Catholics believe that if they, with true repentance, confess their sins to a priest, he has power, as the minister of God, to declare them in God's name pardoned ; and thus it is the custom with them to con- fess and obtain pardon, or absolution as it is termed, before going into battle, or encoun- tering any other great danger. If the sins committed have been very great, the priest orders the person confessing to submit to such punishment as he shall direct, such as PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 133 fasting, going on pilgrimages to the tombs of holy men who have been long dead, and for their pious lives on earth are believed by them to be now saints in heaven; whipping themselves, or wearing hair shirts ; and many other things, before he will pronounce them absolved from their sins. We, you know, do not believe that any man (for a priest, although the teacher of God's word, is but a mere man like ourselves) has power to declare that God has pardoned the sins of another. But we cannot stop now to talk more on this subject. It is sufficient for you to know what is meant by mass and con- fession. " Mass was celebrated in seven different places, and after mass sermons were preached, which lasted an hour and a half, in which the preachers compared the Ghent men to the people of Israel, and the Earl of Flanders to Pharaoh. After the sermons Philip assembled all his men round a small hill, on which he placed himself, and made a speech to them, in which he encouraged 134 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. them to fight valiantly, and reminded them that, if they were worsted, they had no place to seek shelter in, for it was use- less to think of ever returning to Ghent un- less victorious. He concluded by saying, ' My good friends, you see here all your provision ; divide it amoung you fairly, like brethren, without any disturbance ; for when it is gone you must conquer if you wish to live. 5 " At these words they drew up very reg- ularly and unloaded the carts, when the bags of bread were given out to be divided by companies, and the two tuns of wine placed on their bottoms ; and then they moderately breakfasted, each man having a sufficiency at that time ; after which breakfast they found themselves more de- termined and active on their feet than if they had eaten more. This repast being over, they put themselves in order, and re- tired within their ribeaudeaus. These ribeaudeaus were tall stakes, with points shod with iron, which they were always PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 135 accustomed to carry with them ; they fixed them in front of their army, and enclosed themselves within. " Meantime three knights had been sent out of Bruges to view the Ghent men, and returning to the earl, made a report of what they had seen ; when the earl deter- mined to attack the enemy, and ordered the soldiers and townsmen to make ready. Full forty thousand men, horse and foot, marched out of Bruges : but it was late in the afternoon, near sunset, when they ar- rived opposite the Ghent men. The earl was advised not to fight then, but to wait till morning, when the Ghent men would be weakened by want of food ; but the men of Bruges would not wait, and began to shoot arrows and fire cannons. The Ghent men being collected on an eminence, fired at once three hundred cannon ; after which they marched round the marsh that lay in their front, and placed the men of Bruges with the sun in their eyes, which much distressed them, and then fell upon them, 136 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. shouting out, 'Ghent!' The moment the men of Bruges heard the cannon and the cry of ' Ghent,' and saw them marching to attack them in front, they, like cowards, opened their ranks, and letting the Ghent men pass without making any defence, flung down their staves and run away. The Ghent men were in close order, and, per- ceiving their enemies were defeated, began to strike them down, and kill on all sides. They advanced with a quick step, shout- ing ' Ghent,' and saying, ' let us pursue our enemies, who are defeated, and enter the town with them ; God eyes us this day with looks of pity.' " When the Earl of Flanders and the men-at-arms saw that, by the miserable defence of the men of Bruges, they had caused their own defeat, and that there was not any remedy for it, for every man was running away as fast as he could, they were much surprised, and began to be alarmed for themselves, and to make off in different directions. It is true, that had they PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 137 seen any probability of recovering the loss which the Bruges men were suffering, they would have done some deeds of arms, by which they might have rallied them a little ; but they saw it was hopeless, for they were flying to Bruges in all directions, and neither the son waited for the father, nor the fa- ther for his son. " The men-at-arms broke their ranks, and the earl was obliged to fly, and reached Bruges with only forty of his men. He ordered the gates to be well defended, and issued a proclamation for all the inhabitants to assemble in the market-place ; but before this could be done the Ghent men had en- tered the town with the fugitives, and in- stantly made for the market-place, where they drew themselves up in array. " Sir Robert Marischaut, one of the earl's knights, had been sent to the gates to see that they were guarded ; but while the earl was planning means for defence of the town, he found a gate flung off its hinges, and the Ghent men masters of it. Some 138 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDL. of the citizens said to him, ' Robert, Robert, return and save yourself if you can, for the Ghent men have taken the town.' The knight returned as speedily as he could to the earl, whom he met coming out of his pal- ace on horseback, with a number of torches. The knight told him what he had heard ; but, notwithstanding this, the earl, anxious to de- fend the town, advanced towards the mar- ket-place, and as he was entering it with a number of torches, shouting < Flanders for the Lion ! Flanders for the Earl !' those near him seeing the place full of Ghent men, said, ' My lord, return ; for if you advance further you will be slain, or, at the best, made priso- ner by your enemies, as they are drawn up in the square, and are waiting for you.' " They told him the truth ; for the Ghent men, seeing the great blaze of torches in the street, said, ' Here comes my lord, here comes the earl ; now he falls into our hands!' Philip had given orders to his men, that if the earl should come, every care was to be taken to preserve him from harm, in order PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 139 that he might be carried alive and in good health to Ghent, when they should be able to obtain what peace they chose. The earl, who hoped to be able easily to retrieve all his losses, was advancing, when he was met by some men of the town, very near the place where the Ghent men were drawn up, who said to him, ' Ha ! my lord, go no further, for the Ghent men are masters of the market-place and the town ; you are a dead man if you enter the market-place, and elsewhere you are in danger ; for large parties of the Ghent men are seeking their enemies from street to street ; and there are even many of the men of Bruges in their company, who point out the houses where those they seek are to be met with. You must take the greatest precautions to save yourself; for you cannot pass the gates without being slain or taken, for the Ghent men are in possession of them ; nor can you return to your palace, for a large body of Ghent men are gone thither.' M The earl was very much alarmed when 140 PHILIF VAN ARTAVELDE. he found he was in such danger, and re- solved to follow the advice he had received, and to go no further. He ordered the torches to be extinguished, and said to them about him, c I see it is impossible to remedy this mishap. I therefore give permission for every one to depart, and save himself in the best manner he can.' His orders were obeyed. The torches were put out and thrown down, and all who were in company with the earl separated and went away. He himself went into a by-street, where he was disarmed by his servant ; he then put on the man's long riding cloak and sent him away. " The earl .thus remained alone in the greatest danger. He wandered from street to street till a late hour, carefully avoiding the parties of Ghent men who were running over the town, searching every house for friends of the earl. At length, quite wearied out, he entered the house of a poor woman — not the palace of a great lord, with halls and spacious chambers, but a small, poor, PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 141 dirty house, all black with the smoke of the peat-fire ; there was only in this place one poor chamber, over which was a sort of gar- ret that was entered by means of a ladder of seven steps, where, on a miserable bed, the children of this woman lay. " The earl entered the house with fear and trembling, and said to the woman, who was also much frightened : ' Woman, save me; I am thy lord, the Earl of Flanders; but at this moment I must hide myself, for my enemies are in pursuit of me, and I will handsomely reward thee for the favour thou showest me.' The poor woman knew him well, for she had frequently received alms at his door, and had often seen him pass and repass, when he was going to some amuse- ment or hunting. She was ready with her answers, all which were of the greatest ser- vice to the earl ; for had she hesitated ever so little, the earl would have been discovered talking to her by the fireside. ' My lord,' said she, ' mount the ladder, and get under the bed in which my children sleep.' This 142 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. he did, while she remained by the fire rock- ing another of the children in a cradle. The earl mounted the ladder as quickly as he could, and getting between the straw which formed the bed and the coverlet, hid himself, and contracted his body into as little space as possible. He had scarcely done so, when some of the mob of Ghent entered the house, for one of them said he had seen a man go in there. They found this woman sitting by the fire rocking the cradle, of whom they demanded, ; Woman, where is the man we saw enter this house, and shut the door after him ?' — ' By my troth,' replied she, ' I have not seen any one enter here this night ; but I have just been at the door to throw out some water, and 1 shut it after me; besides, I have not any place to hide him in, for you see the whole of the house ; here is my bed, and my children sleep overhead.' — Upon this, one of them took a candle, and mount- ed the ladder, and thrusting his head into the place, saw nothing but the wretched bed in which the children were asleep. He PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 143 looked all about him, above and below, and then said to his companions, f Come, come, let us go, we only lose our time here ; the poor woman speaks truth ; there is not a soul but herself and children.' — So saying, they left the house and went away, and no one afterwards entered it with bad inten- tions. " The Earl of Flanders, who heard all that passed as he lay hid, was, as may easi- ly be imagined, in the greatest fear for his life. In the morning he could have said he was one of the most powerful princes in Christendom, but that night he felt himself one of the smallest. It may truly be said that the fortunes of this world are not stable, and this miraculous escape should have been remembered by him all his life." " Did he contrive to get out of the town ?" said Clara. " Yes," replied uncle Rupert. " On the Sunday evening, when it was dark, he es- caped from Bruges ; but Froissart says that he was ignorant how he accomplished it, or 144 PHILIP VAN ARfTAVELDE. whether he had assistance ; but he supposes he could not have done it had he not been aided by persons in the town. He got out on foot, and when he reached the open fields he felt quite joyous, as he might then say he had escaped the greatest peril. He wandered about at first, and came to a thornbush, to consider whither he should go; for he w 7 as unacquainted with the paths and country, having never before travelled on foot. As he lay thus, hid under the bush, he heard a voice which he knew to be that of one of his knights, the same Robert Mareschaut whom he had sent to the gates of Bruges. The earl called out to him, l Robert, art thou there ?' The knight, who knew him at once, replied, ' Ah ! my lord, I have had much trouble in seeking for you all round Bruges. How have you contrived to es- cape ?' — ' Come, come, Robert,' said the earl, i this is not a time to tell one's adven- tures ; endeavour to get me a horse, for 1 am tired with walking, and take the road to Lille, if thou knowest it.' — ' My lord,' an- PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 145 swered the knight, ' 1 know it well.' — They then travelled all that night, but could not find a horse till the morning. The first beast thej could find was a mare belonging to a poor man in a village. The earl mount- ed her, without saddle or bridle, and travel- ling all Monday, came towards evening to the castle of Lille, whither the greater part of his knights who had escaped from the battle of Bruges had retired. — Now we will return to the Ghent men. " Philip Van Artavelde and Peter du Bois committed the management of the Ghent men in Bruges to Francis Atre- men. Strict orders were given that no foreign merchant should be injured in per- son or property, and those were strictly obeyed. But the whole vengeance of the Ghent men was let loose on the four trades of jerkin-makers, glassmen, butchers, and fishermen, for they had been partisans of the earl. They were sought for every where, and when found killed without mercy. Upwards of twelve hundred were 146 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. slain that night, and many murders and robberies committed which were never known ; several houses were pillaged, and a variety of wicked deeds done, insomuch that the poorest of the Ghent army became rich. But when the first violence was over, Froissart says that no people ever behaved themselves better towards their enemies than the men of Ghent did to those of Bruges, nor conducted themselves more graciously to a conquered town. They did no harm to any of the small tradesmen, unless there were very strong accusations against them. When Philip, Peter, and the other captains saw that they were completely masters of the place, they issued out a proclamation in their name, for all persons to retire to their houses ; and that no one should break open or pillage any house, nor attempt to raise any riot, under pain of death. " They then inquired what had become of the earl. Some said he had left the town on Saturday night ; others, that he PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 147 was yet in Bruges, so closely hid that he could not be found. The captains of the Ghent army paid no great attention to him ; for they were so rejoiced at their victory, that they thought nothing of any earl, baron, or knight in Flanders, and looked on themselves as so mighty, that all the world must obey them. They next thought of sending provisions to Ghent, for they had left neither corn nor wine in the town. They instantly sent a large party to Damme and Sluys, to gain those towns and the provision that was in them, in order to supply their fellow-citi- zens in Ghent. On the detachment arriv- ing at Damme, the gates were thrown open, and the town, with all in it, surren- dered. They ordered out of the cellars the fine wines of Poitou, Gascony, and La Rochelle, and from other distant countries, to the amount of six thousand tuns, which they loaded on carriages, and sent, partly by land and partly by boats, on the river Lys to Ghent. 148 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. " They then marched on to Sluys, which instantly submitted to them, and opened its gates. They found there great quanti- ties of casks of corn and flour, in ships and in the storehouses of foreign merchants, and having paid for the whole, sent it by land and water to Ghent. ' Thus,' says Sir John, ' was Ghent delivered from famine, through the mercy of God. It could not have happened otherwise ; and well ought the Ghent men to have remembered it ; for that God assisted them is very clear, when five thousand famished men defeated forty thousand, even before their own doors. They and their leaders ought to have hum- bled themselves ; however they did not, but rather increased their pride, insomuch that God was angered with them, and pun- ished their folly before the year had ex- pired, as shall be related in the course of this history, for an example to the rest of the world.' " All Flanders now submitted to the government of Philip Van Artavelde, who PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 149 kept the state of a prince. He had his minstrels to play before him at his dinners and suppers, and was served on plate as if he had been Earl of Flanders ; for he had possessed himself of all the plate, both gold and silver, that had belonged to the earl, as well as the jewels and furniture of his apartments found in his palace at Bruges. He kept a magnificent establish- ment of horses, and was as grand in his house as the Earl of Flanders at Lille. He had his officers throughout Flanders, such as bailiffs, governors, receivers, and sergeants, who every week brought consid- erable sums to Ghent, where he kept his state, and was clothed in scarlet robes lined with furs, like the Duke of Brabant or Earl of Hainault. He had also his ex- chequer chamber, where the money was paid as to the earl ; and he gave dinners and suppers to the ladies and damsels of Ghent, as the earl used to do ; and, like him, was not more sparing of his money where his pleasures were concerned. When 150 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. he wrote, he signed himself * Philip Van Artavelde, protector of Flanders.' " Only two towns still held out for the Earl of Flanders, who was completely dis- possessed of all the rest of the country. These were Lille, where the earl resided, and Oudenarde, which was strongly fortifi- ed, and into which the earl had sent all the best soldiers he could gather together, and had placed it under the care of a very brave and skilful commander, named Daniel de Haluyn. " Philip Van Artavelde resolved on taking Oudenarde, and, accordingly, after com- mitting the charge of Bruges to Peter du Bois, he collected an army of a hundred thousand men, and marched thither. He made many attacks on the place, but with- out any success, for neither he nor any of his captains had much knowledge of the art of taking walled cities. Indeed Frois- sart laughs at him, and says he knew much better how to fish with a rod and line in the Scheldt and Lys, than to attack a fortress. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 151 Finding that he could make no impression on the town, he surrounded it on the land side with his troops ; and as the Ghent men had the command of the river, and had, be- sides, driven large stakes into its bed to prevent the approach of any vessels, he ef- fectually prevented the people in the town from receiving any supplies, hoping thus to starve them into submission. But as they had plenty of provisions, they held out stoutly. " The camp before Oudenarde presented a curious scene, for the Ghent men carried on their business there as if they had been at home. They had halls for cloth, furs, and merceries. Every Saturday was the market, to which were brought, from the neighbouring villages, all sorts of groceries, fruits, butter, milk, cheese, poultry, and other things. There were taverns, as plenty as at Brussels, where Rhenish wines, and those of France, Malmsey, and other for- eign wines were sold cheap. Every one might go thither, and pass and repass with- 152 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. out peril ; that is to say, of Brabant, Hain- ault, Germany, and Liege, but not those of France. " Whilst the army lay before Oudenarde, parties were continually going out, who burned and destroyed all the gentlemen's houses in the country. Amongst others, they plundered a beautiful house belonging to the earl, called Marie, where he had been born ; and as if they were desirous of doing every thing to vex and annoy him, they broke the font in which he had been baptized, battered to pieces and carried away the silver cradle in which he had been nursed, and the tub he had been bathed in when an infant. These things especially provoked him. " These plundering parties at length car- ried matters rather too far, for on one of their expeditions they went beyond their own bounds, and burned several villages in the French territory. The Earl of Flanders had before applied for help from France ; but he was much disliked there, and his re- 3LT ~ HOTEL DE VILLE, OUDENARDE. W'^fp^^tlf PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 153 quest was neglected. But now the Duke of Burgundy, who was the uncle of the young King Charles VI. of France, and who, in right of his wife, expected to suc- ceed to Flanders after the earl's death, thought there was a favourable opportunity for procuring assistance from that kingdom. The young king, who was only fourteen, was delighted at the idea of seeing some- thing of war ; and as the French territory had been invaded, and it was no longer only the Earl of Flanders' quarrel, his council were not averse to march against Van Arta- velde. A large armament was quickly as- sembled, and marching towards Flanders. " When Philip heard that the French had taken arms against him, he ordered all the bridges over the Lys to be broken down, and posted strong bodies of troops on the banks, and hoped by this means to check the advance of the French, as that river forms the natural defence of Flanders on the French side, and is not fordable ; and it being now the month of November, he con- 8 154 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. eluded that they would not keep the field or attempt to take any other road if they were disappointed in crossing the Lys, and that he need not fear any further disturbance until the spring. But the French forced the passage of the river at Commines, desper- ately wounded Peter du Bois, who attempt- ed to oppose them, dispersed his men, and marched forward into the country, when the towns every where opened their gates to them. Philip, who was still before Ouden- arde, was much dispirited at this intelli- gence, especially as he had not yet received any aid from England, whither he had sent to beg for assistance. He immediately raised the siege, went to Ghent, and col- lected as many men as he could muster, for the greater part of the army he had led to Oudenarde had returned to their homes ; and with them, and all the other troops he could get together, amounting in all to about fifty thousand men, he advanced to meet the French, who were posted between Rollers and Rosebecque, about a league and a half PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 155 from Ypres, to the number of sixty thousand men of all sorts. The French had also a vast superiority in point of arms. The ar- mour of the greater part of the troops was excellent, and they carried well-tempered lances and swords : whereas, the armour of the Ghent men was very inferior ; few hav- ing more than a coat of mail, which was but a feeble protection from a well-tempered lance ; and many being only furnished with haquetons, a padded dress usually worn un- der the armour ; and for offensive weapons they had only ironheaded pikes, (Froissart calls them staves, pointed and bound with iron,) and large knives hanging down from their girdles. u They encamped opposite each other, on the evening of Wednesday the 26th of No- vember, 1382, and waited for the morning to give battle. Philip assembled his cap- tains to supper, and made a speech to en- courage them. In the morning he led out his men before it was light, and formed them in order of battle, in a position strong- 156 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. \y defended by thickets and bushes ; but he afterwards advanced further towards the French, and took his station on the top of a hill in the front. Philip reminded his men that they had won the battle of Bruges by keeping close together, and he recommended them to pursue the same course here. He arranged them in a close body, and ordered them to lock their arms together, so that their ranks should not be broken, and in this position they awaited the enemy. When the French were drawn out, the Flemings began to move, and after firing several can- nons and bombards, which put the French in some disorder, rushed down upon them, and, for a time, drove them back. But the French, recovering, closed round the Flem- ings, and attacking them on the sides, or the flanks, as they are termed in speaking of an army, with their sharp spears and swords, drove them one upon another in such a manner that they could not use their weapons. They lost both strength and breath, and falling upon one another, were stifled to death without striking a blow. PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 157 u Philip Van Artavelde was surrounded, wounded by spears, and beaten down, with numbers of the Ghent men, who were his guards. The men-at-arms struck down the Flemings on all sides with their well-sharp- ened battle-axes, with which they cut through helmets and disbrained heads; oth- ers gave such blows with leaden maces, that nothing could withstand them. Scarcely were the Flemings overthrown, before the pillagers advanced, who, mixing with the men-at-arms, made use of the large knives they carried, and finished slaying whoever fell into their hands, without more mercy than if they had been so many dogs. The clattering on the helmets, by the axes and maces, was so loud, that nothing else could be heard for the noise. It was as if all the armourers of Paris had been working at their trade. There was a large and high mount of the Flemings who were slain, and never was there seen so little blood spilt at so great a battle were such numbers were killed. When those in the rear saw the 158 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. front fail, they threw away their staves and armour, and fled to Courtray and other places. The French followed them far, and numbers were killed in the pursuit. " After the battle there was a general inquiry as to what had become of Van Ar- tavelde ; and the young king having ex- pressed a wish to see him dead or alive, a diligent search was made, and his body was found and brought to the king's pavil- ion. The king looked at him for some time, as did the other lords. He was turned over and over to see if he had died of wounds, but none were found that could have caused his death. He had been squeezed in the crowd, and falling into a ditch, numbers of Ghent men fell upon him, and died in his company. When they had satisfied their curiosity, he was taken away and hanged on a tree, — a mean re- venge, unworthy of a king. " Such was the end of Philip Van Arta- velde, who for six months was master of all Flanders, and paid for his ambition with his life." PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 159 " Poor Philip !" said Clara ; " though I do not like all he did, yet I cannot help pitying him." " I suppose after his death the Ghent men did not venture to make any more war ?" said Henry. " At first they were in despair," said un- cle Rupert ; " but no sooner did Peter du Bois, who, wounded as he was, caused him- self to be carried to Ghent from Bruges, appear among them, than he roused their spirits, and under his guidance, and that of Francis Atremen, they maintained them- selves with various successes for three years longer. During this time they received a good deal of assistance from England, and an English governor was even sent over there, which greatly assisted them. But at last the people became weary of a contest from which they gained no advantage, and which was ruining the trade of the city ; and a few of them, taking secret counsel together, (for if their plans had come to the ears of Peter du Bois, he would have put a 160 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. stop to them,) opened a communication with the Duke of Burgundy, who, by the death of the Earl of Flanders, who died in 1384, was now lord of the country. The duke promised a free and unconditional par- don to all, not excepting even Peter du Bois, and promised to confirm all the privileges of Ghent and the other Flemish towns. Mat- ters were managed so well, that although the good news was now known to great numbers of the inhabitants, Peter heard nothing of it until the very evening before the day appointed for delivering up the town to the duke. He and lord Bouchier, the English governor, made an effort to pre- vent any reconciliation with the duke, but they were disappointed. The peace was proclaimed. The duke and duchess visited the city, and a treaty fulfilling all the duke's promises, and even going beyond them, by persuading the Duchess of Brabant, the Regent of Hainault, and many lords and other gentlemen who had received damage in the course of the war, to grant peace m wi m ■■•■ 1 'Ik PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. 161 and forgiveness to the Ghent men, was signed at Tournay, on the 18th of Decem- ber, 1385. And now, at last, the restless city of Ghent, and the country of Flanders, to which it had caused such great misfor- tunes, once more enjoyed the blessings of peace. " The English were dismissed honoura- bly, and Peter du Bois very wisely deter- mined to accompany them ; for he was afraid that the relations of some of those whom he had put to death while he was in power, would revenge themselves upon him. He, therefore, asked and obtained leave to transport himself, his family, and his trea- sures — for he had accumulated much wealth — to England, where he was very well re- ceived by King Richard, who retained him in his service, and granted him a hundred marcs yearly revenue. He strongly advised Francis Atremen to accompany him, but he was obstinate ; yet he would have done well if he had listened to Peter, for not long after he was assasinated by a son of 8* 162 PHILIP VAN ARTAVELDE. the Lord de Harzelle, who, for some rea- son which Froissart does not mention, had been put to death by his means. Thus we see that Peter du Bois, the most turbulent of all the chief captains of Ghent, was the only one who escaped a violent death." JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 163 FIFTH EVENING. JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. Ladies' Head-dresses — fl Au Hennin" — Jacqueline of Holland — Her unfortunate Second Marriage — Escapes to England — Marries the Duke of Gloucester — Is joyfully received in Hain- ault — Betrayed by the Inhabitants of Mons — Her subsequent Adventures, and Death. " Well, Clara," said uncle Rupert, as he came softly behind his little niece, who was so busily engaged at the workr- table that she had not heard him enter the room, "Well, Clara, pray what are you about that interests you so deeply ?" " Oh ! dear uncle," said Clara, with a start ; " I really did not know you were in the room. Why do you know, the baby- clothes are all done ; and mamma and I went yesterday, and carried them to the poor woman ; and she was so glad to have them, and we were so glad to give them, that we came back very merry indeed. And do you know, I made a snow-ball, and 164 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 1 threw it at mamma, and it broke all in a white shower over her cloak, and we both laughed so much." " But what is this ?" said uncle Rupert, lifting what seemed a tangled mass of shreds of many-coloured ribbons, and holding it most carefully suspended be- tween his finger and thumb. " Oh ! uncle dear," cried Clara, eagerly taking it out of his hands ; " you will spoil my mamma-doll's best visiting turban." " Your mamma-doll !" said Uucle Ru- pert ; " what, has she any children ?" " Oh ! yes," said Clara ; " she has six children and a baby-house ; and I am get- ting ready her dress for to-morrow, when she and I are going to visit cousin Emily ; and so you must not meddle with my work, for I do not think you know much about ladies' caps." " Do I not ?" said uncle Rupert. « I think I can show you some even more fan- tastic than your doll's turban. See here, Clara," he continued, showing her the pic- JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 165 ture you behold on the opposite page. " Do you not think I may set up for a man- milliner ?" " Oh ! uncle, uncle," cried Clara, " surely you do not mean to say that ladies can wear such hideous things upon their heads ? See this one, it is just like a pair of horns." " Indeed I do," replied her uncle ; " and they thought them quite as beautiful as you think your doll's turban. They ornamented them with lace and jewels ; and although I think they must have often caused them head-aches, they were very proud of them, until at last they grew so very ridiculous, and women spent such enormous sums upon their head-dresses, that every body began to laugh at them, and even the little boys in the street used to ruu after them, crying out, 4 Au Hennin ! Au Hennin !' making a sound something like the bray of a donkey, just as we say ' Ey-au,' when we mean to imitate the same sound ; meaning, I sup- pose, that the great peaks of the caps were like asses' ears; so that, at last, the poor 166 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. ladies were fairly laughed out of their ex- travagant head-dresses, and dressed them- selves in somewhat better taste." " Well, uncle, that is curious enough," said Clara; "but I must go and bring Henry to laugh at their funny caps ; and, uncle, I hope you are going to tell us a story to-night, for you know Henry, poor fellow, goes to school to-morrow, and there will be an end of our quiet evenings to- gether, for I enjoy nothing so much when he is not here." " I am going away for several weeks myself," said uncle Rupert ; " and were Henry likely to stay longer, I should not be able to tell you any more stories. So as this is the last evening, and as we have been talking about the ladies, I will tell you a story of a young and beautiful prin- cess, who lived at the very time these head-dresses were worn, and I dare say often wore such herself, whose history is so extraordinary — so filled with adventure, — that, were its truth not well known, we JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 167 should be apt to think it only the fancied tale of a romance writer." Clara then ran to fetch Henry, and having brought him and mamma too, and both having duly admired the head-dresses " Au Hennin," uncle Rupert thus began : — " Jacqueline, the Countess of Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Ostrevant, was equally remarkable for her beauty and her mental endowments. She was one of the most accomplished women of her time, and possessed a spirit that nothing could sub- due. But from the death of her father her life was one course of dark misfortune, with but few gleams of sunshine to gladden it. Seldom has any young and beautiful princess been so abandoned by the world, even by those who were bound by kindred blood to succour her, as Jacqueline ; and I know of no instance in which a spirit equal to hers has faced and outbraved such cruel desolation. " Before I go further, I must make you understand exactly who Jacqueline was. 168 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. Duke Albert of Bavaria, whom I mentioned before, when speaking of Van Artavelde, as earl or regent of Hainault, left two sons — William, to whom he gave Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Ostrevant , and John, who was at once the Prince and Bishop of Liege, and had other possessions. William married Margaret, daughter of Philip, duke of Burgundy — the same we have spoken of in the story of Van Arta- velde — and dying in 1417, left an only child, Jacqueline, then seventeen years old, who succeeded him in all his possessions. Although so young, she was already a wid- ow, having been married two years before to the Duke of Touraine, son of the King of France, a young prince of her own age, who died a short time before Jacqueline lost her father. " Anthony, second son of Duke Philip of Burgundy, was created Duke of Brabant. He was killed in 1415, at the battle of Agincourt, and left two sons, Philip, who died soon after his father, and John, who, JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 169 on his brother's death, became Duke of Brabant, whilst under age. " Philip, the present Duke of Burgundy, was the son of John the Intrepid, uncle of Jacqueline and of John of Brabant, and, consequently, was first-cousin to both of them. Jacqueline's mother, who was still living, was his aunt, and John of Brabant's father, who was dead, had been his uncle. " Jacqueline and John of Brabant were first-cousins, and Jacqueline was John's god- mother. " John, the Bishop, who was a bad man, made war on his niece, as soon as her father, his own brother, died. He said Duke Al- bert, his father, had not divided his domin- ions equally, and that he ought to have Hol- land. But even if he had been right, it was a cowardly thing to attack his niece, when he had never attempted to make the claim whilst her father lived. " Soon after this the Bishop of Liege, al- though contrary to the rules of the church, married John of Brabant's mother, and 170 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. Jacqueline's mother now thought she saw a mode of stopping the war between the un- cle and niece. She thought that if Jacque- line would consent to marry her cousin, John of Brabant, that the Bishop would, for the sake of his wife and her son, cease to make war upon his niece * Jacqueline very unwillingly consented to this arrangement. John of Brabant was only fifteen years of age ; he was, besides, weak and disagreea- ble in person, and his mind was equally fee- ble. Never was there a more ill-matched pair, and poor Jacqueline soon repented that she had yielded to her mother's persuasions, and began to think that peace with her un- cle of Liege was dearly purchased by a union which caused her so much unhappi- ness. At length she became so disgusted with her young husband's behaviour, in ut- terly neglecting her, and associating with persons far below him in station, that she resolved on leaving him. The Duke of Burgundy and her mother vainly attempted to reconcile them; but they could never JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 171 prevail. on her to return to the duke. She declared that she would find means to effect a divorce, so that she might marry again with some other person who would pay at- tentions to her becoming her rank ; and she returned to the palace of her mother, whom she much blamed for having urged her mar- riage to the duke. " She soon after visited the town of Va- lenciennes with her mother, and after re- maining there a short time, she left her there to visit her town of Bouchain. But whilst she was at Valenciennes, she had ar- ranged a plan by which she hoped to escape entirely from the control of her relations, who were continually endeavouring to re- unite her with her husband. The day after she arrived at Bouchain, she left the town early in the morning, and was met on the plain, outside the walls, by the Lord d'Escaillon, a Hainaulter, but devoted to the cause of the English, who were now masters of almost all France. She had conversed with him several times at Valen- 172 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. ciennes, and he had promised to escort her to England, where she intended to put her- self under the protection of King Henry. The Lord d'Escaillon had about sixty lances with him, and under his guidance she took the road to Calais, and rode the first day as far as Hedin, near to St. Pol, thence straight to Calais, whence, after some stay, she crossed over to England, where she was most honourably received by the king, who made her general promises of aid in all her concerns. But beyond giving her his countenance by permitting her resi- dence at his court, he could undertake nothing in her behalf, as all his attention was given to his own affairs in France : and it is probable also, that he was unwilling to offend the Duke of Burgundy, to whom he owed much of the power with which he was invested there ; and his death, which oc- curred in August, 1422, put an end to her hopes from that quarter. I may here just mention that it was during her residence at Henry's court that his son, afterwards Hen- JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 173 ry VI., was born, and Jacqueline was one of his godmothers. " But though she had lost one protector, another was ready. This was the Duke of Gloucester, who held the office of Protec- tor of England, whilst his brother Bedford was regent in France. Jacqueline had ap- plied to the Pope for a divorce from her hus- band, founded upon their too close connec- tion in relationship, according to the rules of the church ; and also upon their relative po- sition as godmother and godson, an objec- tion that was, and I believe still is, upheld by the Roman Catholic church, although very absurd. But without waiting for the Pope's decision, Gloucester, asserting that her marriage with the Duke of Brabant was, from these causes, of no effect from the be- ginning, married her himself in the spring of 1423, and then claimed all her dominions as her husband. There is something very singular in this marriage between Glouces- ter and Jacqueline. That affection had no place in it, and that they never contemplated 174 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. living together as man and wife, is clear from a letter of Jacqueline's, which I shall read to you presently, in which she styles him her lord and father, and from some other circumstances. It is evident that the cere- mony was performed merely to give Glou- cester a show of right in undertaking to re- store her to her dominions, and in sharing them with her. But that a man of so much good sense, as Gloucester undoubtedly was, should suffer himself to be so carried away, either by ambition or compassion- — and pro- bably both influenced him, for his temper was noble and generous — as to insult the Pope by his precipitate marriage, and take a part in family disputes which he knew must be very displeasing to Burgundy, is strange indeed. Burgundy at last became so much offended at his conduct, that he, not long after, reconciled himself to Charles VII., the king of France ; and as he had hitherto been the main support of the Eng- lish in France, it is more than probable, that, if Jacqueline had not sought refuge in Eng- JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 175 land, not even Joan of Arc could have re- stored Charles to the throne of his ances- tors. " During Jacqueline's absence the Duke of Brabant had taken possession of all her dominions ; but now Gloucester and his wife crossed over to Calais, and sent to de- mand that the whole should be given up to them. Bedford, eager to prevent the mis- chief he foresaw, engaged Burgundy to join with him in endeavouring to settle the dis- pute between the rival claimants. They prepared a treaty, which they proposed should be accepted by both parties; but only Brabant agreed to the terms, while Gloucester refused them, and advanced with his wife to take possession by force of arms. On entering Hainault, all the towns opened their gates, and joyfully acknowledged them as their lawful sovereigns ; and although Burgundy took up arms in his nephew's cause, and some fighting ensued, yet when Gloucester, who was obliged to return to England early in the year 1425, left his wife 176 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. behind him, at the request of the nobles and deputies from the principal towns of Hain- ault, he believed that he left her in perfect security, more especially as all the inhabit- ants of the town of Mons, where she took up her residence, solemnly swore to guard and defend her against all who might at- tempt to injure her. But, alas ! poor Jacqueline, she found her friends faithless, and even her own mother fell away from her. " The Pope, who had suffered several years to pass without doing any thing re- garding Jacqueline's marriage to the Duke of Brabant, now began stir in it ; and it was privately agreed between Jacqueline's mother and the . Duke of Burgundy, that, until the Pope's pleasure was known, Hain- ault should be restored to the government of the Duke of Brabant, and that, in the mean time, Jacqueline should be committed to the care of her cousin Burgundy. " The towns began to revolt, and place themselves under the government of the JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 177 Duke of Brabant, or rather that of the Duke of Burgundy, who was the real mas- ter ; and the people of Mons, who were threatened by the enemy, and very short of provisions, rose up against Jacqueline, and told her plainly that if she did not make peace, they would deliver her into the hands of the Duke of Brabant : at the same time, they imprisoned many of her attendants, some of whom they afterwards executed. " In this distress she wrote the follow- ing letter to the Duke of Gloucester, which is one of the most touching appeals I ever read : — " « My very dear and redoubted lord and father, in the most humble of manners in this world, I recommend myself to your kind favour. May it please you to know, my very redoubted lord and father, that I address myself to your glorious power, as the most doleful, most ruined, and most treacherously-deceived woman living ; for, my very dear lord, on Sunday the 13th of 9 178 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. this present month of June, the deputies of jour town of Mons returned, and brought with them a treaty that had been agreed on between our fair cousin of Burgundy and our fair cousin of Brabant, which treaty had been made in the absence and without the knowledge of my mother, as she herself signifies to me, and confirmed by her chaplain, Master Gerard le Grand. My mother, most redoubted lord, has writ- ten to me letters certifying the above treaty having been made ; but that, in regard to it, she knew not how to advise me, for that she was herself doubtful how to act. She desired me, however, to call an assembly of the principal burghers of Mons, and learn from them what aid and advice they were willing to give me. " * Upon this, my sweet lord and father, I went on the morrow to the town-house, and remonstrated with them, that it had been at their request and earnest entrea- ties that you had left me under their safe- guard, and on their oaths that they would JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 179 be true and loyal subjects, and take espe- cial care of me, so that they should be enabled to give you good accounts on your return,- — and these oaths had been taken on the holy sacrament at the altar, and on the sacred evangelists. " ' To this harangue, my dear and hon- oured lord, they simply replied, that they were not sufficiently strong within the town to defend and guard me ; and instan- taneously they rose in tumult, saying that my people wanted to murder them ; and, my sweet lord, they carried matters so far, that, despite of me, they arrested one of your sergeants, called Maquart, whom they immediately beheaded, and hanged very many who were of your party and strongly attached to your interest, such as Bardaul de la Porte, his brother Colart, Gilet de la Porte, Jean Du Bois, Guillaume de Liter, Sauson your sergeant, Pierre, Baron, Sandart, Uandre and others, to the number of two hundred and fifty of your adherents. They also wished to seize Sir 180 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. Baldwin the treasurer, Sir Louis de Mont- fort, Haulnere, Jean Fresne, and Estienne d'Estre, but though they did not succeed, I know not what they intend doing ; for, my very dear lord, they plainly told me, that unless I make peace, they will deliver me into the hands of the Duke of Brabant, and that I shall only remain eight days longer in their town, when I shall be forced to go into Flanders, which will be to me the most painful of events ; for I very much fear, that unless you shall hasten to free me from the hands I am now in, I shall never see you more. 'J ' Alas ! my most dear and redoubted father, my whole hope is in your power, seeing, my sweet lord and only delight, that all my sufferings arise from my love to you. I, therefore, entreat, in the most humble manner possible, and for the love of God, that you would be pleased to have compassion on me and on my affairs ; for you must hasten to succour your most doleful creature, if you do not wish to lose JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 181 her for ever. I have hopes that you will do as 1 beg, for, dear father, I have never behaved ill to you in my whole life, and so long as I shall live, I will never do any thing to displease you, but I am ready to die for love of you and your noble person. " ' Your government pleases me much, and, by my faith, my very redoubted lord and prince, my sole consolation and hope, I beg you will consider, by the love of God and of my lord St. George, the melancholy situation of myself and my affairs, more maturely than you have hitherto done, for you seem entirely to have forgotten me. Nothing more do 1 know at present, than that I ought sooner have sent Sir Louis de Montfort to you ; for he cannot longer re- main here, although he attended me when all the rest deserted me ; and he will tell you more particularly all that has hap- pened than I can do in a letter. I entreat, therefore, that you will be a kind lord to him, and send me your good pleasure and commands, which I will most heartily obey. 9* 182 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. This is known to the blessed Son of God, whom I pray to grant you a long and happy life, and that I may have the great joy of seeing you soon. " ' Written in the false and traitorous town of Mons, with a doleful heart, the 6th day of June.' The signature below was, ' Your sorrowful and well-beloved daugh- ter, suffering great grief by your com- mands. — Your daughter, Jacqueline De QUIENEBOURG.' " Gloucester, who would willingly have sent aid to Jacqueline had it been in his power, was now quite helpless ; for on his re- turn he had been severely blamed for what he had alread v done, and was refused all further supplies of men or money. Jacqueline was therefore obliged to submit, and surrendered herself to the Duke of Burgundy, who sent her to Ghent, where she was lodged and at- tended as became her rank. But her free spirit could not brook constraint, and she began to devise means of escape. " One evening, about the beginning of JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 183 September, while her guards were at sup- per, she dressed herself in man's clothes, as did one of her women, and quitting her apartments unobserved, they mounted horses which were waiting for them, and escorted by two men, rode off full gallop from Ghent to Antwerp, where she re-assumed her fe- male dress, and thence proceeded on a car to Breda and to Gertruydenburg, where she was honourably received, and obeyed as their princess. " She then sent for the Lord de Montfort, her principal adviser, to meet her, and many of the noble barons of Holland, to take counsel with them on the state of her af- fairs. The Duke of Burgundy collected his men-at-arms to pursue her, and a furious war began between them. When the Duke of Gloucester heard of her situation, he sent over a body of five hundred chosen English soldiers, under the command of the Lord Fitzwalter, who gave her much assistance. But in the course of the next year (1426), the Pope pronounced his definite sentence, 184 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. by which he declared that the marriage be- tween the Duke of Gloucester and Jacque- line was null and void, and that if the Duke of Brabant should die, the said Duke of Gloucester and the Duchess Jacqueline could not be legally married to each other. The Duke of Gloucester upon this abandoned all hope of ever establishing himself in Hainault or Holland, married another wo- man, and left poor Jacqueline to her fate. She still continued to defend herself with spirit, when the death of John of Brabant should have left her in undisputed possession of all her dominions, since there was none now who could pretend to any right to in- terfere with her. But the Duke of Bur- gundy, who had determined to wrest all from her, still continued the war, and call- ing an assembly of the nobility at Valen- ciennes, they, after the mockery of a sol- emn deliberation, decided that the govern- ment should remain in the hands of the Duke of Burgundy as her guardian. He now pushed on the war with more fierce- JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 185 ness than ever. Town after town surren- dered, and at last poor Jacqueline was cooped up in the little town of Gouda. He brought so overwhelming a force against it, that she was compelled to surrender, and to consent to a treaty, by which she was bound to appoint the Duke of Burgundy the true and lawful heir of all her territories : she was, thenceforth, to appoint him governor and guardian of them, and to give up all towns and castles she still held — and she was never to marry without his consent. " After committing this barefaced rob- bery, for it was no better, he had the cruelty to insist on her accompanying him to all the towns of Holland and Hainault, where he obliged the inhabitants to swear obedience to him, that her presence might give a sanc- tion to the proceeding. Tn some places they were received with honour and respect, but in others there was much dissatisfac- tion ; but they could then see no means to remedy it. This occurred in the year 1428. "The rest of this unfortunate lady's story 186 JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. is soon told. When the duke quitted the country, he left Francis de Borselle, a no- bleman of high rank, behind him as his lieutenant. In July, 1433, the countess married this gentleman, in violation of the engagement not to marry without the duke's consent. Upon this he entered the country, seized Borselle, confined him in the tower of Rupelmonde, and threatened to put him to death. Jacqueline, to save her husband's life, made an absolute grant of the whole of her estates to Philip, who graciously be- stowed the country of Ostrevant, the lord- ships of Brill and South Beveland, with the collection of certain tolls and imposts, upon her ; and for the future she was to take no other title than that of Countess of Ostre- vant. She was now, at last, having nothing more to tempt the hand of the spoiler, suf- fered to rest in peace with her husband ; but she did not long enjoy tranquillity on earth, for death put a period to her eventful history in the month of October, 1436." " Alas ! poor Jacqueline," said mamma, JACQUELINE OF HOLLAND. 187 " hers was indeed a sad and melancholy his- tory. Happier, far happier had it been for her, to have been born the daughter of a cottager, than the heiress of dukedoms and principalities. The very riches and honours thai seemed to secure her happiness, proved the source of all her calamities. Truly spoke the Spanish poet when he ex- claimed : — " ' Say, then, how poor and little worth Are all those glittering toys of earth That lure ns here; Dreams of a sleep that Death must break — Alas ! before it bids us wake. Ye disappear.' " THE END. a w H 3 s . I Q I THE STOEY OF JOAN OF ARC CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Last summer I travelled through the north of France, and wandered over many spots whose names are recorded in the his- tory of those days when England ruled over great part of that fair country. In the bustling town of Havre, in her streets crowded with busy merchants, her quays lumbered with cotton bales, and her docks filled with steam vessels, there are few traces of the little fishing village, whose name finds no place in history until long after the period when France owned the British monarch for her lord ; though there is one old tower, facing the sea at the en- trance of the port, which bears evidence of 2 10 INTRODUCTORY. an origin before the use of the cross-bow was quite laid aside for the cannon and musket. Its walls are sculptured over with cannon-balls and cross-bow bolts, as if half imbedded there, in token, I presume, that the builders considered them too thick to be endangered by the most formidable ar- tillery. But when proceeding along the beautiful banks of the Seine we reach the old town of Harfleur, now reduced to a village, whilst the poor little Havre has grown into a great city, we find many things to recall the days of England's triumph. There are the ruins of the very walls surmounted by our warriors, and in an old piece of mason- ry a massive staple still exists on which perhaps hung the very gate which was flung back to admit the conqueror, who, there dismounting, made bare his legs and feet, and walked from thence barefooted to the parish church of St. Martin, where he gave thanks to God for his success. As I stood on the hill which overlooks the town, REMAINS OF THE WALLS OF HARFLEUR, WITH THE CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN IN THE DISTANCE. INTRODUCTORY. 11 I pictured to myself the probable positions of the English host at that memorable siege. Here, thought 1, among these brakes and bushes stood the English tents ; there, right opposite those mouldering walls, were placed the battering engines ; and on the river, which then shone brightly in the moonlight, lay the fleet destined to carry off the riches which were found there. Such thoughts as these were often sug- gested by the sight of other scenes, con- nected, like Harfleur, with the memory of our ancient wars in France. Scarce a vil- lage, indeed, but has been the scene of some warlike exploit ; but nowhere do you meet with so many memorials of those by- gone days as in the fine old city of Rouen, which for so many years was as a second capital in France, the residence of the re- gent of her English sovereign. There at every turn some object rises full of interest to English eyes, though some of them are of such a nature as to raise the blush of shame rather than the glow of triumph ; 12 INTRODUCTORY. * for here stands the castle in which, if old chroniclers say true, the cruel tyrant John of Anjou, usurper of the crown of England, with his own hand murdered his young nephew Arthur, the rightful heir to the throne ; and here we may view the dun- geon and the trial-chamber of the heroic Maid of Orleans, that extraordinary wo- man, whose actions brought about such wonders, that, even at the present day, we feel it almost difficult to believe that the in- spiration she professed, and herself believ- ed, was not in truth a reality, but only the result of over-excited fancy ; here is the death-place of that high-minded woman, whose courage and enthusiasm won back for Charles the throne he had thought lost for ever, and freed her country from a fo- reign rule. There, in the centre of the Place de la Pucelle, the Maiden's square, on the very spot where her body was reduced to ashes, stands her statue, a lasting memorial of her virtues and her wrongs. Formerly, a foun- INTRODUCTORY. 13 tain occupied that spot, but that was de- stroyed during the French Revolution, al- though one would have thought that even the wildest of those who took part in the terrible excesses of that fearful time, would have respected such a monument. It is creditable to the better feelings of return- ing good sense, to have erected a fresh mark of honour to the memory of her who should never have been forgotten by any Frenchman. As 1, a solitary English tra- veller, stood on this place, retracing in my mind the strange career of the heroine, it occurred to me that I might, whilst in the midst of the scenes which had witnessed her achievements, fill up many of the hours which so often hang heavy on the hands of a lonely wanderer, by collecting and ar- ranging the various recorded facts which form the brief history of her on whose sta- tue I was gazing. " And this," thought I, " may perhaps be welcome to my young friends at home ; and they will find that Uncle Rupert, though he meets them no 2* 14 INTRODUCTORY. more under the ash-tree or at the fireside, forgets them not in his wanderings abroad." Acting on this resolve on the instant, I drew forth my sketch-book and commenced my labours by making a drawing of the scene before me ; but I afterwards placed in it a representation of the ancient foun- tain, copied from a print, thinking that a view of that would be more acceptable than the modern statue. You may see it on the opposite page. Having made a beginning, I slacked not in my diligence, and, as I went on my way, sketch-book and note-book were my con- stant companions ; and as I scribbled away, sometimes in the midst of a wood, on the bank of a brawling stream, at others in a little road-side auberge, in the noisy crowd- ed cafe, or in the solitude of my own silent room, the only tranquil part of a large bust- ling hotel, I often looked up from my work, forgetting I was writing instead of talking, and listened to catch a question or excla- mation in the voices of those who were far ; * i * 1 H I o > S Miflill INTRODUCTORY. 15 away. Then consoling myself with the re- flection that soon I might not listen in vain for the tones I loved so much, I went on cheerfully. — Now I present my work to you, trusting that the fruits of my travel will prove neither useless nor disagree- able. 16 THE STORY OF CHAPTER II. Sir Peter de Craon attempts to murder the Constable Clisson — King Charles is seized with Madness. To tell my tale aright, it will be neces- sary to go back as far as the year 1392, thirty-seven years before my heroine, the ill-fated maid of Orleans, entered upon her noble task. King Charles the Sixth of France was then in the twelfth year of his reign, and the twenty-fifth of his age ; and his kingdom was, for those troublesome times, in a prosperous condition. The Eng- lish, although they still retained possession of Calais, Bayonne, and Bordeaux, and from time to time made expeditions into other parts of France, were too much taken up with disturbances at home to make regular war or attempt further conquest, and from no other quarter was any attack to be feared. Every thing looked favourable for France, and it was hoped that she would JOAN OF ARC. 17 now at length recover from the miserable condition to which she had been reduced by her long war with England, under Ed- ward III., and the insurrections and other internal disturbances which had set her own sons at variance. It was in the summer of this year (1392) that King Charles had undertaken an ex- pedition to punish one of the most power- ful lords of his kingdom, the Duke of Brit- tany, who had given shelter to a notorious criminal. I will tell you the story, that you may form an idea of the barbarous and savage state of a society whose members yet called themselves noble and gentle knights and courteous cavaliers, although I shall have even worse things to tell by and by. Peter de Craon, a gentleman of good family and fortune, had been held in great favour by the King of France and his bro- ther, the Duke of Touraine, afterwards the Duke of Orleans ; but falling into dis- grace with them, in consequence of a cir- 18 THE STORY OF cumstance in which he had acted very dishonourably coming to their knowledge, he was forced to retire from court, and went to Brittany, where he was kindly received by the duke, who on hearing of his misfortune, persuaded him that it was entirely owing to the ill offices of the con- stable Clisson, who was much beloved by the king, but disliked by Craon, and hated by the Duke of Brittany, who was his mor- tal enemy, and had not long before made him prisoner in a very shameful manner, and exacted a heavy ransom. Craon's real character was now beginning to be publicly known, as before he had been taken into favour by the King of France, he had been driven in disgrace from the family of the Duke of Anjou, who called himself King of Naples, whose father he had plundered of large sums, which he was afterwards forced to refund. He considered it very desirable to obtain the firm friendship of the Duke of Brittany, and thought he could effect this by no surer means than by slay- JOAN OF ARC. 19 ing the constable, and thus avenging his own supposed wrong (for the constable had really had no hand in his disgrace) and his new friend's quarrel. He therefore left Brittany without telling the duke what his exact intentions were, though he most probably guessed them well enough, and went to a country-house of his own, from whence he sent up by small parties forty stout men, who were received and well entertained by his orders, at a large house he had at Paris, but kept quite close, and not suffered to show themselves abroad. They were supplied with arms and armour ; but neither they nor even the steward who had charge of the house knew why they were assembled. When all the forty were arrived, Peter joined them, com- ing as secretly as they had done, and imme- diately employed spies to give him infor- mation of the movements of the constable. The story is told by Froissart, the best and most delightful historian of his times, and in his words I shall continue it. " It hap- 20 THE STORY OF pened that on the feast of the Holy Sacra- ment, the King of France kept an open court at the Hotel de St. Pol, where he en- tertained all barons and lords who were in Paris. He was in high enjoyment, as were the queen and the Duchess of Touraine ; to add to their amusement, after dinner, lists were prepared within the courts of the Hotel, and young knights and squires armed and mounted for tilting came thither, and jousted very gallantly. The tiltings were well performed, to the delight of the king, queen, ladies, and damsels, and lasted un- til the evening. The king entertained at supper, in the Hotel de St. Pol, every knight who wished to partake of it ; and afterwards the dancings continued until one o'clock in the morning. When these were over, every one retired to his home without guard and without suspicion. Sir Oliver de Clisson remained the last ; and when he had taken leave of the king, he returned to the apartment of the Duke of Touraine, and asked, ' My lord, shall you JOAN OF ARC. 21 stay here to-night, or do you go to Tou- lain's ?' This Toulain was treasurer to the Duke of Touraine. The duke replied, — 'Constable, I am not determined whether I shall stay or not, but do you go, for it is high time to retire.' ' My lord, God give you a good night !' said Sir Oliver, and went away. He found his servants and horses waiting for him in the square before the hotel, but they had not more than eight or ten torches, which the varlets lighted. When the constable was mounted, and the torches were borne before him, he rode down the broad street of St. Catherine. " Sir Peter de Craon's spies had this day been on the watch, and he knew every par- ticular relative to the constable, — of his staying behind the rest of the company, and the exact number of his horses and at- tendants. He had, in consequence, quitted his hotel with his men all mounted and se- cretly armed ; but there were not six of them who knew what his real intentions were. He advanced to the causeway, near 3 22 THE STORY OF the Place of St. Catherine, where he and his people lay hid, waiting for the constable to pass. As soon as the constable had left the street of St. Pol, and turned into the square of the great street, advancing a foot's pace, with a torch on each side to light him, he began a conversation with one of his squires, saying— * I am to have at dinner, to-morrow, my Lord of Touraine, the Lord de Coucy, Sir John de Vienne, Sir Charles d'Angers, the Baron d'Angers, the Baron d'lvry, and several more : be sure take care they have all things comfortable, and let nothing be spared.' " As he said this, Sir Peter de Craon and his company advanced, and, without saying a word, fell on the constable's attendants and extinguished the torches. The consta- ble, hearing the clatter of the horses behind him, thought it was the Duke of Touraine who was playing him a trick, and cried out — ' My lord, by my faith this is very ill done; but I excuse it, for you are so young you make a joke of every thing.' JOAN OF ARC. 23 "At these words Sir Peter de Craon, drawing his sword from the scabbard, said, f Death ! death ! Clisson, you must die.' " ' Who art thou,' said Clisson, < that ut- terest such words ?' " c I am Peter de Craon, thy enemy, whom thou hast so often angered, and thou shalt now pay for it.' Then calling to his peo- ple, he said, 'Advance! advance! I have found him I was in search of, and whom I have long waited to seize.' He then struck him several blows, and his men, drawing their swords, fell on him. Sir Oliver was quite unarmed, having only a short cutlass, not two feet long, which, however, he drew, and defended himself with it as well as he could. His servants, being quite defence- less, were soon dispersed. Some of Sir Peter's men asked if they were to murder all? "' Yes,' replied he, 'all who put them- selves in a posture of defence.' " They could not resist the attack, for they were but eight, and without armour. 24 THE STORY OF Sir Peter's men fully intended to murder the constable, and their master wished nothing more than to see it done ; but, as I heard from some of those who had been in this attack, the moment they learnt that the per- son they were assassinating was the consta- ble of France, their arms became, as it were, nerveless through surprise, and their blows were given weakly through fear, for in perpetrating wickedness none are bold. H The constable parried the blows toler- ably well with his short cutlass ; but his de- fence would have been of no avail if God's providence had not protected him. He kept steady on horseback some time, until he was villanously struck on the back part of his head, which threw him off his horse. In his fall he hit against the hatch of a baker's door, who was already up to attend to his business and bake his bread. Having heard the noise of horses on the causeway and high words, the baker had, fortunately for the constable, half opened the hatch, and Sir Oliver falling against it, burst it quite JOAN OF ARC. 25 open, and rolled into the shop. Those on horseback could not follow him, as the en- trance was neither wide nor high enough, and besides they did their work like cow- ards. It must be owned for truth that God showed great favour to the constable : if he had not fallen exactly against the hatch, or if it had been closed, he would infallibly have lost his life, and have been trampled to death by the horses, for they were afraid to dis- mount. Several of them imagined, even Sir Peter de Craon and the person who had hit him, that the blow on his head which unhorsed him must cause his death ; Sir Peter therefore said, l Come, let us away : we have done enough ; if he be not dead, he can never recover from the last blow, which was given by a lusty arm.' On say- ing this, they collected together and left the place at a good trot, and were soon at the gate of Saint Anthony, which they passed, and gained the fields ; for since the battle of Rosebecque, ten years ago, the gates were never shut." 26 THE STORY OF Sir Oliver's servants, who had been dis- persed, but had received little harm, now came to the assistance of their master, and the king himself, to whom the news was quickly carried, hastened half-dressed to visit him. Although severely, he was not dangerously wounded, and the surgeons un- dertook that he should be able to sit on horseback within fifteen days. Search was immediately made after Peter de Craon, but he had too much the advan- tage of his pursuers, both in the time that was suffered to elapse before they set forth after him, and in obtaining fresh horses at the town of Chartres where he had had the precaution to station a relay, which was kept ready for him. He got safe off to his castle of Sable ; and afterwards, when he heard that the constable was not dead, he took refuge with the Duke of Brittany, who reproached him as " a poor creature who could not slay a man when he had him in his power :" but since he had promised him protection, he said he would keep his word, JOAN OF ARC. 27 although he felt sure that the king and the constable would wage war against him on that account. The king;, who greatly esteemed Sir Oli- ver de Clisson, was determined to punish the assassin, and collected an army to re- cover him from the Duke of Brittany, who protected him. The king's uncles, the Dukes of Berri and Burgundy, by whose advice the king had generally allowed himself to be much governed, were averse to this, for they both envied and hated the constable, on account of his riches, and the influence he possessed over the king and his brother. They said the quarrel concerned neither the king nor the Duke of Brittany, but that Clisson and Craon should be left to fight it out together. But the king would not hear of this, and pushed on his preparations against the Duke of Brittany with an eagerness that appeared scarcely natural. He had been unwell all the summer, scarcely eating or drink- ing any thing, and almost daily attacked 28 THE STORY OF by fever, to which he was naturally in- clined, and this was increased by contra- diction or fatigue. The attack on the constable had affected him greatly, and, ever since, he had been indefatigable in forwarding the arrangements for securing the criminal. He had collected a consi- derable army at the city of Mans, whence he sent to the Duke of Brittany to de- mand that Craon should be given up. The duke excused himself by protesting that he knew not where Craon was ; but this only enraged the king the more, who vowed he would deprive him of his duke- dom. He accordingly gave orders for the immediate advance of his ar.ny, and he himself set out between nine and ten in the morning, in company with his brother the Duke of Touraine, now lately created Duke of Orleans, and several others of the chief nobles of his court. It was the mid- dle of August, and excessively hot. A strange accident happened whilst he was passing through the forest of Mans, JOAN OF ARC. 29 A man, bareheaded, with naked feet, cloth- ed in a coarse white jerkin, rushed from a thicket, seized the bridle of the king's horse, and stopped him, and then address- ing the king, told him to " ride no further, but return, for he was betrayed." The men at arms riding up, struck him over the hands to make him let go his hold, w T hen he bounded off among the trees, and was seen no more. All this passed so quickly that no one seems to have thought of stopping the madman, for such he cer- tainly was ; but the occurrence appears to have made a strong impression on the king, and to have greatly agitated him. No fur- ther notice was, however, taken at the time, and the cavalcade rode on. About noon they got clear of the forest, fed entered on a sandy plain, where the heat was so oppressive that the most hardy warriors complained grievously. They no longer kept close order, but the better to avoid the dust raised by the horses' feet, 3* 30 THE STORY OF they spread themselves abroad, separating into little parties of two or three together. " The king rode over this sandy plain, that reflected the heat, which was much greater than had been ever before known or felt in that season : he was besides in a jacket of black velvet, that added to the warmth, and had only a single hood of crimson, ornamented with a chaplet of large beautiful pearls which the queen had presented to him on his leaving her. He was followed by one of his pages, who had a Montauban cap of polished steel on his head that glittered in the sun, and behind him another page rode on horseback, car- rying a vermilion-coloured lance enveloped with silk for the king, the head of which lance was broad, sharp, and bright. The Lord de la Riviere had brought a dozjh such when he last came from Toulouse, and this was one ; for he had presented the who'e to the king, who had given three to the Duke of Orleans, and the same num- ber to the Duke of Burgundy. JOAN OF ARC. 31 " As they were thus riding, the pages, who were but children, grew negligent of themselves and their horses ; and the one who bore the lance fell asleep, and forget- ful of what he had in his hand, let it fall on the casque of the page before him, which made both the lance and casque ring loud- ly. The king, being so near, (the pages rode almost on the heels of his horse,) was startled and shuddered, for he had in his mind the words the madman had spoken when he seized his horse's reins in the forest of Mans, and fancied a host of ene- mies were come to slay him. In this dis- traction of mind, he drew his sword and advanced on the pages, for his senses were quite gone, and he imagined himself sur- rounded by enemies, giving blows of his sword, indifferent on whom they fell, cry- ing out * Advance ! — advance on these trai- tors V The pages, seeing the king thus wroth, took care of themselves, for they imagined they had angered him by their negligence, and spurred their horses differ- THE STORY OF ent ways. The Duke of Orleans was not far distant from the king, who made up to him with his drawn sword — for at the mo- ment his frenzy had deprived him of the means of knowing either his hrother or un- cles. The Duke of Orleans, seeing him approach with his naked sword, grew alarmed, and spurring his horse, made off, and the king after him. The Duke of Bur- gundy, hearing the cries of the pages, cast his eyes to that quarter, and seeing the king pursuing his brother with his drawn sword, was astonished, and not without reason. He cried out for help, saying, t My lord has lost his senses ; for God's sake lay hands on him :' and then added, ; Fly, fair nephew of Orleans ! — fly, or my lord will murder you.' The Duke of Orleans was much frightened, and galloped as fast as his horse could go, followed by knights and squires. There were now great shoutings, insomuch that those at a distance thought they were hunting a wolf or hare, until they learnt it was the king, who was not himself. JOAN OF ARC. 33 " The Duke of Orleans, however, escap- ed by making several turns, and was aided by knights, squires, and men at arms, who surrounded the king, and allowed him to waste his strength on them ; for, of course, the more he exerted himself the weaker he grew. When he made a blow at any one knight or squire, they fell before the stroke ; and I never heard that in this fit of madness any one was killed. Several were struck down by his blows, because no one made any defence. At last, when he was quite jaded and running down with sweat, and his horse in a lather from fatigue, a Nor- man knight, who was one of his chamber- lains, and much beloved by him, called Sir William Martel, came behind, and caught him in his arms, though he had his sword still in his hand. When he was thus held, all the other lords came up, and took the sword from him ; he was dismounted, and gently laid on the ground, that his jacket might be stripped from him, to give him more air to cool him. His three uncles and 34 THE STORY OF brother approached ; but he had lost all knowledge of them, showing no symptoms of aquaintance or affection, but rolled his eyes round in his head without speaking to any one. The princes of the blood were in amazement, and knew not what to say, nor how to act. The Dukes of Berri and Burgundy at length said, 'We must return to Mans, for the expedition is at an end for this season.' " The expedition was accord- ingly given up, for the king's uncles, Bur- gundy and Berri, were both, from hatred to the constable, very averse to the war against Brittany, and would never have taken part in it except at the king's com- mand. The king was carried back to Mans, w T here he remained for a long time very ill, and quite deprived of his reason ; and al- though he recovered his senses under the care of a very skilful physician, named Wil- liam de Harseley, who appears to have un- derstood the nature of his disorder better than anv other of the medical men of the C^-r^-^S. JOAN OF ARC. 35 time ; yet after Master Harseley's death, which shortly happened, he suffered a re- lapse, and although he again recovered for a time, yet he never afterwards enjoyed his health for any long continuance. Human skill alone was not depended upon for the cure of the king, for Froissart tells us that " in a church at Haspres, in Hainault, de- pendent on the Abbey of St. Vast at Arras, lies the canonized body of Saint Aquaire, in a rich shrine of silver. This saint is celebrated for the cures he has performed on those afflicted with madness, and on that account is much visited from all parts. To pay due respect to the saint, there was made a figure of wax resembling the king, which was sent thither with a large wax taper, and offered with much devotion to the shrine of the saint, that he might pray to God to alleviate this cruel affliction of the king. A similar offering was made to St. Hermier in Rouais, who has the reputation of curing madness, and wherever there were saints that were supposed to have 36 THE STORY OF efficacy, by their prayers to God, in such disorders, thither were sent offerings from the king, with much ceremony and devo- tion." But all was of no avail ; for al- though the king from time to time recover- ed the use of his senses, he was never thoroughly cured. JOAN OF ARC. 37 CHAPTER III. Disputes between the Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy — Mur- der of the Duke of Orleans — The Duke of Burgundy justifies the Murder, and obtains a Pardon from the King. The immediate result of King Charles's illness was the commencement of those disputes which, in the end, led to the coro- nation of an English king in the city of Paris. The Duke of Orleans, the brother of the king, asserted that to him, as his nearest relation, the government of the kingdom should be committed, during the illness of the sovereign ; but he was op- posed by his uncles, tiie Dukes of Burgun- dy and Berri, who objected that he was too young, and too little acquainted with business, to undertake so great a charge ; and that it would be fitter for them, who were already experienced in government, having been the king's guardians and ad- visers, to undertake the office. The Duke 38 THE STORY OF of Burgundy, who possessed more real power than either Berri or Orleans — for he was possessed not only of the duchy of Burgundy, but of all Flanders, his wife's inheritance — at last prevailed, and in a meeting of the whole council, and the principal barons and prelates of the realm, it was at length, after fifteen days' deba- ting, agreed that the two uncles of the king should govern the kingdom, but that the Duke of Burgundy should be the prin- cipal, and that the Duchess of Burgundy should remain with the queen, and be re- spected as second to her in rank. This last precaution was taken to prevent the queen from joining with the Duke of Orleans to overthrow Burgundy's power, for she was strongly attached to the party of her broth- er-in-law. As long as Duke Philip of Burgundy lived, there was no open enmity between him and his nephew the Duke of Orleans. The young duke nourished a secret discon- tent, as being excluded from all share of JOAN OF ARC. 39 authority ; but he exhibited it in little be- sides giving secret aid to Clisson, who, sup- ported by many of the chief nobility of the province, carried on a fierce war against the Duke of Brittany, whilst Burgundy did the same to the other party. This war was after a while put an end to, and Peter de Craon returned secretly to Paris ; here, however, he met nothing but misfortune. The Queen Dowager of Naples sued him for a very large sum of which he had de- frauded her husband, and after suffering a long imprisonment, he was glad to be per- mitted to hide himself in England, whither he went in the train of the Earl of Derby, afterwards Henry IV. of England. But in the beginning of the year 1404, Philip Duke of Burgundy fell ill in the town of Brussels, and finding himself in danger, he made an effort to reach his own country, but was not able to go farther than Halle in Hainault. It is curious to note in these days of turnpike roads, mail-coaches, and rail-roads, what the state of travelling was 40 THE STORY OF four hundred years ago. He was carried in a litter, borne by horses, and the roads were so rough, that labourers were sent before with spades and pickaxes to repair and smooth them, that he might be carried more safely, and be less shaken. Finding that he had no hope of life, he sent for his sons, and entreated and strictly commanded them to be loyal and obedient, during their lives, to king Charles of France and his successors, and made them promise obedience on their love to him : but after his death, the solemn engagement was little thought on. John, who from his courageous conduct in war had been surnamed the " Intrepid," was now Duke of Burgundy. He was well aware that the power which his father had exercised in France, was the more readily submitted to, since it had been rightfully exercised in the earlier part of the king's reign, and the people had been accustomed to it. The case was different with him, and foreseeing that the Duke of Orleans would JOAN OF ARC. 41 now stoutly oppose any interference by him in the government of the kingdom, he re- solved to secure the authority he was deter- mined to possess there, by every means in his power. His first step was to conclude two marriages which had been agreed on during his father's lifetime ; one between the dauphin, the eldest son of the king, and his own daughter Margaret ; the other be- tween his eldest son, Philip, Count of Charolois, and Michelle, daughter of the king. By these means he hoped to obtain an influence over the king and the young dauphin. Finding, however, that the Duke of Orleans, who was steadily supported by the queen, was likely to exclude him from even a share in the administration of the kingdom, he resolved to have recourse to force of arms. He accordingly assembled a body of armed men and hastened to Paris, where he knew he should be well received by the people, who were more attached to him than to the Duke of Orleans, or even the king, who had grievously offended the 42 THE STORY OF citizens in the early part of his reign. Here he found the king, who became, in fact, his prisoner, and hearing that the dauphin, the king's eldest son, was on his way to join his mother and the Duke of Orleans, he hasten- ed after him, and brought him back by force. Being now master of both father and son, he made a show of acting under the orders of the king, but was, in reality, the uncon- trolled ruler of the kingdom. A regular war between the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans was now threatened. Both sides collected large bodies of troops, which sorely harassed the country. Great endeavours were made by the friends of both parties to effect a reconciliation, and their efforts were apparently successful. At a meeting held on the occasion of the marriage of the son of the Duke of Orleans with Isabella, daughter of the king, and widow of Rich- ard II. of England — which was attended by many of the chief nobility, a legate from the Pope, and many bishops and churchmen — the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans JOAN OF ARC. 43 swore in the most solemn manner at the altar, to lay aside all their differences, and live in peace and friendship all the rest of their lives : but we shall see that one, at least, of these princes had falsehood on his lips, even while offering the most sacred pledge of his fidelity ; for not long after, in the latter end of the year 1407, the Duke of Burgundy, who seems to have made the villain de Craon his model, caused his cousin of Orleans to be waylaid and assassinated in the streets of Paris. The duke first endeavoured to conceal his share in his cousin's death, but finding there was no chance of concealment, he openly avowed it. The Dukes of Berri and Bour- bon, and the other lords, did not, indeed, venture to arrest him ; but they showed such abhorrence of the deed, that he thought it best to retire to his own country until he should have time to strengthen himself against his opponents. The Duchess of Orleans, with her young- est son, hastened to Paris, and entreated the 44 THE STORY OF king to protect her and her children, and to punish the murderer of her husband. The king, who loved her dearly, for in his heavi- est sickness she had been his tender nurse, promised, indeed, all she required; but, alas! he had no power to perform it. Of himself he had no authority. The party of the Duke of Orleans had now no leader ; and the Dukes of Berri and Bourbon, and others w T ho had hitherto acted with' Burgundy, al- though disgusted with his conduct, hesitated to abandon him. The Duke of Burgundy took advantage of this, collected a large body of troops, marched to Paris, got the king and his eld- est son into his power, and then, on the 8th of March, 1408, before Louis, Duke of Aquitaine, the king's eldest son, who is styled the Dauphin ; the King of Sicily ; the Cardinal de Bar ; the Dukes of Berri, Brittany, and Loraine ; and many earls, barons, knights, and squires of different countries ; the Rector of the University, accompanied by a great many doctors and JOAN OF ARC. 45 other clerks ; and a numerous body of the citizens of Paris, and people of all ranks, he caused Master John Petit, a doctor in theology, whom he had brought with him, to pronounce a long speech, in which he accused the Duke of Orleans of many crimes he had never committed, especially of endeavouring to cause the king's death by witchcraft, (a crime which he had be- fore endeavoured to fix on the innocent Duchess of Orleans,) and argued, that as the Duke of Orleans had been a traitor, it w T as a good deed to kill him ; and, there- fore, he was deserving of praise, not blame, for what he had done. The speech was full of allusions to circumstances related in Scripture, which were most wickedly turn- ed from their true sense to justify the crime the Duke of Burgundy had committed. Although nobody could be convinced by such weak arguments, and none of the ac- cusations against the Duke of Orleans could be proved, yet many thought there might be something in them, and began to doubt; 4 46 THE STORY OF and such was the Duke's power, nobody dared to gainsay him. Deeds of violence were so usual in that unhappy time, that even the murder of a king's brother was not regarded with that horror with which we look upon that of the meanest or most worthless individual. The Parisians, who had never been friendly to the Duke of Or- leans, welcomed his murderer with shouts of joy, and even the little children sung carols in his praise about the streets. He, however, having set the example of mur- der, did not feel himself quite safe : he went constantly armed, and was always accompanied by a train of armed men ; and, to ensure his security, he caused a stone tower to be constructed, to which he retired at night, for at that time the houses, even of the greatest lords, were almost all built entirely of wood, and, without doubt, he feared he might be burned in his bed. The queen, who was fearful of her own safety, quitted Paris with her children, leaving her husband, who was then suffer- JOAN OF ARC. 47 ing from an attack of his distemper, in the hands of the duke. He remained until the king was sufficiently recovered to answer his purpose, and then, after making him grant him a full pardon for his crime, which if the king had had the full use of his facul- ties it is not to be imagined he would have done, he returned to attend to the affairs of his own country, where he was engaged in a dispute which his adversaries hoped might prevent him from interfering in the affairs of France. 48 THE STORY OF CHAPTER IV. Wars of the Burgundians and Armagnacs. The queen and the Duchess of Orleans now returned to Paris ; a formal answer was made to the accusation brought against the Duke of Orleans ; the king promised that justice should be done, and annulled the pardon he had granted ; the Parisians began to declare themselves on the side of the Orleans party ; and all things seemed to promise well, when suddenly news ar- rived that the Duke of Burgundy had ob- tained a most unlooked-for success against his opponents, the rebellious citizens of Liege, and was in greater force than ever. An immediate change took place in the opinions of the turbulent Parisians, among whom the butchers, the most powerful of all the city companies, or societies of trades, declared for him. The queen, and the Dukes of Berri and Bourbon, carried JOAN OF ARC. 49 off the king to Tours, and the Duke of Burgundy entered Paris in triumph. He soon contrived to reconcile himself with the Duke of Berri, and the two agreed to share the government between them. The Duke of Burgundy now began to exercise the greatest severity against all who had been servants of the king, and were attached to the Orleans party ; and, with the aid of his Parisians, put several of them to death in a violent and illegal man- ner, without trial or sentence. He obtain- ed the appointment of guardian to the dau- phin, and as such took possession of his person ; and now thinking that his power could not be shaken, he began to neglect the Dukes of Berri and Bourbon, who had hitherto stood by him, and at last so far affronted them that they retired to their estates, and, soon after, joining the Duke of Orleans, the Count of Armagnac, the Lord Charles d'Albers, the High Constable of France, and other lords of the Orleans party, they formed an alliance together for 50 THE STORY OF the purpose of driving the Duke of Bur- gundy from power, and punishing him for the murder he had committed. The Count of Armagnac possessed a good deal of in- fluence in Paris, especially among the car- penters, and his friends there were called Armagnacs ; and this term was afterwards given to all the Orleans party, which was not very agreeable to many among them, as Armagnac was by no means the man of the greatest consequence on that side ; but the name still continued in use, and the war which now followed was then, and has ever since been, known as that be- tween the Burgundians and Armagnacs. This league against the Duke of Burgundy was effected in the year 1410. " The Duke of Burgundy," says Monstrelet, an old chronicler, who wrote the history of these wars, " resided in Paris, and ruled there more despotically than any other of the princes ; affairs were solely carried on by him and his partisans, which, doubtless, made many very jealous of him." JOAN OF ARC. 51 The war was now carried on fiercely and with great cruelty on both sides, and the whole country suffered dreadfully in conse- quence. Each party in turn plundered and burned in town and country, and the poor people suffered equally, whether the troops called themselves friends or foes. They seemed to forget they were human beings, and even lords and noble gentlemen com- mitted deeds too horrible and shameful to be named. The following verses were made upon these sad events, which give too true a picture of the miserable state to which the country was reduced : — " A chief by dolorous mischance oppress'd, A prince who rules by arbitrary will, A royal house by discord sore distress'd, A council prejudiced and partial still, Subjects by prodigality brought low, Will fill the land with beggars, well we trow. " Nobles made noble in dame Nature's spite, A tim'rous clergy fear, and truth conceal, While humble commoners forego their right, And the harsh yoke of proud oppression feel : Thus, while the people mourn, the public wo Will fill the land with beggars, well we trow. 52 THE STORY OF " Ah, feeble wo ! whose impotent commands Thy very vassals boldly dare despise : Ah, helpless monarch ! whose enervate hands And wavering councils dare no high emprise : Thy hapless reign will cause our tears to flow, And fill the land with beggars, well we trow." Each party was alternately successful ; but the aid of the Parisians, who, led on by the butchers, took up arms for Burgundy, and kept the king and the dauphin prison- ers in the Louvre, gave the advantage to the Burgundian party. The whole party of the Armagnacs were excommunicated by Pope Urban, and the sentence, with all the terrible formalities prescribed by the Church of Rome, with bell, book, and can- dle, was pronounced against them in all the churches of Paris. This seemed the sig- nal for fresh cruelties. Many of the Ar- magnacs were put to death, and others who " were in the prisons of Paris," says Monstrelet, " perished miserably through cold, famine, and neglect. When dead, they were inhumanly dragged out of the town, and thrown into the ditches, a prey JOAN OF ARC. 53 to dogs, birds, and wild beasts. The rea- son of such cruel conduct was, their having been several times denounced from the pul- pits, and proclaimed from the squares, as excommunicated persons. It seemed, how- ever, to many discreet men, as well noble as of the church, that it was a great scan- dal thus to treat those who were Christians, and acknowledged the laws of Jesus Christ. At this time, therefore, all who sided with the Armagnacs, and w r ere taken, ran great risk of their lives ; for there were few that dared speak in their favour, however near their connexions might be." Anxious to strengthen himself jet fur- ther, the Duke of Burgundy now ventured on a step which could not fail to bring fur- ther misfortunes on the country. He en- endeavoured to make an alliance with Eng- land, and Henry IV., who saw his own ad- vantage in keeping up the disturbances of France, sent him a small body of men ; but the next year, receiving more advanta- geous proposals from the Armagnacs, Hen- 4* 54 THE STORY OF ry assisted them with a much larger force. Thus, by aiding alternately both sides, he enabled them to weaken each other still more, and paved the way for the conquest which his son afterwards effected. The war went on with varied success. Sometimes the Burgundians, sometimes the Armagnacs had the advantage; and accord- ing as each party prevailed, murders, assas- sinations, and pretended legal executions of the adherents of the opposite parties took place, especially in Paris, where several dreadful massacres were perpetrated. On one of these occasions, when the Burgun- dian party had the upper hand in Paris, the state of that city is thus described by Mon- strelet, who was himself a favourer of the Burgundian party : — " It was melancholy to behold this reign of the mob, and the manner in which they conducted themselves in Paris, as well to- wards the king, as towards the other lords. The Parisians in those days wore a uniform dress with white hoods, to distinguish all JOAN OF ARC. 55 who were of their party. They even made many of the nobles and prelates wear it ; and, what was more, the king himself after- wards put it on, which seemed to many dis- creet persons very ridiculous, considering the abominable and detestable manner of the Parisians, and their cruelties, which were almost beyond bearing ; but they were so powerful, and obstinate in their wickedness, that the princes knew not well how to pro- vide a remedy. They were strengthened in it from the belief that they should be sup- ported by the Duke of Burgundy and his party, should there be occasion for it." On another occasion, when the Armag- nacs had the ascendant, the unhappy king, who had signed the pardon of the murderer of his brother, now, in 1415, just seven years after his death, caused very pompous funeral rites to be performed in honour of his memory, in the cathedral church of Notre Dame ; in the church of the Celestines, where he had been buried ; and in the chapel of Navarre, in Paris. Such were 56 THE STORY OF the changes in that ill-guided city, where not very long before no man dared to speak a word in favour of the murdered duke or his son's adherents. But a still greater change was now approaching. 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