o^^' -1 V * " ;,. '■^ -/- s\^ S -7-^. t ,-0-. o o %>s^' .^X^ c ■0' •. o 3.N ^; ^V '^. -. z*-^ ^'%^. ^/ 1 „- ■ ' /■ 9^ v^ ^ " " / o ^,/- ^s ■-■ ■ •0' X .-x\ 'c^ '. % ^0O. :/. " s 5^^^^ ^^ >>;'/>,/, ^..ov^ .^ 'J- 'V oX' =/'! ■0' , o 0^ -x^ \^^* >^ -% ^^ <^„ "'^^' .^x^^" ^^<^. xV ,x>. V .^ ^S ci- V 'O. 4- %.^ .t^ THE STORY OF THE NATIONS I3MO, ILLUSTRATED. PER VOL., $1.50 THE EARLIER VOLUMES ARE THE STORY OF GREECE. By Prof. Jas. A. Harrison THE STORY OF ROME. By Arthur Oilman THE STORY OF THE JEWS. By Prof. Jas. K. Hosmer THE STORY OF CHALDEA. By Z. A. Ragozin THE STORY OF GERMANY. By S. Baring-Gould THE STORY OF NORWAY. By Prof. H. H. Boyesen THE STORY OF SPAIN. By E. E. and Susan Hale THE STORY OF HUNGARY. By Prof. A. VAMsfiRY THE STORY OF CARTHAGE. By Prof. Alfred J. Church THE STORY OF THE SARACENS. By Arthur Oilman THE STORY OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN. By Stanley Lane-Pooie THE STORY OF THE NORMANS. By Sarah O. Jewett THE STORY OF PERSIA. By S. G. W. Benjamin THE STORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. By Geo. Rawlinson THE STORY OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. By Prof.J.P.MAHAFFY THE STORY OF ASSYRIA. By Z. A. Ragozin THE STORY OF IRELAND. By Hon. Emily Lawless THE STORY OF THE GOTHS. By Henry Bradley THE STORY OF TURKEY. By Stanley Lank-Poole THE STORY OF MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA. By Z. A. Ragozin THE STORY OF MEDIEVAL FRANCE. By Gustave Masson THE STORY OF MEXICO. By Susan Hale THE STORY OF HOLLAND. By James E. Thorolu Rogers For prospectus of the series see end of this volume G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON CHAPELLE DU CHATEAU DE VXNCENNES. ihc morg of Ihe |j^' aliens THE STORY Medieval France FROM THE REIGN OF HUGUES CAPET TO THE BEGINNING OF THE w * SIXTEENTH CENTURY GUSTAVE MASSON, B.A. UNIV. GALLIC, OFFICIER d'aCADEMIE, MEMBER OF THE SOCI^Tfi DE l'hISTOIRK DE FRANCE, ASSISTANT MASTER AND LIBRARIAN OF HARROW SCHOOL NEW YORK G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS LONDON : T. FISHER UNWIN iS83 Copyright By G. p. Putnam's Sons 1888 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London By- T. Fisher Unwin FEB 11 t91« Press of G. P. Putnam's Sons New York MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, M. GUSTAVE RUAULT, THE FOLLOWING VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, GUSTAVE MASSON. T.r- PREFACE. '' The story of a nation," we conceive, is read, not only in its political annals, in the records of the battle-field, and the details of treaties of peace ; but in its social life, in the development of commerce, industry, literature, and the fine arts. Accordingly, whilst attempting throughout the following pages to give the history of Mediaeval France, we have allowed a large share to what may be called the intellectual side of the subject, more especially to the formation and progress of national literature. Without pre- tending to exhaust the topic, we have illustrated it by extracts from several authors, accompanied, whenever necessary, by a translation in English. The reader will thus be able to follow at the same time the development of the language ; and the glossary at the end of the volume will help him to understand the archaisms used in the original passages quoted in the text. We have consulted the best sources for the prepa- ration of this work, especially the histories of Messrs. Michelet, Duruy, Bordier and Charton, Demolins, and. X PREFACE. Cheruel (" Dictionnaire des institutions, moeurs et coutumes de la France "), and we trust that it may not be found unworthy of the series of which it forms a part. GUSTAVE MASSON. Harrow-on-the-Hill, MarcA, 1888. CONTENTS. Chronological Table PAGE xxii Sources to Consult on the History of France from Hugues Capet to Louis XII. Chronological List of all the Chancellors OF France from the Beginning of the Capetian Dynasty to the Reign of Louis XII Genealogy of the Capetian Kings of France to the Reign of Louis XII. Genealogy of the Capetian Kings of France xl A Tabular View of the States -General FROM THEIR COMMENCEMENT TO THE ReIGN of Louis XII. inclusive .... xlii Xll CONTENTS. The First Four Capetian Kings (987-1108). i- The society of the sixth century, 3 — Feudal system, 5 — Feu- dal fortresses, 7 — Feudal dues, 9— Vassals and serfs, 11 — Warlike prelates, 13 — The Church, 15 — Attitude of the serfs, 17 — Robert of Normandy; Foulques Nerra, 19 — Philip I., 21. II. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land — The Cru- sades — Chivalry ..... 22-46 Council of Clermont, 23- The Crusaders in Asia, 27 — " Assi ses de Jerusalem," 29 — Results of the Crusades, 31 — Chivalry, 33 — Heraldry, 35 — Early French literature, 38 — vSubjects treated by poets, 39 — Chanson de Gestes, 40 — Sirventes, 41 — Bertram de Born, 42 — Robeit Wace, 43 — "Roman de Rou, ' 44 — Richard the Pilgrim, 45 — Philip I., 46. III. Louis VL — Louis VII. — The Communal Movement— Scholasticism (1108-1180) . 47-6S The communal movement, 49— Commune de Beauvais, 51 — France and England, 55 — -France and the Papacy, 57 — Second Crusade, 59 — Suger, 61 — Guild of Paris merchants, 63 — University of Paris, 65 — Lonis VI., 66 — Abelard, 67. IV. Philip Augustus — The Crusades — The Albi- GENSES— Louis VIII. (1180-1226) . 69-89 Richard Coeur de Lion, 71— Battle of Bouvines, 73-75— Foul- ques of Neuilly, 77— Conquest of Constantinople, 81— Philip Augustus, 82 — Crusade against the Albigenses, 83 — Heretics and infidels, 85 — France under interdict, 87. CONTENTS. xiii V. Saint Louis, to his Return from his First Crusade (i 226-1 254) .... 90-ioJ Louis IX., 91 — Joinville, 93 — The English in France, 95 — Louis IX. and the Crusade, 97 — ^Joinville and Villehar- douin, 99 — Battle of Mansurah, 100 — The plague, loi — The Queen of France, 102 — The French leave Egypt, 104 — Death of Blanche of Castile, 105 — The Pastoureaux, 106— The Master of Hungary, 107. vr. Saint Louis; End of the Reign — Litera- ture, Arts, and Sciences during the Thirteenth Century (1254-1270) . . 109-132 Law reforms, no, ni — St. Louis as a judge, 113 — Roads; Coinage, ii4^Tradeand industry, 115, 116 — Administration and government, 117 — Foundations created by Saint Louis, 118 — Saint Louis starts for another crusade, 119 — Literature, 120 — " Chansons de Geste," 121 — "Roman de la Rose," 122 — Rutebeuf ; Marie de France, 123 — The drama, 124 — Thi- baut de Champagne, 125 — Pulpit eloquence, 126 — Church architecture, 127 — The fine arts, 130— Music, 131 — Industrial arts, 132. VII. Philip IIL— Philip IV. (1270-1314) . . 133-152 Philip III. ; Charles d'Anjou, 134 — The Sicihan Vespers, 135 — Philip III. makes war with Spain, 136 — Pierre de la Brosse, 137 — Mary of Brabant, 138 — Philip IV., 139 — Low state of the exchequer, 140 — Philip IV. and the English, 141 — Philip IV. and the Flemings, 142 — Battle of Courtrai, 143 — Phihp IV. and the Church, 144 — Arrest of Bernard Saisset, 145 — Bull " Ausculta, Fili," 146 — Guillaume de Nogaret, 147 — Popes Boniface VIII. and Benedict XI , 148— The Knights-Temp- XIV CONTENTS. lar, 149 — " Roman de Fauvel," 150 — States-General of 1302, 151 — Fifty-four knights burnt to death, 152. VIII. Philip the Fair — Louis X. — Philip V.— Charles IV. — Philip VI. (1314-1328) . 153-170 The Paris Parliament, 154 — ^Jean Buridan, 155 — Louis X., le Hutin, 156 — Enguerrand de Marigny, 157 — The Salic law, 158 — Reform of the aristocracy, 159 — ^Jews and Lepers, 160 — Charles le Bel, 161 — Severity of the Paris Parliament, 162 — • The Hundred Years' War, 163 — Rebellion in Flanders, 164 — Battle of Cassel, 165— Defeat of the Flemings, 166 — Froissart, 167-9 — Sir John Bourchier on history, 170. IX. Philip VI. (concluded) — The Hundred Years' War (1328-1350) . . 171-187 The Brewer Arteveldt, 172 — The Duchy of Brittany, 173 — Charles of Blois, 174 — Siege of Hennebon, 175 — Truce of 1346, 176 — Death of Clisson, 177 — The English in France, 178 — Battle of Cressy, 179 — The Genoese archers, 180 — Death of the King of Bohemia, 181 — Siege of Calais, 182 — Eustachede Saint Pierre, 183 — Calais an English colony, 184 — The black death, 185 — Philip's home administration, 186 — Territorial acquisitions, 187. X. John II. — The Hundred Years' War (con- tinued) — Etienne Marcel — The Jac- querie (1350-1364) 188-209 Charles le Mauvais, 189 — The States-General, 190 — Financial measures, 191 — Battle of Poitiers, 192 — Errors and bravery of the king, 193 — King John surrenders. 194 — The French king CONTENTS. XV in England, 196 — Travels to Windsor, 197 — Marcel and Lecoq, 198 — " La grande ordonnance," 199 — Revolution in Paris, 200 — Reaction in the provinces, 201 — ^Jacques Bon- homme, 202 — Marcel and Charles le Mauvais, 203 — Murder of Etienne Marcel, 204— State of France, 205 — Le Grand Ferre, 206 — The English at Longueil, 207 — Peace of Bretigny, 208 — Death of the king, 209. XL Charles V. the Wise, and First Part of THE Reign of Charles VI. (1364-1392) . 210-233 Authorities for the reign of Charles V., 211 — Battles of Cocherel and Auray, 213 — The " grandes compagnies," 215 — English and French, 217 — Duguesclin, 218 — Budget of Charles V., 220 — Political writings, 221 — The Duke d'Anjou, 222 — Council of regency, 223 — Charles VLin Paris, 224 — The Duke d'Anjou, 225 — The Maillotins, 226 — General rising of the peo- ple, 227 — Battle of Roosebeke, 228 — The Maillotins, 229 — The Marmousets, 230 — Attempt upon Clisson, 232 — Charles VI. struck with madness, 233. XIL Second Part of the Reign of Charles VI. (1392-1422) 234-253 Isabelle of Bavaria, 235 — Murder of the Duke d'Orleans, 236 — Death of Valentine Visconti, 237 — Eustache Deschamps, 238 — Alain Chartier ; Christine de Pisan, 239 — Burgundians and Armagnacs, 240 — Battle of Azincourt, 242 — Severe losses of the French, 243 — Fresh massacres in Paris, 244 — Capitula- tion of Rouen, 245 — The Duke of Burgundy murdered, 246 — Treaty of Troyes, 247 — The Dauphin retires behind the Loire, 248 — Death of Henry V. and Charles VI., 249 — Affairs of the Church, 250 — Pierre d'Ailly, 251 — " Apparition de Maistre Jehan de Meung," 252 — Nicolas de Clemangis, 253. Xvi CONTENTS. PAGE XIII. Charles VII. — End of the Hundred Years' War (1422-1461) ..... 254-280 Battles of Cravant and of Verneuil, 255 — Strengthening the power of Charles VII., 256 — Siege of Montargis, 257 — Siege of Orleans, 258 — "Battle of the Herrings," 260 — ^Joan of Arc, 262-5 — Battle of Patay, 266 — Capture of Joan of Arc, 267 — • Coronation of Henry VI., 268 — Conference at Arras, 269 — Richemont enters Paris, 270 — Character of Charles VII., 271 — End of the war, 272 — The " Praguerie," 273 — "Ordon- nance d'Orleans,' 274 — The "Francs-archers," 275 — Financial reforms, 277— Deaih of Charles VII., 278 ^Jacques Coeur, 279. XIV. Louis XI. (1461-1483) 281-303 Louis XI. and feudalism, 2S4— Character of Louis XL, 285 — Coronation of Louis XL, 286 — League of the common weal, 287 — Battle of Montlhery, 288 -France and Burgundy, 290 — Louis XL at Peronne, 291 — Cardinal Balue, 292 — Charles the Bold invades Picardy, 293 — Death of the Duke de Guienne, 294 — Jeanne Hachette, 295 — The baronial houses give way, 298 — Breaking up of the feudal system, 299 — Battle of Guinegate, 300 — Death of Louis XL, 301 — Non-political re- forms, 302 — Progress of France under Louis XL, 303. XV. Charles VIII. (1483-1498) — Louis XII. (1498-1515) • • • • • • 304-325 " La Grande Dame," 305 — The Duke d'Orleans, 306 — Rebel- lion against Anne de Beaujeu, 307 — Battle of Saint Aubin du Cormier, 308 — Charles VIIL, 309 — Situation of Italy, 310 — Charles VII I. invades Italy, 31 ( — Battle of Fornovo, 312 — Death of Charles VIIL, 314 — Character of Louis XII., 315 — Lodovico il Moro, 316 — Battle of Garigliano, 317 — League against France, 319 — Battle of Ravenna, 320 — Death of Louis XII., 322 — Administration, 323 — "The Father of the Peo- ple," 324 ^Georges Cardinal d'Amboise, 325. CONTENTS. XVll PAGE XVI. Intellectual Life of the Fifteenth Cen- tury — Literature, The Drama, Industry — Concluding Remarks .... 326-342 Poetry ; Rutebeuf, Villon, 327 — Historians ; Monstrelet, 328 — Chastellain ; Basin, 329 — Commines, 330 — Louis XI. and Commines, 331 — Tales; " Les cent nouvelles nouvelles," 332 — The drama, 333 — The Basoche ; " Enfants sans souci," 334 — Pierre Gringore, 335— Art of printing, 336 — Architec- ture, 337 — Painting, 338 — Playing cards, 339 — Industry and commerce, 340 — The Renaissance, 341 — The Reformation, 342. Glossary of Medieval Words . . . 343 Index • 347 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE CHAPELLE DU CHATEAU DE VINCENNES . Frontispiece CHATEAU OF MONTLHERY 8 A KNIGHT OF MEDIAEVAL FRANCE .... lO GODFREY OF BOULOGNE IN THE MOVING TOWER . 25 KING OF THE lENTH CENTURY 32 KNIGHT AND ARMS 34 TOURNAMENT 37 SEAL OF LOUIS VI . . . 47 CATHEDRAL OF NOYON 50 SEAL OF TOULOUSE COMMUNE (OBVERSE AND REVERSE) 53 FIGURE OF SUGER IN CHURCH WINDOW . . . 60 SEAL OF ST, BERNARD 78 THE VOWING OF A CHURCH 79 SEAL OF SIMON DE MONTFORT 84 PARIS UNDER PHILIPPE AUGUSTE 87 WALLS OF CARCASSONNE 8q XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE SAINT LOUIS . . 92 SAINT LOL'IS STARTS FOR THE CRUSADE ... 98 SAINT LOUIS IN PRISON I03 SAINT LOUIS RENDERS JUSTICE.- . . . . .112 SEAL OF LOUIS IX II7 TROUBADOURS , . . . 122 SAINT WULFRAN, A ABBEVILLE . . . . . 128 NOTRE DAME OF PARIS I29 FROISSART 169 FRONT ENTRANCE OF NOIRE DAME, AT POITIERS . 195 CORONATION OF CHARLES V .212 STATUE OF DUGUESCLIN 214 TOMB OF DUGUESCLIN . — 2x6 VIEW OF THE BASTILE . . . . . . . 219 CHARLES VI . 231 HEAD-DRESS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY . . ,241 BATTLE OF AZINCOURT 243 CAPTURE OF TROVES 246 THE OLD LOUVRE . . 248 SIEGE OF ORLl^ANS 259 STATUE OF JOAN OF ARC . . . . . . 261 MEDAL OF JOAN OF ARC 265 STATUE OF JOAN OF ARC 268 PORTRAIT OF JACQUES CCEUR 276 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXI KING REn6 282 JEANNE DE LAVAL 283 PHILIP THE GOOD AND CHARLES THE BOLD . • 289 GATE OF THE PALACE, NANCY . , . _ . . 297 CATHEDRAL OF REIMS . . ... . . 299 BATTLE OF FORNOVO . . , ■ 313 CHEVALIER BAYARD . . . ... . . 318 MOUNT ST. MICHAEL 32 1 PHILIP DE COMMINES 33P xxu CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. <^ P I < ^ .S o < p4 5 -fe H <| U I— I O o O '^ o ai d ^1 ;-• P a 5 a S o 6 U o o <-; "^ U (D P U j3 a -^ M (u " 9j 5 -9 jn >% t; p - ^ b S o U U ^ t«-^ u- ^ ° w w "■ .5 -^ o 2 S" LO t^ CO OS Q 00 N oj ^ o U > T3 e jf rt '5 m > "■ p fiQ-'l U > n^ > 0- _!) J2 '5 h Seconi Siege 1 Louis Henry 33 ^ J3 ON '^t- t^ ro tv 00 On 0) m j^- ■^ Th Tt- 10 M ^ Z M W M M CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. xxiii 212 w 2 u ^ .2 di < > -^ ^ c« o -^ T3 C C S 0) a; 3 P J2 _? t« r'S ^ "=3 O O Ctf c •" m 0) C C J3 o W E 1) (U 3 < < ■"* ^- 0) ^ 3 '-5 W ■« ^ 0) « a > "o W) in "cS a CO HH rt ._,_,, ^ ^ ,,,„_ ^ ... ._^ .^ fe 2 2 o-l I ^ ^ ^ „ -c a-g ^ -^ ^ - !3 S I ^ iJ .i2 K„3r^rtS^*^caj(UJ3 litis c^ J CL c55 H H £S ^ ^2. u ffl oa J lOt^OOCOCOO^ o^o^oO w !:tI3M XXIV CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. ^ J3 5: X Si "" ''^' CO bO a < o »:! 5 .5 "1 in ^ •«e 0) o e g M -'^ fc -a -g- « .a 222 2 (NMOICl (NN CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. ' XXV ^ T) 52 •^ <: ^ >- s ^ ,R "Q l>3 ^ O S 6 ■5 3 1 ?5 ^ o s Si >i " "a ^i3 -a T3 J «, ^ iS F -ii ^ 'c ^ .S u5 ?* S ci ^ ;2 B ^ o „ „; Si o o u c S- 0*0 O pi 2 oa c rt aj pq H pa pa < a, E § c^ is 3 — ■ C 2 cd a V b ^ E f*o J-H OJ ^ Ph §H 133 H iJ rt ■" •£ 13 > rt tn C :3 — . C 01 rt 2-5 >v *J 0) b/j oi C il s> 1 ^£-2 ^s.o3 u & •— • X .- rti fll l-^ tL 1—1 , C aj c « D, XI r J 3 XI iJ XI XI Papoul < illezais,T Montau and Cas into bis u D c o a V, w CS C 0) of Sain dom,M Sarlat, Vabres, erected a H o ai pa'cA! H> oo>o tNO ""^ voc^ coc^ NCO ro-i- -^^ •!)-•* ^'i- roro mm mco com mm CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XXVll «* o I , "U •^ 1^ -^ '^ '^ a a! 73. 3 m £ ■^ .2 s Ci '5 q:-^ q;-^ ■; : j; : a : 00 O (M O N in t^ 00 oo o\ o\ as CO CO CO en ro CO m H M H M M > a 15 J3 o M oS "o '-'Mi: -S W § c a in "* ;-. 1-1 [^ fe •= o ni . £ .^ U -SJ 0) •a 3 a > ^^ TI ii 1^ j3 1-. 3 15 On 1^ S ^g' O — ■ (U 'C . • > Ph -^ H-; .C C_i ^y A-\ m T-» O »-* ,n ^ tj > — a. ^ £ -^ ■ > J3 u f-l ni « -C -: H S r? i" O & CQ ^ -,5 r" ^ S ^ O .^ p ° , -^ :;: < O > da > -p 1^ coco 0\ MlovotN Ort-OO (Mw 0) corocnco "^-Tj-TfLo CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XXIX Is *a s •§ >> 6 J5 13 'o a! -o •5 & cu c _a; u rt 8 '53 C O OJ c al ^ s "3 o u a "o "o <2 C tn Oi 0) "rt 2 ■35 < H > c ^ rH r- 3 H ■3 ^ o 2 ■" .s T3 3 C C ■3 M •5 ^ a u fi ^ CQ be d 44 O in 3 i2 <«• -S U _: -^ o 3 o o; ^ > dl O ^ C jC _ . ^ C- « B T3 3 o X O -5 t! S rt c* a, 13 s •a 1 r o a -3 "^s b .S ,/! S ^ 5 S <" ^■z.-^ o 5 2 rt =3 .i3 ca •5 "« r- C n, C S S |3 <" iSi Cd o a {J n V cj 5?5 i5 -a -s <^ -C bfl r- -t; tl s ^ <: T3 -^ O - , , > " Graudes Chroniques de France," 376 — 1381. rately. ] 2,4,5,6 Geoftroi de Villerhardouin, 1155?— 1213. " La Conqueste de Con- stantinoble." The earliest chronicle written in French, 1198 — 1207. 4,6 Henry de Valenciennes. Continues Villehardouin's chronicle. 3 Cuvelier, 14th century. A metrical history of Duguesclin. 6 " Chronique Metrique de Saint Magloire, 1223 — 1292. 6 " Chronique Metrique d'Adam de la Halle,'' 1282? 6 Guillaume Guiard, 13th century. " La Branche des royaux Lignages. '' A rhymed chronicle, 1165 — 1306. 6 Godefroi de Paris. " Chronique Metrique de Philippe le Bel," 1300 — 1316. FROM HUGUES CAFET TO LOUIS XII. XXxiil 2,4,5 Le Sire de Joinville, 1224 — 1319. " Vie de Saint Louis. " Charming by its style, its grace, and its simplicity. 2,6 Jean Froissart, 1337 — 1410. Chronique, 1326 — 1400. The chronicler /i:?r excellence. The Valois 2,4,5 Christine de Pisan, 1363? — -1431. " Le Livre des faits et bonnes mreurs du sage roy Charles (V.)." Authentic and interesting, but too pompous in style, 1336 — 1380. 2 " La Chronique du bon Due Louis de Bourbon," 1360 — 1410. 4.5 " Le livre des faicts dubon Messire Jean le Maingre, dit Mareschal de Boucicaut," 1368 — 1421. 3 " Chronique du Religieux de Saint Denis," 1380 — 1422. 4 Jean Juvenal des Ursins, 1388 — 1473. " Histoire de Charles VI., roi de France," 1380— 1422. 2.6 Enguerrand de Monstrelet, 1390? — 1453. Chronique, 1400 — 1441. Tedious when compared to Froissart, but valuable for its accuracy and completeness. 2,6 Lefevre de Saint Remy, 1394 — 146S. Memoires, 1407 — 1435. 2.4.5 Pierre de Fenins. Memoires, 1408 — 1425. 4 "Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris sous le regne de Charles VI," 1408 — 1422. 7 Guillaume Cousinot. " Chronique de la Pucelle,'' 1422 — 1429. 7 Pierre Cochon, — 1443. " Chronique Normande," 11 18 — 1430. 7 Jean Chartier, — 1462. " Chronique de Charles VII.", 1422 — 1461. 4,5 Th. Godefroi. " Histoire d'Artus III., Due de Bretaigne, Comte de Richemont, et connetable de France," 1413 — 1457. 4.5 Th. Godefroi. " Memoires relatifs a Florent, Sire d'Uliers.'' 4.6 "Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris sous le regne de Charles VII," 1422 —1449. 4,5 Olivier de la Marche, 1426— 1502. Memoires, ler et 2nd livres, 1435— 1488. 4.5 Olivier de la Marche. " S'ensuyt I'etat de la maison du Due Charles de Bourgogne, dit le Hardi, 1474. 4.5.6 Jacques du Clercq, 1420 — , seigneur de Beauvoir en Ternois. Memoires, 1448 — 1467. 2.6 Mathieu d'Escouchy (or de Courcy). Chronique, 1444 — 1461. Continuator of Monstrelet. 2,4,5 Philippe de Commines, 1445- 1509.. Memoires, 1464 — 1498. The first French author who has written history with the depth and sagacity of a man accustomed to political life. 4,5 " Chronique Scandaleuse," 1460— 1483. On the life of Louis XI. Does not deserve the title under which it is known. 2 Thomas Basin, 1412 — 1491. "Histoire de Charles VII., et de Louis XI." Written in Latin ; most valuable. xxxiv SOURCES FOR HISTORY OF FRANCE. 3 Jean Masselin, — 1500. "Journal des dtats generaux de 1484." 4,5 Gnillaume de Villeneuve. Memoires, 1494 — 1497. Very curious memoirs. 4,5 Jean Boucher, 1476 — 1550? " Panegyrique du Chevalier sans reproche," 1460— 1525. 2.4 " Le Loyal Serviteur." Tres joyeuse, plaisante, et recreative histoire du bon chevalier sans paour et sans reproche, 1476 — 1520. A masterpiece. 6 George Chastellain, 1403 — 1475. " Chronique du bon chevalier Jacques de Lalaing," 1430 — 1453. 6 George Chastellain. " Declaration de tous les hautz faitz et glorieuses adventures du due Philippe de Bourgogne," 1464 — 1470. 5 Jean Molinet, — 1507. Chronique, 1470 — 1506. The Valois-Orlmians. 4.5 Robert de la Marck, seigneur de Fleuranges, 1491 — 1537. " His- toire des choses meraorables advenures du reigne de Louis XII. et Franfois I.,'' 1499 — 1521. Interesting memoirs, but written too much in a/an/aron style. The foregoing list comprises the p7-incipal chronicles and memoirs published in the collections edited by : — i. M. Guizot. 2. Le Sociiti de r histoire de France. 3 The French Government (" Documents in^dits"). 4 MM. Michaud and Poujoulat. 5 MM. Petitot and Monmerque. 6 M. Buchon. 7 M. Jannet (" Bibliotheque Elz^virienne"). CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF ALL THE CHAN- CELLORS OF FRANCE FROM THE BEGIN- NING OF THE CAPETIAN DYNASTY TO THE REIGN OF LOUIS XII. HuGUES Capet. Robert. Henry I. Louis the Fat. Adalb6ron, Archbishop of Reims — Gerbert, Archbis- hop of Reims — Reginald, Bishop of Paris — Rotger, Bishop of Beauvais. Abbo, Bishop — Francon, Bishop of Paris — Arnulphus, Archbishop of Reims — Baldwin — Fulbert of Char- tres. Gervais, Archbishop of Reims (1059, 1065) — Baldwin (1061 — 1067) — Peter, Abbot of Saint Germain (1067 — 71) — Guillaume (1073) — Godfrid (1075 — 9^) — Roger of Beauvais (1070, 1080, 1105) — Ursion of Senlis (1090) — Hubert (1091, 92) — Hambaud (1095) — Arnulphus (1097)— Gislebert (1095, 1105) — Etienne (1106, 1108). Etienne (the same as above, 1108 — xii6 — Etienne de Garlande (1116, 1125, 1133) — Fulchrade (1119) — Simon (1125, 1133) — Hugues (1129) — Algrin (1134, 37)- Louis the Young. Algrin (the same as above, 1150) — Noel, Abbot of Rebais (1139, 40) — Cadurc (1140 — 1147) — Lideric (1142) — Barthdlemy (1147) — Baudouin (1147) — Simon (1150, 1153) — Hugues de Champfueri, Bis- hop of Soissons (1150, 51, 69, 72) — Roger (1154) — Hugues de Puiseaux (1178, 79). Hugues de Puiseaux (as above, to 115) — Hugues de B6thisy (1185, 86). Guerin (1186 — 1226). Guerin (abdicates in 1227, then a vacancy occurs — Philip d'Antogny — Jean Allegrin (1240? vacancy in 1248) — Nicolas de Canis (1249)— Gilles, Archbis- hop of Tyre (1258) — Jean le Court dAubergenville, Philip Augustus. Louis VHL Louis IX. XXXvi LI^T OF CHANCELLORS OF FRANCE. Louis le Hutin. Philip V. Charles IV. Philip VI. Bishop of Evreux (1258, 1260, vacancy in 1259) — Simon de Brie (Pope under the name of Martin IV. 1261) — Philippe de Caturc (1269) — Mathieu de Ven- dome, Abbot of Saint Denis — Simon de Clermont. Philip III. Pierre Barbet, Archbishop of Reims (1270, vacancy in 1271, 73, 74, 79) — Henry de Vezelay (1279) — Pierre de Challon (1281—83). Philip IV. Jean de Vassaigne (1292, died in 1300) — Etienne de Soiisy (1292, 1302, 1304) — Guillaume de Crespy (1293, 96) — Pierre Flotte (1300—1302) — Pierre de Belle- Perche, Bishop of Auxerre (1306, 1307) — Pierre de Gres — Guillaume de Nogaret (1307) — Gilles Aycelin, Archbishop of Narbonne (1309 — 1313) — Pierre de Latilly (1313 — 14). Etienne de Mornai (1314— 16). Pierre d'Arablai (1316, 17) — Pierre de Chappes (1321) — Jean de Cherchemont (1320). Pierre Rodier (1320 — 23) — Jean de Cherchemont (1323—28). Mathieu Ferrand (1328) — ^Jean de Marigny, Arch- bishop of Rouen (1329) — Guillaume de Sainte Maure (1329 — 34) — Pierre Rogert (since Clement VI., 5334) — Guy Baudet, Bishop of Langres (C334 — 38) — Etienne de Vissac (1338)— Guillaume Flotte (1339—47) — Firmin Coquerel, Bishop of Noyon (1347) — Pierre de la Foret, Cardinal (1349 — 57). John II. Pierre de la Foret (1359)— Fouquet Bardoul — Gilles Aycelin de Montagu (1357, 1360) — Jean de Dor- mans, Bishop of Beauvais (1361). Charles V. Jean de Dormans (till 1317) — Guillaume de Dormans (1371) — Pierre d'Orgemont (1380). Charles VI. Milon de Dormans, Bishop of Beauvais (1383) — Pierre de Giac (1388)— Arnaud de Corbie (dismissed in 1398, reinstated 1400 — 1405 ; dismissed again, reinstated, exercises 1409 ; abdicates in 1412) — Hier de Martreuil (?)— Nicolas du Bois, Bishop of Bayeux (1398 — 1400) — ^Jean de Montagu, Arch- bishop of Sens (1405— 1409)— Henri de Laistre (1413, 1418 — 20) — Henri le Lorgne de Marie (1413 — I4i8)^ean le Clerc (1420—25). Charles VII. Louis de Luxembourg (1424 — 1435, named by He?irv VI. as well as the next) — Thomas Hoo (1436 — 39) — Robert le Ma9on [named by the Dauphin, 1418, 1419 — 21) — Martin Gouges de Charpaigne, Bishop of Clermont (1421 — 38)— Renaud de Chartres, Archbishop of Reims (March 28, August 6, 1424, LIST OF CHANCELLORS OF FRANCE. XXXVll 1428 — 45) — Guillaurae Juvenal des Ursins (1445 — 1461). Louis XI. Pierre de Morvillier (1461 — 1465) — Guillaume Juvenal de Ursins (1472) — Pierre d'Oriole (1483). Charles VIII. Guillaume de Rochefort (1492) — Adam Fumee (1494) — Robert Bri9onnet, Archbishop of Reims (1495 — 97) — Gui de Rochefort. Louis XII. Gui de Rochefort (as above till 1507) — ^Jean de Gannay (1512) — Etienne Poncher (1515). Judicial functions — belonged to the Parliament proper, divided into three Courts THE PARLIAMENT. The Supreme Court of Law in France held its sittings, first at intervals, afterwards (reign of Charles V.) permanently ; was re-organized by PhiUpthe Fair (edict of 1302), and subdivided according to the nature ot the duties it had to discharge. I. Political functions — belonged to the Council of State {Conseil d'etat, Grand Conseil, Conseil Etroit). la. Chambre des requites, tried cases brought directly before the Par- liament. Chambre des enquetes, tried cases about which appeal had been made to Parliament. Grand' Chambre or Chambre des plaidoiries, decided cases ex- amined in the first instance by the C/iatnbre des enquetes. 3. Financial functions — belonged to the Chambre des comptes. Number of persons composing the Parliament under the reigns of Charles VII., Louis XL, Charles VIII., and Louis XII. :— 1. Twelve Peers of France. 2. Eight Masters {Maitres des requetes). 3. Eighty Councillors, both laymen and ecclesiastics. PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENTS. Toulouse created in 1302 Dijon created in 1477 Grenoble ,, ,, 1453 Rouen ,, ,, 1499 Bordeaux ,, ,, 1462 Aix ,; ,, 1501 XXXVlll GENEALOGICAL TABLE. H O H U < o ^ in X I— I < I— I fu u H O O o o ^ bib 3 >J i fe Q £ ;^ o. O"^ (1^ c^ '^ -w u [^ <1 ~c> < o < M U ►J C/3 U D C5 O D t> M ffi — o O S = o 2 ."^ u o 2 M O O en 2 3 8 11 - "U o <^* S^ Ed N < [^ 2 — o- a, U3 N GENEALOGICAL TABLE. XXXIX N 2 a: o u 2 o ^ <: tuo ■J H o; ^ Il o " " ^ X S 5 s! U> o " . u-i^ O M C t-^ ►- 3 -i U . -«i > <;2i ce C w ■< c3 N <^ crt 1-1 '^pq i-J G . HH . ^• I— I -«> a S c=: M E "^ " px, |I5 ^ h-lO .^^ ^ SI Z «^ <:"« pqfe c ^S H "^ . U 13 "^S Ed U ii >■ .^2 2 2 1=^ 1^2 ■< -a S ►> o -«e ^, f^CJ .. Si •^ >-< _i-l IT "-I cS •"C -^ w > (d p^-n i? o ^- .^^ M 1— 1 H H W CU PLh Ed < f^ u t; z ^ <^ < H r 1 '^ .S W „ l*^ td o ^ o S^ b C O >o H -ft w <; — o ^ ►J 5 "u U Si S 00 00 Tt- On O H M r-. > '^"^' K 3 P) w o [:;> "^ n <1 O it w P>> hJ T3 C l_^ 0! 1— 1 5 ■j o „?} "5 2. « 1-1 " \0 -J-^ - M . „ G > bO K O < 2- Ed ^ _Ed ^^ ^ ^ - . 3 .5 00 t>, „ 3 ll IH Z,° • . - < E-i -^^ ^3 -^ 3 ''.S-^ K 00 Q^-s.- « \D r/" C 3 VO m ro « oo c t* B Q c/5 -a Pi; o i X O < o Di PQ 8 5c/)<» <_, . o < °>3 W^3 ii H .- H .„ Cd O - f^ M fc. ,^ « . < . (X, <- <-«■ S U "j .^ "~ ^ 1— 00 l-H '^i- II I—, bH II > . hH .^ ..^ ■<< X - " *-^ r^ rooo ,„ 00 ON ^^■^ O l*J ON ^ TO 1) .-J in V C fi< uT .- ,, C/2 U D P 0) D o D o c ■a 1) c 0) E bo c o 1-1 „ a, O 3 "-a ^ be bjo -a 1 3 cj 3 b fe •- 0) Dh fe o >, 3 -" x) c >, s — 0) T) 0) O fan (—1 1—5 (—1 < P. U ic2 13 o s tii 1 c ID V S E c V e o -a 1 1 c" .2 29 ^-a h: 5 w .1:; < Pi en 1— I z CL, O B 3 3 I-. c o o ° E o "o 1) • Q o "5 E 5 o £. w O 1-1 'o bi) O "ho l^o o c C3 c _o o •X3 oi -§ .2 ^ «i o W p ob o O o 0) w to 3 ■T3 C o o > 2 a oi O C/2 c '5 '5 £ E o o 1) o 0; bJ3 C g S 73 o a. D o u (U ^ <£ J3 ^ C/3 <^ o H CO 1— I 3 B 1 1^ o 1 1 1 O CL, H O, O O 6 0) 1 > .&■ 1 1 I Cil J2; 5 2^ 2 o 1 1 1— 1 > W ^ a. Hi ^ < J ^..^^ ^^ ,— ^ >^ >> ^ td < S " 00 : f^ K .r,'^" ^1 M --- ^ a M CO (-1 in 3 CO ^ CO J-* Q < M • < 1-* 1 1 < "E TABLE OF THE STATES-GENERAL. xliii ;-i • w w — -a G "" Of o ^ ^ Q R b == -CI c s: '-'dm 03 X _g oj ::^'2 e V V n §5 E D O 1) O C '- = D. V rt c a Q ' I) — -t; '^ ^ ^ *-• K K c " .2 S :S CI. p ^ O tn *^ OS C, U C S 3 — D. 0) .5 ^ W) ^ rt " fc £ v a u Oi - v cS o ■I «J S ^ ^ 3 S •£ E '— 1 fcJ3 -"i ^ o o -5 ^ ^ !i :o 'ij rt o « - ^ is ^ g g ■£ H a [V, — . Q. != e o • S ^ Si § „ ^ §-0 B -a g :5 ■§ ^ XI x: bo 5 oj ^ IT) u . ^ .5 > ■£ .« 0) 4i > It 1) a o c 4= i© « -a ci-g K E E "5 CO i I I to b O . — . . . DO) >^ 0\ >, CO ^ X! vj> M ^ CO ^5 H§ ^S 2? S £ P?« ^^ I — > ■ ■ O 1) ^ ■ — ■ x]h TABLE OF THE STATES-GENERAL. ^ S S ."* ?r 2 0) > 3 . -Si - S ,„ ij "^ O g ^ "H ^ T3 O 't? 3 c g o o Q U S & ■S ^^ o ^ n ^ t. ,„ .— H -; jj g u ^ z a! M ^^ Oh u a> fl . V U) P^ 5 -a ii J3 ■ 3 oi C^. s a> fcv ■" ^ M x; H < H o .b z o S . u5 0) O 0-§ ^ Q^ Ck m=S O w > 6 c/) z A 5 a J3 U i2 3 ZhZ H Oh ZH s f2 ■ ■ ts , „ „ - • ra 00 _Q ^~ LOajcy.iu-iiOc oorrTj-S o'>; MEDIEVAL FRANCE. I. THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. 987-1108.) The story of ancient France can scarcely be said to begin before Hugues Capet ; during the Merovingian dynasty it is the story of the Celts, the Romans, the Greeks, and the Teutons ; under Charlemagne and his successors it is closely interwoven with that of Ger- many. When, in 987, the Duke of France decided upon assuming the title of king, the large and fertile country included between the Rhine, the Pyrenees, and the Atlantic Ocean could scarcely indeed be regarded as forming one political community, but the various ele- ments of which it consisted were gradually becoming welded together, and all the inhabitants of that region,^ whether north or south of the Loire, claimed the name oi Frenchmen. Let us take a glance at that series of duchies, baronies, countships, and other quasi-indepen- dent states of which Hugues Capet was the nominal king. Brittany strikes us first as the district which 2 THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. was the last to lose the originality of its laws, its cus- toms, its language, and its literature ; as far back as the fourth century the league or association of the Armorican cities, governed by independent chieftains, set at defiance both the Roman legions and the hordes of Barbarians, who from the further side of the Rhine overran the whole of Gaul. They maintained their freedom against the Northmen on the one side, and the Angevins on the other. After 982, however, they ceased to form a separate state and became part of France. If we travel southwards, starting from the banks of the Rhine, we find the provinces of Flanders, Vermandois, Picardy ; and, going towards the east, Lorraine. Champagne owes its name {Campania in Gregorius Turonensis) to the fertility of its soil, and to its general appearance ; it was originally governed by princes of the Vermandois family. The Counts of Anjouwere undoubtedly the most powerful amongst the vassals of Hugues Capet ; they played a conspicuous part in the history of the Middle Ages, and were closely mixed up with the political life, not only of France, but of England. Burgundy and Franche Comte must not be forgotten, and in the course of this "story " we shall often have the opportunity of recording the events which brought the rulers of these provinces into col- lision with the kings of France. And now we come to the banks of the Loire, on the southern side of which the large districts of Septimania, Toulouse, Gascony, Provence, and Guienne (corrupted from Aquitania) are occupied by a population which still betrays its Latin origin, and is decidedly the most intellectual and most refined part of France. There is the home of the THE SOCIETY OF THE SIXTH CENTURY. 3 Troubadours ; there flourishes the Langue d^oc, which has produced so many brilliant monuments of elegant literature. We have thus given a short view of the principal territorial elements of which the French family con- sists ; we shall now describe as briefly, and yet as completely as we can, the constitution of the family itself and the political structure which prevailed during the period known as the Middle Ages. Three different categories made up society in the Gaul of the sixth century ; namely, the Gallo-Roman, the Church, and the Barbarian. When Hugues Capet came to the throne, this threefold division still existed, but under different names : the lords held the position occupied previously by the Gallo-Romans, and whilst the Church retained its position, the serfs represented the lowest stratum of society, barbarians in point of fact, if not by express designation. The bonds which connected these three orders with each other may be said to have arisen from two edicts or enactments which consecrated a revolution of ancient date, and resulting from the very nature and constitu- tion of society. In times of political disturbances, when the most elementary notions of order seem for- gotten and cast aside, it is a matter of course that the weak should endeavour to secure the protection of the strong, and to obtain, if possible, the conditions of peaceful life and of undisturbed labour. Now, in 847 an edict given at Mersen contained the following clause : " Every free man shall be allowed to select for himself a lord, either the king or one of the king's vassals ; and no vassal of the crown shall be obliged 4 THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. to follow the king to war, except against foreign enemies." The force of this enactment will be obvious. We must bear in mind that at the time of his accession, Hugues Capet was no more than the equal of most of the lords between whom the territory of France was divided, and even inferior in power to some of them. Nor was this a solitary case, and as his subjects could thus make their obedience a matter of bargain, the sovereign would frequently find himself helpless in times of civil war, and being equally unable to enforce submission upon the lords, and to protect the common class of his subjects, these would naturally group them- selves around the more powerful barons. As the edict of Mersen affected the question of security, so that of Kiersy told upon the status of property. Under the Carlovingian dynasty property was of two kinds ; the holders of allodial lands {allodial from all, and the old Teutonic substantive od, goods, property) enjoyed them absolutely and independently. On the other hand, benefices or fiefs (from the Anglo- Saxon feof, cattle, money) were granted by a lord to a person who, in return for that grant, and for the protection it insured on the part of the baron, obliged himself to do . military service, to render pecuniary assistance, &c. Now it would frequently happen that the owner of allodial property, isolated amongst all his independence, found it impossible to live securely and comfortably in the vicinity of barons stronger or more powerful than himself He would then select one of these barons or feudal lords, recommend himself to him, as the saying was, make over to him by a kind of feigned cession his allodial property, and FEUDAL SYSTEM. 5 then receive it back again as a benefice, together with all the duties, obligations, and burdens belonging to it. As a matter of course, beneficiary property soon formed the rule, except south of the Loire, and there was no landed property which did not depend upon another property, no man who was not the vassal or dependant of another man. The hereditary transmission of landed property and of all charges, offices, and positions of trust was sanctioned by the edict of Kiersy (877). We thus see that every great lord or landowner, enjoying the same rights and privileges as the king himself, there existed throughout the length and breadth of France as many sovereigns as there were dukes, counts, viscounts, &c. When Hugues Capet came to the throne, he found a hundred and fifty barons owning the right of legislating, coining, ad- ministering justice, making war, and concluding treaties with their neighbours. The king, therefore, had no real power as such, but only so far as he possessed some important fief, whether dukedom or countship. Before the accession of the Capetian dynasty the royal domain consisted of the city of Laon and a few insignificant villas ; after the year 987 it comprised the whole duchy of France, and Hugues Capet was thus, in point of real power, the equal of his vassals. It should not be forgotten that a real hierarchy bound together all owners of fiefs, and in this complicated system the same individual could be at the same time suzerain and vassal. The King of France, for instance, was vassal of the Abbot of Saint Denis, and the Duke of Burgundy held the same position towards the 6 THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. Bishop of Langres ; thirty-two knights-bannerets owed service and homage to the Viscount of Thouars, who, in his turn, was a vassal of the Count of Anjou, him- self a vassal of the King of France. Our readers will see at once that every count was not necessarily superior to a viscount and inferior to a duke. The Count of Anjou, for example, had nothing to do, hierarchically, with the Duke of Burgundy, and the only point these two lords h-ad in common was their position as vassals of the King of France. Three principal ceremonies characterized the feudal relations between the lord and his vassal. The latter, when doing homage to the former, knelt before him, and placing his hand in that of his future suzerain, declared that he would become /izs man, and as such acknowledged himself bound to defend his life and his honour. He then took the oath of faith or fidelity, having previously removed his sword and his spurs. This was called Jionniiage-lige, and bound the vassal to m.ilitary service for an unlimited time, and on what- soever territory the lord thought fit to lead his depen- dants. For circumstances and at epochs when war was permanent, or nearly so, the Jiomniage-lige prevailed ; thus in the code of laws known by the name of "Assises de Jerusalem," drawn up after the taking of the Holy City by the Crusaders in 1099, it is regarded as tJie rule. The hommage simple or franc -^2.?. of a less stringent character ; it implied military service only for the space of forty days yearly, within the limits of the fief, and with the permission of performing that service by deputy. The vassal did homage standing, wearing his sword and spurs, and placing one hand on a copy FEUDAL FORTRESSES. 7 of the Gospels. The ceremony once over, the tie between the lord and his vassal is complete, and an interchange of duties, services, and obligations must be the necessary result. We can imagine the scene taking place in the hall of one of those imposing castles, the ruins of which add even at the present time so much picturesqueness to the landscapes in France, Germany, England, Italy, and Spain. Just as the republics of antiquity had their /o7^u7/z and their agora, just as the France of Louis XIV. boasted of its Versailles, just as modern England possessed its court of Parliament, so did the feudal system raise its castles and its strongholds as the centre of authority and the symbol and the abiding place of power. The edifice is generally built upon a height ; its architecture is massive, but without any particular beauty. A series of towers, either round or square, connected together by formidable walls, and pierced here and there with loop-holes form the structure. At Montlhery there were no less than five concentric enclosures commanding each other, and giving ad- ditional security to the chateau. You arrive ; the entrance-gate, flanked by small towers and sur- mounted by a guard-room, presents itself before you. Three moats, three drawbridges must be crossed. At every step you take, a challenge meets you, and if admittance is granted, you find yourself before the keep idonjoii), a strongly fortified building which con- tains the family records and the family treasure. The lodgings, farmhouses, stables, and other de- pendencies are scattered about to the right and to the left, and an underground passage leaves an CHATEAU OF MONTLHfiRY. FEUDAL DUES. 9 exit from within to the plain or to the neighbouring forest. There is not a single feature in these splendid castles which does not remind us that war is the constant occupation of those who dwell within, and that military service is the chief obligation which the vassal owes to his lord. We have said the c/iief, not the only one. The help of wise counsel and of wholesome advice is also frequently needed ; it may likewise happen that the lord is retained prisoner in foreign lands ; the vassals must then club together to pay his ransom. When he gives his eldest daughter in marriage, when his eldest son is made knight, or is about to start for the Crusades, pecuniary aids are also expected as a matter of course. Estates might, and did often, change hands ; others were con- fiscated or left without owners, on account of the death of the heir: hence fresh and heavy duties paid over to the lord. If the vassal was a minor, the suzerain became his guardian, and as such received the income till his ward had attained his majority. The daughters of the vassal were obliged to receive husbands at the hand of the lord, unless they pre- ferred forfeiting a considerable sum of money. It will be easily imagined that under such a system fiefs were multiplied as much as possible, because every fief meant military service — a thing of the utmost importance in those days — and money, which at all times is a matter of great consequence. The right of hunting, of fishing, of crossing a river, of escorting merchants and other persons of the same description had to be purchased. The vassals were compelled to A KNIGHT OF MEDl/EVAh FRANCE. VASSALS AND SERFS. II bake their bread in the seigniorial ovens, to grind their corn in the seigniorial mill, to make their wine in the seigniorial wine-press, paying certain sums for the use of conveniences which they were obliged to avail themselves of {banalites). All the vassals of the same lord were considered as pairs or equals, and they formed in their capacity a kind of court of justice from which appeals were allowed to the lord himself. Whenever in discussions or differences agreement was impossible, the case was decided by a duel or appeal to arms. The right of private warfare was thus not only tolerated, but sanctioned as a matter of necessity. All lords had the right of pronouncing judicial sentences, but that right was not the same in all cases. Only barons enjoying the privilege of high justice (haute justice) could con- demn to death, and accordingly erect the gallows in the neighbourhood of their castles. The middle and lozv justice (moyenne justice, basse justice) only ap- plied to minor cases, which were punished by fines. Lower than the vassals came the serfs who had no rights — a whole army of wretched creatures who, under their threefold designations of serfs properly SD called, maimnortables, and vilains, inanants or roturiei's, were more or less under the absolute de- pendence of the feudal baron. Of the serfs, an old legist has said that the baron might take from them whatever they had, and that he might either right- fully or wrongfully keep them in prison whenever and as long as he liked, being accountable to God alone. The maimnortables were better off ; if they paid regu- larly their rents, dues, reliefs, &c., the lord could not 12 THE. FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. exact anything more from them, unless as a punish- ment for some misdeed ; but they could not marry except with the permission of the lord, and, at their death, all their property reverted to him. The vianants or roturiej^s enjoyed their freedom, at any rate, and could transmit their property to their children, but still they had to put up with certain obligations which often rendered their peace and their condition, in general, extremely precarious. The vassals had, as we have seen, to pay to the baron certain fines, reliefs, dues, &c. ; we need hardly say that the serfs and vilains were treated in a far mord arbitrary fashion still. Besides contributions in kind and in money, they found themselves compelled to give away their time and their labour without the slightest compensation. When a road had to be made on the manorial estate, a building to be erected or repaired, furniture or agricultural implements to be provided, the serfs were set to work as part of the obligations to which they were bound. In fact, the serfs were made to feel constantly that they had no free action, and that they could dispose neither of their service nor of their labour. What was the Church doing in the meanwhile, and what part did it play in the general progress of social institutions? There is no doubt that the influence exercised by it was a beneficial one as a whole, but it had become part and parcel of the feudal system, and the archbishops, bishops, and abbots exercised tem- poral power as well as spiritual authority. We are at first inclined to wonder perhaps when we read that during the Middle Ages the Church possessed, in WARLIKE PRELATES. I3 France as well as in England, more than one-fifth of the whole territory ; but we must remember that whilst, on the one hand, the threat of excommuni- cation prevented many otherwise unscrupulous persons from tampering with Church property, the zeal and the piety of the great majority of the rich faithful resulted, on the other, in grants of land and other substantial donations to churches, abbeys, and monas- teries. Despite the character which ordination had stamped upon them, ecclesiastical dignitaries retained much of those fighting qualities so essentially be- longing to feudalism. In his history of France (vol. ii.), Michelet mentions several amusing in- stances of this fact. As early as Charlemagne the bishops are indignant when a peaceful mule is brought round to them if they wish to ride ; what they want is a charger; they jump upon it unaided ; they hunt, they fight ; the blows they deal with their swords are their style of blessing ; the penances they impose are the heavy and formidable strokes of their battle-axes. We hear of a bishop deposed by the whole episcopal bench as pacific and not sufficiently courageous ; the barons became clergymen, the clergymen barons. Such, in brief, was the state of French society when Hugues Capet ascended the throne. And here the question arises : Who was Hugues Capet .'' What do we know about his origin ? There exists a chanson de geste (romance of chivalry) which bears the name of that king, and where occurs the following passage : " Pour ce vous lyray la vie d'un guerrier De coy on doit I'istore et loer et prisier, Et le grant hardement que Dieux ly fist querquer 14 THE FIRST FOUR CAPET I AN KINGS. Pour soustenir droiture et honneur exauchier. Ce fu Huez Capez c'on apelle bouchier : Ce fu voirs, mais moult space en savoit du mestier." " Therefore I shall read you the life of a warrior, Whose history should be praised and valued, And the great courage which God led him to seek To uphold right and exalt courage. This was Hugues Capet, whom they called a butcher : This was true, but he knew very little of the trade." Hugues Capet, a butcher (the nephew of a butcher as the song says elsewhere) ; this statement is odd enough, but what is more singular still, the same origin is ascribed to the first Capetian king by Dante (" Purgatorio "), the chronicler of Saint Bertin, Villon (" Ballade de I'appel "), and Cornelius Agrippa (" De vanitate scientiarum "). We know, indeed, that the great Italian poet was animated by a spirit of hostility when he ascribed to Hugues Capet so low an origin ; we are also aware that the author of the chronicle of Saint Bertin quotes the legend only to contradict it ; but what motive can Villon and others have had to give it credence, if it was not the wish to flatter the bourgeoisie by identifying with it a brave soldier, or, on the other hand, to represent Hugues Capet as a mere usurper? By opposition to this hypothesis some chroniclers have endeavoured, Math more ingenuity than success, to find a family connection between the Duke of France and the Carlovingians, just as at an earlier period a fanciful genealogical tree had been devised, showing that Pepin the Short could trace back his origin to the Merovingian dynasty. Be the result what it may, Hugues Capet ruled over France for THE CHURCH. T5 the space of nine years, and died in 996, at the com- paratively early age of fifty-four. When his son Robert ascended the throne, France, as well as the rest of Europe, was under the impression of extreme terror. It was a general belief that the end of the world would take place in the year looo, and a society so disorganized as feudalism still was, could not but be much struck by that idea, unwarranted as it might be. One good result came out of it in the shape of great moral improvement ; and if the Church profited through the liberality of the faithful, in the shape of donations, legacies, &c., it is only fair to say that the ecclesiastical dignitaries, the clergy, both secular and regular, did their utmost to enforce disci- pline, to put down abuses, and to check the ambition and wanton disposition of the barons and lords. Robert has left behind him the reputation of one of the most pious kings who ever occupied the French throne. " More of a monk than of a sovereign," says some historian ; and the poets and chroniclers con- tinually allude to the " times of good King Robert." He got into trouble with the Pope for having married a distant relative, Bertha, daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Aries, and widow of Eudes I., Count of Blois. In spite of the threats of the Court of Rome, notwithstanding the express decision of a council, Robert persisted in retaining his wife, and it was only in 1006 that he repudiated her, and mar- ried Constance, daughter of William Taillefer, Count of Toulouse. The appearance of the Southerners in Paris seems to have created not only astonishment, but disgust. " Conceited men," says the chronicler, l6 THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. Radulph Glaber, " of light character and dissolute, life ; their dress, the very trappings of their horses are odd and fantastic ; they are close-shaved like stage-performers, their hair is cut short, their buskins are absurdly long ; they jump rather than walk ; they have an utter disregard for their word, and no one dare trust them." The contrast between Robert's kindly disposition and the haughtiness of his queen is repeatedly dwelt upon by the historians, who illus- trate it by characteristic anecdotes. "Constance never jokes," says the monk Helgand. She incited to rebellion, first, Robert's eldest son, Hugues, who died in 1025 ; and, secondly, his third son, Henry. The peaceful reign of the second Capetian monarch was marked, however, by events of considerable import- ance. He was offered the crown of Italy and the dukedom of Lorraine ; conscious, no doubt, of his own weakness he refused both, and if he acted rightly in declining the former presentation, we must own that he was not well-advised when he refused the latter; after a war which lasted sixteen years he obtained possession of the dukedom of Burgundy, which, however, was lost temporarily to the crown by Henry the next king. Another important fact, which we must not leave unmentioned, is the insurrection of the Normandy peasants in 997. The insolence and tyranny of the barons was felt in that part of France more than any- where else, for the simple reason that the serfs and the commoners constituted the chief part of the original population, whilst the aristocracy belonged to the invaders who had scarcely for a century settled ATTITUDE OF THE SERFS. I7 down in Neustria. Why should authority be in the hands of comparative strangers, especially when it was so brutally misused ? Fellowship in suffering knit together all the victims of feudal tyranny ; after the work of the day was over the inhabitants of the same neighbourhood used to assemble together, and discuss the long tale of their grievances, the duties they had to pay, the corvees to which they were subjected, the labour for which they received no compensation. " Les paysans et les vilains, Ceux du bocage et ceux des plaines, Par vingt, par trente, par centaines, Ont tenu plusieurs parlemiints ; Que jamais, par leur volonte Narotit seingneur jii avoe." 4|^ " The peasants and the vilains, Those of the woods and those of the plains, By twenties, by thirties, by hundreds, Have held several parliaments (To the effect) that never with their consent Shall they have lord or champion." The chronicler, William of Jumieges, gives us an interesting account of the origin and development of a vast association, having its ramifications throughout the length and breadth of the duchy, and the object of which was nothing else but the destruction of the feudal system. Unfortunately the plot was discovered, and the members of the central committee, if we may use such a name, were seized by a body of soldiers under the orders of the Count of Evreux, uncle of the then Duke of Normandy, Richard II. They were all frightfully maltreated, and those who survived were 10 . THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. sent back to their villages with the view of inspiring terror and submission to the rest of the population. A system of persecution organized against the Jews must also be noted, the cause of this being, as was then alleged, the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by the Fatimite Caliph of Egypt The first public execution of heretics likewise took place about that time ; thirteen were burned at Or- leans, in 1022; Toulouse and other places witnessed similar executions. One of the unfortunate persons thus sentenced to death had been confessor to Queen Constance ; as he passed by her side on his way to the place of execution, she put out one of his eyes with a wand she held in her right hand. Death surprised Robert whilst he was busy copy- ing the obituary register of the Church of Melun (103 1). His third son, Henry I., succeeded^im, the first being dead, and the second incapacitated by weakness of mind. Constance would have wished her fourth son, Robert, to obtain the crown ; but this could not be, and Henry had to satisfy the ambi- tion of Robert by giving over to him the duchy of Burgundy. During the early part of the Middle Ages several cases took place of marriages annulled by the Pope, be- cause they had been brought about between persons con- nected together by relationship, at degrees condemned by the Church. Henry I., determined to avoid such a difficulty, sought and obtained the hand of Anne, daughter of the Grand Duke of Russia. It was reported that she descended, on her mother's side, from Philip, King of Macedon. ROBERT OF NORMANDY — FOULQUES NERRA. I9 If the first Capetians were naturally of a timid disposition, and better fit for the quiet seclusion of a monastery than for the turmoil of political life, the surrounding lords, on the contrary, obtained an un- desirable reputation by their crimes and their ambi- tion, Robert, Duke of Normandy, was one of them; nicknamed t/ie Magnificent by his barons, he ap- pears to have rather deserved the sobriquet of tJie Devil, which the common people bestowed upon him. His first step in public life was a crime, for he usurped the Duchy of Normandy by poisoning the lawful ruler, Richard III., his brother, and the chief barons. He then interfered with all his neighbours, and, finally, having endeavoured to atone for his wicked- ness by a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he died in Asia Minor on his way home. His son, who was destined to be so famous under the name of William the Con- queror, after having succeeded in reducing, with the help of the King of France, his turbulent vassals to obedience, ended by turning against Henry, and de- feating the royal forces in several encounters, more particularly at Mortemer, in 1054. Foulques Nerra (the black). Count of Anjou, was also a good specimen of the mediaeval baron. When a man undertakes no less than three pilgrimages "to the Holy Land, we are justified in believing that the catalogue of his sins was particularly heavy ; such was certainly the case with Foulques Nerra. Con- stance, Robert's queen, was his niece. She com- plained to him one day of a favourite of her husband. The Count of Anjou immediately sent for twelve knights, and ordered them to start in search of the 20 THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIAN KINGS. favourite, and stab him wherever they might find him. Foulques Nerra had two wives ; according to one version, he ordered the former one to be burned alive ; according to another, he had her thrown down a precipice, and as she contrived to escape, he stabbed her himself He ill-used his second wife .so much that she was obliged to retire to the Holy Land. We are not much astonished at learning that, overcome by remorse, Foulques Nerra caused himself to be fastened to a hurdle, and thus dragged through the streets of Jerusalem, whilst two of his servants scourged him with all their might, and he kept re- peating, " Have pity, O Lord, on the traitor, the per- jured Foulques ! " He died (1040) on his way home, leaving the countship of Anjou to his son Geoffrey Martel, as warlike as he had been himself, and who was a powerful ally of the King of France against the Duke of Normandy. We thus see that the feudal system was bearing already its fruit in a plentiful crop of acts charac- terized by cruelty, abuse of power, and unbridled ambition. At this point (1041) the Church stepped in, and resolved upon mitigating, if ever so little, the distress from which the lower classes of society were suffering. Accordingly an edict was published, couched pretty nearly in the following terms : " From the Wednesday evening to the Monday morning in every week, on high festivals, and during the whole of Advent and of Lent, all deeds of warfare are ex- pressly forbidden. It shall be the truce of God. Whosoever violates it shall compound for his life, or be banished from the country." As we may suppose, PHILIP I. 21 whilst this new law gave the greatest satisfaction to the mass of the population, it was vigorously resisted by barons such as the Count of Anjou and the Duke of Normandy ; but they were finally obliged to acquiesce in a decision which was so beneficial to society at large. Philip I. was only seven years old when he suc- ceeded his father. Indolent and feeble, he saw the whole of Western Europe rushing in various direc- tions, carried away by the love of adventure, without feeling the slightest desire to follow their example. Considering his inert disposition, it is a wonder that Philip, for the sake of joke, should have exposed him- self to the fury of such a man as William the Con- queror. " When will that fat fellow be confined ? " said he, alluding to the King of England's stoutness. " I shall go and be churched in Paris, with ten thou- sand lances instead of wax tapers." William nearly kept his word ; marched into the domains of the King of France, destroying everything, burning towns and villages, and putting the inhabitants to the sword. The city of Mantes was reduced to a heap of ruins, and only death arrested the progress of the infuriated William. He expired at Rouen from the results of a wound he had received at the sacking of Mantes. Philip carried on, with the same indolence, against Williiam Rufus the policy of antagonism which he had displayed in his relations with the Conqueror, and helped to swell the list of French monarchs excom- municated by the Pope for illegal marriage. He died in iio8. II. PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND — THE CRUSADES — CHIVALRY. An old writer belonging to the seventh century, named Marculphus, has left under the title of forimdcB, a series of enactments or decisions on points of law. Amongst these documents is the following curious piece of which we give a translation : " Be it known unto you, holy fathers, bishops, abbots and abbesses, dukes, counts, vicars, and all people believing in God and fearing Him, that the pil- grim , a native of , has come to us and asked our advice, because, incited by the great enemy of mankind, he has killed his own son or his nephew ; for this reason, and in accordance with custom and canon law, we have pronounced that the aforesaid should devote — years to a pil- grimage. When, therefore, presents himself before you, kindly give him lodging, accommodation, and fire, bread and water, and allow him to repair at once to the holy places." This kind of passport shown that even as far back as the Merovingian dynasty pil- grimages to Jerusalem and to the Holy Land in expiation of some notorious crime or act of wicked- D". Ouchy M, Marquisate C Countshfp KiNa%.NAVABRE --*■<'■ / V.C. ViscountsMp **•► B Bishopric /f,^^^ ■j Bishopric or Monastery ""'A r ■■"*•—.« _>— •^■••. C-OF COUNCIL OF CLERMONT. 23 ness were of frequent occurrence. The culprit had often to wear around his neck, his waist, and his wrists, chains forged out of his own armour, thus bear- ing about him both the memorials of his social position and their marks of his misdeeds. The pil- grims started on their long and dangerous voyage, and those of them who were fortunate enough to return home after a protracted absence, brought back mar- vellous tales respecting the sacred relics which the Holy City offered to the veneration of the faithful, and heart-rendering stories of the sufferings which the Europeans had to bear from the combined Jews and Mahometans. It was natural that in course of time pilgrimages of this kind should lead to military interventions ; the earliest appeal to arms proceeded from a Frenchman, Gerbert of Aurillac, who became Pope under the name of Sylvester II. (1002) ; and the powerful eloquence of another Frenchman, Peter the Hermit, a native of Picardy, led to the departure of the first Crusading army. Well might the Chronicler Guibert de Nogcnt speak of these expeditions as Ges^a Dei per Francos. A general council had been announced as about to meet at Clermont on the i8th of November, 1095. An immense concourse of people gathered together, and in their midst appeared a man, wretched to look at, small in stature, bare arms and bare feet ; his dress was a species of woollen tunic and a cloak of coarse cloth. That was Peter the Hermit ; his pierc- ing eye seemed to penetrate into the hearer's heart, and no one could resist the earnestness of his preach- FRANCE Before the Crusades Engrlish utiles D^ Ottchtf M. Marqulsate C Countship ,, „ Kin Q • OF N AVAR V.C. « ..Vlscountship B .. BIshctpric t £ishopr:c or Morastery ^■liiaHitel mm 24 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. ing ; he had just arrived from Italy where he had persuaded Pope Urban 11. to summon the people to arms on behalf of the Christian faith. The answer to his discourse was unanimous : " Diex el volt ! Diex el volt!" ("God wills it") resounded on all sides, and several thousands of men, fastening to their garments, as a rallying sign, a cross cut out of red cloth, expressed their determination of starting at once for the Holy Land. The army was indeed a motley assemblage, and the van-guard made up for their want of dis- .cipline by their enthusiasm and their simple faith. A nobleman from Burgundy bearing the significant name of Gautier sans avoir (Walter the Penniless), went first, leading a host of fifteen thousand men ; then came Peter the Hermit at the head of one hundred thousand pilgrims ; finally a German priest, Gotteschalck, followed by fifteen thousand more, formed the rear. The disorders committed by all that rabble were so great that the inhabitants of the countries through which they passed rose up against them, and made a fearful slaughter of them. The handful which succeeded in reaching the shores of Asia Minor fell under the sword of the Turks in the plains of Nicjpa, all but three thousand men and Peter the Hermit. In the meanwhile the real warriors of the ex- pedition were preparing and mustering to the number of six hundred thousand foot soldiers and one hun- dred thousand cavalry. They, too, formed three divisions. The first, consisting of men from the northern districts (Lorraine and the banks of the Rhine), went through the basin of the Danube ; they GODFREY OF BOULOGNE IN THE MOVING TOWER. 26 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. were commanded by Godefroi de Bouillon (Godfrey of Boulogne), Duke of Lower Lorraine, a descendant of Charlemagne, and particularly distinguished by his courage, his loyalty, and his genuine piety. The next corps, consisting of the Crusaders belonging to the central provinces (Normandy, France, and Bur- gundy), under the orders of Hugues, Count of Ver- mandois, Robert, Duke of Normandy, and Stephen, Count of Blois, went to embark in the seaports of the kingdom of Naples. Raymond of Saint Gilles, Count of Toulouse, and the Bishop of Le Puy, were at the head of the third division, chiefly composed of men from Southern France. They marched through the Alps, and afterwards through Friuli and Dalmatia. The general rendezvous was Constantinople. The opposition of character between the Franks, rough, warlike, and uncultivated on the one hand, and the effeminate, astute, plausible and servile Byzantines on the other, led to disagreeables and to collisions, which it required all the diplomatic skill of the Emperor Alexis to minimize and to smooth away. He contrived to exact from the chiefs of the expedi- tion the promise that they would do him homage for whatever territories they might happen to conquer in Asia Minor, and he felt considerable relief when the last soldier of the army had left Europe. The Crusaders started at the beginning of the spring of 1097, and on the 15th of May they laid siege to Nicaea. There as well as at Dorylaeum they signally defeated the Turks, and arrived before Antioch on the 1 8th of October. By this time the invading army was very much reduced, for on their way they were THE CRUSADERS IN ASIA. 27 naturally obliged to leave garrisons at all the points most liable to be attacked, without taking any ac- count of the results of famine, sickness, and other such causes. The capture of Antioch after a siege of six months proved to be another serious calamity, inasmuch as the Crusaders, in order to indemnify themselves, so to say, for the hardships and toils of the journey, indulged in excesses which rendered them peculiarly liable to be attacked by pestilential diseases. The wisest course would have been to march straight towards Jerusalem, instead of which they lingered for six months in Antioch, and a consider- able proportion of them were struck down by the plague. The remainder, fifty thousand in number, skirting as closely as possible the Mediterranean seashore in order to keep in communication with the Genoese, on whom they depended for provisions, arrived at last in view of the Holy City. The assault took place on the 14th of July, 1099, at break of day. Tancred de Hauteville and Godefroi de Bouillon were the first to penetrate into the city. The struggle was terrible ; the Mahometans occupied the mosque of Omar, where they vigorously defended themselves ; fighting went on from street to street ; one chronicler tells us that the horses waded in blood, and it is certain that acts of unparalleled cruelty were committed. When the work of actual conquest was over, and the next thing was to organize the new empire, the enthusiasm of the Crusaders sobered down, and the thoughts of many went homewards. Godefroi and Tancred gradually saw their companions forsake them and return to Europe ; only three hun- 38 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. dred knights remained faithful to the cause which they had embraced. Fifty years elapsed before a fresh Crusade was attempted. It is interesting to see the feudal system introduced in the East amongst Biblical associations ; fiefs were established on exactly the same plan as those in Europe ; the principalities of Antioch and of Edessa were governed respectively by Bohemond and Bald- win ; to them were added later on the countship of Tripoli and the marquisate of Tyre, There were lordships and feudal tenures at Tiberias, Ramlah, Jaffa. A code of laws was indispensable for the proper government of the P'.uropean colony; Godefroi de Bouillon, now King of Jerusalem, caused it to be compiled under the title of "Assises de Jerusalem," "a precious monument," says Gibbon, "of feudal juris- prudence. The new code, attested by the seals of the King, the Patriarch, and the Viscount of Jerusalem, was deposited in the Holy Sepulchre, enriched with the improvements of succeeding times, and respect- fully consulted as often as any question arose in the Tribunals of Palestine. With the kingdom and city all was lost ; the fragments of the written law were preserved by jealous traditions and variable practice till the middle of the thirteenth century ; the code was restored by the pen of John d'Ibelin, Count of Jaffa, one of the principal feudatories ; and the final revision was accomplished in the year 1 369, for the use of the Latin kingdom of Cyprus." ^ Although the text of the Assises in the form we have it now is not by far of so old a date as was at first supposed, yet it is about ' Gibbon, "Decline and Fall," chap. Iviii. "ASSISES DE JERUSALEM." 2g sixty years older than the Coiitjnniers,ox\di\v compila- tions used in Europe, and has therefore consider- able interest ; it is one of the fullest and most trustworthy sources of information respecting the feudal system. It is noteworthy that the Assises, from the political point of view, establish the sovereignty of the nation as represented by the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. " The justice and freedom of the constitution," we still quote Gibbon, *' were maintained by two tribunals of unequal dig- nity. . . The king, in person, presided in the upper court, the court of the barons. Of these the four most conspicuous were the Prince of Galilee, the Lord of Sidon and Caesarea, and the Counts of Jaffa and Tri- poli, who, perhaps, with the constable and marshal, were in a special manner the compeers and judges of each other. But all the nobles who held their lands im- mediately of the crown were entitled and bound to attend the king's court ; and each baron exercised a similar jurisdiction in the subordinate assemblies of his own feudatories. The connection of lord and vassal was honourable and voluntary ; reverence was due to the benefactor, protection to the dependant ; but they mutually pledged their faith to each other, and the obligation on either side might be suspended by neglect, or dissolved by injury." It is not too much to say that, with the " Assises de Jerusalem " a model of political liberty was introduced in Asia, the first and indispensable condition of these laws being the assent of those whose obedience they required, and for whose benefit they were designed. The share which the French took in the Crusades • 30 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. makes of that event an important part in their national history. The first, as we have just seen, was nearly exclusively their work ; they divided the second (1147) with the Germans, the third (1190) with the English, the fourth (1202) with the Venetians. The fifth (1217) and the sixth (1228) hardly deserve to be noticed ; the seventh (1248) and the eighth (1270) were solely and entirely French. The move- ment of expansion which led, at an interval of fifteen centuries, the inhabitants of ancient Gaul to break through their frontiers and visit foreign climes is worth noting. They crossed the Pyrenees, as the Celtiberians had done ; the British Channel, as the Belgae and the Kymri ; the Alps, as the Boii and the Insubres ; the Rhine and the Danube, as those tribes who went to set Alexander at defiance, plundered Delphi, and struck Asia with fear. In all these cases the courage and daring displayed were the same, but in that of the Crusades the moving power was totally different. Formerly the French emigrated in quest of fortune and of material prosperity ; when they took up the badge of the cross and marched towards Jerusalem, they were actuated by a moral principle which doubled their energy and sanctified their actions. M. Cox (" Epochs of History") has summed up as follows the chief results of the Crusades : — " We must not forget that by rolling back the tide of Mahometan conquest from Constantinople for upwards of four centuries, they probably saved Europe from horrors the recital of which might even now make our ears tingle ; that by weaken- ing the resources and power of the barons they RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES. 3I strengthened the authority of the kings acting in alHance with the citizens of the great towns ; that this alliance broke up the feudal system, gradually abolished serfdom, and substituted the authority of a common law for the arbitrary will of chiefs, who for real or supposed affronts rushed to the arbitrament of private war. . . . These enterprises have affected the commonwealth of Europe in ways of which the promoters never dreamed. They left a wider gulf between the Greek and the Latin Churches, between the subjects of the Eastern Empire and the nations of Western Europe ; but by the mere fact of throwing East and West together they led gradually to that interchange of thought and that awakening of the human intellect to which we owe all that distinguishes our modern civilization from the religious and political systems of the Middle Ages." We must not forget trade, commerce, and manufactures, which received from the Crusades a wonderful development ; in the first place, the necessity of providing the armies of the Crusaders with arms, clothing, harness, horses, &c., led to an increase of industry which has never stopped since ; in the second place, the markets of Europe being now supplied with the produce of Asia, a new source of financial prosperity was opened, and soon became most popular. The foundation of religious orders of knighthood was another result of the Crusades.; thus, in iioo, a Provencal gentleman, Gerard de Martigues formed the Order of the Knights Hospitallers, subsequently known as the Knights of Rhodes, and then as the Knights of Malta. The Knights of the Temple, KING OF THE TENTH CENTURY. CHIVALRY. 33 established (1118) by the Frenchman Hugues des Payens, soon became formidable opponents of the Hdpitallei's, and whilst carrying on against each other a very bitter feud, they were both equally suspected by the Church and dreaded by the kings of the various countries to which they belonged. Chivalry is an institution which both affected the character of the Crusades, and received from them in return a powerful impulse ; it was another means by which the nobles separated themselves from the people, for no one might be a knight but a man of high birth. At the early age of seven he was re- moved from the car^ ^f womSnSr^and placed in the household of sortie lord or baron^ who was supposed to give him the example of all chivajrous virtues. As page, varlet, or damcnsfdu, the^' lad jaccompanied the lord and lady of the manor '"©n their rides, their excursions, their hawking parties, &c., and thus trained himself tothe^fetigues of war. At fifteen the page or varlet passed on to the higher rank of an eciiyer (Squire) ; he might be an eciiyer dlionneiir or ecuyer de corps in personal attendance upon his master or mistress ; as ecuyer tranchant he carved for them in the dining-hall ; as ecuyer d'annes he carried the baron's lance and the various parts of his armour, and whatever rank he occupied, he endeavoured, by some act of courage, to merit the coveted honour of re- ceiving, at the age of twenty-one, the order of knighthood. " At last the day came which was to hold so im- portant a place in the young man's life. He prepared himself for the initiation by symbolic ceremonies. A 34 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. bath, signifying the purity both of the body and of the soul, the night-watch, confession often made aloud, the holy communion, preceded the reception of the young knight. Clothed in vestments of white linen, another symbol of moral purity, he was led to the altar by two discreet men of tried courage and ex- perience, who acted as his military sponsors. A priest KNIGHT AND ARMS. celebrated mass and consecrated the sword. The baron, whose business it was to arm the new cham- pion, struck him on the shoulder with the sword- blade, saying to him, ' I make thee a knight in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' He then bade him swear to em- ploy his weapons in defence of the weak and the oppressed, embraced him, and girt him with his sword. HERALDRY. 35 The ceremony often concluded with a tournament. Chivalry conferred privileges and imposed duties. Formed in associations, and bound together by a sentiment of honour and of fraternity, the knights defended each other, and if one of them behaved in a disloyal or dishonourable manner, he was solemnly disgraced and condemned to death. Courtesy and' respect for the weaker sex were virtues always ex- pected from a knight. "^ Chivalry was, to all intents and purposes, a kind of family, and as a natural result of that idea sprang up the science of heraldry and the habit of armorial bearings. The warriors of antiquity, it is true, caused to be painted on their shields their banners, and their arms, the devices, colours and emblems by which they might be distinguished from a distance ; but these symbols were essentially personal and peculiar to the individuals who wore them. Mediaeval heraldry was a totally different thing ; armorial bearings formed a family distinction, the more important in proportion as it could be traced further back. " N'i a riche home ne Baron, Ki n'ait lez li son gonfanon, U gonfanon u altre enseigne." " There is no rich man nor Baron Who has not his banner near him, Either banner or other standard." Thus says Robert Wace in his " Roman de Rou," and, of course, the standard or pennon was characterized by a distinctive cognizance of some kind. The habit ' Cheruel, " Dictionnaire des Institutions," &c. 36 PILGRIMAGES TO THE HOLY LAND. soon spread of reproducing the armorial bearings, not only on the shield, but on the helmet, the trappings of the horses, the castle gates, the furniture, the dresses of the ladies— on everything, in fact, which belonged to the family. Colleges of heralds were instituted, with laws, rules, and a procedure of their own ; corporations, guilds, confraternities of every kind had their devices, their mottoes, and their crests. Raymond de Saint Gilles, Count of Toulouse (1047-1105), is supposed to have been the first baron who boasted of real armorial bearings, and the leopards which appear on the royal standard of England are thought to have originated from the animals painted in gold, which ornamented the shield of Geoffrey Plantagenet (about 1 127). To the creation of chivalry we must also ascribe the origin of family names. Till then names had merely been personal, each man only bearing the one which. he had received at his baptism ; this, how- ever, was soon found insufficient ; some then added to their own names that of their fathers ; others adopted familiar sobriquets, such as /e Blanc, le Bon, Droitiirier, Tardif, &c., or designations borrowed from their pro- fession {Le Maire, Prevdt,Le BotUeillier, &c.), or trade {Boucher, Charpentier, Flechier, &c.). Many were satisfied with adding the designation of their native place, or some other local peculiarity, such as Guil- laume de Lorris, Bernard de Ventadour, Jean de la Vigne, &c. As it might naturally be expected, the literature and fine arts in France, as well as in all the countries throughout Europe, were powerfully influenced by 38 EARLY FRENCH LITERATURE. the two movements we have just described — chivalry and the Crusades. Up to the eleventh century, the Church had enjoyed, if we may so say, the monopoly of intellectual culture, and illustrious as are Hincmar, Roscelin, and Berenger,we can hardly call them French writers ; the earliest specimens of the national litera- ture of France, with the exception of the famous " Strasburg Oaths," belong to the tenth century ; they are the cantilene, or song of Sainte Eulalie, a poem on the Passion, a life of St. Leger, and a poem on Boethius. The River Loire, which runs through France from the south-east to the west, divides the country into two unequal parts, each of which had during the Middle Ages a legislation, a language, and a litera- ture of its own. South of the Loire was the country of Laiigiie d'oc, so called because the term indicating affirmation in that language was oc (L. hoc). This region included necessarily a considerable number of dialects which together with many grammatical peculiarities had one common feature : "The general language was distinguished from Northern French by the survival to a greater degree of the vowel cha- racter of Latin. The vocabulary was less dissolved and corroded by foreign influence, and the inflections remained more distinct. The result, as in Spanish and Italian, was a language more harmonious, softer, and more cunningly cadenced than Northern French, but endowed with far less vigour, variety, and freshness." ^ North of the Loire we find the Langiie (Toil (L. ' Saintsbury, " History of French Literature." SUBJECTS TREATED BY POETS. 39 Hoc illud), which, after a series of important modifica- tions, was destined to survive its rival, and to become the language of modern France. Poetry was here, as in all countries, the earliest form of literature, and when a twelfth-century poet wanted to exercise his skill and his imaginative powers on some subject or person worthy of being celebrated, he had his choice out of three classes of topics equally well calculated to interest his hearers : (i) Classical antiquity offered to his genius or his talent many a noble and inspiriting theme (Alex- ander the Great and his campaigns, the siege of Troy, &c., &c.) ; (2) National history teemed with glorious names which might well kindle enthusiasm within the breast of a true poet (Charlemagne, Roland, Doon of Mentz, Hugh Capet, &c.) ; (3) The wonder- ful exploits of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the magic powers of Merlin the En- chanter, the Quest of the Holy Grail, were a source of composition not less abundant, nor less interesting, than the two others. A native of Arras, Jean Bodel, himself the author of one of the chief mediaeval epics, " La Chanson des Saxons," has described with much accuracy, in the following lines, the difference which separates these three categories of poems from each other — "Ne sont que trois matieres a nul home entandant: De France, et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant : Et de ces trois matieres n'i a nule semblant [resemblance) ; Li conte de Bretaigne sont si vain [frivolous) et plaisant ; Cil [those) de Rome sont sage et de san [sense, reason) aprenant. Cil de France de voir [trtiih) chaque jor apparant." 40 CHANSON DE GESTES. ■'There are only three subjects for a clever man : France, Brittany, and Rome the great : And there is no similarity between these three subjects ; The tales of Brittany are frivolous and pleasing. Those of Rome are wise and sensible ; Those of France tell us the truth every day. " The compositions borrowed either from classical antiquity or from national traditions {Chanson de Roland, Doon de Mayence, Aliscans, Ogier le Danois) bore the common name of chansons de geste, because they treated of the high deeds (L. gestd) of the heroes of ancient time. As we are not writing here a history of "French literature, we shall not enter into any further details about these works ; we need only say that in describing the lives and actions of men long gone by, poets of the twelfth century could not help ascribing to Charlemagne's contemporaries or even to the companions of the King of Macedon, the manners and customs amidst which they themselves lived ; and so it is that the most complete and minute his- tory of chivalry in all its details and particulars is to be found in the works of the Trouveres {Troubadours in Langued'oc) recited or sung by them and by their dX- X.&n^xw^ jongleurs in the palaces of the feudal lords, or in \hQ.cours d' amour oi Provence and Aquitaine. We may say in concluding this part of our subject, that the literature of Southern France does not boast of any chanson de geste, so far as we know, except the Girarts de Rossilho, and an epic on Alexander the Great by Auberi of Besangon, the first hundred lines of which have alone been handed down to us. The Crusades could not but infuse fresh vigour into literature, either by stirring up the zeal of those SIRVENTES. 41 who had already been moved by the eloquence of popular preachers, or by denouncing to universal con- tempt the cowards who refused to join the expedi- tions. Irony and faith on this occasion combined their forces, and what sermons often failed to do was accomplished by those short satirical pieces to which the name of sirvente has been given (from servir, says Dietz, because it is composed by a retainer in the service of his master) — " Or s'en iront cil vaillant bacheler Ki aiment Dieu et I'onour de cest mont, Ki sagement voelent a Dieu aller, Et li morveus, li cendreus demourront." " Now the valiant bachelors will go Who love God and the honour of this world, Who wisely wish to go to God, And the cowards, the base, will remain." Thus said the King of Navarre ; we can under- stand, however, that before leaving, a knight such as Guillaume de Poitiers would turn many a time towards the family castle, and exclaim, his eyes full of tears — " Aissi lais tot quant amer suelh (L. sokbain) Cavalairia et orguelh ! Li departir de la doulce contree Oil la belle est, m'a mis en grant tristor. Laissier m'estuest {mefaut) la riens {chose, L. reni) qu'ai plus amee Por Dom le Dieu servir, mon criator." " I leave here all that I used to ove. Tournaments and magnificence. The fact of quitting the pleasant country, Where is my lady-love, has plunged me in great sorrow. I must leave what I have most loved. In order to serve the Lord God my creator," 42 BERTRAM DE BORN. Often a faint-hearted knight, having quieted his conscience by an insignificant expedition, tried to come back stealthily to his baronial halls ; the sirvente immediately seized upon him, and denounced him to public contempt, adding in cutting invective to the curses of the Church — " Marques, li monges {moines) de Clunhic, Veuilh que fasson de vos capdel, siatz abbas de Cystilh, Pus le cor avetz tan mendic [pauvre) Que mais [mieux) amatz dos buous et un araire, A Montfenat qu'alors estr' emperuieur." " Marquis, the monks of Cluny, 1 wish that they may make of you their captain, Or that you may be abbot of Citeaux, Since you have a heart so base As to prefer two oxen and a plough At Montfernat, than to be emperor elsewhere." One of the most formidable amongst these fighting troubadours was Bertram de Born, a Provencal nobleman, who spent his life in warring against his neighbours, destroying their castles, plundering their domains, and then slandering them in his sirventes. Dante has given him a place of honour in his " Inferno," where he represents him (canto xxviii.) carrying his head in his hands — " And so that thou may carry news of me, Know that Bertram de Born am I, the same Who gave to the young king (Richard of England) the evil comfort." Bertram de Born called severely to task Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur-de-Lion, the latter of whom he ironically nick- named j/^« and nay, in order to taunt him for his irresolution. He urged them both ROBERT WAGE. 43 to go to the Holy Land ; then when the moment came for starting, he, for his own part, remained at home, and set his conscience at ease by composing a sirvente against himself Thus it is that in the case of France as well as of other countries, the popular literature of the day throws almost as much light upon the politi- cal state of the country as professed chronicles and histories; but besides the fabliaux, the sirventes, the tensons, and the pastourelles of the troubadours and trouveres, there are several poetical compositions which, under the name of romans, are nothing more or less than historical compositions, possessing a cer- tain amount of authenticity, and compiled from Latin originals. Thus we may name the " Roman de Rou " and the "Roman de Brut," by Robert Wace (1162- 1182), of whom a distinguished modern historian, Mr. Freeman, has said, " The name of Wace I can never utter without thankfulness, as that of one who has preserved to us the most minute and, as I fully believe, next to the contemporary sketch-work, the most trustworthy narrative of the central scene of my history," Respecting the word roman itself, we must be careful to observe that it had by no means in the Middle Ages the signification applied to it by modern usage. It denoted then a narrative containing a greater or smaller proportion of real fact, and re- cording the deeds of historical characters. We shall say nothing about the " Roman de Brut," which refers to the history of England ; but the " Roman de Rou" is strictly and closely connected with France, and deserves a mention here. The following lines fix the date of its composition — 44 "ROMAN DE ROU." " Mil et cent et soixante ans eut de temps et d'espace Puis que Diex en la Vierge descendi par sa grace : Quand un Clerc de Caen, qui et nom Maistre Wace, S'entremist de I'istoire de Rou et de sa race." " One thousand one hundred and sixty years had elapsed, Since God, by His grace, came into the Virgin, When a Clerk of Caen, by same Wace, Wrote the history of Rollo, and of his race." The poem we are now describing consists of seven- teen thousand Hnes ; the first part of it gives the biography of the early Dukes of Normandy ; Rollo {Ron, hence the title of the work), William Longue- Epee, and Richard I. ; it is the least valuable portion, from the historical point of view ; the second division, on the contrary, based upon the chronicle of a cer- tain William of Jumieges, is extremely precious for the information it contains. The Benedictine scholars, Montfaucon and Lancelot, used it as a kind of com- mentary on the celebrated Bayeux Tapestry, which gives, as all readers know, a pictorial view of the Battle of Hastings, and the events which immediately preceded it. The entire " Roman de Rou " takes us as far as the reign of Henry I, (iio6), and Robert Wace was rewarded by the King of England with a canonry in the church of Bayeux. The annalist found a somewhat formidable rival in Benoit de Sainte Maure, who, by the express command of Henry H., wrote a history of the Dukes of Nor- mandy, beginning with the invasions of the Northmen under Hastings, and ending with the reign of William the Conqueror. This chronicle, extending to twenty- three thousand lines, is of second-rate historical merit. The Crusades had their historians, as we may well RICHARD THE PILGRIM. 45 suppose, the principal being Tudebod, Robert the Monk, and especially William of Tyre. Out of the materials supplied by these Latin chroniclers, a cer- tain trouvere named Richard the Pilgrim, composed a poem entitled " La Chanson d'Antioche," which was revised and almost re-written during the thirteenth century by Graindor, a native of Douai, Richard the Pilgrim accompanied Godefroi de Bouillon to Palestine ; he is supposed to have been one of the retainers of the Count of Flanders, and he appears to have died before the capture of Jerusalem. The work which has immoralized his name is of equal value if we consider it as a specimen of literary com- position and a faithful record of the events which marked the first Crusade. " Every page of his narra- tive bears evidence to the fact that he was an eye-wit- ness of the incidents he relates, even in the most indif- ferent and casual circumstances. Talking, for instance, of three knights who refused to do their duty, he says : ' I know well who they are, but I shall not name them.' Thoroughly conscientious, Richard the Pilgrim describes faithfully all the episodes of the Crusade^ and analyses with much impartiality the characters of the various leaders, the motives of their actions, and the feelings by which they were moved. Thus Bohe- mond is represented more than once as trembling, and needing to be reminded of his duty. The Duke of Normandy appears, exactly as the local historian describes him, to have been, brave, but light-hearted, impetuous, easily put out of temper, and allowing himself too often to be prejudiced. A native of Nor- thern France, our trouvere very naturally dwells more 46 PHILIP I. especially upon the heroism of his compatriotes. The warriors of Flanders, Artois, and Picardy are those in whom he feels chiefly interested." ^ We shall have, later on, to dwell in greater detail upon the real literary historians of the Crusades ; but it would have been unfair to leave out in this chapter the early chroniclers of these important events. France was gradually waking up from the kind of moral slumber which had weighed over it for upwards of four centuries ; the whole nation, bursting through its frontiers, had rushed off to Jerusalem, to Italy, to Germany, to England ; the spirit of adventure and of conquest had taken possession of every heart, and yet the indolent king, Philip I., seemed to share nothing of the enthusiasm and the energy so universal around him. Steeped in luxury and sensuality, he heeded little the progress of feudalism, the gradual destruction of the royal power, the sufferings of the lower classes, and the condition of the Church. Was thatstate of reckless self-indulgence and neglect of duty to last .-* No ! Philip, indeed, satisfied himself with spending in tardy exercises of penance the last years of his reign ; he died in i io8 in Melun, after a reign of more than forty-seven years ; but his son, Louis VI. was destined to retrieve by his energy and his activity the faults of half a century, and to strike the first blow at the power of the aristocracy. ^ Masson, " Mediaeval Chronicles of France." III. LOUIS VI. — LOUIS VIL — THE COMMUNAL MOVE- MENT. — SCHOLASTICISM. (1IO8-I180.) When Louis VI. ascended the throne the royal power was very much diminished, if we compare it to what it had been in the time of Hugues Capet. The SEAL OF LOUIS VI. countships of Paris, Sens, Orleans, and Melun consti- tuted the whole of the royal domains ; but even within these comparatively small limits the movements of 48 LOUIS VI. — LOUIS VII. the king were by no means free. For instance, be- tween Paris and Etampes stood the fortress of the lord of Montlhery ; between Paris and Melun the Count of Corbeii exercised almost absolute authority, and even at one time hoped to be at the head of a fourth dynasty ; between Paris and Or eans the frown- ing walls of Puiset were a constant source of anxiety to the Crown, and it required a three years' war to reduce it to submission. In whatever direction the eye might turn, it met the domains of feudal lords, whose power and influence equalled, in every respect, that of the king, and who, paying no attention to the royal safe-conducts, plundered the pilgrims, levied illegal and exorbitant fines upon travelling mer- chants, and acted in every respect as the most un- scrupulous highwaymen. The king was thus, if we may so say, hemmed in on all sides by that terrible and compact organization of feudalism which, having long since cast aside the ideal from which it originated, now only represented the principle of brute force against that of justice, order, and national unity. The time had come for a revolution to take place ; iniquity could not prevail for ever, and in the move- ment we are about to describe, the Crown and the lower classes acted as allies to each other. The prin- ciple of association was at the bottom of the feudal system ; it formed likewise the starting-point of the re- volution which ultimately destroyed that system. If we trace back to its beginnings the history of indus- try, trade, and commerce, we find guilds and corpo- rations rising everywhere, and imparting stability and the elements of success to professions which could THE COMMUNAL MOVEMENT. 49 have produced nothing if left to isolated action and individual effort. In like manner the old institution of serfdom having gradually disappeared, and the labourers and vilains having obtained the right of inheriting the land, or portion of the land, which they formerly tilled for their masters, associations of families were formed, hence the organization of parishes, and their grouping together for purposes of mutual pro- tection. In the South of France, where traces of the old municipal institutions of the Romans were even then to be found, a still more decisive element of anti- feudalism existed, and speedily manifested itself. The communal movement broke out almost simul- taneously in various parts of the country ; Le Mans (1066), Cambrai (1076;, were followed by Noyon, Beauvais, Saint Ouentin, Laon, Amiens and Soissons. The following extracts from the charters of a Beauvais commune, will give a sufficient idea of all the others : " All the men residing within the walls of the city and its suburbs, to whatever lord they may belong, the land which they occupy, shall swear the comimine. Within the whole enclosure of the town, each one shall assist his neighbours loyally and according to his ability. " The peers of the commune shall swear to favour no one for friendship's sake, to injure no one on the ground of private enmity ; they shall in every case give, according to their power, an equitable decision. All others shall swear to obey the decisions of the peers, and to assist in seeing that they are carried out. "Whenever any man has done injury to a person who has sworn the commune, on a complaint of the I f r \ ^?'' ' I ' • V!. I . WALLS OF CARCASSONNE, V. SAINT LOUIS, TO HIS RETURN FROM HIS FIRST CRUSADE. (1226— 1254.) Louis VIII. had married Blanche of Castile, a princess remarkable both for her personal attractions and for her moral and intellectual qualities. She com- bined with deep religious views and earnest piety the greatest firmness of character and political skill of no mean order. She had four sons — Louis, who succeeded to the throne, Robert, Count of Artois, Alphonse, Count of Poitou, and Charles, Count of Anjou and of Maine. The crown was on the head of a mere child, only eleven years old, and the regent was both a woman and a foreigner. The barons thought the occasion an excellent one to recover their lost au- thority, and accordingly they made an alliance against Queen Blanche. She proved, however, too clever for them, and the confederacy utterly failed. Amongst the rebellious barons the most powerful was Thibaut, Count of Champagne, who, not satisfied with the accomplishments of a knight and a soldier, aimed also at being considered a lover of literature, and even wrote poetry. Whether the beauty of Blanche cap- LOUIS IX. 91 tivated him, or her remonstrances put him to shame, it would be difficult to decide now, although the pro- bability is that both causes had a share in influencing him on the side of loyalty ; at any rate, he separated himself from his former confederates, and became the staunchest champion of the regency. The queen, in her turn, defended Thibaut from the attacks of the re- bellious nobles, and he having, through an inheritance, become King of Navarre, made over to the Crown the countships of Blois, Chartres, and Sancerre. Two other barons held out obstinately for a long time, namely, Philip Hurepel, the late king's half-brother, who was irritated at having his supposed claims to the regency set aside in favour of a foreign woman, and Mauclerc, Count of Brittany, The death of the former of these noblemen and the submission of the latter came opportunely to strengthen the power of the Crown, A treaty signed in 1229 secured to one of the king's brothers the domains of the Count of Toulouse, and a marriage between another prince of the royal family and the heiress of Provence, further enlarged the kingdom of France.' Thus the reign began most auspiciously, and even when the majority of the king was proclaimed (1230), Blanche of Castile retained all her influence and her share in the management of affairs. The treaty of 1229 just alluded to put an end to theAlbigensian difficulties and brought about thepaci- fication of Southern France ; but in order to prevent the recurrence of heretical opinions, an ecclesiastical court was established at Toulouse by virtue of a council held that same year. It was styled the In- 92 LOUIS IX. guisitioJi, and its members were selected from the order of Dominicans. The baneful influepce exercised by the tribunal of the inquisition over Christendom has often been described, and need not be more than alluded to again. Suffice it to say, that it was the SAINT LOUIS. most formidable engine of ecclesiastical despotism the world ever saw. Under the careful and judicious training of his mother, Louis IX. became a model king, a pattern of all the virtues which most befit the ruler of a great nation, especially if we consider the troublous times yoiNVILLE. 93 during which he had to live. Let us quote on that subject a few extracts from the Jia'ive and beautiful memoir for which we are indebted to his friend and confidential adviser, Jean, Sire de Joinville. " The holy king loved truth so much that even to the Saracens and infidels, although they were his enemies, he would never lie, nor break his word in anything he had promised them. " Ih his conversation he was remarkably chaste ; for I never heard him, at any time, utter an indecent word, nor make use of the devil's- name, which, how- ever, is now very commonly uttered by every one, but which, I firmly believe, is so far from being agreeable to God that it is highly displeasing to Him. " My good lord the king asked me if I should wish to be honoured in this world, and afterwards to gain paradise ; to which I answered that I wished it were so. ' Then,' replied he, ' be careful never knowingly to do or say anything disgraceful, that, should it become public, you may not have to blush and be ashamed to say, " I have done this," or " I have said that." ' In like manner he told me never to give the lie, or contradict rudely whatever might be said in my presence, unless it should be sinful or disgraceful to suffer it, for oftentimes contradiction causes coarse replies and harsh words, that bring on quarrels, which create bloodshed, and are the means of the deaths of thousands." It is very amusing to see, every now and then, honest Joinville scandalizing the pious king by the frankness of his answers, which were not strictly orthodox. 94 LOUIS IX. " The good king, once calling me to him, said he wanted to talk with me on account of the quickness of understanding he knew I possessed. In the presence of several persons he added : ' I have called these two monks, and before them ask you this question respect- ing God. Seneschal, what is God?' ' Sire,' replied I, ' He is so supremely good nothing can exceed Him.' 'In truth,' answered the king, 'that is well said, for your answer is written in the little book I have in my hand. I will put another question to you, whether you had rather be a leper, or have com- mitted, or be about to commit, a mortal sin ? ' But I, who would not tell a lie, replied that I would rather have committed thirty deadly sins than be a leper." '' When the two friars were gone away he called me to him alone, making me sit at his feet, and said : ' How could you dare to make the answer you did to my last question ? ' When I replied, ' Were I to answer it again I should repeat the same thing,' he instantly said : ' Ah ! foolish idiot, you are deceived ; for you must know that there can be no leprosy so filthy as mortal sin, and the soul that is guilty of such is like the devil in hell I therefore entreat of you, first for the love of God, and next for the affec- tion you bear me, that you retain in your heart what I have said, and that you would much rather prefer having your body covered with the most filthy leprosy than suffer your soul to commit a single deadly sin, which is of all things the most infamous." Passages such as those we have just quoted, and many others which might be adduced, give us a true insight into the character of Louis IX., scrupulously THE ENGLISH IN FRANCE. 95 honest, high-minded, influenced throughout his life by the principles of Christianity, the incarnation of justice, adherence to duty, and patience in long-suf- fering. His defects were a certain deficiency of clear ideas in carrying out his designs, a want of firmness in his resolves, and a certain inability to exercise stern authority. This appeared most in the Crusades, to which we shall have occasion to refer by and by at greater length. The English were still endeavouring to secure a footing in France by exciting the barons to revolt. Defeated at Taillebourg and at Saintes, they would probably have been entirely driven out of the king- dom, had it not been for the scruples of the king. Here again his innate honesty appeared in all its force, in what others would have called unnecessary strictness. The royal domains had been extended to three times their original dimensions by the acquisi- tions made during the last fifty years. Louis objected to what was the result of two confiscations. By virtue, therefore, of a treaty which was signed only in 1259, he left to the King of England the duchies of Guienne and Gascogne, on condition that he should do homage for them to the French Crown ; he also obliged those lords who held fiefs from both crowns to choose be- tween the two suzerains. Driven out of Italy by the emperor, Frederick H., Pope Innocent IV. took refuge in France, and held (1245) at Lyons a council, in the course of which he preached another Crusade. The popularity of these expeditions had waned to a considerable extent, and thoughtful people, instead of being led to take the g6 LOUIS IX. cross in a moment of enthusiasm, now coolly discussed the results to be obtained from a war against the infidels. " Horn puet bien en cest payx Gaaingnier Dieu sens grant damage ; Je di que cil est foux nayx Qui se mest en autrui servages, Quant Dieu peut gaaingnier sayx Et vivre de son heritage. . . . Je ne faz nul tort a nul home Nuns horn de moi ne fait clamour, Je cuiche tost et tien grand soume Et tieng mes voisins a amour. . . Je vueil entre mes voisins estre Et moi deduire et solacier. ... Distes le Soudant vostre maistre Que je prispone son menacier : S'il vient de9a, mal me vit naistre Mais lui ne I'irrai pas chacier. . . . Sermoneiz ces hauz coroneiz, Ces gran doiens et ces prelaz. . . . Clerc et prelat doivent vengier La honte Dieu, qu'il ont ces rentes. . . . lis ont a boire et a mengier. . .. Cil vont a Dieu par telle sente, Fol sont s'il la vuelent changier, Car c'est de toutes la plus gente. . . . Horn dit : ce que tu tiens, si tiens, Ci'ost bien mot de bone escole. . . . Si crois par S. Pierre de Rome Qu'il me vaut miex que je demour." " A man can very -weW in this country Obtain God without running much risk; I maintain that he is a born fool Who places himself under the dependence of others, When he can secure God, And, withal, live in his inheritance. . . . I do wrong to no man, And no man complains of me. LOUIS IX. AND THE CRUSADE. 97 I go to bed early and sleep soundly, And I love my neighbours. . . . I wish to live amongst my neighbours, And enjoy and solace myself. ... Tell the Sultan, your master, That I don't care for his threats. If he should come here so much the worse for me ; But I shall not go in pursuit of him. . . . Preach to those high-crowned princes, Those great deans and prelates. ... Clerks and prelates should avenge The shame cast upon God, for He bestows upon them their incomes. . . . They have plenty to eat and to drink. . . . If they can go to God by such a path It would be foolish in them to change it ; For of all it is the pleasantest. . . . Some one says : ' Lord, part what thou hast.' This is certainly a sound thought. I believe, by the name of S. Peter of Rome, That is better for me to stay here." Thus said the trotruere Rutebeuf in his " Desputizon du Croise et du Decroise," and he was only expressing the opinion of all sensible men ; but Saint Louis who, struck down by a severe illness (1244), had made a vow to go to the Holy Land, thought that the time had come for him to carry out his intention. After making the necessary preparations, he took ship at the harbour of Aigues-Mortes (1248), at the head of a considerable army, leaving his mother, Blanche, for this time also, regent of the kingdom. Some of the Crusaders embarked at Marseilles, and, amongst others (somewhat reluctantly), the brave Seneschal of Champagne, Jean, Sire de Joinville. " It was the month of August in this same year (we quote the honest chronicler's own story) that we yOINVILLE AND VILLEHARDOUIN. gg embarked at the rock of Marseilles, and the ports of the vessel were opened to allow the horses we intended carrying with us to enter. When we were all on board, the port was caulked and stopped up as close as a large tun of wine, because, when the vessel was at sea, the port was under water. Shortly after, the captain of the ship called out to its people on the prow, 'Is your work done? are we ready?' They replied, ' Yes, in truth, we are.' " " When the priests and clerks embarked, the captain made them mount to the castle of the ship, and chant psalms in praise of God, that He might be pleased to grant us a prosperous voyage. They all, with a loud voice, sang the beautiful hymn of 'Veni Creator,' from the beginning to the end ; and while they were singing, the mariners set their sails in the name of God. Instantly after, a breeze of wind filled our sails, and soon made us lose sight of the land, so that we only saw sea and sky, and each day we were at a farther distance from the place from which we had set out." " I must say here, that he is a great fool who shall put himself in such danger, having Vv^ronged any one or having any mortal sins on his conscience ; for when he goes to sleep in the evening, he knows not if in the morning he may not find himself under the sea." This extract, taken from Joinville's " Life of Saint Louis," is a good specimen of one of the best models of French mediaeval literature. The friend of Saint Louis possesses all the picturesque qualities of Ville- hardouin, together with a tenderness, a pathos which we do not find in the " Conqueste de Constantinoble." 100 BATTLE OF MANSURAH. The flotilla forming the expedition arrived safely to the Egyptian shores, and the city of Damietta was taken on the 7th of July, 1249. Unfortunatel}^, the Crusaders wasted much valuable time before con- tinuing their journey towards Cairo, and the Mame- lukes, cheered by the hesitations of their enemies, defeated them at Mansurah (February, 1250). One passage from Joinville's account of the battle may appropriately be given here : " After some little time, the Count Peter of Brittany came to us who were guarding the small bridge from Mansurah, having had a most furious skirmish. He was so badly wounded in the face that the blood came out of his mouth as if it had been full of water, and he vomited it forth. The Count was mounted on a short, thick, but strong horse, and the reins and the pommel of his saddle were cut and destroyed, so that he was forced to hold himself by his two hands round the horse's neck, for fear the Turks, who were close behind him, should make him fall off. He did not, however, seem much afraid of them, for he fre- quently turned round, and gave them many abusive words, by way of mockery." The battle of Mansurah cost the life of many a noble and stalwart knight, amongst others one of the king's brothers, the Count d'Artois. " Thus," says Joinville, " as we were riding together. Father Henry, prior of the hospital of Ronnay, who had crossed the river, came to him (Saint Louis) and kissed his hand, fully armed, and asked if he had heard any news of his brother, the Count d'Artois. ' Yes,' replied the king, ' I have heard all : ' that is to THE PLAGUE. lOI say, that he knew well he was now in Paradise. The prior, thinking to comfort him for the death of his brother, continued : ' Sire, no King of France has ever reaped such honour as you have done ; for with great intrepidity have you and your army crossed a dangerous river to combat your enemies ; and have been so very successful that you have put them to fliglit and gained the field, together with their warlike engines, with which they had wonderfully annoyed you ; and concluded the affair by taking possession this day of their camp and quarters.' " " The good king replied that God should be adored for all the good H? had granted him ; and then heavy tears began to fall down his cheeks, which many great persons noticing were oppressed with anguish and compassion on seeing him thus weep, praising the name of God, who had enabled him to gain the victory." Not only was the Crusading army surrounded by the enemies, it had also to suffer from the plague, which did sad havoc amongst the troops, striking down Joinville himself and his chaplain. " My poor friend," we continue our quotations, "was as ill as myself ; and one day when he was singing mass before me as I lay in my bed, at the moment of the elevation of the host, I saw him so exceedingly weak that he was near fainting ; but when I perceived that he was on the point of falling to the ground, I flung myself out of bed, sick as I was, and taking my coat, embraced him, and bade him be at his ease, and take courage from Him whom he held in his hands. He recovered some I02 THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. little ; but I never quitted him till he had finished the mass, which he completed, and this was the last, for he never after celebrated another, but died. God receive his soul ! " Louis IX. had married, in 1234, Marguerite, daughter of Raymond Berenger IV., Count of Pro- vence. She insisted upon accompanying her husband on the expedition, and shared with the greatest forti- tude and devotedness all the dangers to which the king was exposed. Whilst in France, she had had much to suffer from Blanche of Castile, who, not- withstanding all her brilliant qualities, was imperious, jealous, and exacting. Removed from her influence, Marguerite gave herself up exclusively to the duty of cheering her husband, encouraging him amidst all his difficulties, and bearing her full share of the dangers attending the unfortunate expedition. " You must know, also, that the good queen was not without her share [of miseries], and very bitter to her heart, as you shall soon hear. Three days before she was brought to bed, she was informed that the good king, her husband, had been made prisoner, which so troubled her mind, that she seemed con- tinually to see her chamber filled with Saracens ready to slay her ; and she kept incessantly crying out, ' Help ! help ! ' when there was not a soul near her. For fear her child should perish, she made a knight watch at the foot of her bed without sleeping. This knight was very old, not less than eighty years, or perhaps more ; and every time she screamed he held her hands and said, ' Madam, do not be thus- alarmed ; I am with you, quit these fears.' " 104 '^^^ FRENCH LEAVE EGYPT. " Before the good lady was brought to bed, she ordered every person to leave her chamber except the ancient knight ; she then cast herself out of bed on her knees before him, and requested that he would grant her a boon. The knight, with an oath, pro- mised compliance. The Queen then said, ' Sir Knight, I request on the oath you have sworn, that should the Saracens storm this town and take it, you will cut off my head before they seize my person.* The knight replied that he would cheerfully so do, and that he had before thought of it, in case such an event should happen." The European knights were finally compelled to yield themselves prisoners, together with the king, whose spirit and lofty bearing inspired the Sara- cens with respect. The price required previous to the conclusion of a treaty and the release of Louis IX. was a very heavy one, viz., the surrender of Damietta and of several fortresses which the Christians still held in Palestine, besides a sum of 500,000 livres (£408,280 of modern English money). The King of France flatly refused to comply with the second clause of the proposition, declaring that he had no power to give up what was not his own, but the property of the other Christian princes and religious orders. Finally, the Sultan agreed to the terms named by Louis, the giving up of Damietta and the sum we have just mentioned : he was even astonished that the king had not objected to the payment of so great a ransom. " By my faith," said he, " the Frank is liberal not to have haggled about the money. Go tell him that I will give him 100,000 livres towards it." DEATH OF BLANCHE OF CASTILE. 105 On the 7th of May, 1250, the Crusaders left the shores of Egypt, and on the 14th they reached Palestine, and landed at St. Jean d'Acre. Louis IX. remained in the Holy Land for the space of four more years, visiting all the towns still held by the Christians, repairing the fortifications wher- ever necessary, and endeavouring to put down the private feuds which had broken out in several quar- ters between certain barons. Of all the men who had embarked with him at Aigues-Mortes the great majority returned to France ; his two brothers were of the number, and when a discussion took place on the advisability of a prolonged stay of the army in the East, an overwhelming majority voted against it. The very few Crusaders who chose to remain with Saint Louis would have been utterly unable to attempt the conquest of Jerusalem, and the king, to whom the Sultan of Damascus offered every facility if he wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City, refused the courteous proposition. He would not go there except as a victor and by force of arms. He was at Sidon at the beginning of 1253, when the news reached him that Queen Blanche of Castile, his mother, had died in Paris on the 27th of November, 1252. " This information," says Joinville, " caused him such grief that he was two days in Ms chamber with- out suffering any one to see him. On the third, he sent one of his valets to seek me; ^nd o\\ my pre- senting myself he extended his arms, and said, ' Ah! Seneschal, I have lost my mother ! ' " "* Sir,' replied I, ' I am not surprised at it, for you know there must come a time for her death ; but I I06 THE PASTOUREAUX. am indeed greatly so, that you, who are considered so great a prinde, should so outrageously grieve ; for you know,' continued I, ' that the wise man says, what- ever grief the valiant man suffers in his mind, he ought not to show it in his countenance, nor let it be publicly known, for he that does so gives pleasure to his enemies and sorrow to his friends.' " The death of the Queen Dowager created, as may be supposed, great sensation throughout France ; nume- rous letters reached Saint Louis begging for his speedy return. Therefore, leaving Geoffroi de Sargines at the head of one hundred knights to protect the Chris- tians in Syria, he started on the 24th of April, 1254, from St. Jean d'Acre, arrived at Hyeres on the 8th of July, and reached Paris on the 7th of September. During the absence of the king several scandalous instances of abuse of authority had taken place on the part of the clergy, which led to seditions of a serious character. The most important was the revolt of the PastoiireaiLx (L. /(^i'/^r^j'=^shepherds), caused, in the first instance, by the cruelty of the Chapter of Notre Dame of Paris. The peasants of the village of Chastenai, having refused to pay the taxes, a great many of them were shut up in prison, and, notwithstanding the entreaties of the Queen Regent, their wives and chil- dren shared the same fate. Other abuses of the like description led to a general outbreak, and in 1254 the revoU of the Pastouremix took place. The chronicler, Guillaume de Nangis, tells us that "some chiefs of banditti, in order to deceive simple folk and excite the people to a Crusade, announced by inventions full of deceit, that they had had visions of angels ; the THE MASTER OF HUNGARY. 107 holy Virgin Mary, they added, had appeared unto them, commanding them to take the cross and to assemble an army of shepherds and the most common people, chosen by the Lord, for the purpose of deli- vering the Holy Land and the King of France, who was a prisoner in that country. They represented the circumstances of their visions painted on banners, which they caused to be raised aloft before them." The rebellion broke out, first, in Flanders and Picardy, the leader being an unknown man called the Master of Hungary — eloquent, of a commanding ap- pearance, and speaking fluently several languages. He assumed the priestly rights, administered the sacraments, celebrated marriages, and the populace, excited by his appeals to rebellion, put to death the clergymen, whether regular or secular, who were im- prudent enough to wander through the rural districts. Queen Blanche began by taking the Pastoiireaiix under her protection, and even held a conference with the Master of HiLiigary ; but this mistaken kindness did not last long, and the terrible scenes which occurred at Orleans opened her eyes to the necessity of dealing severely with the rebels. The master had been holding forth to a large assembly, when a student of the uni- versity interrupted him, saying that he was a heretic and a deceiver ; a tumult immediately arose, the student was killed, and a general uieleetooV place ; the bishop interdicted the city. The Pastoureaiix then continued their march southwards ; at Bourges they met with the first severe check they had encountered, and were driven out of the city by the infuriated inhabitants. The Master of Hungary was pursued I08 THE PASTOUREAUX. and put to death. The extraordinary enthusiasm which they had excited in the first instance subsided almost as suddenly. The fact is that the clergy spread abroad a report to the effect that the Pas- toureaux were paid by the Sultan of Babylon to slaughter as many Christians as they could ; on the other hand, it was asserted, with perhaps more truth, that the revolutionists were Albigenses, and that a fresh effort was being made to revive a damnable heresy. At any rate, the collapse was complete ; a number who had made their way as far as Bordeaux had to retire under the threats of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who governed there in the name of the King of England ; others went to Marseilles, and then dispersed, not without leaving some of their adhe- rents in the power of the common hangman, who made them pay for the rest. The rebellion of the Pastoureaux helped to hasten the return of Saint Louis from Palestine. On arriving in Paris he promised to devote the remainder of his reign to the better administration of justice, and to the reforms which the state of the kingdom rendered absolutely necessary. VI. SAINT LOUIS ; END OF THE REIGN — LITERATURE, ARTS, AND SCIENCES DURING THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. (1254-1270.) The reforms made by Louis IX. were of so impor- tant a character and led to such weighty consequences that they require to be examined a Httle in detail. Let us notice, in the first place, the suppression of judicial duels — a strange institution which placed right at the mercy of skill and physical strength ; this was merely an extension of Z<^ Quarantaine-le-roi, and it was universally welcome. Another most note- worthy change must be mentioned. According to the rules of feudal society, every lord and baron ad- ministered justice within the limits of his own domains, appeal being allowable to the suzerain : (i) If the baron refused to render justice {defaut de droit) ; (2) when the condemned person thought the sentence \ya{-a\x {pour faux jugement). Louis IX. encouraged appeals made directly to the Crown, and then gradually the baronial courts became subordinate to that of the king. The cour du roi, or parliament, under various names existed in France from the earliest days of the no LAW REFORMS. monarchy. It was presided over by the king, and consisted of the peers or feudatories of the Crown. Gradually the chief officers of the Crown [ministeriaks domini regis), such as the chancellor, the bread-bearer {panetier), the butler {bouteiller), the chamberlain, were required to sit with the peers, notwithstanding the complaints made by these. The substitution of written evidence instead of trial by combat was a further reform, and lawyers had to take an important part in the work done by the cour dii roi ; the chief amongst these were Pierre des Fontaines and Philippe de Beaumanoir. It is natural to suppose that the im- portance thus given to written texts led to a revival of the study of law ; already in the eleventh and twelfth centuries some Italian cities, Bologna in par- ticular, had become celebrated by the teaching of cer- tain lecturers deeply versed in the mysteries of Roman jurisprudence, and Irnerius saw crowds of pupils attend his lessons. Justinian was translated into French during the reign of Philip Augustus, and law schools were opened at Montpellier, Orleans, and Angers. Thus science joined effectually in the war against feudalism, and Saint Louis authorized in Lan- guedoc and in other places the use of the Roman law by preference to the old customs and traditions of the Franks, the Visigoths, and the Burgundians. In order to make quite sure that his commands and enactments were duly carried out, Louis IX. was in the habit of sending through the various provinces visitors who, like Charlemagne's imssi dominici, had to report on the cases of injustice, infringement of the laws, &c. High social position, rank, and dignity were LAW REFORMS. Ill ineffectual to shield an offender from deserved punish- ment. M. Cheruel (" Dictionnaire des Institutions") mentions two remarkable cases which illustrate this fact. Charles d'Anjou, the king's own brother, had taken possession of a piece of land against the will of the original owner, promising to pay the full value. He was obliged to restore it. The Sire de Coucy had caused three young men to be hanged for poaching. Notwithstanding the intervention of the whole baron- age of France, he was condemned to a very heavy fine. It was only in the case of Jews and heretics that Louis IX. was unrelentingly severe. "No one," said he, " should discuss with Jews unless he is a great clerk and a perfect theologian ; but when a la}'man hears the Christian faith evil spoken of, he should defend it not only with words, but with a sharp- cutting sword, which he should thrust through the miscreant's body as far as it will go." The work of Joinville contains two passages which have become classical, and which we shall' quote here as illustrating most admirably the personal part which the king took in the administration of justice : " The king had his task arranged in such manner that My Lord de Nesle and the good Count of Soissons, together with us all who were around him, after attending mass, used to go and hear cases tried at the court of requests. And on returning from church, His Majesty would sit at the foot of his bed, then made us all sit around him, and asked us whether tliere was any case to be settled which could not be settled without him ; we accordingly named them to him, whereupon he sent for the contending parties ST. LOUIS AS A yUDGE. II3 and said to them : ' Why do }'ou not take what our men offer to you ? ' Then they answered : ' Sire, it is because they offer too Httle.' Then he said : ' You ought to take that from him who would make it over to you.' And the holy man thus worked with all his might to keep them in a proper and peaceful way." And further on : " Many a time it happened that in summer he would go and sit in the forest of Vincennes after mass, lean against an oak, and bid us sit around him. Then those who had business to transact came to speak to him, without being hindered by ushers or any other people. He then asked with his own lips : ' Is there any one here who has a suit ^ ' Then those who had, rose, and he said : * Be silent, all of you, and you shall be heard one after another.' Then he called my Lord Pierre de Fontaine and my Lord Geoffroi de Villette, and said to one of them : ' Despatch me that case.' And when he saw aught to amend in the words of those who spoke for him, or in the words of those who spoke on behalf of others, he himself corrected it with his own lips. In order to despatch the cases, I have often seen him come into the Paris gardens dressed in a camlet coat with an overcoat of woollen stuff without sleeves, a cloak of black taffetas fastened round his neck, neatly combed, having no cap, but merely a hat with white peacock's feathers on his head. He had carpets spread out for us to sit upon, and all those who had business for him to settle stood around him, and he heard the various cases according to the fashion I have mentioned above in the wood of Vincennes." 114 ROADS — COINAGE. It will seem astonishing, perhaps, that in this long account of French jurisprudence during the reign of Louis IX., we have said nothing of the code of laws known by the name of " Etablissements de Saint Louis." The fact is that this document, important as it may be from a certain point of view, has no character of authenticity, and the anonymous person or persons who compiled it gave it the designation by which it is known, merely to secure for it as much popularity as possible. Many reasons might be adduced to prove that it does not belong to the reign of Louis IX., and the date assigned to it (1269) is amply sufficient to show the mistake of historians who still consider it as a monument of the holy king's legislative talents. It is not likely that, on the eve of starting for the Crusade, he could have found leisure enough to discuss matters of jurisprudence which are both complicated and difficult to settle. The high roads had become much safer in conse- quence of the abolition of private warfare, and also because every person was. made responsible for the police of the highways within the limits of his domains. In Paris the king instituted a special body of armed police (1254), called the guet roj/a/, and consisting of twenty foot and twenty horse sergeants. It was com- manded by an officer styled the chevalier du guet (Lat. miles gueti). The first general rule on the French coinage was established in 1265. The king asserted his right of allowing the royal currency to circulate throughout the realm, and he prohibited the barons from coining gold pieces. This decree favoured in a notable way the TRADE AND INDUSTRY. II5 development of commerce and industry, for the reason that the king's money being of the right weight and value, it soon superseded the baronial coinage. The nomination of Estienne Boisleve (or Boileau) as Pro- vost of Paris, turned out to be also an excellent measure. He drew up under the title of" Livre des metiers " the statutes and laws which had at various times been fixed by the guilds or corporations of tradesmen and artificers, and he did so in order that in case of lawsuits and discussions there might be a text-book to which the contending parties could appeal. From that curious document we know what the professions and trades were which during the thirteenth century gave employment to the greatest number of hands. Armourers, of course, held the foremost rank ; some workmen exclusively forged the spurs ; others devoted themselves to adorn with heraldic devices the various parts of the dress, trap- pings, &c. The /leaumiers, Jlec/iiers, and arbalestriers dealt respectively in helmets, arrows, and cross-bows ; then there was the more peaceful but highly fashion- able guild of merchant- furriers, whose wares excited an admiration bordering upon madness : " Pelles castorum {heavers) et marturum {martins) quae nos admiratione sui dementes faciunt." Each corporation had its appointed shops or stalls in the market-places, and the general aspect produced a picturesque and varied sight. A contemporary poet describes to us in the following lively manner his walk through one of these gatherings of tradesmen and artisans : " Au bout par decja regratiers Trouve barbiers et cervoisiers, Il6 TRADE AND INDUSTRY. Taverniers et puis tapissiers ; Assez pres d'eux sont les merciers. A la c6te du grand chemin Est la foire du parchemin ; Et apies trouvai les pourpoints. . . . Puis la grande pelleterie. . . . Puis m'en revins en une plaine, La oil Ton vend cuirs eras et luine ; M'en vins par la feronerie ; Apres trouvai la baterie, Cordouaniers et boureliers, Selliers et fremiers et cordiers." " At the end, beyond the (stalls of) the retail grocers I found the barbers and dealer in beer, The eating-houses and upholsterers' shops ; Near them are the mercers. By the highway side Is the parchment fair ; Then I found the jackets (jacket-makers, tailors), Then the dealers in furs. . . , Then I returned by a plain, Where is sold raw leather and wool ; I came next the quarters of the ironmongers ; Then I found the coppersmiths. Shoemakers, and dealers in horse-hair. Saddle-makers, farmers, and rope-makers." It would take us too long to go through the whole list. Fairs played, of course, a great part in the history of mediaeval commerce. The principal French ones were those held at Falaisse {foire de Gaibray) in Champagne, and at Saint Denis, near Paris {foire dii Landit, or Lendit). The origin of this last name is as follows: in 1109 a supposed fragment of the true cross having been brought to Paris, the bishop of the diocese ordered a meeting {indictuni, hence L'indit, and by corruption Landit) to be held in the plain of Saint Denis, so that the people might come to look ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT. 117 at the relic. In course of time the indictum became an annual fair, which lasted several days, and led to so much disorder, owing to the presence of the scholars belonging to the Paris University, that in Jean de Meung's continuation of the " Roman de la Rose," we SEAL OF LOUIS IX. find the substantive Landit used in the sense of a drunken bout. To conclude these remarks on the administration of Louis IX., and the general character of his govern- ment, we would say that the accession of the third Il8 FOUNDATIONS CREATED BY SAINT LOUIS. estate to power dates from his reign. He granted, it is true, a few communal charters, but municipal inde- pendence pleased him as little as feudalism, and he encouraged as much as he could the transformation of the communes into " royal cities," which depended upon the Crown, whilst they were governed by mayors, councillors, and other magistrates elected by the burghers. Thanks to this interference of the king, France escaped the danger of falling into the anarchy which was for so many centuries the curse of Italy, leaving it a prey to the ambition and intrigues of the Emperors of Germany. Saint Louis endowed Paris with several foundations) some of which still subsist, and have rendered much service ; we shall name only two here, viz., the Hos- pital of the Qiiinze-vingts and the Sorbonne. The former of these establishments was created in 1254, for the reception of three hundred gentlemen (15 x 20) who had lost their eyes during the Crusade through the cruelty of the Saracens ; it is now one of the best known hospitals in Paris. With reference to the Sorbonne, it was one of the earliest colleges connected with the University of Paris, having been founded in 1202 by the king's confessor, Robert Sorbon or de Sorbonne, thus called from the village of Sorbonne, his native place. It became in course of time an exclusively theological school, and obtained such reputation that the historian Mezeray, M^ho flourished during the seventeenth century, styles it Le concile permanent des Gaules. The firm attitude which Saint Louis preserved to- wards the Papacy has caused him to be regarded as SAINT LOUIS STARTS FOR ANOTHER CRUSADE. II9 the author of a deed called the Pragma tiqiiesanction, which asserts the liberties of the Gallican Church, and guarantees the free election within the limits of the realm of France of all bishops, archdeacons, preben- daries, canons, and other dignitaries of the Church. The authenticity, however, of this document is now generally discarded, and only ignorance or prejudice can ascribe the slightest weight tQ it. The good king, in the midst of all his administra- tive reforms, had never forgotten the claims of the Christians in the East on the sympathy of their Prankish brethren, and in 1270 he determined to start for another Crusade. On this occasion the Seneschal of Champagne flatly refused to follow him. "Those who advised him to start," says Joinville, " committed a great sin, considering the extreme weakness of his body, for he could bear neither the motion .of a vehicle nor that of a horse. His weak- ness was so great that he allowed me to carry him in my arms from the hotel of the Count of Auxerre, where I took leave of him, to the convent of the Franciscan friars {Cordeliers), and, weak as he was, if he had only remained in France, he might have lived long enough and done many good works. About his voyage to Tunis I shall neither say nor relate any- thing, for, thank God, I was not there, and I will not say or write in my book anything of which I am not certain." Saint Louis died under the walls of Tunis on the 25th of August, 1270, and after an interval of twenty years the Crusaders had to retire from the Holy Land. Whilst these things were going on in Egypt and in 120 LITERATURE. Palestine, Charles of Anjou, brother to the King of France, had accepted from Pope Urban IV., as a fief, the kingdom of Sicily (Naples and Sicily), which Manfred had usurped, to the prejudice of his nephew Conradin still young. He marched into Italy at the head of an army of French and Provencal knights, was crowned king at Rome on the 6th of January, 1266, and gained, on the 26th of February following, the Battle of Beneventum. To this expedition can be traced the pretentions raised from time to time by the French Crown to the kingdom of two Sicilies. The progress of literature and the fine arts during the thirteenth century must now engage our atten- tion, and we find there, as well as in questions of politics, results which deserve to be described some- what in detail. If we turn, first, to literature properly called, the two names of Villehardouin and Join- ville stand pre-eminent amongst prose writers, and the merits of him who wrote " Conqueste de Constanti- noble" appear the more conspicuous if we compare him with his dull continuator Henri de Valenciennes. In the walks of poetry we have to notice a period of decay so far as the romances of chivalry {cJiansons de geste) are concerned ; the age of enthusiasm is gone, and the trouveres have lost their originality. In a previous chapter we have attempted a classification of the principal subjects treated by the poets who aimed at describing the high deeds of ancient heroes ; we shall now consider separately the cycle of Charlemagne which is the most decidedly French of the three. For the sake of clearness it may be subdivided into three minor gestes. i. G>.ste du Roi, where the glory of '' CHANSONS DE GESTE.'* 121 Roland casts into the shade even that of Charlemagne. 2. Ges^e de Garin de Montglane, the hero of which is Guillaume au Cort-nez, who won the Battle of Alis- camps, 3. The geste de Doon de Afayence, taken up by the exploits of Renaud de Montauban and Ogicr le Danois. Besides these three great branches or series of poems, we must not forget several sva^W^v gestes, such as the cycle de la Croisade {Chanson d'Antioche), ih& geste des Lorrains ( Gaidn le Loherahi), the geste de Blaives {Amis et Annie), &c., &c. The peculiarity of the tronveres of the thirteenth century was that, instead of composing original poems, they were satisfied for the most part with remodelling old compositions and clothing them with new dresses. Thus Graindor of Douai, taking Richard the Pilgrim as his pattern, recast the " Chanson d'Antioche ; " thus, again, Jean Bodel wrote " Chanson des Saisnes " (Saxons) or " Guiteclin (Witikind) de Sassoigne " (Saxony) from an old poem ; Adenes le roi, so called because he was " King of the Minstrels," modernized also " Berthe aus grands pies," " Beuves de Comarchis," and " Les en- fances Ogier." Amongst what may be called the ori- ginal romances of the thirteenth century we may name Jacques Forest's " Roman de Jules Cesar," the "Roman du bel ecu," or " Fregus et Galienne" by Guillaume de Normandie, Pyram's " Parthenopex de Blois, Gilbert de Montreuil's " Roman de la Violette" imitated by Boccaccio and from which Shakespeare borrowed the story of Cymbeline; Adenes le roi wrote the romaunt of" Cleomades," and, to complete this long list, we may mention " Floire et Blanceflor," the work of an author whose name is not exactly known. 122 ''ROMAN DE LA ROSE^ The poem, however, with which the thirteenth century in its decline must ever be chiefly associated is the famous " Roman de la Rose," begun by Guillaume de Lorris about 1262, and finished by Jean de Meung about 1305. The former part of the work is an ex- traordinary association of mystic tenderness and of coarse sensuality, of chivalrous gallantry and of scho- lastic subtlety ; the latter half breathes the spirit of keen satire together with longings after a reformation which, if Jean Meung had had his way, would have been of the most sweeping character.- TROUBADOURS. The voice of the troubadoui' no longer resounded ; Tonsons, Sirventes, planJis, aitbades were gone for ever, and at the time immediately preceding the reign of Louis IX. .the principal monument of Languedoc literature was a long-rhymed chronicle which has lately been published, and which was the work of two distinct poets ; the first part, composed between 12 10 and 1 213, is directed against the Albigenses ; the second, to which the date of 12 18 or 12 19 can be assigned, is inspired, on the contrary, by intense RUTEBEUF — MARIE DE FRANCE. I23 hatred of the Crusaders, and is fairly entitled to be called a poem. If we were to enumerate all the trouveres who flourished during the reign of Saint Louis we should be drawn far beyond the limits of this chapter. Rute- beuf, the genuine precursor of Villon, must be named, however, amongst the most distinguished ; his style is elegant and natural, full of imagination, pathos, and genuine sentiment. The lays and fabliaux, whether anonymous or assignable to well-known authors, may be defined as miniature romaunts or tales characterized chiefly by the spirit of satire, and not unfrequently by a vis coniica bordering upon coarseness ; the name of Marie de France must ever be associated with these compositions, and if she had written nothing but the " Lay du Frene" (containing the germ of the touching story oi Griselidis) and the " Ysopet " (a collection of fables imitated from classical antiquity), she would still deserve not to be forgotten. The pretty story of " Au- cassin and Nieolette"isone of the gems of thirteenth-cen- tury literature, but the best known of all the compositions belonging to that time is undoubtedly the " Roman de Renart," which is claimed by Germany and the Nether- lands as well as by France, and which with its nume- rous branches and subdivisions is the embodiment of the satirical tendency of the Middle Ages. The days of chivalry are gone, and instead of Charlemagne, Turpin, Oliver and Roland, Ogier, Naime, and Huon, we find ourselves summoned before an assembly of animals, where the chief parts are taken by the lion {Noble), the fox [Renard), the -woM {Ysengrin), the bear {Brim), the wild boar {Beaucent), &c. The triumph 124 ^'-^^ DRAMA. of cunning over brute force and of hypocrisy over violence forms the subject-matter of the " Roman de Renart ; " it runs through the works of Gauthier de Coinsy and the innumerable Bibles, castoiements^ and dits which the erudite authorities of the " Histoire Litteraire de la France " have so carefully analysed. Suppose now we take one of the poems just enu- merated, suppose, instead of a consecutive narrative, we introduce each of the dramatis personcs, telling his story and expressing his own opinions, we have im- mediately the drama under its twofold manifestations of sacred {inysteres and inoralites) and secular {farces). The mysteries were dramatized episodes of the Bible and of the legends of the saints, the principal, besides the "Mystere de la Passion," being that of Saint Nicolas by Jean Bodel, a native of Arras, whom we have already mentioned ; the earliest comedy ox farce deserving to be named is the "Jeu de la feuillie," and the earliest comic opera, if we may use such a name, is the "Jeu de Robin et de Marion," both works being by another native of Arras, Adam de la Halle, surnamed the hunchback no one knows wh}', and who distinctly repudiated a sobriquet for which, as it seems, his personal appearance did not give the slightest pre- text : " On m'apele boc/m," said he, " mes je ne le sui mie." Between the essentially lyric poetry of the trouba- dours and the decidedly satirical strain of the troiiveres, we find, as a transition, Thibaut, Count of Champagne, ffimself a pupil of the troubadours, and like them an Epicurean by taste, notorious for the laxity of his morals and the scandal of his life ; he shared also THIBAUT DE CHAMPAGNE. 1 25 their freedom of thinking, and their spirit of opposi- tion to the Church. Bound by his oath, he was com- pelled to take a part in the crusade against the Albigenses, and to fight Raymond, Count of Tou- louse ; but the following lines prove that his sympa- pathies were really on the s-ide of the southern knights, and it would be difficult to find, even in Jean de Meung's bold poetry, a more bitter de- nunciation of the Holy See than in Thibaut de Champagne's sixty- fifth song. " Ce est des clers qui ont laisser sermons Pour guerroier et pour tuer les gens, Jamais en Dieu ne fuit tels homs creans. Nostre chief fait tous les membres doloir. Papelars font li siecle chanceler lis out tolu joie, et solas et pais, Sen porteront en enfer le gr^nt fais." " There are clerks who have forsaken sermons In order to fight and to kill people. Such men never did believe in God. Our head (Innocent III.) makes all the limbs suffer. The followers of the Pope cause the world to totter, They have carried away joy, and solace, and peace, Therefore they shall carry to hell the great burden (of their misdeeds)." We cannot believe that so strict a king as St. Louis approved all the sentiments of the poets who were his contemporaries ; at the same time he granted valuable privileges to the minstrels, jugglers, and other members of the brotherhood, and particularly exempted them from paying toll at the bridges. The minstrels in lieu thereof might treat the collector to a tune or a song, and the juggler might make his mon- 126 PULPIT ELOQUENCE. key cut a caper or two. The well-known French proverb, " Payer en monnaie de singe" {--= to deceive a person by false promises), has arisen from that ancient custom. The various branches of literature we have thus been considering are French exclusively— French by the form in which they are expressed, and by the inspiration under which they were written. If we now come to a more serious topic, to pulpit eloquence, we still find the vernacular language used, although monuments are very scarce and very imperfect. It was natural that preachers should retain in their sermons what may be called the ecclesiastical idiom, and that they should bestow upon Latin discourses most of their care and attention ; but they remem- bered that if often they had to preach ad cleros, their audiences consisted more frequently still of common and illiterate people, who could not have understood them if they had used the language of the Church ; we are therefore led to adopt the opinion arrived at by several learned historians, to wit (i) that all the sermons addressed to the faithful, even those written in Latin, were preached entirely in French ; (2) that the sermons intended for the clergy were, generall)', preached in Latin. Maurice de SuU}', Bishop of Paris, who died in 1196, composed a set of sermons intended to be a manual or guide for the priests of his diocese ; it is written in Latin, being in the first instance meant as a kind of authorized book, to be employed by those who had no talent or leisure for original composition ; but, at the same time, the pre- late expressly directed that these sermons should be CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. I27 addressed to the whole congregation of faithful, and accordingly, as the final clauses of two MSS. expressly state, they were to be read in French. We have the authority of the chronicler, Humbert de Romans, to state that the early Dominican friars, even those of German origin, preached in that language, and one of them, Jourdain of Saxony, holding forth to a congregation of knights in Palestine, after having apologized for his imperfect knowledge of French, made frequent use of German words and phrases. The custom of thus intermixing the vernacular idioms with Latin gradually gained ground, and led in course of time to the macaronic style which characterizes the sermons of Michel Menot and Olivier Maillard. The transition from pulpit eloquence to church architecture is a natural one, and we are thus led to consider the state of the fine arts during the reign of Louis IX. It may be said that the renovation of church architecture took place shortly after the year 1000. Up to that time, in the construction of sacred buildings, nothing more was aimed at but the imitation of the ancient basilica. No sooner was the Christian world delivered from the terrors of the day of judg- ment, which so many had proclaimed as about to be ushered in with the eleventh century, than, as if it had been through a desire of expressing substantial grati- tude to the Deity, the whole population set about erecting cathedrals, parish churches, abbeys, and monasteries. From the school of Cluny, and other similar establishments, came forth architects of the greatest merit, and the Gothic style of construction made its first appearance. The principal cathedrals SAINT WULFRAN, X, ABBEVILLE, iNOTRE DAME OF PARIS. 130 THE FINE ARTS. belonging to that epoch are those of Chartres, Bourges, Amiens, Paris, and Rouen ; nor must we forget the Sainte Chapelle, one of the most elegant specimens of Gothic architecture which the metropolis of France can boast of. It has often been noticed that what may be called /ay or secular architecture followed closely the same type as the one adopted for the erection of churches ; the reason for this is twofold. In the first place, religious establishments held the foremost rank in the social order ; and, secondly, the monks alone being architects, painters, sculptors, and decorators, they could scarcely help introducing in the economy of secular buildings the usual way they had of drawing a plan, and carrying out its execution. The art of sculpture and that of painting made considerable progress in France during the thirteenth century. M. Viollet le Due tells us that so far as drawing is concerned, together with the correct observation of movement, composition, and even expression, the French artists cast off the trammels of conven- tionalism long before the Italian ones. " The paint- ings and vignettes which the thirteenth century has bequeathed to us are the proof of that fact, and fifty years previous to Giotto, we had amongst us painters who had already realized the progress ascribed to the pupil of Cimabue. From the twelfth century to the fifteenth drawing becomes modified ; fettered at first by the traditions of Byzantine art, it begins by shaking off those rules of a particular school; without abandon- ing style, it looks for principles derived from the observation of nature. The study of gesture soon MUSIC. 131 attains to a rare delicacy, then comes a search after what is called expression. . , . As early as the second half of the thirteenth century we recognize striking efforts of composition ; the dramatic idea finds its place, and some of the scenes betray powerful energy." Mural and decorative painting had more difficulties to contend with, but they also showed decided pro- gress. The influence of the Church could not but be much felt in music, and when we speak of that art, as it flourished during the Middle Ages, we must be under- stood to refer to plain chant, motets, hymns, and in general to psalmody. Modern music may be said to have sprung into existence when Gothic architecture had attained its perfection ; and it would have been strange if Saint Louis, so anxious to have Divine ser- vice celebrated with all possible perfection, had not given his attention to music. The names of several organists have been handed down to us, and the cathedral church of Notre Dame in Paris claims the most celebrated amongst them ; Leonin, for instance, and Perotin. The king did not care for secular music, and whilst most of the high barons had minstrels as part of their household, Louis IX. had none. When Marguerite de Provence came to Sens on her coronation, her father brought with him a minstrel and six troubadours ; these did not remain at Court, but at the same time they were handsomely remunerated, and on the state- ment of expenses made for the occasion, we find Ii2livres, 20 sols, and 12 deniers for the minstrels, together with 10 livres paid to the minstrel of the 133 INDUSTRIAL ARTS. Count de Provence. The list of musical instruments in use during the Middle Ages was a long one ; be- sides the organ, the lyre, and the harp, we find the violin {vielle, rote, rebec), the guitar or guiterne, the doulcemer {dulcimer), the trumpet, the sackbut, the drum, &c. The nacaire or naquaire, mentioned by Joinville, seems to have been a kind of cymbal, and the dulcimer very like our piano. The industrial arts claim also a mention here, and as a matter of course the improvements of every kind introduced into church architecture and decoration, told upon carpentering, carving, the " craft and mystery " of joiners, goldsmiths, silversmiths, and blacksmiths. Tombs, relic-cases, stalls, lecterns, fonts, incense-boxes, candelabra, crucifixes — in fact, all the articles used for ecclesiastical purposes, all the monuments belonging to the church were exe- cuted with a degree of perfection and of taste which has never been surpassed. In conclusion, the thirteenth century marks the most brilliant epoch of the Middle Ages, and in that epoch the reign of Saint Louis forms, so to say, the central point. After the death of that glorious monarch, decay sets in, the old order of things falls gradually to pieces, and to the prevalence of honour, courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice succeeds the triumph of insolence, cowardice, treachery, avarice, and selfishness. VII. PHILTP TIL— PHILIP IV. (1 270-1 3 14.) Why Philip III. should have been surnamed "the Bold " [le hardi) it would be difficult to say. He had inherited the meekness and the piety of his father, but none of his other virtues, and the contemporary chronicles have very little to say about him. Charles de Valois was the French prince who occupies the stage of history during the last ^o."^ years of the thirteenth century, and around him is gathered all the interest which belongs to the country of the fleurs-de-lys. It is even still a matter of doubt whether Philip knew how to write ; at any rate, his mind absolutely lacked culture. During his reign, however, the royal power went on acquiring strength, and fresh provinces were added to the kingdom ; in fact, he inherited from almost every member of his family. The death of his brother, Jean Tristan, brought to him the province of Valois ; his uncle Alphonso left to him nearly the whole of Southern France : Poitou, Auvergne, Toulouse, Rouergue, Albigeois, Quercy, Agenois, Comtat Venaissin ; finally he got possession of Navarre by marrying his 134 PHILIP III.— CHARLES D'ANJOU. son Philip to the daughter of the Count of Cham- pagne, who was also king of that fertile province. It is true that Agenois was restored to England, and the Comtat to the Pope, but still the authority of the new monarch extended over nearly all the country com- prised between the Loire and the Pyrenees, and a few attempts of resistance having taken place, they were speedily put down. Charles d'Anjou, as we have already said, was at that time the real French king. Count of Florence, King of Naples and Sicily, a Roman senator, imperial vicar in Tuscany, lord of most of the cities in Northern Italy, he might have been satisfied with the immense power then concentrated in his hands. The political state of Europe had singularly favoured his ambitious plans. Germany was without an emperor ; Italy was rent asunder by the feuds between the Guelphs and Ghibelines ; a dispute on points of doctrine had separated the Eastern from the Western Church ; and the empire of Constantinople was threatened as the focus of a dangerous schism. Charles d'Anjou took advantage of this state of things ; he aimed, not only at being Emperor of the East, but at taking posses- sion of Jerusalem and of Egypt. Such exorbitant pretensions could not be tolerated, and even Pope Gregory X. saw the necessity of stemming the torrent. He contrived to bring about a reconciliation between the conflicting factions in Italy, secured the election of Rodolph of Hapsburg to the throne of Germany, and put an end to the schism at the council of Lyons. When he died Nicolas III., his successor, adopted the same policy. The danger thus minimized was entirely THE SICILIAN VESPERS. I35 removed in consequence of the event which is known as the Sicilian Vespers. A Calabrian physician, lord of the island of Procida, had been for some time travel- ling about for the purpose of stirring up enemies against Charles d'Anjou. Having secured the active co-operation of Don Pedro, King of Arragon, he organized a conspiracy, and selected Sicily as the spot where the rising was to take place. That island, ground down by the tyranny of Charles, drained of its financial resources, subjected to the most iniquitous system of taxation, was treated with insolence by the French, who took every opportunity of asserting their superiority over the wretched inhabitants. " On Easter Monday (March 30, 1282) the population of Palermo, according to custom, had gathered together for the purpose of attending vespers on the hill of Monreale. A young lady of noble birth was in the crowd, accompanied by her betrothed lover ; a Frenchman approaches her, charges her with having weapons concealed under her clothes, and attempts to search her in the most indecent manner. He is immediately killed, and his death becomes the signal of a universal massacre. Measures to that effect had been taken beforehand, the houses inhabited by the French, for instance, were all marked with a peculiar sign during the previous night. No one escaped who could not pronounce the letter c in the Italian fashion. The whole of Sicily followed the example of Palermo." ' In the meanwhile Don Pedro, accompanied by Procida, started for Sicily, at the head of a powerful fleet, which took possession of the Straits of Messina. ' Bordier and Charton, " Histoire de France." 136 PHILIP III. MAKES WAR WITH SPAIN. Charles d'Anjou did not repose much confidence in his own sailors ; he raised the siege of Messina which he had been blockading, and crossed over to Italy> having to suffer the humiliation of seeing his ships destroyed. It is said that he kept biting his sceptre out of sheer rage. Finding that fortune was aban- doning him, he exclaimed, "Grant, O my God, that the descent may take place by slow steps and gently." After several prolonged and unhappy efforts tocontinue the struggle Charles d'Anjou died on the 7th of Jan- uary, I285,declaring that "he had undertaken theenter- prise of the kingdom of Sicily rather for the benefit of the Holy Church than for his own private advantage." His uncle now dead, Philip HI. had to bear the brunt of the war against Spain, and to avenge the honour of the Valois family. A crusade was preached against Spain, and the King of France crossed the Pyrenees at the head of a splendid army, which some historians estimate at twenty thousand cavalry and eighty thousand infantry ; a powerful fleet coasting along the shore was to keep this large force amply supplied, as well as to assist it in case of need. The town of Elne taken after a desperate resistance, seemed to be the prelude of great things ; but the French lost two months in besieging Gerona, and when that place had capitulated, the invaders were so reduced by the climate, the heat and pestilential diseases, that they were obliged to retrace their steps and to return home. Philip had just time to reach Perpignan before he died (October 5, 1285). His fleet had been defeated, and a week after the death of the King of France, Don Pedro occupied Gerona. PIERRE DE LA BROSSE. I37 Amongst the monuments of French dramatic Hterature during the Middle Ages there is one which we shall mention here, not on account of any merit it possesses, but because it refers to an extraordinary incident in the reign of Philip III. It is entitled " Le Jeu de Pierre de la Broce," and is preceded by a complainte or dirge on the same person. Now, Pierre de la Brosse, belonging to a very humble family, had been originally barber to Philip III. Being extremely clever, ready-witted, and sharp, he contrived to gain the confidence of his master, and to become Prime Minister. Philip was married twice ; his first wife, Isabella of Arragon, died shortly before her husband ascended the throne. In 1274 he took as his consort Mary of Brabant, and the following year, Louis, the eldest of his sons by Isabella, having died of poison, as it was supposed, Pierre de la Brosse managed to persuade the king, that Mary of Brabant was guilty of the crime, and that she had formed the plan of despatching in like manner the other children, in order to secure the throne for her own offspring. Philip, of course, was extremely angry, and determined upon having his wife burnt alive ; but the princes of the blood and the chief lords, to whom he communicated his suspicions, persuaded him not to act too rashly. Before he followed out his intentions he should make all necessary inquiries, and consult some person learned in sorcery and witchcraft. They selected a nun of Nivelle, in Brabant, the dominions of the queen's father, and sent to her for the purpose of consultation the Bishop of Dol and a Knight- Templar. " Tell from me to the king," answered the 138 MARY OF BRABANT. oracle, " that he must not believe the slanderous reports circulated about his wife ; for she is good and loyal both towards him and towards all his family, and her heart is sincere." Some historians add that the nun went on to say that the young prince had been poisoned by a man who enjoyed the king's confidence. No other but Pierre de la Brosse was evidently meant by this designation. Whether the last part of the story is true or not, the Prime Minister became suspected in his turn, and soon paid the penalty of his misdeeds. Mary of Brabant was still treated as if she was guilty, and confined to her apartments. The Count d'Artois, who was a relation both of the king and of the queen, having offered to maintain her innocence in single combat, and no one accepting the challenge^ she re-appeared in public. About that time a packet of letters was delivered to the king, coming from Spain and addressed to Pierre de la Brosse ; on opening it, proof was found that the Prune Minister had been carrying on a treasonable correspondence, and he was immediately arrested on that charge, tried in Paris, and condemned to be hanged.- Thus it was that Mary of Brabant was avenged of the vilest and boldest accusation ever put forth ; from that time she lived in perfect harmony with her husband ; she had three children, one son who, prior to his ascending the throne, was Count d'Evreux, and two daughters. Before taking leave of Philip the Bold, we must not forget to mention two facts which are of importance as illustrating the decay of feudal institutions. In the PHILIP IV. 139 first place, by granting (1272) a patent of nobility to his treasurer Raoul, the king gave the earliest instance on record in French history of a commoner being admitted into the aristocracy ; secondly, leave was granted for commoners to enjoy the possessions of fiefs. Thus nobility ceased to be a natural quality which could neither be lost nor purchased ; it was reduced to a privilege conferred to this or that man by the accident of his birth or the good pleasure of the king, to the prejudice of his equals. Any one was qualified to exercise the rights it implies, and to discharge the duties resulting from it. Philip IV, was seventeen years old when he ascended the throne, and from the very beginning of his reign it was quite evident that the power was in the hand of the legists. The days of feudalism had passed away for ever, and a period of transition was commencing. Under the old system, as there was no administration properly so called, government agents did not exist , as the vassals of the Crown were compelled to do military service, there was no mercenary troops, no need to provide for the pay of a permanent army. Things now were totally different ; the royal domain included two-thirds of France instead of half a dozen towns as heretofore ; hence the necessity of a host of judges, notaries, provosts, seneschals, counsellors, &c. It was the same in matters of war ; whereas formerly, as a general rule, warlike expeditions were confined within rela- tively small limits, now troops had to be moved towards the Pyrenees, the Rhine, the Garonne, the shores of the Mediterranean. Fleets were indispens- 140 LOW STATE OF THE EXCHEQUER. able, and the feudal militia could not suffice. Now law-agents must be paid ; seneschals appointed by the king will not explain the law gratis, counsellors insist on being remunerated for giving advice. In like manner, if the feudal militia is not equal to the exigencies of a campaign, mercenary troops must be called in ; they are subjected to strict discipline, and their services can always be depended upon ; but they very naturally require to be paid ; and if the Genoese galleys (as in the case of the war with Flanders) are retained in addition to the ships from Poitou and Normandy, money must be forthcoming. We thus see that Philip the Fair {le hel, such was his surname) was very short of money, and as the expenses kept increasing whilst the national income remained the same, France seemed on the eve of a bankruptcy. Philip tried several means of replenish- ing the exchequer, but he was very unwise in the schemes he adopted, and whilst grinding down the people, he did no good to the State. One of his first plans was to extort money arbitrarily out of the Jews and Lombards— the bankers of those days. Driven from France the Jews carried their riches into foreign lands, the Lombards concealed theirs, and commerce came to a standstill. Now, Philip turned coiner and this, of course, did not mend matters ; he ordered all the old coinage to be melted, with the view of altering its value ; further, under the pretence of enforcing the sumptuary laws, he confiscated the gold and silver plate of those persons who had not a large fortune, and caused it to be cast into the smelting furnace out of which it came in the shape PHILIP IV. AND THE ENGLISH. 14I of livres and sous parisis, nominally equal in value to what they used to be, but really worth much less ; the consequence was the ruin of industry. His endeavour to raise taxes in Flanders led to a rebel- lion ; his bold endeavour to get money out of the Church ended in a quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII. ; we shall see presently the mysterious history of the Templars and the destruction of the order. Philip the Fair was not naturally of a fighting disposition ; as soon as he could, he got rid of useless warfares by treaties and peaceful arrangements, and set about extending his domains by marriages and other quiet contrivances. His union with the heiress of Navarre and Champagne procured to him two important provinces ; a sentence of parliament deprived the heirs of Hugh de Lusignan to the profit of the French Crown, which was thus put in possession of Marche and Angoumois ; finally, Philip's second son took to wife the heiress of Franche Comte. Remained the countship of Flanders and the duchies of Guienne and Brittany. Here fighting was a matter of absolute necessity, and Philip tried first what he could do in Southern France. Edward I., King of England, was at the same time Duke of Guienne, and might have proved a dangerous adversary for Philip had he not been entirely absorbed by the affairs of Wales and of Scotland. Philip's army marched into Guienne, whilst his fleet plundered Dover. The Count of Flanders had sided with Edward ; Philip invaded his domains and defeated the Flemings at Furnes (1295). Thanks to the intervention of the Pope, peace was concluded between 142 PHILIP IV. AND THE FLEMINGS. France and England, the treaty being confirmed by the marriage of the daughter of Philip the Fair with the son of the King of England. Thus it happened that prospective claims to the crown of France were enjoyed by England — claims which later on Edward III. knew how to put forth, and to sup- port by the power of his arms. Hitherto Philip had sided with the Scotch ; he abandoned them to his new ally, who in his turn forsook the Count of Flanders. Thus deserted, this prince was struck with terror ; he came in person to surrender to Philip, and Flanders was annexed to the kingdom of France. Common sense should have suggested to Philip the advisability of treating the Flemings with kind- ness, or, at any rate, with a certain amount of courtesy. Unfortunately he adopted a totally different course, and sent amongst them as a governor, Jacques de Chatillon, who thought that he had nothing to do but to get as much money as he could out of a rich and thriving population, and to convince them that their riches would avail them nothing against the power of the Jieurs-de-lys. He began by depriving the citizens of their municipal elections, and of the right of managing their own affairs. This ill-judged measure alienated the upper classes. His next act was to oblige the workmen to pay to the Crown one fourth of their daily salary. This irritated the poor. An amount of agitation took place which Chatillon did not anticipate, although the ill-will of the Flemings had manifested itself on the very first day of the French occupation. The centre of the move- BATTLE OF COURTRAI. I43 ment was at Bruges, which Chatillon had visited with his wrath ; he had confiscated the privileges of the town, dismantled it, and was constructing a citadel with the view of keeping the citizens in order. A massacre of the French took place on May 17, 1302, and precautions were taken by the inhabitants to prev^ent the foreign knights from retaliating. Chains were drawn across the streets, and all the available bridles and saddles seized by the magistrates for the purposes of furnishing an improvised body of cavalry. The report that the King of France was advancing at the head of an army of sixty thousand men only served to exaspe- rate the people of Bruges, who were nearly the only part of the population which seemed determined to fight. "Attacked before Courtrai, they coolly awaited the French, having taken up their position at the back of a semi-circular ditch, concealed both by branches of trees and by the bulrushes which filled the marshes. A priest celebrated mass, and at the moment of the devotion, each man taking up a little earth raised it to his lips, thus showing that he joined in the communion with his fellow- citizens. The French were full of confidence ; in order to have the whole honour of the victory, they pushed aside the Italian archers who formed a kind of auxiliary force. They had the advantage at first ; but the Count d'Artois having crossed the ditch was killed close to the banner of Flanders, and the horsemen who followed him stumbled upon one another in utter confusion. Thus disabled and helpless, they became the easy victims of their enemies, who made of them a terrible 144 PHILIP IV. AND THE CHURCH. slaughter. Twelve thousand sergeants-at-arms were then killed in a marsh, which subsequently received the name of the Blood MarsJi. We are told that on the field of battle the gold spurs of the knights were measured by the bushel " ^ We may imagine how joyfully the news of Philip's defeat was received at Rome, Florence, Toulouse, and Bordeaux. It is true that the French avenged their honour at Mons-en-Puelle (1304), but the king having besieged Lille, a general rising of the whole of Flanders took place, and Philip drew back ; he obtained Douai, Lille, Bethune, Orchies, and the whole of French Flanders situated between the Lys and the Scheldt, and as a kind of compensation he gave back to the Flemings their count, who did him feudal homage for his domains. Thoroughly ruined by the war, he returned to his kingdom, and found there great irritation caused by the famine, the altera- tion of the coinage, and the other financial measures which he had so injudiciously forced upon the people. He now turned his attention towards the Pope, and thought he would replenish his exchequer at the expense of the Church. As early as 1296 differences had arisen between Boniface VIII. and Philip the P'air, on account of certain taxes which the king wished to levy on ecclesiastical property. " Between the famished king," says M. Michelet, "and the hungry starved to death, there was some one rich, and that some one was the Church, archbishops and bishops, canons and monks — monks ancient, belonging to the order of Saint ' Bordier and Charton. ARREST OF BERNARD SAISSET. 145 Benedict ; monks modern, styled mendicant friars — they were all rich, and vied with each other in point of opulence. All that tonsured society throve on the blessings of heaven and the fat of the land. It was a small and happy community, obese and shining, in the midst of the great famished people, which was beginning to look at them with an unfavourable eye." Concord seemed however to be re-established for a short time, and Boniface VIII., as an earnest of good will, pronounced the canonization of Louis IX. This was only a brief respite, and the proud interference of the Pope in the home policy of France made things worse than ever. One of the Papal legates, Bernard Saisset, an ambitious and violent man, Bishop of Pamiers, used on a certain occasion offen- sive and even treasonable language towards the King of France, and what was more, in the king's own presence. Philip could not brook such insolence ; he caused Bernard Saisset to be arrested, and requested the Archbishop of Narbonne, his metropolitan, to pronounce his canonical degradation. The arch- bishop having referred to the Pope, Boniface VIII. by way of answer, fulminated the famous Bull Ausciilta, fill, which resulted in his being shamefully treated, and in his meeting finally with a pitiable death. The whole of this affair was characterized on both sides by acts of violence which would have marred the best cause, and which did equal injury to the King of France and to the Pope. The drift of the Bull will be seen from the following quotation : " God has set me, though unworthy, above kings 146 'bull " ausculta, fill'' and kingdoms, having imposed upon me the yoke of apostolic servitude, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant, in His name. Wherefore let no man persuade you that you have no superior, or that you are not subject to the supreme head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. He who thinks so is a madman, and if he' persists in his error, is convicted as an infidel. "Although it is certain that the nomination to all benefices belongs to the Pope, and that you have no right to any such patronage without the consent of the Holy See, you oppose our collations, and claim to act as judge in your own cause. You drag before your tribunals the bishops and other clergy of your kingdom, both regular and secular, even for matters concerning property which they do not hold from you in fief You exact from them tenths and other imposts, although laymen have no authority what- ever over the clergy. You hinder the bishops from employing the spiritual sword against offenders, and from exercising their jurisdiction over conventual houses. You observe no moderation in disposing of the revenues of vacant episcopal sees which you call by an abuse, ' Z>;wV de I'egale! You squander these revenues, and turn into plunder what was a means of preserving them intact." The Bull AiLsailta, Jilt, accompanied by the one known as Salvator inimdi, and by three others, was issued on the 3rd of December, 1301 : it had been preceded by the Bulls Ineffabilis amoris (February 7, 1297) and Cleiacis Idicos (February 24, 1296). Whilst denouncing the bad administration of Philip GUILLAUME DE NOGARET. l^J the Fair, and the iniquitous taxes which he im- posed upon his subjects, Boniface VI 11. was perfectly- right, and he was well aware that the tax called maltote (L. male ^'^/^«=unfairly raised), exacted from certain large towns had caused rebellions, at Rouen, for instance (1292); but, on the other hand, he formed on the power of the Papacy ideas which were no longer admissible. The days of Gregory VII. had gone never to return, and the lawyers who really governed the kingdom under the name of Philip, endeavoured to establish the rule of Roman law which gives to the king absolute power, including that of interfering in the administration of the diocese. Hence a deplorable quarrel. Supported by the unanimous vote of the States-General (1302), Philip threatened Boniface with a council, before which he meant to summons him ; the Pope in his turn prepared a Bull for the deposition of the king. This was too much ; one of the agents of Philip the Fair, Guillaume de Nogaret, was in Italy, at Anagni, the birthplace of Boniface VIII., who had himself repaired there from Rome. Nogaret had contrived to gain the support of the inhabitants, and was accom- panied by Sciarra Colonna, a nobleman of Roman origin, and a mortal enemy of the Pope. We should remark that Nogaret's grandfather had been formerly .burnt alive as belonging to the sect of Albigenses ; he could not, therefore, feel very favourably disposed towards the Holy See. He entered Anagni at the head of four hundred men, and marched towards the palace amidst the cries of " Death to the Pope ! Loner live the King; of France ! " Boniface was 148 POPES BONIFACE VIII. AND BENEDICT XL sitting on his throne, arrayed in his pontifical vest- ments, with the tiara on liis head, holding a cross in one hand, and the keys of St. Peter in the other. Being ordered to abdicate, he said, "Here is my neck, here is my head ; betrayed like Jesus Christ, if I must die as He did, at any rate, I shall die a Pope." Thereupon Sciarra Colonna tore him from his throne, struck him in the face with his iron gauntlet, and would have killed him on the spot, had not Guillaume de Nogaret interfered. Addressing Boniface, the Frenchman said : " O thou wretched Pope, consider and behold the kindness of my lord the King of France who, for ever so distant as his realms are from thine, by me protects and defends thee." The people of Anagni, however, recovered at last from the stupor i . which they had been plunged by the arrival of the French ; they rose, drove away the invaders, set the Pope at liberty, and conducted him back to Rome. He died shortly after of shame and anger at the affronts to which he had been submitted. Benedict XL, who succeeded Boniface on the siege of St. Peter, wanted to avenge him by excommunicating Nogaret, Colonna, and all those who had assisted them. The sentence virtually reached the king ; one month after the Bull was fulminated the new Pope died, most probably of poison. Philip the Fair now contrived to secure the tiara for an ecclesiastic of his own choice, and who would not hesitate to accept any terms the French monarch might think fit to make. This was Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux ; he assumed the name of Clement V., was consecrated at Lvons, and abandon- THE KNIGHTS-TEMPLAR. I49 ing- Rome, came to settle at Avignon (1308), where he was at the disposal and under the thumb, so to say, of the king. Then commenced what has been called the second Babylonish captivity ; the successors of Clement V. remained in Avignon till the year 1376. The scandalous bargain thus made between the Pope and Philip has been characterized in three doggrel lines, which we find quoted by Walsingham : " Ecclesise navis titubat, regni quia clavis Errat. Rex, Papa, facti sunt unica cappa. Hoc faciunt dodes, Pilatus hec, alter Herodes." One of the conditions imposed by the king upon the Pope was the destruction of the Order of the Temple. Why should those warrior-monks be so rich? In the time of the Crusades they might have given as an excuse that they spent their money in levying troops for the delivery of the Holy Land ; but now that these expeditions were abandoned, there seemed no need for the knights to have in their treasure-house 150,000 gold florins, besides silver and precious cups, vases, and other specimens of goldsmith's work. Then was not the order a standing menace against the power of the king? They numbered 15,000 knights, in addition to an immense number of retainers ; they possessed throughout the whole extent of Christendom upwards of 10,000 manorial re. idences, to say nothing of fortresses which could set at defiance the united forces of Europe. Finally, their orthodoxy was more than doubtful, and they constituted a standing scandal to the Church. They worshipped the devil under the shape of a cat, they were Mahometans in 150 ''ROMAN DE FAUVEL." disguise, they held mysteries which no profane eye was allowed to see, and to which no outsider was admitted, &c., &c. It would be perhaps rash to deny that the Templars were not uniformly blameless from the point of view of morality, and that their religious opinions were not strictly orthodox ; but confessions obtained under the influence of torture are unworthy of belief, and it is only too clear now that the sup- pression of the Order of the Temple was the result of Philip the Fair's covetousness and love of money. By a clever stroke of policy he thought of associating the nation with him in his design, and summoned the States-General at Tours. In the meanwhile popular opinion instigated by Philip the Fair had been excited against the Papacy, and satirical litera- ture was brought in to take the king's part and to further his designs, The most signal instance of this rather unscrupulous attack is to be found in the " Roman de Fauvel," composed by Fran9ois de Rues. Fauvel, an imaginary being, half-man and half-horse, is represented as a kind of idol before which popes, cardinals, princes, bishops, monks, are prostrated. Every one claims the privilege of torcher Fauvel Caressing Fauvel), and the expression torched' Fauvel, coined at that epoch, has remained as the synonym o'i to cabal, to intrigue, to act unscrupulously. Fauvel is the embodiment of falsehood, pride, and sensuality. " De Fauvel descent Flaterie, Qui du monde a la seigneurie, Et puis en descent avarice, Qui de torcher Fauvel n'est nice, Vilenie et vanite, Et puis envi et fausete." STATES-GENERAL OF 1302. 151 " From Fauvel proceeds flattery, Which exercises the lordship in this world ; Thence proceeds also avarice Which has no scruple in caressing Fauvel, Vileness and vanity, And then envy and falsehood." Of the condemned Templars the poet says : " Helas ! Helas 1 c'est bien raison ; Car ils ont, trop longue saison, Cette orde vie demenee ; Si regnassent plus longuement, Crestiente certenement S'en fust partout envenimee." " Alas ! alas ! it is quite right (that they should be condemned) ; For they have too long Led this disgraceful life ; If they had reigned for a longer period, Christendom certainly Would have been thoroughly poisoned." Thus excited, the deputies to the States-General pronounced unanimously the condemnation of the unfortunate Templars, and gave to the unscrupulous despot the full sanction to seize upon the rich prey which he had so long been coveting (May, 1307). All the towns of any importance were represented at Tours as well as all the prelates and the great majority of the nobility. Thus it might be said with a certain amount of plausibility that the entire nation believed in the guilt of the knights, though at the same time the accusation brought against them was utterly false and calumnious. But Philip the Fair was accustomed to such procedure, and already, five years before, when the States-General of 1302 pro- 152 FIFTY-FOUR KNIGHTS BURNT TO DEATH. nounced the deposition of Boniface VIII., they had falsified the Papal bull in the most scandalous manner with the view of finding a ground for their accusations. Fifty-four Templars were burnt alive in one day at Paris alone, and similar executions took place in all the principal provincial towns. The Pope, at the council of Vienne (13 12), pronounced the suppression of the order throughout Christendom ; their riches were to be handed over to the Knights Hospitallers, but we need scarcely say that Philip the Fair managed to secure a large portion of the spoil. He obtained all the coin found in the chief house of the order, besides two-thirds of the furniture and of the money owing to them, and a considerable amount of landed property. VI 1 1. PHILIP THE FAIR— LOUIS X.— PHILIP V.— CHARLES IV. — PHILIP VI. (1 3 14-1328.) The reign of Philip the Fair was marked, as w& have ah-eady seen, by events of the most extraordinary, and, we may almost say, the most revolutionary character. The administration of France furnished the king with an opportunity of carrying out his scheme of reforms, and we are bound to say that although his laws were stamped with the mark of despotism, some of them, many of them, we should say, mani- fested a true idea of the principles of government. The Paris parliament existed in an elementary form under the reign of Philip Augustus and Saint Louis, but it was reserved for Philip the Fair to give to it a regular constitution, and make of it a real court of justice. By his decree of 1302, he separated the functions of the parliament into three classes, according as they were of a political, judicial, or financial nature. The first belonged to the Council of State {Grand Conseil ox Conseil Etroit) ; the second fell under the cognizance of the Parliament properly so called ; the third pertained to the Court of Ac- 154 THE PARTS PARLIAMENT. counts {Cour des coiiiptcs). With reference to the parliament, it was definitely constituted by virtue of the ordinances of 1291 and 1302, and comprised three distinct courts {cJiambres) : — i. The CJianibre des requites judged the cases immediately brought before the parliament. 2, The Chambre des enquetes decided upon the cases about which an appeal had been made to the parliament. 3. The Grand'' Chambre, or Chambre des plaidoiries judged the cases which had been previously examined in the Chambre des enquetes. In addition to the Paris parliament, Philip the Fair had also thought of establishing a special one at Toulouse for the trial of cases amenable to Roman law ; but the resistance which he encountered from the local authorities obliged him to give up his plan, and to be satisfied with annexing to the Paris parliament an additional Chambre, des enquetes re- served for the examination of cases which could not be judged according to the principles of feudal legislation. The parliament was to meet twice a year for sessions of two months each, in the building called Palais de la cite, and subsequently known as Palais de justice. The Normandy* ExcJieqiier was retained by Philip the Fair ; founded at the time of the Norman invasion, it had been, up to the four- teenth century, a feudal court peculiar to the province, meeting twice a year, at Easter and Michaelmas, and holding its sessions alternately at Rouen, and Caen. King Philip directed that the sittings of the Exchequer should take place for the future at Rouen exclusively, under the presidency of magistrates appointed by the Crown. Finally, Philip yEAN BURIDAN. 155 IV. regularized the grands jours of Champagne held at Troyes, and which used to meet for the trial of cases which the ordinary tribunals were unable to deal with. We have now come to the last years of an eventful reign, and it remains for us to notice two episodes of a tragic character which marked its conclusion. In his poem entitled " Le grand Testament," the celebrated Villon says : . ' ' Semblablement ou est la royne Qui commanda que Buridan Fut jette en ung sac en Seine." This queen was Marguerite de Bourgogne, wife of Louis le Hutin, who, being found guilty of adultery, was strangled in her prison in 13 14, by order of the king. As for Buridan, whether he was tied into a sack or not and cast into the Seine, is still a matter of doubt, the probability being that the whole episode is nothing but an absurd tale. At any rate, he lived to be one of the most distinguished professors in the University of Paris. It is certain, however, that the three daughters-in-law of Philip the Fair led a most scandalous life, and that the Tower of Nesle in Paris was the scene of their crimes. Having been found out, they were arrested and sent to prison. One of them, as we have just said, was strangled, another committed suicide, and the third was ultimately taken back by her husband. Their accomplices, Gautier and Philip d'Aunay, were flayed alive on the Place de Greve. The unfortunate Knights-Templar supply us with 156 LOUIS X., LE RUTIN. materials for the last act of the tragedy. The principal dignitaries of the order had been lingering in prison for the space of six years, and seemed to be forgotten. In 13 13, having been summoned before a pontifical court, they were condemned to seclusion for life. The Grand Master, and another visitor or master, then suddenly recanted all their previous confessions and avowals, says Guillaume de Nangis, to the astonishment of every one. The cardinals who sat on the commission delivered them over to the custody of the Provost of Paris, till a more serious and thorough deliberation had taken place the next day ; but as soon as the noise of that incident had reached the ears of the king, who happened to be in his royal palace, having com- municated with his friends and ivithoiit summoning the ckrks, by a prudent advice, in the evening of the same day, he had both Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master, and the other visitor, burnt to death on the same pile in a small island of the Seine, between the royal garden and the church of the Hermit friars of Saint Augustine. (This island is now the place on the Pont-neuf where stands the statue of Henry IV.) M. Michelet, who quotes the narrative of Guillaume de Nangis, adds : " This execution, done without the knowledge of the judges, was evidently a murder." The expression is not too strong. Philip the Fair was only forty-six when he died, November 29, 13 14, leaving three sons who reigned successively. Louis X., le H^itin (the quarrelsome), occupied the throne only for the space of eighteen months (13 14- ENGUERRAND DE MARIGNY. 157 1 3 16), and his tenure of ofifice was marked, in the first place, by an abortive expedition against Flanders, and in the second by a feudal reaction which very nearly destroyed the work of Philip the Fair. The barons were particularly anxious to ruin the alter ego of the late king, Enguerrand de Marigny ; he was accused on the most futile charges, by Charles de Valois, brother of the late king, a violent and meddlesome prince, who put himself forward as the champion of the barons and the avenger of tottering feudalism. It would not have been difficult for Marigny to defend himself, had he been allowed to do so ; but his death was a matter determined upon beforehand, so they brought forward against him a charge from which there was no escape — that of sorcery, and he was hanged in Paris at Monfaucon. His only crime was that of having been Philip the Fair's confidential adviser. Pierre de Latilly, Chan- cellor of France, and Raoul de Presle, Advocate- General, were put to the torture ; Nogaret was ruined. This was the last effort of the feudal system ; it died hard, it died fighting, but its days were over. Louis X. left only one daughter : five months after his death, his widow, Ciemence of Hungary, had a son, John, who only lived eight days. Was the Princess Jeanne to succeed to the throne ? No, said the Salic law, and accordingly the States-General pro- claimed as king Philip, brother of " the quarrelsome " monarch, who thus became Philip V., surnamed le Long. He was called to the throne in 13 16, after a regency of five or six months. It is curious that whereas the rirfit of inheriting fiefs was recognized 158 THE SALIC LAW. by feudal law for women, it was distinctly forbidden in the case of Salic domains, and the question has arisen whether this measure was a wise one or not. M. Duruy remarks (" Histoire de France," voL i. p. 382), that several royal houses, that of Austria, for instance, owed their greatness to the opposite principle. The Salic law, excellent as it was to insure the in- dependence of a small state, was less necessary for a powerful monarchy. France was too important to be absorbed by any power, and if we suppose a foreign prince acquiring it by virtue of a marriage, he would have, on the contrary, extended it, by the addition of his own domains. What would have happened, for instance, if Edward III. of England had come to the throne of France, instead of Philip V. — Edward, essentially French by his mother, his habits, his language, and part of his possessions, since he was Duke of Guienne, and Count of Ponthieu ? The consequence would have been that, instead of the mere countship of Valois, Guienne, Ponthieu, and, for a time, England, would have become part of the royal domains. A few French barons might have had to yield to English ones, but France would have been spared the hundred years' war. England has never had but foreign kings — Saxons, Danes, Normans, Angevines, Welsh, Scotch, Dutch, Ger- mans ; she is none the worse for that. The reigns of Philip V. (1316-1322), and of Charles IV, (i 322-1328), were not remarkable for military exploits, but for administrative measures of the greatest importance. Laws for the organization of the Court of Accounts, for the improvement of REFORM OF THE ARISTOCRACY. 159 trade and commerce, &c., were enacted. Philip V. even planned a scheme for the reform of the monetary system, and the unity of weights and measures. By granting to commoners patents of nobility, Philip v., following the example of Philip the Bold, re- newed the aristocratic element of the nation, en- sured its duration, but, at the same time, destroyed its spirit. Under the feudal regime, nobility was one of the attributes of military fiefs; when it sunk, as we have already said, to the humiliating condition of a commodity which might be obtained for ready money, its original and distinctive quality completely disappeared. At an epoch like the one of which we are treating, when the whole of society seems in a state of transform- ation, it is natural that a great amount of anxiety should manifest itself, and that deeds of violence should frequently occur. The Jews and the lepers fell under suspicion, and crimes were ascribed to them which, utterly groundless as they were, became a reality in the minds of ignorant and prejudiced people. It is easy to understand why the disorder of the finances, the debased character of the coinage, and the various fiscal measures introduced by Philip the Fair should have irritated the nation against the Jews. Nor is it more astonishing that the terrible mortality resulting from misery and imperfect sanitary rules should have made the unfortunate lepers suspected of contemplating the destruction of the population. A plot formed between the Jews and the lepers was seriously supposed to exist ; the Jews were the instigators and the lepers their agents. The Lord l6o 3^EWS AND LEPERS. of Parthenay, says a chronicler, wrote to the king that a certain tall leper, seized on his estates, had confessed having received from a rich Jew some money and some drugs. These were composed of human blood, urine, and consecrated wafers. The whole, thoroughly mixed up, dried and pounded, was placed in small bags, fastened to weights, and thrown into wells and fountains. The same chronicler reports having seen one of these bags ; a leper woman who was passing by, fearing to be caught, threw behind her a bag tied with a string, which was immediately brought before a judge. Being opened, it was found to contain the head of a snake, the feet of a toad, and some woman's hair saturated with a black and stinking liquor. The whole, cast into the fire, did not burn — a sure proof that it was some deadly poison. Excited by such terrible stories, the people rose against the Jews and the lepers, and a great many of them were put to death. Nor must we forget a fresh rising of the Pastoiiveanx (1320). As in the days of Saint Louis a number of poor people, shepherds, peasants, assembled them- selves together with the intention, they asserted, ot going to the Holy Land, and recovering it from the infidels. Led by an unfrocked priest and a monk they marched into Paris, committing on their way all kinds of violence. At the Chatelet the provost wanted to prevent them from entering ; they threw him headlong from the top of the stairs ; they went off then to the Pre-aux-clercs, where they drew them- selves in battle array. Marching, finally, out of Paris, CHARLES LE BEL. l6l they proceeded southwards till they came to Toulouse. There they were put to flight ; batches of twenty or thirty were sent to the gallows at a time ; the others dispersed and gave up their vain attempt. Philip the Fair was carried off by death at the early age of forty-six ; Louis le Hutin at twenty-seven ; Philip the Long at twenty-eight ; Charles the Fair at thirty-four — all in the prime of life. Was this a visitation from heaven on the family of the remorse- less king who had insulted Boniface VIII., perhaps poisoned Benedict XL, and burnt the Templars alive ? The common people thought so, and saw with a kind of satisfaction the end of a line of kings whose latest representatives had brought such scandal upon the Crown of France. About Charles IV. himself (Charles le Bel, 1322- 1328) there is little to be said. The great object of his life was to get money, and with this aim in view he had recourse to all sorts of tricks and con- trivances ; the coinage was debased, the Jews were plundered, and on the faith of his promise to organize a Crusade, he obtained from the clergy the equivalent of four years' tithes. Export duties were levied on all goods, public offices were put up for sale, and those who had received gratiiitously their appoint- ment to certain posts, that, for instance, of keeper of the seals, were obliged either to give them up or to pay a specified sum fixed by the king. Philip V. had issued a decree strictly forbidding the alienation of Crown lands. Charles IV. compelled the owners of such lands to restore not only the value of these lands, but the interest dating from the time of l62 SEVERITY OF THE PARIS PARLIAMENT. purchase. A poem, composed about that time, and called " Baudouin de Sebourc," shows what the general feeling was about money and the lust of riches. " What is money " {argent), says the author, " and why was it thus named ? " The answer does not show a deep acquaintance with etymology, but it is an amusing proof of the irritation then existing against misers and the precursors of Shylock. " Un deable d'enfer le fist argent nomme ; Car il art tout le monde, si Ions qu'en set aller, N'est si petit enfes, c'est legier a prouver, S'on li donne un denier, qui n'en laist le plourer." " A clerk from hell caused it to be named money, For it consumes (L. arJere) tlie whole world, so far as you can go ; And there is not so small a child (this is easily proved) Who does not leave off crying, provided you give him a penny." Strange to say, the Paris Parliament was no respecter of persons, but sent to the gallows barons as if they were mere commoners. This was the case with Jourdain de Lille, lord of Casaubon, who, although guilty of eighteen capital crimes, had been forgiven by the king. Persisting in his career of wickedness, he was summoned to appear before the court of Parliament. He began by killing the official who delivered the message to him, and then entered Paris with an escort of nobles and lords from Aquitaine. Notwithstanding this piece of im- pertinence, meant to strike the government with awe, Jourdain de Lille was seized, dragged to the gallows at a horse's tail, and despatched without further ceremony; and yet he was nephew of the Pope, and THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR. 163 strenuous efforts had been made by the whole French nobility to obtain once more his pardon. Charles IV. favoured the revolution which in England ended in the dethronement of Edward II., and he received the homage of young Edward III. for the provinces of Guienne and Ponthieu ; he did not live long enough, however, to profit by that revolution. He died nearly at the same time as the English monarch, leaving as regent of the king- dom Philip de Valois, grandson of Philip the Bold. The question of succession to the throne of France was a difficult one to solve. Supposing that the widow of Charles IV. should be confined of a daughter, to whom would that succession belong — to Philip de Valois, or to Edward III. of England, who was grandson of Philip the Fair by his mother Isabeau .'' The English put forth their claims in favour of Edward on the ground that if, by virtue of the Salic law, Isabeau- was precluded from reign- ing over France, no law whatever extended that prohibition to her son. The argument on the French side was this : Isabeau could not transmit a right which she did not herself possess ; and, besides, even if the principle laid down by the English were admitted, the throne would belong, not to Edward, but to the son of the Duchess of Burgundy, daughter of Philip V. The Hundred Years' War, as it is generally called, had its origin in the difficulty of solving this problem. Philip de Valois made himself popular during his regency by certain measures designed for the public benefit, so that when the queen dowager had been 164 REBELLION IN FLANDERS. confined of a daughter, he ascended the throne and was anointed king at Reims without much opposi- tion (May 29, 1328). On the 25th of May following he arrested and sent to the gallows Remy, the treasurer of Charles IV. Louis, Count of Flanders, was at that time engaged in putting down a rebellion which had broken out amongst the inhabitants of the western part of his domains, chiefly at Bruges and in the neighbourhood. He was present at the consecration of Philip de Valois, and begged for his assistance against the rebels. The King of France readily complied with the wishes of his vassal, and the rendezvous of the army was fixed at Arras on the festival of St. Magdalen. Out of rivalry against Bruges, Ghent sided with the count ; but sixteen thousand Flemings marched upon Cassel and pitched their tents on the summit of the hill where that town is situated ; they had hoisted a huge banner, on which was painted a cock with the motto : " Quand ce coq ici chantera, Le roi trouve {\he found, i.e., pretended king) ci entrera." They occupied an unassailable position. In order to compel them to leave it, Philip sent some forces, which laid waste the territory of Bruges. The leader of the rebels, named Zanekin (Johnny-kin, little John), not being able to restrain the ardour of his men, determined upon offering battle to the French ; but he made use, in the first place, of a stratagem which would enable him to judge how far they were prepared, and whether the victory which the Flemings BATTLE OF CASSEL. '165 were confident of gaining would be an eas}^ one. Disguising himself as a fishmonger, he penetrated into the French camp, and found the leaders and barons enjoying themselves as if no danger was near at hand. The Flemings took advantage of this, and rushed upon the French camp. It was three o'clock in the afternoon ; the knights were engaged in playing at dice, and the soldiers were resting around the heaps of forage, laughing and telling humorous anecdotes. The king, who had just dined and was enjoying his siesta, fortunately received from his confessor news that the camp was being attacked. He got on horseback half armed, and the knights rallied around him. The marshals of the army were in readiness ; they bore the first brunt, and gave time for the main body to come up. The incidents which had formerly taken place at Mons-en-Puelle were now repeated. The Flemish showed exactly the same hurry, and the French the same want of fore- thought. " And on a day they of the garrison of Cassel de- parted out to the intent to have discomfited the king and all his host. And they came privily, without any noise, in three batayles well ordered ; whereof the first batayle took the way to the king's tents, and it was a fair grace that the king had not been taken, for he was at supper, and all his company, and thought nothing of them ; and the other batayle took the strait way to the tents of the Kifig of Behaygne (Bohemia), and in manner they found him in like case ; and the third batayle went to the tents of the Earl of Hainault, and in likewise had near taken him. These hosts l66 DEFEAT OF THE FLEMINGS. came so peaceably to the tents, that with much pain they of the host could awe them, whereby all the lords and their people had been slain, and the more grace of God had not been ; but in manner by miracle of God these lords discomfited all three batayles, each batayle all by itself, all in one hour. In such wise, that out of sixteen thousand Flemings there escaped never a person, captains and all were slain. And the king and lords of France knew not one of another, nor what they had done, till all was finished and atchieved; for they, in three sundry parties, one from another ; but as for the Flemings, there was not one left alive, but all lay dead on heaps, one upon another, in the said three sundry places." ^ The fact is, that either from prudence or pride of displaying their accoutrements, the Flemings, though all infantry, had taken into their heads to wear the heavy armour usually worn by cavalry troops. They were well protected no doubt, but could not move. The Count of Flanders, on his return home, put to death ten thousand more of the rebels in three days. Philip de Valois came back to France followed by fifteen hundred hostages. " I have worked for you," said he, proudly to the Count, " I have worked at my own ex- pense, and at that of my barons ; I restore to you your estates conquered back and in peace ; look to it that justice be kept there, and that I be not obliged to return on account of any failure on your part ; for if I am obliged to return, it will be your loss and my profit." These words commended themselves so thoroughly to ^ Froissart. FROISSART. 167 the attention of the Count of Flanders that he estab- lished in his dominions the reign of terror — inquests, confiscations, tortures of every kind were the order of the day ; the rebellious cities lost their privileges and were dismantled. The military exploits of Philip VI. seemed, even in the eyes of the English, to confirm his pretensions as the lawful King of France. Edward III. came over to Paris, did homage for the Duchy of Guienne, and returned home marvelling at the high state of the Court of France. Surrounded by an array of kings, princes, and barons, Philip gave a series of splendid entertainments, which, if they ruined the country, secured for the monarch the reputation of being the greatest sovereign in Christendom. Wars and tournaments, festivities and deeds of high emprise, treaties and marriages ; — what writer would be found to celebrate worthily the fas/i of the decaying Middle Ages? Villehardouin and Joinville had sung of the Crusades, the chronicles of Saint Denis origi- nated, as some suppose, by Suger, were a kind of official record of events ; but it needed some poetical imagination to delineate the life and civilization of the fourteenth century. Froissart presented himself, and has won immortality, thanks to one of the most re- markable chronicles on record. Gifted with a real passion for observing, knowing and relating all that was worth attention, we fancy we can see him travel- ling from spot to spot, making friends everywhere by his agreeable manners, his lively temperament, his talent as a poet, and availing himself of the otiiim cuui dignitate which he enjoyed for the purpose of taking notes of all the deeds of valour and chivalry r68 FROISSART. which were performed throughout the battlefields of Europe. His own declaration to that effect is quite characteristic : " Now consider you who have read my book, or who read it now, or purpose reading it, or who will hear it read, consider, I say, how I can have known or collected so many facts of which I treat, and which I propose in so many parts ; and, to inform you of the truth, I began early, at the age of twenty ; I likewise came into the world with high deeds and adventures ; in these, also, I took more delight than in any other things. ... I travelled throughout the greater part of Christendom, and wherever I went I enquired of ancient knights afid squires who had taken part in deeds of arms, and knew how to speak properly of them, and also of certain trustworthy heralds, with the view of verifying and justifying all these matters. Thus it is that I have collected this high and noble history . . . and, by the grace of God, I shall continue it as long as I live ; for the more I am in it, and the more I work at it, the more it pleases me ; for just as the gentle knight or squire who loves arms becomes perfect by persevering and continuing in the same, so I become apt and I enjoy the more I work and toil on this matter." The reader must not seek in the pages of Froissart for that spirit of patriotism which imparts to history its highest value, and makes it so instructive. Although using the French tongue as the medium through which to address the public, Froissart cannot be called a French chronicler ; nay, it is almost a subject of as- tonishment that he did not show greater partiality for FROISSART. i6g the English, The fact is, he was the historian of chi- valry, not of one single nation, and provided he could record the catastrophes of tournaments, battles, or other such daring exploits, his motto was : " Tros Rutulusve fuat, nuUo discrimine habebo." It may further be remarked, in connection with Frois- FROISSART. sart, that if all the splendours of feudal society revive in his pages, yet they are the splendours of an order of things on the verge of decay. Villehardouin and Joinville described the power of chivalry ; Froissart gives us its mere brilliancy, its romance, if we may say so. 170 SIR JOHN BOURCHIER ON HISTORY. We shall have many an extract to quote from him whom M. Michelet designates as the Walter Scott of the Middle Ages. By way of conclusion to the pre- sent chapter we cannot do better than transcribe a paragraph from his English translator, Sir John Bourchier, Lord Berners : " The most profitable thing in the world for the institution of the human life is history. The con- tinual reading thereof maketh young men equal in prudence to old men, and to old fathers stricken in age it ministereth experience of things. More, it yieldeth private persons worthy of dignity, rule, and governance ; it compelleth the emperors, high rulers, and governors to do noble deeds, to the end they may obtain immortal glory ; it exciteth, moveth, and stirreth the strong hardy warriors for the great laud they have after they be dead, promptly to go in hand with great and hard perils, in defence of their country; and it prohibiteth reprovable persons to do mischie- vous deeds, for fear of infamy and shame." If such be the uses of history, what a fund of moral instruction can be obtained from the events of that tragic period which, beginning with the reign of Philip VI. and ending with that of Charles VII., brought France and England as bitter enemies on the battle-field, and known by the name of ^/le Hundred Years' Wai ! IX. PHILIP VI. (concluded) — THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR. (1328-I350.) The Hundred Years' War began, it may be said, in Flanders. Philip VI., who was constantly endeavour- ing to bring Edward III. into trouble, and to check the power of England, had for a long time sys- tematically stirred up the Scotch against the English, and, so far as it was possible for him, helped them in their attempt to assert their independence. After a protracted contest, Edward was successful, and having defeated the Scotch, he immediately set to work to find an opportunity of attacking France. That oppor- tunity soon presented itself. Robert, prince of the royal blood by his marriage with one of the daughters of Charles IV., claimed the countship of Artois, which was retained by his aunt, and after her decease, by her daughters. In order to justify his pretensions, he forged certain documents, and bribed false witnesses to give evidence in his favour. The lawsuit resulting from this affair showed that Robert had in all probability poisoned his aunt and one of his cousins. Condemned by the court of 172 THE BREWER ARTEVELDT. peers to lose his domains and to banishment for Hfe (1332), Robert sought refuge in Brabant, and with the view of avenging himself, he practised cer- tain incantations which were to end in the death of John, the son of the King of France. This new misdeed was discovered, and would have resulted in a fresh trial on the ground of sorcery. Now in those days a person convicted of that supposed crime was invariably put to death. Thoroughly frightened, Robert disguised himself, went over to England, presented himself at the court of Edward III., and urged him to go to war against France. The Count of Flanders, Louis de Nevers, vassal, as such, of Philip VI., had about this time managed, unfortunately, to excite the animosity of his subjects by extorting money out of them, depriving them of their privileges, and punishing severely all those who offered any resistance. Commercial interests bound England and Flanders closely together, so that the policy of both countries was identical. Led by a popular chief, the Brewer Arteveldt, the Flemings drove away the Count Louis, and invoked the help of Edward III. (1336). They would have felt some scruple in revolting against their suzerain, the King of France ; accordingly Arteveldt persuaded Edward to assume the title which he had often himself claimed as his own ; and thus in attacking Philip VI., they might say they were taking up arms against a pre- tender and usurper. The war in Flanders was fruitless ; if the French were ignominiously defeated in a naval engagement at the Sluys, they proved more fortunate at Saint FRANCE 1328-1453 English Miles Brut'tis Cv-O S'' '■='" o O ^ rr* '^^'i;.' ^>^ i/i ^ >y / — " FRANCE 1328-1453 EnsrlishlNIilcs .ff.Aumale o5r-^ 'Amiens I 1 I yjf. i /if \ v^ PHILIP THE GOOD AND CHARLES THE BOLD. -"'= -STfrr^e/^ 2 go FRANCE AND BURGUNDY. dangerous task of thwarting the views and defeating the intrigues of the King of France now devolved upon a rash and turbulent prince, " who," to use the words of Sir Walter Scott, "rushed on danger, because he loved it, and on difficulties because he despised them. As Louis never sacrificed his interest to his passion, so Charles, on the other hand, never sacrificed his passion, nor even his humour, to any other con- sideration." Meanwhile, what had been the result of the boasted ligiie du Men publicl merely the enriching of certain lords bent, as the historian Commines says, upon getting out of the monarch all they could, and plundering the kingdom. No wonder that Louis XL wanted to have his revenge, but Charles the Bold hearing of the treacherous proposal made by him to the King of England, wrote to him a most impertinent letter, full of threats, and lacking the simplest forms of courtesy, especially taking into consideration the fact that it was addressed by a vassal to his liege lord. What was to be done .-' Count Dammartin and the rest of the officers were for violent measures. " In God's name," they said, " if we are only allowed to have our own way, we shall soon bring that Duke of Burgundy to his senses ! The king makes a sheep of himself, and bargains for his fleece and his very skin, as if he had not wherewith to protect him- self ! 'Sdeath ! in his place we had rather venture the whole kingdom than allow ourselves to be led about in this fashion ! " Louis, however, as he was wont, preferred negotiat- ing, and it was settled that an interview should take LOUIS XI. AT PERONNE. 29 1 place at Peronne, a town situated on Burgundian territory. Was this a snare ? Some persons thought so, but the king would now allow himself to be dis- suaded, and went to meet the Duke of Burgundy, who received him most cordially, embraced him, and led him to the castle, where lodgings had been pre- pared for his reception. "Now," says Commines, "when he came to Peronne, the king had forgotten that he had some time before sent two ambassadors for the purpose of exciting the inhabitants of Liege against the duke. These ambassadors had so well succeeded that a great revolt had taken place, and the Liegese had already captured the city of Tongres." The rage of the Duke of Burgundy can easily be imagined ; at the very time when Louis came to treat of the conditions of peace, was he thus plotting against him, and sowing the seeds of rebellion amongst his own subjects ? The first step he took was to make quite sure that it would be impossible for his rival to escape. When Louis XL, thus made prisoner, began to consider that he was shut up in the same tower, where in days gone by, the Count of Vermandois had put to death Charles the Simple, he could not help fearing lest the same destiny was in reserve for him ; however, the Duke of Burgundy, though excited by many of his advisers to use the most violent measures against the king, was satisfied with making a new treaty with him, obliging him to the humiliating condition of helping to reduce the Liegese into sub- mission. On these terms Louis recovered his liberty; he entered Liege wearing the cross of Saint Andrew of Burgundy on his cap, and shouting Vive Boni'gogne 292 CARDINAL BALUE. as loud as he could, to the great amazement of the inhabitants. The whole affair having come to an end, he was allowed " to depart wherever he wished to go, after having spent the three most anxious weeks of his life." The Peronne incident could not fail to excite French wit, and to supply food for that satirical spirit which has always been such a distinguishing feature amongst the Parisians ; the picture shops were full of cari- catures referring to Peronne, the little children went about the streets singing a complainte about Peronne ; magpies, jackdaws, and other talking birds cried out Peronne ! Peronne ! The magistrates had to interfere. The children were whipped ; the owners of satirical birds threatened with condign punishment ; finally, it was forbidden under penalty of being hung, to sing or compose satires, virelais, rondeaux, ballads, or libels casting opprobrium upon our lord the king. Scarcely had he returned to France than Louis XI. sought for a convenient opportunity of tearing to shreds the treaty of Peronne, and resuming hostilities ; but, in the first place, he endeavoured to win over to his side the chief allies of Charles the Bold, and principally his own brother, Charles, Duke de Berry. These negotiations, however, had produced no result, when an unforeseen circumstance proved to Louis that he was betrayed by a person in whom he had placed all his confidence, namely. Cardinal Balue. The unfortunate prelate had to appear before the king, together with the Bishop of Verdun, his accomplice ; obliged to confess their secret machinations, they were shut up separately in iron cages — the cardinal at CHARLES THE BOLD INVADES PICARDY. 293 Onzain, near Blois, and the bishop at the Bastile Saint Antoine. They remained prisoners for more than ten years. This event hastened the reconcih"ation of Louis XI. with his brother ; the latter consented to an agree- ment which procured for him as an apanage Guienne, Agenois, Perigord, Quercy, Saintonge, and Aunis, with the title of Duke de Guienne. Charles was thus relegated to the South of France, and withdrawn from the influence of the Duke of Burgundy. Urged on by the Count de Saint Pol, solemnly released by the States-General from all obligation to keep the treaty of Peronne, emboldened by the state of England, by the strength of his own armies, and his desire of vengeance, Louis now resolved upon re- newing hostilities. In the first instance, he summoned Charles the Bold to appear before him at Ghent ; furious, disconcerted, warned besides by the Duke de Bourbon, my Lord of Burgundy assembled an army in all haste, and marched into Picardy ; Roye, Montdidier, Amiens, Saint Ouentin, were taken by the French. Vainly did he write to France and to England for the purpose of bribing soldiers and politicians into his service. He re-crossed the Seine, burnt Picquigny to the ground, failed in his endeavour to take Amiens, was obliged to submit, and ended by signing a truce in April, 147 1. Charles the Bold, following the example of his rival, reckoned upon the power of intrigues to make up for his military failures in the north. He employed all his skill in detaching from the crown of France the most influential lords of the realm, especially the 294 DEATH OF THE DUKE DE GUIENNE. Duke de Guienne. This prince had remained faith- ful to his brother so long as he thought that he was heir apparent to the throne ; but Louis having had a son by his second wife, Charlotte of Savoy, these hopes were dashed to the ground, and henceforth the little court of Bordeaux became the i^endezvoiis of all the disaffected ; the plan of a new league was even freely discussed. Louis XI. heard of it, and felt that the kingdom was in the most critical position. The question of dismembering the monarchy and re- establishing the feudal system still pre-occupied Charles the Bold. " I am so eager for the good of the kingdom of France," said he, " that instead of one king there, I should like to see half-a-dozen." " English, Bretons, Bourguignons," exclaimed others in his presence," are going to hunt the king, and if he should undertake anything against the Duke de Guienne, we shall set such a pack of hounds after him that he won't know which way to escape." It is not surprising that Louis XL should have been accused of getting rid of his brother by poison, so timely did the death of that prince occur for the king's purposes (May 24, 1472), but there is nothing whatever to prove the crime, and the reputation of a somewhat unscrupulous politician is, in this particular case, blameless. Of course, Charles the Bold did not scruple to charge the king with the crime of fratricide, and he sent throughout his own domains, and to several French towns, a manifesto, in which he affirmed that the Duke de Guienne's death had been ' procured by poison, malefices, witchcraft, and diabolical inventions." Very ^(t\\ people credited JEANNE HACHETTE. 295 this, and Charles the Bold made of it a pretext to invade Picard}', where he committed all sorts of excesses. He then marched into Normandy, where he reckoned upon meeting the Duke of Brittany ; but he was stopped under the walls of Beauvais by a most unlooked-for resistance on the part of the inhabitants. Even the women took an important share in defend- ing the town ; they had as their leader a young girl, Jeanne Fouquet by name, and who subsequently was called Jeanne Hachette, by allusion to the weapon with which she defended herself After a siege of twenty-four days, Charles the Bold gave up the attempt, and continued his march towards Normandy. Louis XI. was watching closely all the movements of his enemy ; he wrote to Dammartin the following letter : " Keep well the city of Compiegne, it is a good place ; dismantle those which cannot be held, in order that the men-at-arms may not lose their time before them. If it please God and our Lady, we shall soon recover all. Monsieur le Grand Mattre, I request you to bethink yourself of the means of striking a good blow on the Duke of Burgundy, if you can advanta- geously do so. I hope, on my side, to do such dili- gence, that you will see that if I have stayed a long time here, I have not been idle ; I believe that, please God, I shall soon have done, and I mean to go and help you yonder," In spite of his wish to hold his ground in Normandy, Charles the Bold was soon obliged to return to Artois and Picardy, where the constable had it all his own way. Louis XI. took this opportunity of proposing a general truce, and negotiations were begun ; they were 296 DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY. protracted, however, for nearly a year, and it was only at the end of 1473 that the rivals came to an under- standing. The Duke of Burgundy, thus free on the French side, attempted new conquests in the direction of Switzerland. This fresh enterprise was not attended with success ; defeated at Granson (March 3, 1476), and at Morat (June 22nd), he was killed in a battle under the walls of Nancy (January 5, 1477). Ths following quotation from Commines is interesting : " By this every one may see into what a deplorable condition this poor duke had brought himself by his contempt of good counsel. Both armies being joined, the Duke of Burgundy's forces having been twice beaten before, and, by consequence, weak and di- spirited, and ill provided besides, were quickly broken and entirely defeated : many saved themselves and got off ; the rest were either taken or killed, and, among them, the Duke of Burgundy himself was killed on the spot. One Monsieur Claude, of Baurmont, captain of the castle of Dier, in Lorraine, killed the Duke of Burgundy. Finding his army routed, he mounted a swift horse, and, endeavouring to swim a little river in order to make his escape, his horse fell with him and overset him : the duke cried out for quarter to this gentleman who was pursuing him ; but he, being d^af, and not hearing him, immediately killed and stripped him, not knowing who he was, and left him naked in the ditch, where his body was found the next day after the battle ; which the Duke of Lorraine (to his eternal honour) buried with great pomp and magnificence in St. George's Church, in the old town of Nancy, him- GATE OF THE PALACE, NANCY. 298 THE BARONIAL HOUSES GIVE WAY. self and all his nobility, in great mourning, attending the corpse to the grave. The following epitaph was sometime afterwards engraved on his tomb : ' Carolus hoc busto, Burgundas gloria gentis Conditur, Europos qui fuit ante timer.'" The death of Charles the Bold seemed the breaking up of the feudal system : all the baronial houses gave way in succession, and ruin struck down the proud lords who had for so many years threatened the crown of France. The Duke d'Alengon was amongst the first. Condemned to death by Charles VII. for having treated with the English, he had obtained that the fatal sentence should be commuted for one of im- prisonment for life. Released by Louis XL, he had then joined in all the conspiracies against that monarch, and rendered himself guilty of heinous crimes ; the king ordered his arrest and his trial (147 3-1474) ; he was detained in prison till his death. John v., Count d'Armagnac, deserved capital punishment far more than the Duke d'Alengon ; he was murdered in 1473. The Duke de Nemours, another rebel, was beheaded in 1477. The Count de Saint Pol, who had aimed at creating for himself an independent sovereignty, and had deceived in turns the French, the English, and the Bourguignons, endeavoured to deceive Louis XI. ; this certainly was a bold attempt ; he paid for it with his head on the Place de Greve, in Paris (1475). The king's policy was to establish the pre- eminence of the Crown at the expense of the aris- tocracy, and by dint of patience he completely succeeded. He threatened with a lawsuit the old BREAKING UP OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 299 Duke de Bourbon, and admitted into his own family Pierre de Beaujeu, brother and heir of that lord, by bestowing upon him the hand of his daughter Anne. The house of Orleans was rendered dependent of the u_ "I CATHEDRAL OF RETMS. Crown by the marriage of Duke Louis with Joan, the king's second daughter. The house of Anjou sank into the same state of submission, Louis XL having 300 BATTLE OF GUINEGATE. wrested from the old King Rene and from his nephew Charles a deed which recognized him, Louis, as heir of the countships of Maine, Anjou, and Provence. Brittany was kept in check, and magnificent offers were made to the most powerful and influential Breton noblemen. Thus Pierre de Rohan received the staff of Marshal of France, Gui de Laval was appointed to the important post of governor of Melun, and Pierre de Laval obtained the archbishopric of Reims. Another question sprang from the death of Charles the Bold. As he had left only a daughter, Mary, what was to become of all the duke's vast domains ? Suitors presented themselves from different sides, and Louis XL vainly tried on behalf of his son, who was then only eight years old ; the accepted candidate was Maximilian of Austria, and Olivier le Diable, who had been sent by the King of France, under the title of Count de Meulan, to enter an opposition, returned home dis- comfited. The marriage, settled on the 27th of May, 1477, may be considered as the origin of the desperate struggle between France and Austria. By one of those nice distinctions with which he was so familiar, Louis XL invaded Hainault, and took pos- session of Bouchain, Cambrai, Le Quesnoy, Avesnes, Therouanne. Maximilian has assembled an army ; he met the French at Guinegate, a village near Therou- anne, and defeated them completely. This success, however, was not of much avail to him, for he had, with insufficient resources, to face the rebellion of the people of Ghent and of Guelders. Under these condi- tions a treaty with France could not be a difficulty ; it was signed at Arras (December 23, 1482) ; Louis XL DEATH OF LOUIS XI. 30I obtained the most favourable conditions, amongst others the hand of Margaret, daughter of Maximilian, for the Dauphin Charles. The wily king was not really old, but the anxieties through which he had to pass so frequently, his sus- picious character, his struggles with the feudal lords, had impaired his health ; he never entirely recovered from an apoplectic stroke which he had in 148 1 ; the idea of death continually beset him, and inspired him with the most superstitious terrors. He had obtained from the King of Naples for a holy man, Frangois de Paule, permission to visit him at Plessis-Iez-Tours, and he used frequently to kneel before him, entreating him to prolong his life. Sultan Bajazet sent him some relics which had been found at Constantinople ; he had caused the holy ampulla to be brought from Reims with the view of having his whole body anointed with the consecrated oil. All was useless, and his physician, Jacques Coitier, made up his mind to inform him of what he most dreaded — the approach of death. " Sire," said he to him one day, " I must discharge a sad duty ; have no longer any hope either in the holy man of Calabria (Frangois de Paule) or in any other remedy. It is cer- tainly all over with you ; so, think of your conscience, for no remedy is available." The strength of the royal patient sank rapidly, and, he breathed his last on the 30th of August, 1483, between seven and eight in the evening, repeating his habitual invocation : "Our Lady of Embrun, my good mistress, have mercy on me ! " If we weigh equitably the actions of Louis XL, we 302 NON-POLITICAL REFORMS. cannot help acknowledging that he was a great king, and that he did much good to France. His task was to destroy a society which had served its time, and was now only a hindrance to peace, order, and sound government ; unfortunately the means he employed were so often contrary to morality and characterized by meanness, that sympathy was on the side of the vanquished. The rigorous measures commanded by the best interests of the country seemed inspired by personal revenge, and he allowed too much for treachery and underhand intrigue. We must not forget to mention a few important reforms which Louis XI. introduced, and which are not immediately connected with politics. The prin- cipal, perhaps, is the organization of the postal service. By a decree bearing date June 19, 1464, the king established on all the high roads, at intervals of four leagues, stations where horses of small size, properly harnessed and fitted out, were kept in constant readi- ness for the service of the king. The superintendents or directors of these stations were known as inaitt'es tenant les chevaux couraiits pour le service dii Roi. They were placed under the orders of a conseiller grand maitre des coureiirs de France. They were directed to conduct in person, without delay, all mes- sengers and other persons sent by the king and pro- vided with regular passports. Louis XL created parliaments at Grenoble, Bor- deaux, and Dijon ; he multiplied the appeals made to the king's court against the sentences pronounced by feudal tribunals ; he retained provincial assemblies where they existed already, and created them where PROGRESS OF FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XI. 303 they had not previously been formed ; he sanctioned the free election of magistrates, and granted to the bourgeoisie privileges which enabled them to hold their own against the barons. Thus, the command of the watch in the various towns belonged formerly to the aristocracy ; it might now be bought by the citizens or their representatives. Commerce, industry, manufactures largely benefited by the encouragement they received from Louis XI. ; he had .also conceived the idea of establishing through- out the kingdom uniformity of legislation, weights and measures ; and, although he was not destined to carry out this wise and useful measure, yet the mere thought of doing so proves his sagacity. In conclusion, the reign of Louis XL was for France an epoch of decided progress, and the political struc- ture of the Middle Ages was now gone for ever. XV. CHARLES VIIL (1483-I498) — LOUIS XIL (1498-151O. When on his death-bed, Louis XI. sent for the lord of Beaujeu, his son-in-law, and said to him, "Go to Amboise and take care of the Dauphin ; I have entrusted both him and the government of the king- dom to the guardianship of yourself and of my daughter, your wife. You know what recommenda- tions I have made to him ; see that these recom- mendations are strictly observed ; bid him grant favour and trust to those who have served me well. You likewise know who are those against whom he should be on his guard, and whom you must not allow to approach him." Charles VIIL was scarcely thirteen years old, and as the decree issued by Charles V. had fixed fourteen as the majority for the kings of France, the adminis- tration was left in the hands of the eldest daughter of Louis XL, Anne de Beaujeu, aged only twenty- three. The Chronicler Brantome describes her as " the cleverest and ablest lady that ever was, and in every respect the true image and likeness of the king, Louis XL, her father." He himself was thoroughly " LA GRANDE DAME." 305 acquainted with the character of her whom he had appointed to carry on his political system ; he used to say of her : ". She is the least foolish woman in the world ; for there is no such person as a wise one." Anne de Beaujeu knew full well that a reaction was being organized against the old order of things, and following in her father's steps, instead of offering an open resistance, she applied herself to disarm the malcontents by favours and promises. The Duke de Bourbon, her brother-in-law, was named Constable of France, and Lieutenant-general of the kingdom. Louis, Duke d'Orleans, received the governorship of He de France and of Champagne. Dunois was appointed ruler over Dauphine. Three subaltern officers were sacrificed to public hatred ; Olivier le Daim and Doyac were sent to the gallows, and the physician Jacques Coitier saved his head by paying back fifty thousand crowns which he had received from Louis XL Difficulties soon arose, however, springing, in the first place, out of the summoning of the States- General, and, in the second, out of the rivalry between ' Anne de Beaujeu and the Duke d'Orleans. This nobleman hoped that by convening the States he might find an opportunit}' of rising again into power, and the princess-regent was reluctantly obliged to sanction the assembly. The States met at Tours on the 15th of January, 1484, in the hall of the archiepiscopal palace. Never had France been so thoroughly represented ; nearly three hundred deputies took part in the proceedings ; the three orders of the State had sent their delegates to the 306 THE DUKE D' ORLEANS. chief place of each bailliage, and even the peasants had recorded their votes. After promising in the name of the regent reforms of the most satisfactory nature in every branch of the pubhc service, the Chancellor of France, Guillaume de Rochefort, started the question about the composi- tion of the council of State. It was stated that it should consist (i) of the princes of the blood royal, (2) of twelve members selected from the deputies to the States-General. The presidency was given to the Duke d'Orleans. This last measure was, perhaps, unavoidable, but created bickerings and jealousies which ended by a civil war. The chatty chronicler Brantome is worth quoting here : '' I have heard say," he writes, " that from the beginning Madame de Beaujeu entertained for the Duke d'Orleans sentiments of affection, nay, of love ; so that if M. d'Orleans had only thought fit to under- stand how matters went, he might have had a large share in the government of the kingdom, and I know this from good authority ; but he could not restrain himself, because he saw that she was too ambitious, and he wanted her to yield to him, as being the first prince of the royal family, and not him to her. Now she desired exactly the opposite, being bent upon holding the highest place and governing all. So there existed between the two strivings created by jealousy, love, and ambition." Light, fickle, imprudent, but brave withal, the Duke d'Orleans had to oppose a princess remarkable for her sagacity, her discretion, and her cleverness ; he was doomed to fail. He then issued a protest REBELLION AGAINST ANNE DE BEAUJEU. 307 addressed to the Parliament, the University, and the principal cities [bonnes villes) of the realm, com- plaining of Madame de Beaujeu's interference with all the details of government, and pledging himself to restore to the young king full freedom of action. This appeal not producing the desired effect, the Uuke d'Orleans had recourse to conspiracy and rebellion. He was joined by the Duke de Bourbon, the Counts de Dunois and D'Angouleme, and especially the Duke of Brittany, that last representa- tive of the great feudal houses, and the determined adversary of Louis XL On her side the princess-regent had not been inactive. She signed a treaty of alliance with the Duke of Lorraine (September 29, 1484), the lord of Rieux, and three other powerful vassals of the Duke of Brittany (October 22nd), and the three great cities of Flanders, namely, Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres (October 25th). She then sent a body of men-at-arms to arrest the Duke d'Orleans in Paris ; but warned in time, he fled to the domains of one of his supporters, the Duke d'Alen^on, and from thence openly called to arms all the barons of France. On the 13th of December, 1486, he concluded a secret alliance with the Emperor Maximilian, the King of Navarre, the Dukes of Bourbon and of Brittany, the Counts of Narbonne, Nevers, Commines, Dunois, Angouleme, Albret, the Duke of Lorraine, &c. The pretext was — enforcing obedience to the resolutions passed by the States-General, and putting an en J to the ambition and coveteousness of the king's present advisers. On the advice of Commines and of Georges d'Amboise 3o8 BATTLE OF SAINT AUBIN DU CORMIER. the confederates had entertained the bold thought of seizing upon the king himself; but Madame de Beaujeu — /a grande dame, as she was familiarly and justly designated — anticipated them. In the first place, she despatched a body of troops towards the south of France ; they went as far as Bordeaux, and reduced into submission the Count d'Angouleme, the Sire d'Albret, and other powerful supporters of the Duke d'Orleans. Anjou and Maine were invaded, whilst La Tremoille penetrated into Brittany and destroyed the castles of Ancenis and Chateaubriant. The two armies met at Saint Aubin du Cormier (July 27, 1488), and the ultimate result was the complete routing of the rebels. The Duke d'Orleans fought with the utmost bravery, but he was taken prisoner, and shut up first at Lusignan, and next in the fortress of Bourges. Brittany was really the centre and focus of the insurrection. The duke, justly fearing the con- sequences of his ill-advised resistance, sent in his submission to the king, pledging himself no longer to abet the designs of his enemies, abandoning certain cities as a guarantee of his sincerity, and promising not to give away any of his daughters in marriage except with the full consent of the King of France. Shortly after he died, and the Duchy of Brittany passed into the hands of the princess Anne, a child twelve years old. It will be easily imagined that a person thus circumstanced had plenty of suitors : the most to be dreaded was the Emperor Maximilian, very powerful already, and for whom the possession of the Duchy of Brittany would have CHARLES Vni. 309 been a source of influence highly prejudicial to France. It was asserted that he had gone so far as to form a matrimonial alliance with Anne by procuration, but this was no unsurmountable obstacle, and, at any rate, it must be set aside at any cost. If we may trust contemporary historians, Charles VIII. was not of a very prepossessing appearance ; small in stature and badly proportioned, he had a large head, a big nose, prominent lips always half- open ; his utterance was full of hesitation, and a nervous irritation disfigured him. Deficient both in body and mind, his skill was concentrated upon athletic exercises, in which he displayed great proficiency. Well read, besides, in the old romances, he longed for an opportunity of imitating the high deeds of Charlemagne and of the mediaeval paladins, and was constantly dreaming of expeditions to distant countries, possibly of a fresh Crusade. Such, in a few words, is the portrait of Charles VIII. Anne of Brittany does not seem to have been much more attractive ; but she had mental qualities which made up for her physical drawbacks. She was clever, shrewd, and her intellect had been so cultivated that she understood Latin, and even some- what of Greek. At any rate, the young King of France gained his point, and accomplished what the policy of Louis XI. most desired The marriage contract was secretly signed in the Chapel of our Lady at Rennes on the 19th of November, 1491, and on the 1 6th of December following, the union was publicly and solemnly celebrated at Langeais. Charles was then one and twenty, and the bride nearly fifteen 3IO SITUATION OF ITALY. years old. The new married couple made their official entry in Paris on the 6th of February amongst a large concourse of people gathered together from all sides to greet them. This was the last political act of Madame de Beaujeu. Her career as regent, so prosperously and wisely conducted, had come to an end. She retired into private life, and died in 1522. By uniting to the Crown the domains of the house of Anjou the kings of France had obtained preten- tions upon the kingdom of Naples ; but was it pru- dent to put forth these pretensions ? Louis XI. did not think so, and had never availed himself of his undoubted rights. Madame de Beaujeu was of the same opinion, and in her wisdom she had seen that if the extension of France, and the strengthening of its frontiers were needed, it should be in the direction of Flanders in the north, not towards the Alps, Against this opinion, maintained unanimously by Count de Crevecoeur and the old advisers of the Crown, Charles VIII. opposed his own strong yearning after chivalrous adventures, backed by the enthusiasm of the younger members of the aristocracy, whose energy, cramped at home for more than thirty years, wanted to spend itself on foreign battlefields. The situation of Italy at that time was critical ; monarchy, theocracy, principalities, republics, every form of government was represented in the peninsula, and deep-seated corruption existed under the polish of art and literature. Alexander VI. in Rome, Fer- dinand at Naples, Pietro di Medici at Florence, Lo- dovico Sforza at Milan, were instances of what can be done in the sphere of politics when vice is the moving CHARLES VIII. INVADES ITALY. 311 principle. Treachery had taken the place of courage, and men, who would have not dared to fight openly and to meet their enemies in a fair contest, had re- course to daggers and to poison. Instead of national armies were the condottieri, hired soldiers raised from the scum of Europe. Italian diplomacy, says a modern historian, was a school of crimes. The temptation to invade Italy was all the stronger for Charles VIII. because he was invited over by some of the Italians themselves, Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Savoy, the Neapolitan nobles, Savonarola, and the cardinals, enemies of the Pope Alexander VI. However, before starting for this expedition certain preliminaries had to be gone through which implied considerable outlay of money, and negotiations with powerful and ambitious neighbours. An English army had landed at Calais, the Emperor Maximilian was invading Artois, Ferdinand the Catholic, King of Spain was preparing to cross the Pyrenees. Bent upon his expsdition to Italy, Charles VIII. had to purchase the neutrality of all these potentates. The English left France (treaty of Etaples, November 3 1492), on the promise of 745,000 gold crowns (40,000,000 francs), payable in fifteen years ; Ferdi- nand the Catholic received back the provinces of Cerdagne and Rousillon (treaty of Narbonne, January 19, 1493) ; the Emperor Maximilian recovered Ar- tois, Franche Comte, and Charolais (treaty of Senlis, May 23, 1493), which it had cost so much to Louis XL to conquer. Having thus satisfied his ambitious neighbours, the King of France at last started in August, 1494, at the head of an army 312 BATTLE OF FORNOVA. which Commines describes as most brilliant, but " little accustomed to discipline and obedience." It consisted of three thousand six hundred lances, six thousand Breton archers, an equal number of cross- bow men, eight hundred Gascons, eight thousand Swiss pikemen, and a good proportion of volunteers. The artillery struck the Italians with terror ; forty siege and field pieces, and about one thousand smaller ones, served by twelve thousand men, and drawn by eight thousand horses. They had never seen such an array, and they themselves knew absolutely nothing of the working and managing of artillery. The march of Charles VIII. through the Italian peninsula was like a triumphal progress ; but his enemies had lost no time in the meanwhile, and when he believed himself firmly established in Naples, he received from Philippe de Commines the fatal news : (i) that of Lodovico Sforza's treachery ; (2) of an alliance against him made by the Pope, the Emperor, the King of Spain, the Venetians, and the Duke of Milan. There was nothing to do but to return to France ; leaving his cousin, Gilbert de Bour- bon, Count de Montpensier, with a force of between eight and ten thousand men, to defend the kingdom of Naples, Charles VIII. began his retreat, and met with no obstacle till he arrived in the duchy of Parma ; there he found the formidable army of the Italian league, thirty thousand men strong, at least, drawn up in battle array, near the village of Fornovo (July 5, 1495). The French fought their way through with complete success, although they were reduced to a force of ten thousand men, exhausted by a long march. 314 DEATH OF CHARLES VIII. On his return to France, Charles VIII. soon heard that the Count de Montpensier had been driven out of Naples, and a short time after, D'Aubigny came back with the remains of the army of occupation ; Gilbert de Bourbon had died of the plague at Atella. The young king, forgetting the vicissitudes of his Italian campaign, now resolved upon accomplishing in the finances, the government of the State, and the administration of justice, reforms which were very much required, and the necessity of which he felt more than any one else. He was at Amboise, super- intending some improvements carried on in the castle by workmen whom he had brought with him from Italy, when passing under a dark gallery he struck his head against a door so violently that he died a few hours afterwards (April 7, 1498). " A prince," says Commines, " of indifferent ability, but so good that it was impossible to find a better creature." Louis XII., the new king, was the grand-nephew of Charles V., and he had been obliged against his will to marry Jeanne de France, daughter of Louis* XL His great ambition was to take as his wife, Anne, the rich heiress of the Duke of Brittany, and with this view he petitioned the Pope for a divorce, on the ground that his marriage with the Princess Jeanne had been forced upon him. " Right," to quote the words of a modern historian, " had to yield to reasons of State, and as Alexander VI., the reigning Pontiff, desired to advance the fortunes of Caesar, his favourite son, he readily granted the required divorce. Caesar, who brought the bull into France, was rewarded by being made Duke of Valentinois, with a large pension, CHARACTER OF LOUIS XII. 315 a bride of the house of Albret, and ready promises of support in his Italian schemes, where he aimed at founding an independent principality for himself in the Romagna. All obstacles, including the poor Queen Jeanne, being thus easily removed, a splendid marriage followed. It was a piece of scandalous and cruel trafficking, but it was useful for France. Anne of Brittany, according to the terms of the contract with Charles VIII., in which it was written that, if the king died, she should marry his heir, now once more became Queen of France by marrying Louis XII. (1499)-"^ The King of France had .scarcely ascended the throne when he prepared to vindicate the rights on the kingdom of Naples, which his predecessors had transmitted to him, besides his own personal claims on the duchy of Milan, which he held from his grand- mother, Valentine Visconti. The ruler of that pro- vince was still Lodovico Sforza, surnamed " II Moro," from the fact that his cognizance was a mulberry tre^; he had been the first to betray the Italian cause, and it was scarcely to be wondered at that he should remain isolated in the midst of his native country. Louis XII. sacrificed to the reigning pas- sion for foreign conquests, but did not behave with the imprudence which had characterized Charles VIII. Without possessing superior qualities, he was cautious, considerate, and extremely kind. He began his reign by diminishing the taxes, and refusing the don de joyeiix avenemeni, amounting to 300,000 livres, to which every man holding an office or privilege from ' Kitchin, " History of France," ii. 130. 3l6 LODOVICO IL MORO. the Crown had to contribute at the beginning of a new reign, if he would secure his continued enjoy- ment of that privilege or office. He entertained no grudge against La Tremoille and the other faithful servants of la grande dame, who had beaten him at Saint Aubin du Cormier ; but, on the contrary, said to them, that the King of France had no business to avenge wrongs done to the Duke d'Orleans. The conquest of Milanese was speedily accom- plished. Trivulzio, an Italian general who had joined the service of Louis XIL, no sooner presented him- self with an army of nine thousand cavalry and thir- teen thousand foot soldiers, than " II Moro " fled, and reached the Tyrol. Nothing but the maladministration of Trivulzio gave him new chances ; he had been expelled in October, 1499; on February 5, 1500, he returned at the head of a motley band of Germans and Swiss, and surprised Milan. A fresh army, raised by Louis XII., came down the Alps, and met the forces of Lodovico at Novara ; the mercenaries of the Duke of Milan refused to fight, and a soldier of the canton of Uri gave him up to the French. He was sent to France, and retained prisoner in the castle of Loches, where he died, after a captivity which lasted some years. The Venetian ambassador, Trevisano, who saw him soon after, wrote that, " He plays at tennis and at cards, and he is fatter than he ever was." Leaving Lombardy, the French army started for Naples (May 26, 1501); it numbered five thousand four hundred cavalry, seven thousand infantry, and thirty-six cannons. Thanks to the co-operation of BATTLE OF GARIGLIANO. 317 the Pope, Alexander VI., and of the King of Spain, Ferdinand the CathoHc, the beginning of the cam- paign was attended with considerable success ; but the treachery of Ferdinand altered the position of affairs, and ruined for a time the French cause in Italy. " It is the second time," said Louis, "that the king of Spain has deceived me." " That's a lie," impudently answered Ferdinand ; " it is the tenth." Louis made the greatest preparations to avenge himself upon Ferdinand, and to prevent the evil con- sequences which might arise from his defection. Three armies were sent in succession ; they all failed. Gonzalvo of Cordova, who led the Spanish . forces, stopped the French on the banks of the Garigliano ; La Tremoille was prevented by illness from com- manding, and his lieutenants were, first, the Marquis of Mantua, and next, the Marquis of Saluzzo. The rout of the French was complete ; artillery, baggage, and a great number of prisoners fell into the hands of the enemies. Bayard's heroism in defending the bridge of Garigliano was the only redeeming act on the part of the soldiers of Louis XII. The com- mander of Venosa, too, Louis d'Ars by name, refused to capitulate, and fought bravely his way back to France with the remains of the garrison. Under favour of all these wars the Venetians had contrived to gain possession of Brescia, Cremona, and Bergamo. Louis XII. resolved to get these towns back again, and he succeeded in forming against the power- ful republic, a league which was joined by the Pope, the Emperor Maximilian, and even Ferdinand the Catholic (League of Cambrai, 1508). The two armies rst LEAGUE AGAINST FRANCE. 319 met at Agnadello in the province of Lodi (May 14, 1509) 5 the French were commanded by Louis XII. in person, and by his two lieutenants Trivulzio and La Tremoille. At the head of the Venetians were Perigliano and Alviano. The king fought bravely, and exposed himself without hesitation to the attack of the enemy. " Let every one who is afraid," exclaimed he, " place himself behind me ; a king of France is not killed by cannon-shot." He did not lose many soldiers ; on the side of the Venetians it was estimated that between eight and ten thousand men perished. The results of this battle were con- siderable ; in a few days most of the towns of Upper Italy opened their gates, and Louis XI. recrossed the Alps, firmly believing that his conquest was secure. After the league of Cambrai another league sprang up in direct opposition to it, and which was destined to put an end to the domination of the French in Italy. The papacy was held at that time by Julius II., a man of the most warlike disposition, who, far from shrinking from the employment of force, appeared on the field of battle clothed in a cuirass, and armed as a knight. His aim was to turn the Barbarians out of Italy, and with that view he formed a holy league (October 5, 1511) which was joined by Maximilian, Henry VIII. King of England, Ferdinand the Catholic, the Swiss and the Republic of Venice. The Spanish general Ramon de Cardona brought to the assistance of the pontifical troops twelve thousand men ; ten thousand Swiss commanded by the Car- dinal of Sion, Matthew Schinner, descended from the Alps, and Louis XII. saw the frontiers of his kingdom 320 BATTLE OF RAVENNA. threatened on all sides. In this crisis his nephew, Gaston de Foix, Duke de Nemours, a young general only twenty-two years of age, took the command of the French forces in Italy, and for a short time main- tained in the peninsula the prestige o{ \hQ. fieiir-de-lys. A furious battle took place under the walls of Ravenna on the nth of April, 1512. "Since God created heaven and earth," says a chronicler, "never was seen a more cruel and harder fight than the one which French and Spaniards engaged against each other ; they rested for a moment just to recover breath, and then would begin again, shouting France I and Spain ! at the top of their voice. The Spaniards, at last, were completely routed and obliged to abandon their camp, where, between two ditches, three or four hundred men-at-arms were killed." The battle was won when Gaston de Foix, carried away by his ar- dour, rushed in pursuit of a troop of Spaniards in full retreat; he had only twenty or thirty men about him ; he was immediately surrounded, and after defending himself, " as Roland did at Roncevaux," he fell pierced with spear thrusts. This fatal catastrophe rendered ineffectual the victory of Ravenna. France was threatened, and in spite of a few successes both on land and on sea, Louis XII. was reduced to negotiate. The Swiss were pacified with 400,000 gold crowns. Maximilian had penetrated by the northern frontier together with the English ; he met near Guinegate the French com- manded by the Duke de Longueville, and who were unaccountably panic-stricken. Bayard, Longueville, and other captains were taken prisoners, and the 322 DEATH OF LOUIS XII. derisive name of " Battle of the Spurs " commemorated an engagement where no fighting had really taken place. Maximilian made his peace with France (March, 15 14), and Louis XII. pledged himself to the Pope (Leo X.), never to put forth again any claim to the duchy of Milan. The English fleet, though far superior in number to the French, had been defeated by Herve Primoguet off the British coast, and yet it became necessary for the King of France to come to terms with Henry VIII. also. A separate treaty was concluded in London, which secured to Henry the possession of Tournay and a yearly pension of 100,000 crowns for the space of ten years. Louis XII., whom the death of Anne of Brittany had left a widower, married the Princess Mary of England, scarcely sixteen years old. "For many reasons," says Le Loyal Serviteiir, " the King of France did not need to be married again, nor did he feel much inclined to do so ; but seeing himself at war on all sides, and knowing that he could not carry on these wars without greatly over-taxing his people, he re- sembled the pelican. After Queen Mary had made her entry into Paris, entry which was very triumphant, and followed by sundry jousts and tournaments which lasted more than six weeks, the king, for his wife's sake, altered all his way of living. Whereas he used to dine at eight o'clock, he now must needs dine at noon ; whereas he was wont to go to bed at six, he now sat up till midnight." This new regime told upon the constitution of a prince who, since his great illness in 1504, had never quite recovered. He died on the 1st of January, 15 15, sincerely regretted by the nation. ADMINISTRATION. 323 The administration of Louis XIL, by its wise character and its excellent results, stands in strong and pleasing contrast with his foreign policy. He made up his mind to live and maintain his household within the limits of the income derived from his own domains, and by so doing he was enabled to reduce the taxes by nearly one-third. Gratuities, pensions, ruinous festivals were suppressed, and the strictest economy was established consistent with due regard to the exigencies of the public service. " My courtiers," he remarked one day, " may laugh at my avarice ; I had far rather they should do so than that the people should weep for my extravagance." A tax had been raised to supply the cost for an expedition against Genoa ; this war having been finished more quickly and more cheaply than was anticipated, Louis XII. remitted the surplus of the subsidy, re- marking : " That money will bear more fruit in their hands than in mine." The soldiers and adventurers dare not plunder, and the peasants were protected against the unruliness of marauders and highwaymen. No mercy was shown to those who sought to put under contribution villages and homesteads ; those who were caught paid the penalty of their misdeeds by being sent to the gallows. Every encouragement was given to commerce, agriculture, and industry ; and we have the evidence of contemporary writers to show that " in twelve years' time the third part of the kingdom was cultivated, and that for every large mer- chant or trader who could formerly be found in Paris, Lyons, or Rouen, there were fifty during the reign of Louis XII. People thought much less then of 324 THE FATHER OF THE PEOPLE.'' travelling to London, Rome, or Naples, than they did in days past of going to Lyons or to Geneva." In- comes of every kind rose to a wonderful amount, and the collecting of the taxes and other sources of the national revenues was accomplished much more cheaply and easily than it had ever been before. The States-General were convened once only during the reign, namely, in 1506, and the deputies of the bourgeoisie alone met for deliberation. One of their acts was to bestow upon the king, through the medium of their delegate, the glorious title of Father of the People. With the reign of Louis XII. must always be associated the active, intelligent, and beneficent ad- ministration of Georges, Cardinal d'Amboise, who, for the space of twenty-seven years was less the king's confidential minister than his friend. Belonging to a powerful family, born in 1460, D'Amboise obtained the see of Montauban at the early age of fourteen • he attached himself to the fortunes of the Duke d'Orleans, remained his faithful adviser so long as Charles VIII. was on the throne, and received after- wards the promotion which he had so richly deserved by his attachment and his devotedness. Appointed successively to the archbishopric of Narbonne and (1493) to that of Rouen, he was virtually the governor of the province of Normandy, and inaugurated there the reforms which, after the death of Charles VIII., he carried out in the whole kingdom.. He really loved the people, and in return he shared the re- spectful affection which the people entertained for their sovereign. He played under Louis XII. the GEORGES CARDINAL D AMBOISE. 325 part which Suger did under Louis VII., and Sully, Richelieu, and Colbert enjoyed subsequently under Henry IV., Louis XIII. , and Louis XIV. There is no doubt that critics might find, and have justly found, many serious faults in Georges d'Amboise's administration ; but, on the whole, it deserves to be remembered in history as excellent, and it became a proverbial expression to say : " Let Georges do what he pleases {Laisses faire a Georges)!' Nor must we forget that he was an intelligent patron of the fine arts ; under his direction Roger Ango began the palais de justice of Rouen, and he built the chateau of Gaillon, which is a splendid monument of Renaissance architecture. The creation of two new parliaments (Provence, 1 501 ; Normandy, 1499), the reforms introduced into the administration of justice, the extension of the postal service, the compiling of the laws into one statute book pursued and carried on, and various other wise measures concurred to make of Louis XII. one of the most beloved and popular of French kings, and it is no mere formal phrase which Le Loyal Serviteur used when he said that he was buried at Saint Denis in the midst of the "deep cries and wailings and the profound regard of all his subjects." XVI. INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY — LITERATURE, THE DRAMA, TRADE, INDUSTRY — CONCLUDING REMARKS. The intellectual life of the fifteenth century in France could not but be very poor in the midst of the terrible calamities which visited the country ; the Esprit Gaulois which runs so brilliantly and so amus- ingly through the old fabliaux, and the " Roman de Renart " seems to have quite disappeared, and the suc- cessors of the Trouveres remain silent. We have already named Eustache Deschamps and Olivier Bassilen amongst the French poets of the fifteenth century ; we have given a word of praise to the vigorous and patriotic compositions of Alain Chartier and Christine de Pisan ; when we have added to our list Froissart, Charles d'Orleans, and Villon, we shall have exhausted the cycle of poets. Froissart is best known as the mediaeval chronicler par excellence, but he began his literary career by writing sickly and sentimental ballads after the style of the " Roman de la Rose ; " the " Joli bu isson de Jonece " is one of his best pieces. It is sad to have to acknowledge that in all these pieces, and Froissart's poetical works are POETRY— RUTEBEUF, VILLON. 327 numerous, the reader seeks in vain for the accents of patriotism, for an expression of honest indignation at the sight of the misfortunes from which France is suffering. Poetry has become merely a j'eu d' esprit, an agreeable pastime, so much so, in fact, that even Charles d'Orleans, whose father had been murdered, who had lost a tenderly beloved wife, and who was himself a captive in England, seldom rises to the utterance of true feeling in his otherwise graceful and harmonious poetry. As Charles d'Orleans was the last songster of mediaeval chivalry, so Francois Villon appears as the last representative of the popular muse. Before him, Rutebeuf had given the example of a deep and natural vein of poetry; he walked in his footsteps but surpassed him both by the scandals of his life and the excellence of his compositions. Necessity, he says, had driven him to commit actions of which he felt thoroughly ashamed. " Necessite fait gens mesprendre. Et faim sailhr le loup des bois." The excuse is a common one, and we remember how, two centuries later, in Moliere's " Fourberies de Scea- pin," Argante asks the impudent servant whether it is any justification for a man who has committed every possible crime to say that he has been urged on by necessity. At any rate, if Villon escaped the gallows, it was thanks to the personal interference of Louis XL, and he lived long enough to write that charming " Ballade des Dames du temps jadis," the well-known refrain of which " Mais oil sont les neiges d'antan? " {ante anmuti) 328 HISTORIANS — MONSTKELET. would have done honour to the most accomplished poet. If we now turn to chroniclers, historians, and an- nalists, we find ourselves face to face, on the contrary, with a group of writers all more or less remarkable ; and indeed the invasion of France by the English. the Civil Wars, the downfall of the house of Bur- gundy, are events which appealed in the most powerful manner to the talent of all those who had powers of observation and who could wield a pen. Enguerrand de Monstrelet, the continuator of Froissart,is extremely dull, we grant ; but who would not appear dull when compared with the brilliant curate of Lestines ? On the other hand, Monstrelet, we unhesitatingly say, is exact, accurate ; he takes pains to procure the best information, and a modern critic who dismisses him with the contemptuous epithet of registrar (greffier), forgets that a registrar commits to paper what he actually sees, which after all is the principal, the indispensable quality of an historian. Froissart's chronicles take us from the year 1326 to the close of the fourteenth century ; Monstrelet's narrative, divided into two books, describes the events which happened between 1400 and 1444. After having named the two authors to whom we have just alluded, most critics go at once to Philip de Commines, and leave George Chastel- lain and Thomas Basin unnoticed ; and yet Chas- tellain is in every way superior to Monstrelet ; a thorough Bourgiiigjion by his political sympathies, he aimed at combining with artistic colouring a due attention to details, and the faithful description of the CHASTELLAIN — BASIN. 329 events which were going on under his eyes. His principal work is the life of Philip the Good, un- fortunately incomplete. If Monstrelet is tedious by his dulness, Chastellain is wearisome from aiming at grandiloquence. He had begun his literary career as a poet, and the following lines are a fair spe.cimen of the bombast in which he was particularly fond of indulging : " Muse, en musant en ta douce musette, Donne louange — et gloire celestine Au dieu Phebus, a la barbe roussette." Chastellain's chronicle is written in the same style ; monotonous in poetry, it becomes intolerable in prose. Thomas Basin's experiences as an historian are rather singular ; he was a great friend of Charles VH. and, on the contrary, he managed to draw down upon himself the hatred of Louis XL, who, on three diffe- rent occasions, found him thwarting his political com- binations. This was a crime which the astute king could not forgive, and the unfortunate Basin, Bishop of Lisieux, was driven from his see, persecuted in the most odious manner, and obliged to leave his native country. By way of revenge he composed in Latin the biographies of Charles VH. and Louis XL, praising the former beyond what he deserved, and painting the latter under the most repulsive colours. These works, published as the production of a certain Amelgard, are worth reading, because, notwithstand- ing the author's gross partiality, they contain a num- ber of interesting and authentic details. It is only quite recently that the name of Amelgard has been discovered to be a mere fiction, and that Bishop 330 COMMINES, Basin has had his claims as a biographer duly restored. We now come to t/ie historian of the fifteenth century, the first really philosophic historian France can boast of, Philip de Commines, Sire d Argenton, PHILIP DE COMMINES. the devoted friend and passionate admirer of Louis XL Originally a servant of Charles the Bold, his methodical, astute, and scheming nature was incom- patible with the capricious, rash, headstrong character LOUIS XL AND COMMINES. 331 of the Duke of Burgundy, whereas it suited that of the French monarch. Philip de Commines and Louis XI. complete each other, and are the perfect embodi- ment of the fifteenth century. The particular line of political conduct which has since been called Machia- vellian was then prevalent at the court of all the European princes, and the Sire d'Argenton belonged essentially to the school of Machiavel. He therefore is very indulgent for the crimes of his master, and has an excuse for all his tricks, provided they are cleverly carried out ; nay, they seem to him more deserving of praise than of blame. His ideas of right and wrong were those of his contemporaries ; but he remains unequalled as an interpreter of events, and a judge of character ; no one has combined to a greater extent common sense and cleverness. If we look upon Commines as a mere writer, we find in his chronicles all the marks which characterize an epoch of transi- tion. The genius of the Middle Ages and that of the Renaissance are blended together. A modern critic has observed that he did not know the classical languages, and the few Latin forms which are to be met with in his style come not from the study of books, but from the colloquial habits of those amongst whom he lived. He thus avoided the pedantry which spoils the chronicles of George Chastellain, and which makes the greater part of the fifteenth-century authors so painful to read. Finally, we must not forget that Commines was a shrewd politician ; carrying on the designs of Louis XL, he contributed to found the national unity of France, and would have made of Flanders a French province, if he had had his own way- 332 TALES — " LES CENT NOUVELLES NOUVELLES." Besides chroniclers, a certain number of minor prose writers flourished about the same epoch. The fashion of meeting for the purpose of telling short stories and questionable anecdotes had penetrated into France from the other side of the Alps, and Boccaccio found imitators at the court of the dukes of Burgundy. The " Decameron " suggested the " Cent nouvelles nouvelles," which have been generally ascribed to Antoine de la Salle, author of a pretty little tale entitled " Le Roman du Petit Jehan de Saintre et de la Dame des belles cousines." It seems more probable, however, that several collaborateiirs had a share in the work, and that Louis XI. contributed no less than eleven stories to the whole collection. It was com- piled between 1456 and 1461, when Louis, the Dau- phin, was undergoing a voluntary exile at Dijon. We possess abundant evidence to show that lite- rature was seriously encouraged in France since the reign of Charles V. Catalogues have been handed down to us proving that libraries existed in a number of baronial residences and the collection of the Louvre numbered 11 74 works, a large amount for the four- teenth century. The origin of the French drama belongs to this part of our subject. We have already glanced at it in a previous chapter ; but it requires to be examined here somewhat in detail. Whether we study the theatre from its serious side, or consider it as a humorous picture of every-day life, whether we deal with tragedy or comedy, we find it persisting amidst revolutions and political disturbances, dynastic changes, civil and foreign warfare. In the squares and public THE DRAMA. 333 places, in churches and chapels, in princely residences and baronial halls, everywhere the drama found its way, grave or comic as the case might be ; and it is not too much to say that the services of the Church formed a kind of dramatic exhibition, combining interest and edification. Without going back to the days of Hroswitha, the learned nun of Gandersheim who, during the tenth century composed six Latin comedies after the style of Terence ; without seeking the origins of the French stage in the works of Rute- beuf, the " Jeu d'Aucassin et de Nicolete," and the " Dit de Marcol et de Salomon," we shall name first Jean Bodel and Adam de la Halle as the real fathers of the French theatre. The former, in the "Jeu de Saint Nicolas," gave, as we have seen, a definite and regular form to the serious drama ; whilst the " Jeu de la Feuillie" by the latter is nothing else but an amusing comedy. Both poets belonged to the thirteenth century. The best critics have classified as follows the pro- ductions of mediaeval dramatic literature : a. The foremost rank belongs by right to the mys- teries or miracle plays performed by the Confreres de la Passion, a brotherhood or guild of pious artizans who devoted their leisure to the edification and entertain- ment of the faithful. This first attempt to organize a kind of theatre was strictly prohibited by the Provost of Paris in 1398, but the "brotherhood " appealed to the king, and obtained on the 4th of December, 1402, letters patent authorizing them to give representations in the metropolis. We cannot attempt to give a list of the mysteries which make up the repertoire of the 334 ^-^^ BASOCHE — '^ ENFANTS SANS SOUCIS.'* Confreres de la Passion ; let us name the principal — ^the " Mystere de la Passion " by Arnoul Greban, divided into \.\MQX\\.Y joiirnees and extending to 40,000 lines. b. The farces or pieces farcies, so called from the farcita epistola in macaronic Latin, may be mentioned next ; they were satirical pieces, pictures of society always most amusing and not unfrequently very objec- tionable. The actors who thus undertook to denounce the vices, foibles and ridicules of their neighbours were a set of lawyers' clerks, known by the name of Clercs de la Basocke, the Basoche (Basilica ? ^d^co, 6lKo ^•t- tackedby Louis VIII., 88 Alencon, Duke of, 298 Anjou, Counts of, their power, I ; Foulques Nerra, 21 ; Geoffrey Plantagenet, 55 ; Henry Plan- tagenet, 61. Charles d', brother of Louis IX., 120; his ambi- tion, 134; stopped by Gre- gory X., 134 ; decline of his power and death, 136. Louis, Duked'Anjou, 222; his struggle for power, 223 ; shares the Regency, 223-228 ; death, 229. King Rene, 282. Power of Count of Anjou destroyed by Louis XL, 299 Anne de Beaujeu, regent for Charles VIII., 304 ; her policy, 305 ; meeting of the States, 305 ; struggles with Duke d'Orleans, 306-308 ; end of regency and death, 310 Architecture, its revival, 127 ; Gothic, 127-130; secular, 130; fifteenth century, 337, 338 Armagnac, Count d', chosen leader against Duke of Bur- gundy, 237 : created Constable of France, 244 ; killed in Paris, 244 ; John v., Count of, 298 Armorial bearings, 35, 36 Armorican cities, 2 Arras, Treaty of, 269, 270 Arteveldt, Von ; rules in Flanders, 172 ; Philip von, 228 Art in fourteenth century, 337 Art under Louis IX., 127-132; industrial, 132 Assises de Jeritsaleni, 31, 32 Avignon, Papal residence at, 149 Azincourt, battle of, 240-243 B. Basin, Bishop of Lisieux, his- torian, 329 Basoche [Clercs de la) actors, 334 Bayard, Chevalier, 317 Beauvais; siege of, 295 Becket, Thomas a, 62 Bedford, Duke of, at funeral of Charles VI., 249 ; regent of France, 254 ; marches to Or- leans, 257 ; decline of power, 266, 267 ; death, 270 Benedict XIII. , Pope, 251, 252 Beneventum, battle of, 120 Bernard, Saint, 58-60 ; opposes Abelard, 67 Berry, Duke de, brother of Louis 348 INDEX. XL, 292, 293; opposes his brother, 294 ; poisoned, 294 Bertrand de Born, 42 Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII., 90; her influence with the burons, 91 ; regent during Louis' absence, 97 ; her death, 105 Boniface VIIL, quarrel with Philip IV., 144-148 Bonnet, Honore, Prior of Salons, 252 Bouvines, battle of, 73-70 Brittany, Duchy of, dispute as to the succession, 173 ; warin, 213 ; John de Montfort acknowledged Duke, 213; he conspires against Clisson, 232. John VI., Duke of, joins Charles VII., 256. Duke of, joins Duke d'Orleans against Anne de Beaujeu, 307 submits, 308. Anne of, 308 married to Charles VIIL, 309 married to Louis XIL, 315 Burgundy, Duke of. Philip the Good, 247-288. Charles the Bold, 288 ; takes Louis XL prisoner, 291 ; marches into Normandy, 295 ; death, 296. Mary of, marries Maximilian of Austria, 300 Calais, siege of, 182-184 Cards, Playing, 339 Charles IV. (le Bet), 161 ; his exactions, 161, 162 ; his death, 163 Charles of Blois, 173 ; made prisoner by the English, 184 ; disputes Brittany, and is killed, 213 Charles of Navarre {le Mauvais) claims throne of France, 189 imprisoned by King John, 191 joins with Etienne Marcel, 202 rebels against Charles V., 211 Charles (the Dauphin), son of John, 198 ; opposed by Etienne Marcel, 198-200 ; leaves Paris, 201 ; succeeds his father as Charles V., 210 ; settles disputes in Brittany, 213 ; renews war with England, 215-218 ; death, 218 ; his government, 218-220 ; love of literature, 221 Charles VI. succeeds his father, 222 ; crowned, 224 ; troubles in France, 224 ; riots about taxes, 226 ; marches into Flan- ders, 228 ; returns to Paris and imposes taxes, 229 ; assumes sole government, 230 ; marches into Brittany, 232 ; seized with madness, 233 ; regency during his illness, 234; condition of the country, 237; civil war, 23^; war with English, 240 ; signs treaty of Troyes, 247 ; death, 249 Charles VII. proclaimed king, 250 ; his territory, 254 ; his marriage, 255 ; increase of his power, 256 ; assisted by Joan of Arc, 263-266 ; coronation, 266 ; treaty of Arras, 270 ; English leave Paris, 271 ; his chief advisers, 271 ; entry into Paris, 272; defeats the English, 272 ; his reforms, 273 ; or- ganizes the army, 274; finan- cial reforms, 275 ; death, 278, 279 Charles VIIL succeeds his father, 304 ; his portrait. 309 ; marries Anne of Brittany, 309 ; plans to invade Italy, 310 ; makes treaties with England, Germany, and Spain, 311 ; marches into Italy, Battle of Fornovo, 312 ; returns to France, 314; death, 314 . Chastellain, George, historian, 328 Chivalry, 33 and foil. ; training of a knight, 33 ; his admission, 34 ; his duties, 35 ; chronicled by Froissart, 169 Church, the, in Middle Ages, 14, 15 ; establishments of the truce of God, 21 ; favours the com- munal movement, 52 ; theo- INDEX. 349 logical disputes, 66 ; architec- ture, 127-130; music, 131; riches of, under Philip IV., 144 ; schisms and Council of Constance, 250 ; need of re- form, 251-253 ; power reduced by Louis XL, 287 Church in fi teenth century, 340 Clemangis, Nicolas de, 253 Clisson, Olivier de, 210; at coro- nation of Charles VI., 224 ; in Flanders, 228 ; chosen as the king's adviser, 230 ; attacked by order of the Duke of Brit- tany, 232 ; retires from court, 234 Coinage, 1 14 ; altered by Philip the Fair, 140 ; debased by Charles IV., 161 ; altered by John, 188 Commines, Philip de, historian, 330 Commerce, mediseval, 116; en- couraged by Louis XL, 303 ; in fifteenth century, 340 Communal movement, 48; charters, 49-52 ; sanctioned lay bishops, 52 ; encouraged by the king, 54; increases under Louis VII., 63 ; Communes support Philip Augustus, 73, 75 ; Communes transformed into royal cities, 118 Constantinople, siege of, 81 ; Prankish Empire established, 82, and collapses, 82 ; taken by Turks, 277 Councils, Etampes, 57 ; Reims, 57 ; Soissons, 67 ; Sens, 67 ; Lyons, 95 ; Constance, 250 Cour du roi, 109, no Coeur (Jacques), Chancellor of Charles VII., 275 ; his career, 278, 279 Cressy, battle of, 179-181 Crusade against Albigenses, 82-84 Crusade, First, preached by Peter the Hermit, 25, 26 ; leaders of, 29 ; attack on Jerusalem, 30 ; Godefroi de Bouillon made King of Jerusalem, 31 ; influence on literature, 36-38 ; troubadours, 40-43 ; historians. 45 Crusade, Second, 58; its failure, 59 Crusade, Third, 70, 71 Crusade, Fourth, preached by Foulques, 77 ; siege of Con- stantinople, 81 ; crusade to Holy Land abandoned, 82 Crusade, Hfth, preached by Inno- cent IV., 95; the start, 97-99 ; Damietta taken, &c., 100 ; plague, loi ; crusade aban- doned, 105 Crusade of St. Louis, 119 Crusade against Sultan Bajazet, 234 D Dauphin, origin of title, 187 ; Charles, son of John, 198-210; Charles, son of Charles VI., 245 ; Louis, son of Charles VII., ^72) ; opposes his father, 278 ; his accession, 280 Deschamps, Eustache, his poems, 238, 251 Drama, 332-335 Duguesclin, Bertrand, 210 ; made prisoner at Auray, 213 ; ran- somed and sent to Spain, 215 ; made Constable of France, 217 ; his exploits, 218 E Edward III. (of England) renders homage, 163 ; visits Philip VI., 167 ; enters Flanders, 172 ; comes to Brittany, 176 ; ad- vances towards Paris, 178 ; in- vades France again, 205 England, power of in France, 55, 56, 61 ; power lost under John, 72 ; peace between France and, 142 ; Hundred Years' War, 171, 272 English defeated at Taillebourg, 95 Enguerrand de Marigny, Prmre Minister of France, 157 350 INDEX. Feudal system, 3 and following ; homage, 6 ; castles, 9 ; vassals, 10 ; serfs, 13, 14 ; evil influ- ence ofj 21-48 ; established in the East, 31 ; rise of the people against it, 48 ; gradual decay before the power of the king, 77 ; judicial power of barons, 109 ; further decay under Philip the Bold, 138 ; finally destroyed, 157 ; last struggles of feudal lords, 273, 278, 298 ; conquered by Louis XL, 298-300 Flagellants, 185 Flanders invaded by Philip Au- gustus, 73 ; defeat of Count of, 77 ; invaded by Philip the Fair, 141 ; annexed to France, 142 ; under a French governor, 142 ; rebellion, 143 ; defeat of the French, 144 ; rebellion in, 164; battle at Cassel, 165, 166 ; ■ Flemings join with England against Philip VL, 172; rising of cities against counts, 227 ; battle of Roosebeke, 228 France, districts of, in 987, I, 2 ; political condition, 4, 5 ; lan- guages of, 38 ; union of, under Philip Augustus, 77) 86 ; further enlargements, 91 ; royal terri- tory increased, 187 Froissart, 167 ; his account of him- self, 168 ; Chronicles, 168 and following ; as a poet, 326 G. Gabelle established, 186 ; re- moved, 225 Gaston de Foix at Ravenna, 320 Gaudri, bishop of Laon, 54 Geoffrey de Villehardouin, his- torian of Fourth Crusade, 80 Georges, C-irdinal d'Amboise, 324, 325 Gerson, Jean Charlier de, 3.49 ; at CoB'itaiice, 251 Gloucester, Duke of, in France, 256 Gotteschalck, monk, 66 Gringore (Pierre), actor, 335 Gtiet Royal, 114 Guilds, 115; in fifteenth century, 340 H. Henry I. succeeds his father, 20 ; his marriage, 20 ; defeated by William of Normandy, 21 Henry V. (of England) lands at Harfleur, 240 ; conquests in Normandy, 245 ; enters Paris, 247 ; death, 249 Henry VL (of England) King of France, 254 ; crowned, 268 Herrings, battle of the, 260 Hugues Capet, his accession, i ; origin, 15 ; death, 17 Hundred Years' War, 171 ; in Flanders, 172; in Brittany, 173- 176 ; truce, 176 ; war renewed, 177 j second truce, 185 ; war renewed by Edward HI., 189; truce after Poitiers, 197 ; Ed- ward enters France, 205 ; peace signed at Bretigny, 208 ; war renewed by Charles V., 215 ; truce, 218 ; battle of Azincourt, 240-243 ; siege of Orleans, 257 ; English defeated, 272 ; and finally retreat, 272 ; end of the Hundred Years' War, 272 Ingelburge, wife of Philip Augus- tus, 86 Innocent HL, Pope, interferes be- tween Philip Augustus and John of England, 72 ; promotes the Fourth Crusade, 78 ; his efforts against heresy, 83 ; lays France under an interdict, 86 Innocent IV., Pope, takes refuge in France, 95 Inquisition established at Tou- louse, 91 INDEX. 351 Isabelle of Bavaria married to Charies VI., 235; returns to Paris, 245 J- Jacquerie, origin of, 202 Jeanne de Montfort, 174 ; at siege of Hennebon, 175 Jeanne Fouquet (Hachette), at Beauvais, 295 Jews, persecution of, 20 ; persecu- tion by Philip Augustus, 70 ; treatment of, by Louis IX., ili; banished by Philip the Fair, 140 ; suspected of poisoning wells, 159, 160 ; plundered by Charles IV., 161 ; accused of poisoning, &c., 185 Joinville, Sire de, his memoirs, 93. 94, 97> 100, 105, III, 113, 119 Joan of Arc, her birth, 260 ; her visions, 262 ; interview with Charles VII., 263 ; goes to Orleans, 264 ; raises the siege, 266 ; further victories, 266 ; taken prisoner, 267 ; her death, 268 John (^ean le Bon), 188 ; summons the States-General, 190 ; the nation taxed, 190; John at Poitiers, 192, 196 ; enters Lon- don, 197 ; returns to France, 208 ; cedes many provinces to England, 208 ; returns to Eng- land and dies, 209 John the Fearless, Uuke of Bur- gundy, 235 ; murders Duke d'Orleans, 236 ; conduct to the Parisians, 237 ; civil war, 239 ; enters Paris, 244 ; treacherously murdered, 246 K. Kiersey, Edict of, 4 L. La Hire, 257 ; at Orleans, 258 Landit, foire du, 1 16 Law, revival of study of, no; administered by Louis IX., in; Etablissements de Saint Louis, 114; under Philip IV., 147; Salic, 159; under Philip V., 158 ; under Louis XL, 302 Literature, earliest specimens, 38 ; of chivalry, 39, 40 ; of Crusades, 40-45 ; first prose writer, 80 ; in Langued'oc, 83 ; progress of, in thirteenth century, 120-126 ; sermons, 126 ; at the time of Charles V., 221 ; of fifteenth century, 326-332 ; dramatic literature, 332 Louis VI., 47 ; struggles with the nobles, 54 ; makes war with England, 55 ; invades Flanders, 56 ; extension of his power in France, 56 ; supports Pope Inno- cent II., 57 ; death, 57 Louis VII., coronation of, 57 ; accession, 57 ; quarrel with Count of Champagne, 58 ; orga- nizes a crusade, 58 ; rrpudiates his wife, 61 ; war with Henry II. of England, 61, 62 Louis VI II., 88 Louis IX. [Saint Louis') succeeds Louis VIII., 90 ; majority pro- claimed, 91 ; his ch-iracter, 92- 94 ; starts for the Holy Land, 97 ; victory at Mansurah, 100, lOi ; his wife, 102 ; Louis taken prisoner, 104 ; reaches the Ploly Land, 105 ; returns to France, 106 ; his reforms, 109 ; adminis- tration of justice. III, 113; other improvements, 114-I18; starts on another Crusade, 1 19; death, 119 ; canonization, 145 Louis X. (k Htctin), his wife, 155 ; succeeds his father, 156 Louis XL, 281 ; struggles with the nobles, 281-284; his cha- racter^ 285 ; coronation, 286 ; general discontent, 287 ; war with Count of Charolais, 288 ; treaties with the nobles, 288; invades Normandy, 288 ; strug- 352 INDEX. gles with Charles the Bold, 288-291, 293-296; establishes his power over the nobles, 298-300 ; invades Hainault, 300 ; illness and death, 301 ; review of his reign, 301-303 Louis XII., accession, 314; divorces his wife and marries Anne of Brittany, 315 ; lays claim to Naples, 315 ; con- quers Milan, 316 ; marches towards Naples, 316 ; war with King of Spain, 317 ; battle with the Venetians, 319 ; attacked by the " Holy League," 319 ; forced to negotiate, 319-322 ; marries Mary of England, 322 ; death, 322 ; his home administration, 323 ; called " Father of the People," 324 ; various improvements, 325 M. Mansurah, battle of, 100 Marcel (Etienne) sent as deputy to King John, 190; opposes the Dauphin Charles, 199-201 ; plots with Charles of Navarre, 203 ; slain by John Maillart, 204 Marguerite, wife of Louis IX., accompanies him on the Cru- sade, 102 Marguerite de Bourgogne, 155 Marie de France, 123 Mersen, Edict of, 3 Monstrelet (Enguerrand de) his- torian, 328 Montargis, siege of, 257 Montlhery, battle of, 288 Muret, battle of, 35 N. Names, 36 Nominalism, 67 Normandy, insurrection in, 18 ; Robert, Duke of, 21 ; William, Duke of, 21-23; invaded by Philip Augustus, 72; Normandy exchequer, 154; John of, 176 O. Orleans, siege of, 257-266 ; Duke d', rivalry between him and Anne de Beaujeu, 305-307 ; made prisoner, 308 ; succeeds Charles VIII., 314 Otto IV., Emperor of Germany, 72 ; at battle of Bouvines, 75 Painting and painters, fifteenth century Paris Guild of Merchants, 63 ; cathedral of N6tre Dame founded, 63 ; University of, 64 ; Estienne Boisleve, Provost of, 115; endowments of St. Louis, 118; Parliament of, J! 53' 154 ; its treatment of offenders, 162; fortified, 198; revolution against the Dauphin Charles, 199-201 ; improve- ments in, by Charles V., 220 ; Rising of people against Charles VI., 225-228; Mas- sacres in, under Duke of Bur- gundy, 244 Pastoureaux, revolt of, 106; pro- gress and defeat, 107, 108 ; another rising of, 160 Peronne, treaty of, 291 ; rupture of treaty, 293 Philip I. succeeds his father, 23 ; attacked by William of Normandy, 23 ; character and death, 46 Philip Augustus, 69 ; his con- quests, 69 ; relations towards Richard I. of England, 71 ; plots with John, 71 ; quarrels with John, 72; John forms S. league against him, 72 ; Philip marches into Flanders, 73 ; battle of Bouvines, 73-76 ; re- turns to Paris, 77; his three wives, 86 ; various improve- INDEX. 353 ments introduced by him, 87, 88 ; death, 88 Philip III. {le Bardi), increase of his power, 133 ; war with Spain, 136 ; death, 136 ; story 01 Philip and Pierre de la Brosse, 137, 138 Philip IV., accession, 139; great changes, 139 ; establishes troops and ships, 140 ; his marriage, 141 ; attacks Edward I. in Guienne and at Dover, 141 ; his daughter married to the son of King of England, 142 ; war in Flanders, 143, 144; quarrel with the Pope, 145-148 ; chooses another Pope, Clement V. ; his reforms, 153, 154 ; death; 156 Philip V. {le Long), proclaimed king, 157 ; events of his reign, 159-160 ; death, 161 Philip de Valois (Philip VI.) appointed regent, 163 ; made king, 164 ; enters Flanders, 164 ; end of the rebellion, 166 ; takes part in war in Brittany, 176 ; treachery against Breton lords, 177 ; deleated at Cressy, 181 ; death, 186 ; oppressive acts, 187 ; increase of terri- tory, 187 Philip the Good, Duke of Bur- gundy, 247 ; ally of Duke of Bedford, 256 ; feelings to- wards the English, 269 ; at Arras, 269 ; breaks with the English, 270 ; his estates, 284 ; sells cities to Louis XL, 287 ; death, 288 Poetry, subjects for, 39 ; "Chan- sons de geste," 40 ; "Chanson d'Antioche," 45; " Gestes," 120; Romances of thirteenth century, 121 ; Mysteries, 124 ; patriotic poets, 238, 239 ; poetry of fifteenth century, 326, 327 Poitiers, battle of, 1 91-196 Postal service established in F" ranee, 302 Praguerie, rebellion, 273 Printing, introduction of, 335, 336 Quarantaine-le-roi, La, 88, 109 Quinze-vingts, Hospital of, 118 R. Ravenna, battle of, 320 Raymond V., Count of Toulouse, complains against Albigenses, 83 Raymond VI., 84 Renaissance, dawn of, 341 Rennes, siege of, 174, 175 Richard the Pilgrim, 45 Richard, Cceur de Lion, joins Third Crusade, 70 ; his captivity, 71; defeats the French, 72; death, 72 Richemont, Arthur de, made Constable, 256 ; at Arras, 269 ; enters Paris, 270 Robert (good king), 17 ; his marriage with Constance, 17 ; refuses Italy and Lorraine, 18; his death, 20 Robert d'Artois, 171, 172 Romance, 43 ; " Roman de la Rose," 44, 117-122; romances of thirteenth century ; " Roman de Renart," 123 ; " Roman de Fauvel," 150 Roscelin, Canon of Compiegne, 67 Saint Omer, battle of, 173 Schools, founded by Charlemagne, 64 ; school of Saint Victor, 65 Sicilian Vespers, 135 Simon de Montfort, attacks the Albigenses, 85 ; receives do- mains in Languedoc, 85 Society, tenth century, 3 Sorbonne (the), 118 354 INDEX. Spurs, battle of, 320-322 Star, Order of, created, 209 Suger, Abbot of Saint Denis, 61 Templars, Knights, 149 ; suppres- sion planned by Philip the Fair, 150 ; condemned by the States-General, 151 ; destruc- tion and final suppression, 152 ; murder of the Grand Master, 156 Thibaut, Count of Champagne, 90 ; becomes King of Navarre, 91 ; his poetry, 124 Troyes, treaty of, 247 U. University of Paris, 64; noted members, 65 ; interferes on behalf of Joan of Arc, 267 V. Villon, Frangois, his poetry, 327 W. Wace, Robert, 43, 44 The Story of the Nations. Messrs. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS take pleasure m announcing that they have in course of pubhcation a series of historical studies, intended to present in a graphic manner the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history. In the story form the current of each national life will be distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes will be presented for the reader in their philosophical relation to each other as well as to universal history. It is the plan of the writers of the different volumes to enter into the real life of the peoples, and to bring them before the reader as they actually lived, labored, and struggled — as they studied and wrote, and as they amused themselves. In carrying out this plan, the myths, with which the history of all lands begins, will not be over- looked, though these will be carefully distinguished from the actual history, so far as the labors of the accepted historical authorities have resulted in definite conclusions. The subjects of the different volumes will be planned to cover connecting and, as far as possible, consecutive epochs or periods, so that the set when completed will present in a comprehensive narrative the chief events in the great Story OF THE NATIONS ; but it will, of course, not always prove practicable to issue the several volumes in their chronological order. The " Stories " are printed in good readable type, and in handsome i2mo form. They are adequately illustrated and furnished with maps and indexes. They are sold separately at a price of $1.50 each. not always prove practicable to issue the several volumes in their chronological order. The " Stories " are printed in good readable type, and in handsome i2mo form. They are adequately illustrated and furnished with maps and indexes. They are sold separately at a price of $1.50 each. The following is a partial list of the subjects thus far determined upon : THE STORY OF ^ANCIENT EGYPT, Prof. George Rawlinson. " *CHALDEA. Z. A. Ragozin. " *GREECE. Prof. James A. Harrison, Washington and Lee University. " *ROME. Arthur Oilman. " *THE JEWS. Prof. James K. Hosmer, Washington University of St. Louis. " *CARTHAGE. Prof. Alfred J. Church, University College, London, " BYZANTIUM. " *THE GOTHS. Henry Bradley. " *THE NORMANS. Sarah O. Jewett. " ^PERSIA. S. G. W. Benjamin. " *SPAIN. Rev. E. E. and Susan Hale. " *GERMANY. S. Baring-Gould. " THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. HOLLAND. Prof. C. E. Thorold Rogers. " *N0RWAY. Hjalmar H. Boyesen. " *THE MOORS IN SPAIN. Stanley Lane-Poole. " ^HUNGARY. Prof. A. VAmbery. " THE ITALIAN KINGDOM. W. L. Alden. " *MEDIyEVAL FRANCE. Prof. Gustave Masson. " *ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. Prof. J. P. Mahaffy. " *THE HANSE TOWNS. Helen Zimmern. " ^ASSYRIA. Z. A. Ragozin. " *THE SARACENS. Arthur Oilman. " *TURKEY. Stanley Lane-Poole. PORTUGAL. H. Morse Stephens. " MEXICO. Susan Hale. " *IRELAND. Hon. Emily Lawless. " PHCENICIA. " SWITZERLAND. " RUSSIA. " WALES. " SCOTLAND. " *MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA. Z. A. Ragozin. * (The volumes starred are now ready, September, 1888.) G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS New York 27 AND 29 West Twenty-Tij pn997 London King William Street, Strand _.5??x^ « . -i^^ a\ r^^ I, -^-lA ■ ^ .) ^'0.0- ^^ • \ <\ ^^J^ .^ ^ -r^o ^* O^-' I- "-f ^^ .^^^' ; "':; ,s^ \. V •^^■■"- i ^ ^V ' i> 5 : .-^ -^^ "- ^O. 1 -- y "^^ v^' <■ ^, ■"h 0^ ^ ^o" % ,V^' * ')] .■■^^ ^\ ^/S^' aXV -^r. ,~\' ^10 -OO" -■ t- 'jy aX « \ ' 8 * ''^::^ xV-^^ '^, - -X' ^ ^\'^^r?9^' ,^ .<.^' ^^^ % .'V-' '^.r. •A' ,r> jA , ^ ' « r.' ^^ V^' \' \x xOo^ ....^ ^^' •^'"'. '^^VV^^^s"^'^ ^oo^' ,X^ ^c. c^^' V' ,c\^- A^ ^v .N>^'1 ,0 O ■' ,<\^ ^9■ '^>. '^