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4.
GENERAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
1
THE
Hagerman Collection
OF BOOKS RELATING TO
HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
BOUGHT WITH MONEY PLACED BY
JAMES J. HAGERMAN OF CLASS OF '61
IN THE HANDS OF
Professor Charles Kendall Adams
IN
THE YEAR
1883.
EARLY CHRONICLERS OF EUROPE,
FRANCE.
BY
GUSTAVE MASSON, B.A. UNIV. GALLIC.,
OFFICIER D'ACADÉMIE, ASSISTANT MASTER AND LIBRARIAN OF HARROW SCHOOL,
AND MEMBER OF THE SOCIETE DE L'HISTOIRE DE FRANCE.
BIARY
Univery i
UICHIGAN
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE
OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION APPOINTED BY THE-
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.
LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE;
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS;
4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; AND 48, PICCADILLY.
NEW YORK: POTT, YOUNG AND CO.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
V
Ini
PREFACE.
EZ-TI
i per
CL
THE object of this little book is to give, in a
moderately small compass, an account of the
sources available for the study of mediæval French
history. In preparing the volume, I have made
constant use of the prefaces, disquisitions, essays,
and notices of every kind which accompany the
best editions of the various chronicles, and which
are likewise to be found in the Bibliothèque de
l'École des Chartes, the Histoire Littéraire de la
France, the Fournal des Savants, and other similar
works. The admirable history of French mediæval
literature recently published by M. Aubertin (Paris,
2 vols. 8º.), and M. Gabriel Monod's exhaustive
treatise on the sources of Merovingian history,
have also been of the greatest assistance to me.
iv
Preface.
It is hoped that the following unpretending
sketch, supplemented by chronological, bio-
graphical, and geographical indices, will be deemed
useful. No pains have been spared to make it as
complete as possible; and, in order to give to it
additional literary interest, I have inserted short
characteristic extracts from the leading French
annalists, such as Villehardouin, Joinville, and
Commines,
GUSTAVE MASSON.
52
EARLY CHRONICLERS OF EUROPE.
FRANCE.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY ANNALISTS EUSEBIUS PROSPER OF
AQUITAINE THE CHRONOGRAPHER FOR
354 GREGORIUS TURONENSIS AND HIS
CONTINUATORS.
It is a generally received fact that no European
nation can bear comparison with France for the
richness, the variety, and the interest of its memoir-
writers and epistolographers. Beginning with
Villehardouin, and ending with Count de Ségur,
we have an unbroken series of autobiographies, in
which it would be difficult indeed to say whether
we should admire most the beauty of the style, the
historical importance, or the sketches they give us
of social and domestic life. The voluminous collec-
B
FR.
2
Early Chroniclers of France.
tions of Messrs. Michaud and Poujoulat, Petitot
and Monmerqué, the publications of the Société
de l'Histoire de France, are ample evidences of the
fact we are now stating; and, to select only two
illustrations, England, Germany, Spain, and Italy
can be challenged to produce a gallery of pictures
equalling in merit either Saint Simon's memoirs
or the correspondence of Madame de Sévigné.
But we must not forget that the scope of the
present volume is limited by the sixteenth century,
and that the numerous crop of memoirs resulting
from the religious wars of the Huguenot epoch
does not fall within our province. Philippe de
Commines, marking as he does the transition from
mediæval to modern institutions, is the last figure
we shall have to consider ; he inaugurates history
properly so called, and in his pages the naïveté
of the old chroniclers has made room for a more
elaborate and artificial style of composition.
The earliest specimens of historical writing, in
France as elsewhere, must be sought in those dull,
lifeless annals composed by monks, and in which
the most barbarous Latin is made the vehicle for
preserving the record of both physical phenomena
and ecclesiastical or political events. The pains-
taking recluse, knowing the world cnly froin the
horizon of his scriptorium, registered with equal
concision a solar eclipse, a supposed shower of
stones or of blood, and the revolution which swept
from the throne a dynasty of kings. He generally
Their Authority.
3
began with the creation of the world, and was
extremely ingenious in tracing the origins of the
French nation to Æneas and the Trojan fugitives.
Most of these monuments of monkish industry
have been handed down to us in the first place
by Pithou, then by Duchesne, and finally by the
Benedictines in the Recueil des Historiens de France,
which they began in 1738, and which the Académie
des Inscriptions et Belles lettres continued when the
Revolution broke up all the religious communities
throughout the country, and dispersed the literary
treasures they had perseveringly and laboriously
accumulated.
The question, however, suggests itself, What
was the origin of all these works? What autho-
rity did the annalists take as their guide? What
pattern did they endeavour to imitate? In a very
ingenious and remarkable essay on the sources for
the history of the Merovingian epoch, M. Monod
names Eusebius as the father of mediæval chro-
niclers. Born at Cæsarea, in Palestine, about the
year 270, he died about 340, and has left, under
the title Παντοδαπή ιστορία Χρονικά συγγράμματα, ,
a kind of comparative chronology of all the nations
whose existence was then known. "It is in this
work," says M. Monod, "that history appears to
us for the first time as an ensemble, grouped around
one centre ; for the religious idea really lives under
this seemingly dry chronology. The Bible be-
comes the rule for the computation of years ;
4
Early Chroniclers of France.
Jewish history is the starting-point for the annals
of all other nations; the Roman era, the dates of
the emperors, even the era of Diocletian, are made
subordinate to sacred chronology. Ecclesiastical
events, the death of martyrs, the election of
bishops, the various episodes in the history of the
Church, are noted with as much care as the acces-
sion or deposition of emperors. During the eighth
century a step forward is taken ; regenerate hu-
manity counts the dates from the incarnation of
our Lord, and modern chronology is founded.” *
The work of Eusebius, in its primitive form,
does not go further than the year 329; Saint
Jerome translated it into Latin, adding a con-
tinuation as far as 378. The chronicle thus com-
pleted and vulgarized became the great historical
authority for the western world, side by side with
the decidedly inferior compilation of Paulus
Orosius (who died about 420), entitled Historiarum
Libri VII. adversus Paganos. All those who
aimed at the reputation of historians copied
Eusebius, or rather Saint Jerome, tacking on to
the original narrative the facts which had fallen
under their own personal observation, the records
of this or that nionastery, the petty revolutions
of this or that diocese. Amongst the numerous
continuators of the Χρονικά συγγράματα, we may
* G. Monod, Étude Critique sur les sources de l'Histoire AI'ro-
vingienne. 8. Paris, 1872.
fdatius, Marius of Avenche, etc.
5
name Marcellinus, chancellor to the Emperor
Justinian (died 534), author of a chronicle extend-
ing from 379 to 534 ; and Idatius, a Spanish
bishop, who, describing the events between 379
and 468, deals especially with the history of the
Visigoths and of Southern Gaul. Marius, Bishop
of Avenche, Victor, Bishop of Tunis, John, Abbot
of Biclar, at the foot of the Pyrenees, Cassiodorus,
Isidorus Hispalensis, and finally the well-known
Bede, all belong to the same group of writers, and
lead us on by a kind of uninterrupted chain from
the year 445 to the year 726, having, as historians,
the common characteristic of extreme dulness.
It would be a waste of time to describe here the
works which swell the collections of Duchesne and
of the Benedictines, but two or three of the most
important deserve a passing mention, and may be
quoted as possessing a certain amount of historical
value. Prosper of Aquitaine (403-463 ?), one of
the most distinguished members of the clergy of
Marseille, the friend and correspondent of Saint
Augustine, should certainly not be forgotten. He
discussed the origin of the French nation in a work
extending down to the death of Valentinian III.
and the taking of Rome by Genseric in the year
455. Written as an abridgment, it follows the
chronicle, of Eusebius as far as the year 326, and
for the subsequent events adheres to the text of
Saint Jerome. With the year 379 Prosper starts
a fresh work, giving us a brief history of the
6
Early Chroniclers of France.
Lombards, whom he describes as a nation coming
from Scandinavia, on the extreme limits of the
ocean. The chronicle of Prosper contains a list of
the consuls beginning with L. Rubellius Geminus and
C. Fufius Geminus, in the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberius (A.D. 29). Cassiodorus, who flourished
during the fifth century, and also wrote a chronicon,
in obedience to the orders of Theodoric, borrowed
from Prosper his list of consuls, transcribing it
blindly with all its mistakes.
We must notice that Prosper composed, so to
say, three different editions of his chronicle. The
first one ended with the fourteenth consulate of
the younger Theodosius and with that of Maximus
(A.D. 433). In a subsequent revision the author
added a supplemental narrative, extending over
the space of twelve years, and taking us as far as
A.D. 445, when Valentinian III. was consul for the
sixth time, sharing his dignity with Nonius
or Nono. Finally, the third rédaction brought
Prosper's compilation down to the storming of
Rome by the Vandals, as we have already said,
when the same Valentinian, having Anthemius as
his colleague, was in his eighth consulate.
The chronicle we are now describing is divided
into two parts, the former beginning with the year
378, whilst the extreme date of the latter is 455.
This half alone was known to the learned when
Labbe published the entire work in 1657, ascribing
it to Tiro Prosper. As a matter of course, eccle-
“ Chronicon Consulare "_" Chronicon Imperiale." 7
siastical history has the lion's share in Prosper's
chronicle, and more especially the events con-
nected with the Pelagian controversy. However,
we also find brief notices of political occurrences,
accounts of the Roman emperors, bishops, etc.
It is a singular circumstance, that whilst the first
draft of the work follows the years of the consuls
so far as the chronological arrangement is concerned,
the second takes as its standard of computation
the years of the emperors ; hence the titles Chronicon
Consulare and Chronicon Imperiale which they re-
spectively bear. The distinctive feature of this
work, nay, of all the collections of annals belonging
to the Merovingian epoch, is that the influence of the
Roman empire asserts itself strongly side by side
with that of the Christian Church. The destinies
of the spiritual power seem closely related to the
traditions of the past; and even beyond the frontiers
of Italy, and at a time when the imperial rule
was, to all appearances, destroyed for ever, the
clergy persistently and earnestly believed in the
perpetuity of the empire.
The fact is that the great majority of the
"clerics" belonged to races which had long since
been incorporated in the Roman world, now con-
quered and trampled down by the barbarians. As
late as the eighth century they retained with pride
the name of Romans; and the ecclesiastical chro-
niclers, till the time of Marius, Bishop of Avenche
(end of the sixth century), following the example
8
Early Chroniclers of France.
set by Prosper of Aquitaine, count the years either
in accordance with the reigns of the emperors or
the names of the consuls. In all these works the
affairs of Rome, or even of the East, absorb nearly
the whole space, very little attention being paid
to what was taking place in the various countries
to which the writers belonged by birth. Through-
out the whole of the mediæval period we con-
stantly notice traces of this parallel movement ;
the Roman traditions and the interests of the
Church exercise equal weight upon the mind of
the annalists, and are held by them in equal
respect. M. Gabriel Monod, from whom we have
borrowed the above remarks, quotes, as an in-
stance of this tendency, a book which enjoyed
at one time very great popularity, and a copy of
which is preserved in the public library at Vienna ;
it is entitled the Chronographer for 354, and gives us
an official Roman calendar for that year. The
following is a list of its contents :-1. A calendar
of a purely secular (heathen) and Roman kind,
with the indication of the public games, days of
the meeting of the senate, etc. 2. A set of annals,
beginning with Julius Cæsar, and going down to
the year 539. 3. The Consular Fasti, to the year
354. 4. Easter tables from 312, and calculated for
one hundred years. 5. A list of the prefects of
Rome from 258 to 354. 6. A necrological table of
the bishops of Rome and of the Christian martyrs.
7. A list of the popes from 352 to 369. 8. A second
The “Chronographer for 354.”
9
series of annals from Julius Cæsar to 403, and from
455 to 496. 9. A general chronicle (Chronicon
Horosii). 10. A special chronicle of the city of
Rome to the year 334. II. A description of the
regions and districts of Rome. The numbers 1,
9, and so of this remarkable work have been
published by Mommsen in his treatise Ueber den
Chronograph des Fahres, 354. Copies of the whole
collection, or of portions of it, were of frequent
occurrence; they served as a kind of common
memorandum-book, to which additions were sub-
sequently made, and many an important local
chronicle was engrafted upon the Chronograph for
the year 354. Thus, the Vienna manuscript gives
us annals written at Ravenna, and known to anti-
quarians by the designation of the Cuspinian
anonym ; thus, again, the pontifical biographies
ascribed to Anastasius have their origin in the list
of the popes which forms number 7; finally, the
necrological indications contained in number 6,
expanded and completed, have formed the martyr-
ologies so common during the mediæval epoch
(Martyr. Hieronymi, Gellonensis, Beda, Usuardi,
Notkeri). It is not too much to say that nearly all
the historical literature of the Middle Ages is de-
rived from this twofold source-Saint Prosper and
the Chronographer. Even when, in the eighth and
ninth centuries, the study of classical antiquity was
partly revived, the most enthusiastic admirers of
Cicero, Livy, and Tacitus copied over and over
IO
Early Chroniclers of France.
again the prose of the Aquitanian controversialist,
and the dreary catalogues of the official calendar.
We need scarcely inform our readers that the
only merit of such works consists in their being
for a certain limited epoch the record of con-
temporary observers. Style is entirely out of the
question in the writings of Prosper, as well as in
those of Gregorius Turonensis (539-593), who,
however, judged from the standpoint of historical
importance alone, is immeasurably superior to all
the Latin annalists of the early Middle Ages. The
Historia Francorum of the Bishop of Tours, divided
into sixteen books, covers the space of 174 years,
from 417 to 591, and is of the highest value for the
whole period of the Merovingian dynasty. No one
has described with more picturesque truth that
strange condition of a society still in a state of dis-
organization where the work of conquest was not
yet accomplished, and where a number of dis-
cordant elements had still to be welded together, so
as to form one powerful nation. Romans, Gauls,
Franks, Burgundians, contribute in equal proportion
their share of interest to the dramatic narrative,
and the contrast presented between the rudeness of
the invaders and the comparative polish of Gallo-
Roman society is extremely striking. M. Augustin
Thierry has observed that Froissart alone equals
Gregorius Turonensis in the talent of bringing out
the individual character of his personages, and of
making a dialogue the means of pictorial repre-
Fredegarius.
11
sentation. The authority of our chronicler may,
perhaps, be challenged on certain points, and it
would be a wonder if an annalist of the sixth
century was always and uniformly accurate ; but
the Bishop of Tours must be judged less from the
details of his work, than from the general view it
gives us of the society amidst which he moved ;
and, besides, a duly qualified savant has recently
proved that the frequent travels of Gregorius Turo-
nensis throughout the length and breadth of Gaul
gave him the means of forming a tolerable idea of
the state of the people, and that the study of the
Historia Francorum, by supplying us with minute
information respecting the political subdivisions
of France, can alone enable us to understand
thoroughly the relative importance of the various
kingdoms amongst which the country was split
up during the time of the Merovingians.?
Fredegarius continued the history of Gregorius
Turonensis to the year 641, giving us curious and
valuable details on the reigns of Clotaire II.,
Dagobert I., and Clovis II. His compilation can-
not, however, be named in the same breath as the
more elaborate work of his predecessor. Four
annalists took up in succession the thread of the
See M. Lecoy de la Marche's essay, De l'Autorité de Grégoire de
Tours. 8°. Paris, 1861 ; and, on the other side of the question,
M. G. Monod's disquisition, already referred to.
2 See M. A. Longnon's Géographie de la Gaule au VI° Siècle.
8º. Paris, 1878.
I 2
Early Chroniclers of France.
narrative where Fredegarius had left it, and the in-
tolerable tediousness of these worthy personages
seems to increase in the same proportion as the
political wretchedness of the last days of the Me-
rovingians. The rois fainéants deserved, to com-
memorate their insignificance, no better pens than
those of dry, stupid chroniclers.
CHAPTER II.
SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS CASSIODORUS — SAINT
AVITUS—"LIVES OF THE SAINTS”—EGINHARD.
LITERATURE, strictly so called, contributes an
abundant store of historical information on the
events which took place in Gaul during the
mediæval period. Sermons and homilies, letters,
poetical effusions, had all for their groundwork
certain events, and were suggested by the trans-
actions of statesmen, generals, prelates, or other
personages holding high offices in Church and
State. Political revolutions, the movements of the
hordes of barbarians, the vices or qualities of local
administrators, the authority, either bad or good, of
delegates from Rome, are the habitual theme of
these compositions, and give to them an interest
which amply makes up for their shortcomings in
point of style and of literary merit. Let us name,
in the first place, under this head, the corre-
spondence of Sidonius Apollinaris, a new and ex-
cellent edition of which has just been published
14
Early Chroniclers of France.
(Eugène Baret, C. Soll. Apollinaris Sidonii Opera.
8°. Paris, 1879).
Born at Lyons in 430 or 431, Sidonius Apolli-
naris belonged to an ancient Gallo-Roman family,
and married the daughter of Avitus, who having
ascended the imperial throne in 456, named him
to the post of senator and prefect of Rome. After
the downfall of his father-in-law (457), Sidonius
sent in his submission to Majorian, condescending
even to celebrate him in a panegyric; he acknow-
ledged with equal readiness the rule of the Emperor
Anthemius, who rewarded him for his servility by
the appointments of chief of the senate, patrice,
and prefect of Rome. He had evidently no very
strong political convictions, and unhesitatingly
worshipped the powers that were, whatever might
be their origin, for we find him celebrating the
virtues of Euric, king of the Visigoths, although
he had been sent to prison by him a short time
before. He was then Bishop of Clermont; he
died in 488. We need scarcely tell our readers
that the literary productions of Sidonius Apolli-
naris consist chiefly of panegyrics, besides other
short poetical effusions. As we have already stated,
these pieces interest us exclusively by their histori-
cal importance, and in this respect they are quite
equal to the bishop's correspondence, which consists
of 147 letters addressed to various persons.
A modern French author, who has himself given
in his writings the most perfect specimen of the
Zidonius Apollinaris.
15
picturesque style applied to history-M. Augustin
Thierry—shows us to what use the letters and
panegyrics of Sidonius Apollinaris can be put by
those students who wish to know the state of
Gallo-Roman society during the Merovingian times..
The sixth Lettre sur l'Histoire de France is full of
interesting details on this subject, and it would not
be difficult to gather from the compositions of the
Bishop of Clermont the elements of a striking and
animated picture of the court held at Bordeaux by
Euric, king of the Visigoths. The following may
serve as a specimen :-
“I have seen the moon nearly run its race twice,
and have been able to obtain only one single
hearing. The master of this place can afford me
little of his leisure, for the whole world is also
asking for an answer to its requests, and awaits
that answer with submission. Here we see the
blue-eyed Saxon, intrepid enough when he ploughs
the main, but ill at ease when he is on shore.
Here the old Sicamber allows his hair to grow
again, which he had been compelled to cut after his
defeat. Here the Herulus stalks about; his cheeks
are of a greenish colour, nearly approximating that
of the ocean, the furthest banks of which he in-
babits. Here the Burgundian, seven feet high,
bends his knee and implores peace.
Here the
Ostrogoth claims the patronage which is the secret
of his strength, and by means of which he strikes
terror into the Huns; humble in one respect, proud
16
Early Chroniclers of France.
in the other. And thou, O Roman, thou comest
here thyself to sue for life; when the north
threatens thee with any troubles, thou entreatest
the help of Euric's arm against the hordes of
Scythia ; thou askest the powerful Garonne to lend
its assistance to the weakened Tiber." i
The style of this extract indicates sufficiently the
date of its composition. Sidonius Apollinaris was
then under sentence of banishment from Auvergne
as suspected of regretting the imperial régime, and
he had come to Bordeaux for the purpose of ob-
taining from the king of the Visigoths the remission
of the penalty.
“We all know," says M. Baret, "to what ex-
cellent profit talented men have turned the letters
of Cicero, and those of Pliny; the collection of
Sidonius Apollinaris corresponds, so far as the fifth
century is concerned, to the voluminous recueil of
the friend of Atticus. The light it casts upon that
epoch reminds us of the information we derive
from Madame de Sévigné's brilliant gossip towards
an accurate knowledge of the court of Louis XIV.”
No one has better related than our poet the
particulars of Avitus's promotion to the imperial
dignity; no one has given more precise and trust-
worthy details on the share which Theodoric II. had
in that event. "Only assume the title of Augus-
tus," says the king of the Visigoths. " Why dost
Sidon. Apollin. Epist. lib. viii. ep. 9.
The Chieftain Sigismer.
17
thou turn thine eyes away? It is a fine thing to
spurn the empire of the world. We do not place
any compulsion upon thee; we only exhort thee to
accept. I am the friend of Rome, if thou becomest
its chief ; I shall fight on the side of Rome, if thou
art emperor. Thou deprivest no one of the throne;
no Augustus reigns within the walls of Rome.
The empty palace belongs to thee."1
We shall now give another curious sketch, from
which an historical painter could easily borrow
hints on the costume and weapons of a Frankish
chieftain. The personage introduced is a prince
named Sigismer, who had come to Lyons in order
to marry a daughter of the Burgundian king,
Chilperic.
Sigismer was a man of lofty stature and of
vigorous appearance; his features were ruddy, his
red hair fell in golden locks on his shoulders. His
dress consisted of a close-fitting tunic of white
silk with a golden embroidery, over which was
thrown a purple mantle ; the trappings of his horse
were resplendent with gold and precious stones.
On entering the town, he jumped from his steed,
and as a mark of honour to his father-in-law, he
went on foot to the prætorium, where the king
awaited him. The Frankish nobles thus marched
through the streets of Lyons in complete war
attire--a jacket of various colours just touching the
Paneg. Avito Augusto socero dictus.
FR.
с
18
Early Chroniclers of France.
leg; over this, by way of a cloak, a green tunic
edged with red fringe ; leggings of undressed
leather fixed below their knee, and leaving the calf
of the leg bare. Their strong arms were also un-
covered as high up as the elbow. In their right
hand they carried a spear provided with hooks, and
one of those double-edged battle-axes meant to be
hurled from a distance, and which are the national
weapons of the Franks. The other hand supported
a golden shield with silver rim, protecting their left
side; a long sword hung from their girdle ; the
whole air rang with the noise of their armour.” 1
The relations between the nobles and the inferior
classes of society, those which existed between
serfs and serfs, are admirably described by Sidonius
Apollinaris ; we are also indebted to him for
literary facts and incidents which he alone has
mentioned. But for him we should not know that
Saint Remi composed several declamations, or
speeches, and that Faustus, Bishop of Riez, wrote
and sent off to Brittany a certain opus operosissimum,
which must not be confounded with the two
treatises on predestination and freewill we already
possess from the pen of that celebrated divine.
If we now pass on to the consideration of events
of a strictly historical character, a great many
occur to us which Sidonius Apollinaris alone has
described. No other writer, for instance, has
1
Epist. iv. 7.
Wenantius Fortunatus.
19
handed down to us either the name of Sigismer, the
barbarian king alluded to above, or that of the
Queen Ragnahild. The war carried on by Leo I.
against the Huns is mentioned in the panegyric of
Anthemius, and from the letters 9 and 11, Book IV.
and 9, Book V., we see that Euric's attack upon
Auvergne occurred in 470. The victory gained by
Aetius and Majorian over Clovis has sometimes
been questioned by critics; a passage in the
panegyric of Majorian establishes it beyond a
doubt. We find also in the letters of the Bishop of
Clermont details of the most valuable kind on the
character, the government, and the quarrels of the
Burgundian kings, sons of Gundioc.
It is time, however, that we should turn our
attention to another personage, whose works are
full of information about the events of the Mero-
vingian epoch, and who has thus helped in an
indirect manner to confirm the statements made
by professed annalists. We mean the poet For-
tunatus (Venantius Honorius Clementianus). Born
at Trevisa in Italy about the year 530, he died
at Poitiers at the beginning of the sixth century.
Having made a vow to visit the tomb of Saint
Martin at Tours, he went to Gaul in 567, and
repaired to the court of the Frankish chieftain
Sigebert, whose marriage with Brunehaut he cele-
brated in a kind of epithalamium. M. Augustin
Thierry has given (Récits des Temps Mérovingiens:
5° récit) very full and interesting details on
20
Carly Chroniclers of France.
Fortunatus, and we shall borrow from him a few
characteristic remarks. When he had accom-
plished his pilgrimage at Tours, the poet went on
from town to town, greeted, entertained, sought
after by men rich and of high rank, who prided
themselves on their politeness and their elegance.
From Mentz to Bordeaux, and from Toulouse to
Cologne, he traversed the length and breadth of
Gaul, visiting on his passage bishops, counts,
dukes, whether they were Gauls or Franks by
birth, and finding in most of them first kind hosts,
then often real friends. Those whom he had just
left, after a stay more or less prolonged in their
episcopal palace, their country house, or their
fortified residence, kept up with him a regular
correspondence; he, in his turn, acknowledging
their letters by elegiac poems, in which he related
the incidents and reminiscences of his travels. He
spoke to each of the natural scenery or the monu-
ments of his country; described the picturesque sites,
the rivers, the woods, the cultivation of the rural
districts, the splendour of the ecclesiastical build-
ings, the agreeable character of the private resi-
dences. . . . If his correspondent happened to be
a Frankish lord, he praised the good nature of his
fellow-countryınen, their genuine hospitality, the
ease with which they carried on a conversation in
the Latin tongue; if, on the other hand, he ad-
dressed a Gallo-Roman, the merits described were
political skill, cleverness, knowledge of business,
Fortunatus and Saint Radegonde.
2 I
deep acquaintance with the mysteries of legal
science. In the case of a bishop, due praise was
given to his piety, his zeal in building and con-
secrating new churches, his administrative energy
in providing for the safety, the cleanliness, and the
embellishment of the chief towns in his diocese.
One man is eulogized for having restored ancient
buildings which were falling in ruins—a prætorium,
a portico, public baths; another for improving the
drainage, digging canals, and encouraging agri-
culture; a third for erecting citadels, and strength-
ening posts till then easy of attack. It can easily
be imagined that enumerations of this kind give
plenty of scope for historical allusions, sketches of
character, notice of important social and political
events. In the course of his journeys, Fortunatus
became acquainted with Saint Radegonde, daughter
of Bertharius, King of Thuringia, and wife of
Chilperic, King of Soissons. This princess, struck
with a violent desire of embracing a religious life,
had fled to Poitiers (541), founded there the cele-
brated monastery of Sainte Croix, and assembled
around herself a kind of community, to which she
set the example of a life where the practice of
strict religious duties was united to intellectual
pursuits and a taste for literature. Fortunatus,
settled in the midst of this attractive society, soon
rose to be one of its chief ornaments; and the
praises of Saint Radegonde and her companions
occupy a large place in his poetry. As we have
22
Early Chroniclers of France.
already said, however, the effusions of the Bishop
of Poitiers have often the character and the im-
portance of a chronicle ; and M. Augustin Thierry
has reprinted in the appendix to his Récits des
Temps Mérovingiens a fragment of one hundred
elegiac couplets supposed to be written by Saint
Radegonde, and treating of the downfall of the
Thuringian nation, and the marriage of King
Chilperic with Galeswinthe (vol. ii. Appendix, No.
6). The entire poem contains 372 lines, and is
described by M. Guizot (Histoire de la Civilisation,
leçon xviii.) as full of feeling, ingeniously and not
infrequently well expressed.
Cassiodorus is a writer whom we must not forget
in our gallery, and whose works claim a place
amongst the historical monuments of the early
Middle Ages. "His letters," says M. Gabriel
Monod, "are a genuine historical collection, giving
us royal despatches, diplomas, official documents
of every kind, of the highest value for the history
of the sixth century in Italy and in Southern
Gaul." Born in 468, at Scylacium in Calabria,
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus enjoyed the greatest
favour at the court of Theodoric, king of the Ostro-
goths, whose minister he became. After having
tried in vain to protect Italy against the invasion
of the Goths on the one side, and the pretensions
of the Greeks on the other, he retired from public
life in 538, settled on his estates in Calabria, and
founded there a monastic establishment, the mem-
Abitus.
2
23
bers of which studied sacred and profane literature,
the liberal arts, and agriculture. He died after
the year 563. The works of Cassiodorus which
are interesting to the historian are the twelve
books of letters, mentioned above, and an eccle-
siastical chronicle which is both dry and inac-
curate. .
Although they discuss subjects closely connected
with the history of France, both Fortunatus and
Cassiodorus are foreigners. Avitus, on the other
hand, with whom we have now to deal, is essen-
tially a Frenchman, and therefore possesses a
twofold claim upon
our attention, Alcimus
Ecdicius Avitus, born in Auvergne, about the
middle of the fifth century, and who died in 522,
belonged to an illustrious family, which had given,
during the preceding century, the Emperor Avitus
to the throne. He succeeded his father as Bishop
of Vienne, and acquired great favour at the court
of Gondebaud, king of the Burgundians. This
prince was fond of making him dispute with Arian
priests, and commissioned him to refute the doc-
trines of Nestorius, Eutychius, and Faustus, Bishop
of Riez. Avitus failed, however, to convert Gon-
debaud to orthodox Christianity, and carried on
a correspondence with Clovis, whom he is sus-
pected of having excited to the conquest of
Burgundy. Avitus has left numerous letters ad-
dressed to the bishops of Rome, Constantinople,
and Jerusalem, as well as to several prelates in
24
Early Chroniclers of France.
Gaul, besides six poems on religious subjects.
Three of these poems have formed the subject of
an ingenious parallel, by M. Guizot, with Milton's
Paradise Lost. For the history of the reigns of
Gondebaud and Sigismond, the letters of Saint
Avitus, the great Bishop of Vienne, are of the
highest importance.
The celebrated Italian scholar Muratori, in the
preface to his edition of the Chronicon Farfense,
said one day, “It seems to me useless to insist
with my readers on the value of monastic chronicles,
as illustrating not only the ecclesiastical, but also
the civil and political, history of a country. Even, if
I left this truth to pass unnoticed, it would be mani-
fest for the learned. It is sufficiently explained by
the fact that the order of Saint Benedict, having
for a long time spread itself far and wide, had
acquired so much power and influence that the
monks belonging to it had numerous relations
both with temporal and ecclesiastical princes.
Their abbots were obliged to frequent at intervals
the courts of popes, emperors, and kings, and they
had to give to this or that government the benefit
of their advice and of their support." This re-
mark of Muratori's can be extended and made
applicable to all religious communities in France
as elsewhere; and the abbeys of Marmoutier,
Saint Bertin, Saint Denis, and Saint Germain
des Prés—to name only these four-were centres
from which proceeded some of the most precious
Acta Sanctorum.
25
contributions to the historical literature of the
nation.
Together, therefore, with these memoirs, composed
ex professo, if we may so say, and intended to hand
down to posterity the record of events which were
altering the face of society, let us reserve a place
for the hagiographers whose praiseworthy labours
have contributed so much to our knowledge of the
Middle Ages. The acta sanctorum, which swell the
folios of the Bollandists, originally written with a
view to edification, are valuable sources of infor-
mation on the history of Gallo-Roman civilization,
and the pious legends they contain supply us with
nearly all the knowledge we possess on those
bygone times.
The editions of lives of the saints published by
Mabillon are generally superior, so far as the text
is concerned, to those of the Bollandists, but they
are limited to members of the order of Saint
Benedict, and lack the critical disquisitions which
are so conspicuous a part of the great Jesuit collec-
tion. The old heathen schools of Lyons, Bordeaux,
and Trèves had done excellent work, but they had
given way to a new order of things, and the Church
had inherited the traditions left by these once
celebrated centres of learning. By a kind of
natural transformation, history, like poetry and
literature properly so called, became essentially
and exclusively ecclesiastical ; instead of dealing
with political subjects, and describing events of
.
26
Early Chroniclers of France.
what we may style a secular character, the annalists
of the second, third, and fourth centuries devoted
their attention to the interests of the Church, and
the lives of saints and martyrs. The earliest
specimen of that kind of literature is the epistle
sent by the Christians of Vienne and of Lyons to
their brethren in Asia, on the occasion of the
martyrdom of Saint Pothinus and his forty-seven
companions (A.D. 177). This document is not,
strictly speaking, a biography, but rather a pièce
justificative; if we wish to find the earliest bio-
graphical sketch of a Gallo-Roman saint, we must
take up the memoir devoted to Saint Martin of
Tours by his disciple and friend Sulpicius Severus
(end of the fourth century). As time goes on,
these monuments of hagiography become more and
more numerous; during the fourth and fifth cen-
turies they supply an abundant crop of the richest
historical materials, and as the Church in those
days was intimately and constantly mixed up with
every event of a political character, it follows that
the details these documents give us on the state of
society, the dissolution of the old Roman civiliza-
tion, and the progress of the barbarians, are both
abundant and perfectly reliable. Thus, as M.
G. Monod remarks, the life of Saint Severinus, the
apostle of the Upper Danube (died in 482), written
by the Abbot Eugippus, his pupil, who flourished at
the end of the fifth century and at the beginning
of the sixth, is one of the most curious documents
Various Biographies.
27
Later on,
for the history of Southern Germany at the time
of the invasion of the barbarians.
monks and priests became the confidential advisers
of the Merovingian kings; they filled the highest
offices at their court, and often ruled in their name.
We find Saint Eligius, Saint Léger, Saint Ouen,
and Saint Arnulphus, invested with almost regal
powers; and at last the mayors of the palace
openly assume the position of rivals of the rois
fainéants, the military force of the Franks is
placed at the service of Christian propagandism,
and the destinies of the community, whether Aus-
trasian or Neustrian, are in the hands of the clergy.
Under such circumstances the monuments of bio-
graphical literature we have just been alluding
to become increasingly valuable, and form the
framework, so to say, of history, whether secular or
ecclesiastical. Neander's Kirchengeschichte and Mon-
talembert's Moines d'Occident are full of episodes
which serve to illustrate the fact we are stating,
and which can be recommended to those amongst
our readers who have no time to study the folios
of Mabillon, Ruinart, or the Bollandists. For
instance, the biography of Saint Maur, although it
has probably suffered some grievous interpolations
(Mabillon, Præf. in Sæc. I. Act. SS. O. S. B.), gives
us curious details on claustral life during the sixth
century, and contains, at any rate, one of the first
examples of the forms employed for donations
made by kings and other chieftains to heads of
28
Early Chroniclers of France.
ecclesiastical communities. Thus, again, the fact of
the persistence of paganism in Gaul down to a
comparatively late period is amply established by
exts from the hagiographers. Saint Lupus,
Bishop of Sens, exiled by Clotaire II. about 615,
was intrusted to the care of a duke called Boson,
who was still pagan, and who occupied the shores
of the Oise (Bolland., Act. SS. tom. I, sept. p. 859).
The second successor of Saint Columba at Bobbio,
the Abbot Bertulf, who died in 640, was of pagan
birth, although a near relation of Saint Arnoul,
Bishop of Metz (Montalembert, Monks of the West,
ii. 226). Some persons have supposed that the
ceremony of the tonsure always indicated, on the
part of him who accepted it, the intention of taking
holy orders. Now, it is, if not quite certain, at
least extremely probable, that in the case of the
children of Clodomir, thc tonsure was merely a
symbol of the renouncing the hereditary right to
the position of chieftain, and to the status of a
freeman. "A Merovingian prince," says M. Au-
gustin Thierry, "could suffer this temporary
humiliation in two different ways : either the hair
was cut in the manner of the Franks—that is to
say, to the top of the neck-or cut very short in the
Roman fashion” (Récits des Temps Mérovingiens).
This latter process, being used in connection with
the ecclesiastical tonsure, was, of course, of a
permanent character, whereas the former one had
a temporary nature, and did not imply absolute
Besponding Tone of the Annalisis.
29
and unconditional abdication of political rights and
privileges. An example of this occurs in the
biography of Saint Léger, where the person men-
tioned is Thierry III., King of Neustria, deposed
in 670 by the great rebels against the tyranny of
Ebroin, and succeeded by his brother Childeric II.
His brother asked him what should be done with
him; he answered, “What they will ; unjustly
deposed, I wait the judgment of the King of
Heaven." He was shut up in the monastery of
Saint Denis, till his hair had grown again to its
usual length, and then the judgment of God,
which he had appealed to, allowed him to reign
happily afterwards (Anon. Eduen. Vit. S. Leode-
garii, c. 3, quoted by Montalembert, ii. 256).
It is curious to notice the desponding tone in
which the venerable annalists express themselves,
and the gloomy hue which history assumes under
their pen. As M. Guizot aptly remarks, from the
tenth to the twelfth centuries the clergy alone cared
for either the past or the future; they alone were in-
vested with that power which is derived from moral
and intellectual worth ; they set the highest value on
their recollections and on their hopes, and it is not
surprising that the sight of the apparent triumph
of brutal force, and of a world living exclusively for
the present, should have wrung from them accents
of despair.
“ The cultivation of literature fades away, or
rather disappears, in all the cities of Gaul. In the
30
Early Chroniclers of France.
midst of good and of bad actions, whilst the fierce-
ness of nations and the fury of kings were let loose;
whilst the Church was attacked by heresy and
defended by the faithful; whilst the belief in
Christian truth, fervent in many hearts, was perish-
ing in a few others; whilst churches were endowed
by some pious men and robbed by the wicked ;-
no grammarian, accomplished in the science of
dialectics, has undertaken to relate these events,
either in prose or in verse. Many men, therefore,
groaned, saying, 'Woe to our time! because the
study of literature perishes from amongst us, and
no one is able to commemorate in his writings the
events of the present day.” '
The powerful hand of Charlemagne, however,
re-established order for a season, and if the new
Empire of the West, constructed out of hetero-
geneous elements, did not last much longer than its
founder, yet it was a grand attempt to restore the
unity which the invasions of the barbarians seemed
to have broken up for ever. If it be true that he
who founds a dynasty is greater than the one who
consolidates it, Charles Martel must be pronounced
decidedly superior to Charlemagne, and yet it is
the latter whom posterity has always regarded
as the representative man of the Carlovingian race.
This may be ascribed chiefly to two causes. First
of all, the title of emperor carries along with it a
| Preface to the Historia Francorum of Gregorius Turonensis.
Eginhard.
31
prestige which, to many, is overruling; and “The
Hammerer," who never wore a crown, must needs
yield to him who donned the imperial purple.
But further, during the whole space of his forty
years' reign, Charlemagne proved himself the
generous and constant protector of the Church,
whilst Charles Martel, on the contrary, was its
spoliator ;, and as, at that time, “the pen of a ready
writer” was exclusively held by ecclesiastics, we
may imagine that the portrait they gave of the
conqueror of the Saracens was not likely to be
flattering
The great historical authority for the reign of
Charlemagne is Eginhard. A pupil of Alcuin's, and
a friend of the emperor, Eginhard soon rose into
great favour; he became the private secretary of
Charlemagne, and having been honoured with the
duty of bestowing upon the literati of the day
the rewards, pensions, and dignities granted by
his master, he thus found himself thrown into the
society of men whose conversation enabled him
to increase daily his own stock of knowledge.
Amongst the members of what was known as the
Palatine Academy, Eginhard appeared under the
name of Beleseel. The story of his supposed
marriage with Emma, the daughter of Charle-
magne, is well known, but it has been preserved
only in the chronicles of the monastery of Laures-
heim, and is evidently apocryphal. Eginhard does
not wish in the least to pass as a littérateur-he
32
Early Chroniclers of France.
describes himself “ a barbarian little accustomed to
the language of the Romans;" at the same time
we must acknowledge, in all fairness, that he
underrates his talent, and, although his imitations
of Suetonius are scarcely disguised, some credit
must be allowed to the man who, in the ninth
century, could say that he was acquainted with the
writings of the Roman historians. Independently
of his correspondence, Eginhard has left two works
of a distinctly historical character-1. The Life of
Charlemagne; 2. The Annals of his Time. We
cannot do better than transcribe here M. Guizot's
remarks on the former of these productions; they
will show conclusively that, since the days of
Gregorius Turonensis and of his continuators, the
art of the historian had been making rapid progress,
and that the ruggedness of the old annalists was
softening down.
“ The Life of Charlemagne is, without com-
parison, the most distinguished history from the
sixth to the eighth century-indeed, the only one
which can be called a history, for it is the only
one in which we recognize any traces of com-
position, any political and literary pretension. .
The Life of Charlemagne is not a chronicle; it is a
genuine political biography, written by a man who
was present at the events he narrates, and who
understood them. Eginhard commences by de-
scribing the state of Frankish Gaul under the last
Merovingians. We see that their dethronement by
“The Life of Charlemagne."
33
Pepin was still a subject of discussion with a certain
number of men, and caused some disquietude to
the race of Charlemagne. Eginhard took care to
show how it could not be otherwise. He minutely
describes the humiliation and powerlessness into
which the Merovingians had fallen ; proceeds from
this exposition to recount the natural accessions
.of the Carlovingians; adds a few words upon the
reign of Pepin, upon the beginning of that of
Charlemagne, and his relations with his brother
Carloman; and enters at last into the account of
the reign of Charlemagne alone. The first part
of the account is devoted to the wars of that prince,
and especially his wars against the Saxons. From
wars and conquests, the author passes to the in-
ternal government, to the administration of Charle-
magne; lastly, he comes to his domestic life, his
personal character. Composed on so elaborate a
plan, in so systematic a method, The Life of Charle-
Iragne rises almost to the position of a work of art;
it combines the importance of an excellent historical
authority with the merits of a literary production,
and if Eginhard's language is open to criticism,
the plan of the work and the general harmony of its
constituent part is, on the other hand, remark-
able.” 1
With reference to The Annals, it may be noticed
that several critics have denied that they are the
1. Histoire de la Civilisation en France : leçon 23.
D
FR.
34
Early Chroniclers of France.
work of Eginhard, although there is no reason
for this supposition. The difference between the
artistic qualities of the biography and the dry,
dull style of the other work, is certainly strong
enough to have justified the opinion of those who
could not see in both compositions signs of the
same origin; but still the overwhelming evidence
must be pronounced to be in the other direction.
It is said that Eginhard composed also a detailed
account of the wars against the Saxons. Nothing
of it has come down to us. He died in 839, in the
monastery of Sligestadt, which he had founded.
CHAPTER III.
METRICAL CHRONICLES-CHANSONS DE GESTE-
THE CARLOVINGIAN LEGEND-ROBERT WACE.
THE empire of Charlemagne was falling to pieces,
and whilst Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer,
and Charles the Simple allowed the crown to lose
all its prestige in the face of growing feudalism, it
seemed as if another invasion of barbarians was
once more threatening the very existence of society.
“One day," says an old annalist," that Charlemagne
had stopped in a city of Gallia Narbonnensis, a
few Scandinavian boats came to plunder even
within the limits of the harbour. Some thought
that they were Jewish merchants; others believed
them to be either Africans, or traders from Brittany.
Charles, however, recognized them by the fleetness
of their craft. They are not merchants,' he said,
'but cruel enemies.' Pursued, they speedily dis-
appeared. Then the emperor, rising from the
table, went to the window which looked towards
the east, and remained there a long time, his face
36
Early. Chroniclers of France.
suffused with tears. As no one ventured to question
him, he said to the nobles standing around : ‘Do
you know, my faithful friends, why I weep so
bitterly? I certainly do not fear that they should
annoy me by these wretched acts of piracy; but
I am deeply afflicted because during my lifetime
they have come so near these shores, and I am
tormented by a violent grief, when I think of the
woes they will inflict upon my successors and the
whole nation.”
The chronicler from whose pages the preceding
extract is taken was a monk belonging to the
abbey of Saint Gall, in Normandy. His biography
of Charlemagne is printed in M. Guizot's collection.
The pirates he alludes to are the Northmen, who,
after some preliminary raids on the French coast,
landed in Neustria, and, favoured by the weakness
of Louis the Fat, laid siege to Paris. So important
an event (886-887) deserved a Virgil or a Homer ;
it was celebrated by Abbo (Abbo Cernuus, died
923), a monk of the famous abbey of Saint Germain
des Prés, who had witnessed the siege, and de-
scribed it in a poem of more than twelve hundred
lines, entitled De Bello Parisiacæ urbis. The
author declares that he has taken the Æneid as his
inodel, but the merest glance at the work shows
that Eginhard was a much more successful imitator
of Suetonius than Abbo was of Virgil. The
historical particulars contained in the De Bello, have
nevertheless contributed to make it live; for the
The “ Chansons de Geste."
37
would-be poet could honestly say, Quæque ipse
miserrima vidi, and on the various incidents of
the siege he deserves the fullest credence.
Before taking our leave of the Carlovingians, we
must say a few words of a class of writings which,
in times gone by, passed, in the opinion of many
people, as historical productions, and were con-
sidered as embodying the history of Charlemagne
and of his immediate successors. We allude to the
metrical romances known by the name of chansons
de geste, because they were composed for the
purpose of commemorating the heroic deeds
(gesta) of warriors, and which treated almost
exclusively of Carlovingian glory and Carlovingian
prowess. The question is whether these works
have any authority whatever, or whether they
must be dismissed altogether as fictions. If we
open Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne, we find the
following passage : "Charles invades Spain with as
great a force as he is able to collect; the Pyrenees
are crossed, and having received the surrender of
all the towns and castles he had attacked, he re-
turns with his army safe and sound, except that
through the treachery of the Gascons he encounters
a check in the very passes of the Pyrenees
then Egginard, the comptroller of the royal table,
Count Anselm, Roland, warden of the marches of
Brittany, and many others are slain.”1 Now, this
Hispaniam quam maximo poterat belli apparatu agreditur
38
Early Chroniclers of France.
passage from Eginhard represents nearly the whole
amount of trustworthy information we possess on
the episode which is the subject of the Chanson de
Roland—the oldest of the chansons de geste. If,
therefore, the name of historical poem is applied to
that romance, we see at once to what extent the
designation is justified. The event selected by the
trouvère as the theme of his song is historical, and
the various features of Teutonic civilization are
abundantly illustrated in the details of the work,
but that is all. Imagination has magnified the
characters introduced, and misrepresented the facts,
or thrown around them a dress which prevents us
from distinguishing the reality. It would be absurd
to suppose that all the dramatis personæ of the
Chanson de Roland actually lived at some epoch
or other of the reign of Charlemagne. M. Génin,
for example, has taken a great deal of useless
trouble to provel that the traitor Ganelon was
none other than Wenilo, Archbishop of Sens, who
betrayed the cause of Charles the Bald, and
was condemned, in the year 859, by the Council of
Savonières. Ganelon is a fiction invented by the
poet to personify the idea of tragedy, and it would
Karolus, saltuque Pyrinei superato, omnibus quæ adierat oppidis
atque casiellis in deditionem susceptis, salvo et incolumi exercitu
revertitur, præter quod in ipso Pyrinei jugo Wasconicam perfidiam
in redeundo contigit experiri in quo prælio Egginardus regiæ
mensæ præpositus, Anselmus comes palatii, et Hruotlandus, Britan-
vici limitis præfectus, cum aliis compluribus interficiuntur."
1 In his edition of the Chanson de Roland. 8°. Paris, 1850.
Character of the Metrical Romances.
39
are
be vain to try to identify him with any real in-
dividual who flourished during the ninth century.
What has just been said about the Chanson de
Roland is exactly applicable to ail the cycle
of metrical romances we now considering.
Whether the geste bears upon the great emperor's
exploits against his enemies in Germany, in Italy,
or in Aquitaine, the process of composition is the
same; a passage from some monkish chronicle has
supplied the trouvère with his text, which he
develops more or less minutely, according to the
resources of his own imagination, and which he
gives as a chapter in the eventful career of Charle-
magne.
Next to the compositions bearing distinctly and
professedly upon the emperor's life, another class of
metrical romances must be named, not written at the
same early period as those just alluded to, but still
sufficiently ancient to have preserved many curious
traces of historic truth. These romances, however,
are not essentially connected with the life of
Charlemagne, and it is very probable that, in the
shape they first assumed, they had nothing to do
with him. But the anxiety of late rhapsodists to
secure popularity for certain tales, by making them
cluster around the biography of the emperor, led
them to give to these compositions what we may
call an air de fainille. A third group of chansons
de geste inciudes several old romances describing
the wars between Charlemagne and his vassals.
40
Early Chroniclers of France.
These productions belong to the epoch when the
Carlovingian dynasty was dying away, and they'
express in a very naïve manner the feudal reaction
against the monarchical principle. Thus, the Chan-
son de Roland alludes three times to a celebrated
chieftain, Gérard de Roussillon, who was one of
the hero's brethren-in-arms. Now, whilst a Pro-
vençal poem, which has been handed down to us,
represents Gérard as carrying on for many years
a terrible war against Charles Martel, the trouvères
substituted Charlemagne instead of his grandfather,
thus connecting the geste of the Duc de Roussillon
with the Carlovingian legend.
One more remark will serve to show exactly
how the authors of the old romances understood
the manner of dealing with historical facts; it
bears upon the central event of the Chanson de
Roland, the battle of Roncevaux. According to
the most trustworthy historians, the people who
destroyed Charlemagne's rear-guard were, not
Saracens, as the poem represents them, but Basque
highlanders; in the passage quoted above, Eginhard
distinctly says, "The Gascons. . . throw the army
into great confusion.”? It is not strictly impossible
that the Saracens should have taken part in this
onslaught; but whether they did or not matters
very little. Spain and Islam, during the ninth,
tenth, and eleventh centuries, were for Northern
1 " Wascones': .
exercitum magno tumultu perturbant.”
Gutllaume au Court-nez.
41
Europe identical terms, and any enemy of the
Christians of the Langue d'Oil must necessarily
be a believer in Mahomet. We further notice that
a number of subsequent engagements with the
Basque mountaineers added, so to say, fresh
elements to the Roncevaux legend, with which
they became identified. In 792–793 the Saracens
invaded France, and were signally defeated at.
Villedaigne, on the banks of the river Orbieux, by
Guillaume au Court-nez, Duke of Aquitaine. In 821
the Basques, “endeavouring to practise the deceit
which is characteristic of their native country, and
to which they are accustomed,"? did their best to
destroy the army of King Louis on its way back
from Pampeluna. Twelve years later, in 824, the
French troops were once more surprised in the
fastnesses of the Pyrenees by the treacherous
highlanders, and two of their principal leaders
perished. Now, it is very natural that a trouvère,
in composing his chanson de geste, should have
allowed his imagination to blend together the tra-
ditions bearing upon these successive events, so
as to make them the features of one grand striking
picture.
The metrical romances we have thus described
were based upon passages taken from the old
annalists. By a kind of reciprocal arrangement,
the poems, in their turn, led to the production of a
1 “Nativum assuetumque fallendi morem exercere conati.”
42
Early Chroniclers of France.
work which must be noticed here; we mean the
well-known chronicle ascribed to Archbishop Tur-
pin. A praiseworthy desire of exalting the cha-
racter of Roland, Charlemagne's nephew, induced
the author, or rather the authors, of this wretched
trash to compose their narrative; but they com-
pletely altered the portrait of the hero, and made
it a downright caricature. “Roland was a Chris-
tian,” says M. Gautier ; "the pseudo-Turpin trans-
forms him into a schoolman. He argues, speechifies,
symbolizes, and subtilizes; how much I preferred
him when he was dealing with his sword those
blows which were more opportune and more useful!
He says off by heart the treatise De Trinitate; I
like better to see him in the thick of the fight,
his arms stained with blood. Then we find him
offering a prayer which extends over two pages;
he pleased me more when he prayed in two words,
holding out naïvely to God the glove of his right
hand. He was thus a soldier, a Christian soldier;
the pseudo-Turpin has transformed him into a
churchwarden."
The favour with which this Latin composition
was received appears from the fact that as many
as fifty manuscript copies of it are enumerated by
the Greek scholar, M. Potthast, in his Bibliotheca
Historica. Twenty of these codices are preserved
amongst the collections of the Paris National
"1
I L. Gautier, La Chanson de Roland, vol. ii. p. 75.
The Pseudo-Turpin.
43
Library. It is ascertained now that the chronicle
is the work of two authors, the former of whom
lived about the middle of the eleventh cen-
tury, whilst the latter wrote his portion of the
narrative between the years 1109 and 1119. In
reading the first five chapters, we are struck by
the circumstance that the anonymous author is
thoroughly acquainted with Spain, and even with
the history of the Saracens. The only French
hero he introduces is Charlemagne; the sole object
he has in view is the glory of the national saint of
the Spaniards, St. James of Compostella. He
never pretends to be the Archbishop Turpin, whom
he names only once, and in the third person. The
writer of the last twenty-seven chapters, on the
contrary, is a Frenchman. He borrows largely
from the old chansons de geste the absurd tales
which he would fain make us accept as history,
and his principal aim is evidently to amuse his
readers.
The pseudo-Turpin is not the only author
who has endeavoured to palm off fiction as truth,
and to invest the old chansons de geste with the
dignity of well-authenticated chronicles. In order
to please their readers, and to render their own
tedious compilations more attractive, the annalists
of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries drew largely
upon the legends which had immortalized Charle-
magne and his twelve peers; and they have often
transmitted down to us, if not by extracts, at any
44
Early Chroniclers of France.
rate in substance, narratives which otherwise we
should never have been acquainted with. The
most valuable and most ancient of these chroniclers
is the monk generally known as Albéric des Trois
Fontaines, from the supposition that he belonged
to a Cistercian monastery of that name in the
district of Liège, but who really was an Augustinian
monk of Neufmoutier, near Huy, in the same
neighbourhood, and who died about 1246. M.
Gaston Paris gives us an interesting account of
him (Histoire Poétique de Charlemagne, livre i.), and
describes him as a mere compiler. The chronicle
which bears his name, printed in the Accessiones
Historice of Leibnitz, extends from the creation of
the world to the year 1241, the account of the last!
quarter of a century alone being original, because
Albéric there gave the description of contemporary
events. He had with the utmost industry made
extracts from fifty-six authors, transcribing these
extracts in chronological order, and always trying
to give for each year its history, beginning with the
seventh century. Whenever the monk found any
chanson de geste bearing upon a noteworthy event,
he copied the appropriate passage, placing it
sometimes on exactly the same line as the gravest
historical composition, sometimes criticizing it with
considerable ingenuity, not unfrequently repudiating
it altogether. Thus he reproduces in one passage
the fictitious genealogy of Garin de Monglane,
without suspecting in the least its romantic cha-
Robert Olace.
45.
racter; in another, finding that truth and fancy do
not agree about a chronological statement, or about
the designation of a pope or a king, he hesitates.
Either the same individual had two different names,
or two individuals had the same name. He has a
place in his chronicle for Huon de Bordeaux, but
he takes care to add, “Wonders are related about
him, whether true or fabulous.” Talking of a
certain Queen Sibylla, the heroine of a chanson de
geste now lost, he says, “The French minstrels
have made respecting that lady a very fine
narrative ... but although these tales please the
hearers, moving them either to laughter or to tears,
they depart too visibly from historic truth, and
have been invented for the sake of gain.”
Albéric had many imitators. M. Gaston Paris
names two: a monk of Saintonge, who published
an interpolation of Turpin ; and an anonymous
French annalist belonging to Northern France, and
who avowedly drew from the chansons de geste the
materials of his history of Charlemagne and of
Louis le Débonnaire,
From the romances of the Carlovingian cycle,
the transition to the compositions of Robert Wace
is extremely easy. It was in 1155 that the French
chansons de geste had reached their highest degree
of giory, and had fairly taken possession of the
poetical supremacy in France. All of a sudden,
the appearance of the Roman de Brut, by Robert
Wace, produced, especially in the western districts
46
Early Chroniclers of France.
of the country, a revolution which can easily be
understood by those who have taken the trouble to
compare the old romaunts about France la garnie
with the poems forming the Arthurian cycle. An
entirely new world of feelings, traditions, affec-
tions, and thoughts was opened up, and the mind
of the reader or listener was transported from the
Teutonic to the Celtic civilization. Was the Brut
a work of fiction, or a chronicle? No one could
decide ; historic truth and romantic stories were
closely interwoven in the narrative of the Anglo-
Norman poet, and the attention was equally
arrested, whether the authentic annals of England
were unfolded, or the apocryphal adventures of
King Arthur and Merlin the enchanter were re-
lated in all their circumstantial details. The fact
is that the word roman must be understood, when
applied to the works of the early medieval period,
in a far different meaning to the one which it
has now.
The old trouvères would not have ad-
mitted that their productions were distinctly and
exclusively works of fiction ; on the contrary, they
regarded them as containing a large admixture of
real fact, and the difference between one particular
roman and another consisted in the proportion
which the author allowed to well-authenticated
truth. Now, in the metrical compositions of Robert
Wace that proportion is by no means unimportant,
and it entitles the author to a distinguished place
amongst the chroniclers of his time. A modern
The “Roman de Rou.”
47
writer, whose opinion on questions of this kind
cannot be impugned by the most daring critic,
observes: “The name of Wace I can never utter
without thankfulness, as that of one who has pre-
served 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.” 1
Robert Wace (1112–1182) forms part of that
band of Anglo-Norman poets who, like Geoffroy
Gaimar, Benoit de Sainte-Maure, Jordan Fan-
tosme, and many other inferior ones, belong to
both nationalities, being English by the subjects
they treat, and French by the language they made
use of to express their thoughts. If, however, his
Roman de Brut, describing as it does the origins of
the Celtic nationality, and being chiefly derived from
the Origo et Gesta Reguin Britannia of Geoffrey of
Monmouth, falls, strictly speaking, beyond the scope
of our subject, the Roman de Rou, on the other hand,
is, to all intents and purposes, a contribution to the
history of France. Composed about the end of
the twelfth century, it rises to the importance of a
chronicle, and deserves a place amongst the monu-
ments of mediæval history. The first part of the
work contains the biographies of the early Dukes
of Normandy, Rollo (Rout, hence the title of the
work), William Longue-Epée, and Richard I. It
1 Mr. Freeman.
48
Early Chroniclers of France.
1
appears to have been written in 1160, as "Master
Robert” himself expressly declares-
- One thousand one hundred and sixty years had elapsed
Since God, by His grace, caine into the Virgin,
When a clerk of Caen, by name Wace,
Busied himself with the history of Rollo and his race.
Henry II., King of England, having rewarded
Robert Wace with a canonry in the church of
Bayeux, our annalist, thus encouraged, wrote a con-
tinuation of his work, taking the reader down to the
reign of Henry I. (1106). The Roman de Rou stops
there; but “Maistre” Robert bethought himself
that, by starting with Rollo, he had neglected to
relate the first incursions of the Normans under the
Carlovingian dynasty. He therefore composed a
kind of introduction to his poem, telling us all he
knew about Hastings (Hastainz) and the other
pirates, who, after a series of forays, ended by
settling down at Chartres, with the consent of
Charles the Bald. The Roman de Rou, comprising
seventeen thousand lines, is, to a great extent, a
translation of the chronicles of Dudo of Saint
Quentin, and William of Jumièges, the two oldest
Norman annalists. The first part of the poem, ,
based chiefly upon Dudo's work, is mainly a far-
rago of the most absurd stories; the second, on the
1 - Mil et cent et soixante ans eut de temps et d'espace,
Puis que Diex en la Vierge descendi par sa grace,
Quant un clerc de Caën, qui ot nom maistre Wace,
S'entremist de l'estoire de Rou et de sa race.
Benoit de Sainte-Maure.
49
contrary, in which Robert Wace has taken William
of Jumièges as his guide, is extremely valuable for
the historical information it gives. As Mr. Freeman
observes, it may be read by way of a commentary
on the Bayeux tapestry. In point of fact, the
Benedictine Dom Montfaucon, and Lancelot, his
collaborateur, used it for that very purpose.
The very important chronicle of Ordericus Vitalis
should be noticed here; but it belongs rather to
the history of England, and therefore we may
dismiss it with just a passing allusion.
Benoit de Sainte-Maure, thus named from his
native place in Touraine, had won for himself
considerable reputation as a poet by his metrical
romance on the Trojan war, when Henry II.
ordered him to compose a history of the Dukes of
Normandy. This work, comprising twenty-three
thousand octosyllabic lines, extends from the in-
vasions of the Northmen, under Hastings, to the
reign of William the Conqueror. It is very inferior
in point of historical merit to the Roman de Rou;
but the celebrity it obtained when it first appeared
cast into the shade « Maistre Robert,” who com-
plained bitterly, in the concluding lines of his own
poem, that the King of England had ungenerously
given him a rival, and thus deprived him of the
honour which he believed was his due. The work
of Benoit de Sainte-Maure was, in all probability,
written in the year 1170.
FR.
E
XX
XOXOXOX
CHAPTER IV.
LATIN ANNALISTS OF THE LATER CARLOVIN-
GIAN AND TIIE CAPETIAN EPOCHS-GLABER
-ANNALS OF SAINT BERTIN AND SAINT
VAAST-SUGER—"L’YSTOIRE DE LI NORMANT."
WE have been led to anticipate a little ; and,
taking leave for a season of metrical chronicles and
histories written in the French language, we shall
notice some of the principal Latin annalists be-
"longing to the later Carlovingian and to the
Capetian epochs. M. Guizot's collection introduces
us to a number of ecclesiastics, who, although of
not much importance taken separately, either as
writers or as historians, give us a body of evidence
which we cannot afford to neglect. Raoul or
Radulphus Glaber may be mentioned amongst the
most distinguished. Born in Burgundy towards
the end of the tenth century, he led a rather dis-
solute life, wandering from convent to convent in
order to escape from the punishment which he had
Annales de Saint Bertin.
51
incurred through his misdeeds. At last he accom-
panied to Italy William, Abbot of Saint Bénigne in
Dijon, and, following this dignitary's advice, he
composed a chronicle which is equalled by few in
real interest; it extends from goo to 1046, and was
published for the first time in Pithou's collection.
The authors of the Histoire Littéraire de la France
have shown Glaber's defects as an historian, given
instances of his inaccuracy, denounced his fondness
for idle legends, and remarked on his utter want of
judgment. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks,
the work of Radulphus Glaber is extremely im-
portant, and it gives us many details which we
would uselessly look for elsewhere.
One of the most valuable sources of information
respecting the history of the later Carlovingians is
to be found in a series of chronicles, known under
the name of Annales de Saint Bertin, from the
monastery where a Jesuit father, Herbert van
Roswey, discovered the original manuscript, more
than two hundred years ago. These annals are the
work of three different authors. The first part,
comprising the narrative of events from 830 till
near the end of 853, is written by a staunch
champion of Louis le Débonnaire. As the most
recent editor (M. l'Abbé Dehaisnes) remarks, this
portion of the annals is specially noteworthy, not
in point of style, but on account of the uniform
care with which the author confines himself to his
subject. Most of his contemporaries were fond
52.
Early Chroniclers of France.
both of dwelling with considerable detail on natural
phenomena, such as eclipses, storms, etc., and of
devoting a large part of their work to the history
of foreign nations. Here, on the contrary, the
weak son of Charlemagne fills the canvas; and,
although we are reduced to conjectures as to the
identity of the author, we know thus much, that he
took part as a dignitary of the Church in the events
he relates, and that he inhabited the northern
district of Gaul.
The second section of the annals of Saint Bertin
(end of 855 to beginning of 861) is known to be the
composition of Saint Prudentius, Bishop of Troyes
(?-861), and is distinguished by characteristics dia-
metrically contrary to those we have just enume-
rated as belonging to the first part. The ensemble of
history here comes under consideration; Spain and
Italy occupy about the same space as France and
Germany; wars and invasions, treaties and coun-
cils, rejoicings and royal progresses, inundations,
eclipses, comets, tempests, and natural prodigies
of every kind are duly registered. As a writer,
Saint Prudentius is not only far superior to his
anonymous predecessor, but he affects an elegance
which often amounts to pedantry.
The concluding portion of the annals of Saint
Bertin, treating of the reign of Charles the Bald,
was written by the famous Hincmar, Archbishop of
Reims (? 806-882). Here, again, we have a style of
narrative differing as much from that of Saint Pru-
The Annals of Saint Vaast.
53
dentius as from that of the anonymous annalist.
Hincmar relates, in great detail, the career of Charles
the Bald; but at the same time he records, with equal
minuteness, the acts of his own administration, and
his work is a kind of journal of the see of Reims
during his tenure of office. The affairs of the
Church are of more importance in his eyes than
physical phenomena, and he is fond of discussing
points of canon law.
The annals of Saint Vaast form the natural
sequel to those of the monastery of Saint Bertin.
They were put together, between 1024 and 1054, by
a monk of the abbey of Saint Vaast at Arras; and,
beginning with the creation of the world, they
take us down to the year 899. Superior both to
Prudentius and to Hincmar as a writer, in spite
of a few solecisms, the ecclesiastic we are now
alluding to is especially remarkable for his clear-
ness, the animation of his style, and the interest
which he has contrived to throw upon the political
and military events of the times. He traces the
hand of God in the development of this world's
history, but he notes also with care the action of
secondary causes. He sympathizes deeply with
the sufferings of the people, and deplores the
endless horrors of public and private warfare.
Favourable to King Eudes and to Baldwin, Count
of Flanders, he nevertheless blames these two
princes when they follow what seems to him a
dangerous course of policy.
54
Early Chroniclers of France.
The annalist who can be named as the best
authority on the origin of the Capetian dynasty is
undoubtedly Richer, a monk of the abbey of Saint
Rémy at Reims, and who flourished during the
tenth century. Very little is known about his life;
but the Historia which he has left behind him, and
which, divided into four books, covered all the
period included between 887 and 898, is a work of
the greatest historical importance. We do not
mean to quote it as either a model of style or a
specimen of criticism ; but Richer is well informed
and honest, and it is not too much to say that no
writer helps us more to understand the nature of
the revolution which swept away the effete de-
scendants of Charlemagne, and placed the sceptre
in the hands of Hugh Capet. Duke of France and
Count of Paris, Abbot of Saint Martin of Tours,
Saint Denis, and Saint Germain des Prés—that is
to say, having at his disposal the revenues of the
three richest abbeys in France—the grandson of
Duke Robert might well venture upon the attempt
he had long meditated, of seizing the crown. The
name of king conveyed, during the tenth century,
very little power, and yet the accession of the
founder of the Capetian dynasty was a momentous
event, because, in the first place, it implied a
rupture with Germany and with Teutonic tradi-
tions; and, in the second, the crown was thus
transferred to the family of one of the greatest
feudal princes. Hugh felt all the advantages of his
The Capetian Dynasty.
55
new position, and by having his son immediately
consecrated as king, he prevented the recurrence of
those electoral assemblies which had, indeed, pro-
cured his own elevation to the throne, but which, if
repeated, would have resulted in a sort of periodical
anarchy.
It was two centuries before a monarch really
deserving that title made his appearance, and the
three first successors of Hugh Capet occupied the
throne for 112 years (996–1108), without leaving
in the pages of history anything beyond the bare
mention of their names. This need not excite any
astonishment; at the time we are treating of, the
king had neither power nor influence to do more
than exercise, within the limits of his own private
domains, the same rights which devolved upon
other feudal lords in the same capacity. The
last capitulary—that is to say, the last law applying
to the whole of the kingdom-belongs to the reign
of Charles the Simple ; and, subsequently to that
time, we must come down as late as the year
I 190 to find an enactment which is not of a local
character.
In like manner the catena of French mediaval
annalists does not present to us, after the dis-
appearance of Richer, any name worth mentioning
until we come to the reign of Louis VII. The
policy of this monarch, like that of his father,
was to curtail as much as possible the power of
the feudal barons, and to favour the establishment
:56
Early Chroniclers of France.
of the coinmunes. It was a scheme beset, as may
be supposed, with many difficulties, and requiring
all the prudence of a consummate statesman, as
well as the courage of a soldier. Fortunately, the
king enjoyed the privilege of having for his guide
a personage of whom it has justly been said :
"A Cicero by his eloquence, a Cato by his virtues, and a Cæsar by
his courage,
His advice ruled kings ; his power ruled kingdoms." I
Suger, the celebrated adviser of Louis VII., and
who took so important a part in the administration
of France, is one of the noblest figures of the
twelfth century. Born in 1087, and educated at
Saint Denis with the young prince, he became
afterwards his chief councillor. In the year 1122,
he was made Abbot of Saint Denis, and applied
his talents for government to the religious com-
munity over which he was appointed, as well as to
the reformation of the abuses which had crept into
the State. The works of Suger, lately published
by the Société de l'Histoire de France, are of much
interest towards an accurate knowledge of the
time in which he lived; they comprise a biography
of Louis the Fat (Gesta Ludovici regis cognomento
Grossi), a memoir on his own abbatial adminis-
tration, an account of the consecration of the
church of Saint Denis, and a collection of letters.
16 Tullius ore, Cato meritis, et pectore Cæsar,
Consilio reges, regna regebat ope."
.
Suger.--" Gesta Ludovici Grossi."
57
Of the first of these writings, we may observe that
it is certainly more of a panegyric than of a real
history; however, Suger is never carried away by
his partiality to garble the truth, or to misrepresent
facts. If he omits certain circumstances, it is not
to the advantage of his hero. On the one hand, the
differences between Louis VI. and Stephen, Bishop
of Paris, are not recorded, and the king's line of
action in the disturbances at Laon is not criticized
with sufficient severity ; but, on the other, Suger
says nothing of the murder of the lord of Montlhery
by Hugh de Crécy, a crime which led to the con-
fiscation by the State of the assassin's landed
property. It is also worthy of notice that Suger
speaks of the English with an impartiality which,
as his latest editor observes, often amounts to
positive kindness; we know that he frequently
endeavoured, in his official capacity, to bring about
peace between the two nations, and he never loses
the opportunity of deploring the spirit of rivalry
which was unfortunately to produce a long series
of, terrible wars. “The English," says he, "should
not be submitted to the French, nor the French
to the English.” We must bear in mind that
Suger had not the intention of composing a regular
and detailed history of the reign-his object was
merely to give the biography of his friend and
master; therefore the narrative of political events
is to be looked for in other chronicles. The Gesta
Ludovici Grossi are also deficient in point of
58
Early Chroniclers of France.
method, and the chronological order is not strictly
adhered to; but no one can deny their high value
as a document. Suger relates chiefly the circum-
stances in which he took a part, and his evidence is
constantly supported by a declaration such as this :
"Et nos ipsi interfuimus."
The history of the abbey of Saint Denis under
Suger's administration, and the account of the con-
secration of the church, have only a local interest,
and we shall dismiss them without further mention.
The epistles, on the other hand, are, as might be
supposed, extremely curious, and it is a matter of
regret that, out of a correspondence which could
not but be very extensive, only twenty-six letters
have been handed down to us. Fortunately they
belong to the most important epoch in Suger's life
(1146-1151), and they show in the clearest manner
the anxiety with which he watched over the
interests of the king, especially during the Crusade.
Whether he addresses himself to the barons, the
clergy, or the pope, he gives proof of the sincerest
devotedness and patriotism, and when he writes to
the son of the prince who had always been his
friend, he expresses himself with the earnestness of
almost paternal affection. The letter in which he
urges Louis VII. to return to his kingdom is a
model in that respect, only equalled by the one in
which, from his deathbed, he gives to the monarch
his last advice, recommending him to preserve
always abouť his person the message containing
Suger's Style.
59
“ His
the wholesome counsel of a faithful minister to
a powerful monarch.
The style of Suger is not, we must acknowledge,
on a level with the importance of his works.
facts are valuable," says Sharon Turner, “his Latin
execrable." 1 The careful reader cannot, at the
same time, fail to observe that when some dramatic
event, such as the description of a battle, presents
itself, the language of the author becomes more
coloured, and even rises to a certain kind of
elegance. The episode of the murder of the lord
of Laroche-Guyon is an instance in point; the
account of the siege of Puiset is also a striking
piece of composition, and as we read it, we can see
at once, as we have already hinted, that Suger was.
an eye-witness of the events which he unfolds
before us.
The parallel between William Rufus
and Louis, his adversary, which opens the Gesta,
inspired as it seems to be by reminiscences of
classical antiquity, and contrasting in point of
vigour with the usual dry form of annals, should
not be forgotten. Suger died in 1152.
The history of the Normans, their origin, their
conquests, and their settlements in the various
countries of Europe, was well calculated, by its
romantic character, to engage the attention of
chroniclers and annalists. Let us notice, amongst
the works to which it has given rise, L'Ystoire de
1 History of England, vol. 1.
60
Early Chroniclers of France.
Li Normant and La Chronique de Robert Viscart, .
which were published more than forty years ago,
under the auspices of the Société de l'Histoire de
France. The author of these two compositions
was a certain Amatus, Bishop of Nusco, a native of
Italy, and who belonged to the regular clergy. He
appears to have been distinguished by learning,
and to have devoted a great deal of his time to
intellectual pursuits ; he flourished during the
eleventh century, at the time when the Normans
established themselves in Italy and in Sicily; he
died at a very advanced age in 1093.
The two works we are now describing were
originally written in Latin, and the French trans-
lation printed by the Société seems to have been
done by an Italian scholar, or a Norman who was
more thoroughly acquainted with the Italian lan-
guage than with the French; it abounds in Italian
idioms, and not only do we find words exclusively
Italian by their origin and their form, but gram-
matical terms and phrases which betray a Trans-
alpine birth. The Vštoire, properly so called, is
divided into eight books, each of which, comprising
an unequal number of chapters, is preceded by a
table of contents. The fifteen chapters of the first
book treat of the Normans in general; the island
Nora, their principal abode; their emigrations, occa-
sioned by the overgrowth of the population; their
pre-eminence in all the countries where they
settled ; finally, their invasions of Spain and of
Robert Fiscart's Chronicle.
61
England, and the fortuitous deliverance of the city
of Salerne by a company of Norman knights on
their return from the Holy Land. A large number
of Norman lords took a part in these successive
expeditions; much time had to be spent and a ter-
rible sacrifice of human life made before any percep-
tible result was obtained; and it was only after the
lapse of a century that the second son of the last
of Tancred de Hauteville's children placed on his
head the crown of Sicily. The chronicle ends at
the death of Richard, Prince of Capua, which
occurred on the Thursday in Passion Week of the
year 1078. This prince and his brother, Robert,
Duke of Calabria, are the two personages on whose
high deeds of valour the Bishop of Nusco chiefly
dwells, on account of "the good which these two
Jords did to our monastery." 1
The chronicle of Robert Viscart, which follows
L'Ystoire de Li Normant, describes more particularly
the wars of the Normans in Italy; it forms two
books, divided into forty-one chapters, the first of
which mentions Tancred de Hauteville, whilst the
last three, after having related the death of the
Count Roger, give a few anecdotes on Roger II.,
King of Sicily, who died in 1954. An author,
whose name is unknown, wrote a brief supplement
to the work of Bishop Amatus, containing the
enumeration of a few events posterior to the death
1 “Le bien que firent à nostre monastier ces ij seignors."
62
N
Early Chroniclers of France.
of Roger II., and ending with the Sicilian Vespers
and the crowning of Peter of Arragon, in 1281.
This last poem, of a very unimportant character,
was published by Muratori . in the Scriptores
Rerum Italicarum, together with the rest of the
work; but it is not included in the volume of the
Société de l'Histoire de France.
V
TY
Trrr
an
MELAKKO
NRK
CHAPTER V.
THE CRUSADES—FOULQUES DE CHARTRES—GUI-
BERT DE NOGENT—" GESTA FRANCORUM"
WILLIAM OF TYRE AND HIS CONTINUATORS.
We now come to the epoch of the Crusades; it
may aptly be designated as the heroic age of
Christianity. If we consider these expeditions
fairly and dispassionately, and if we place our-
selves mentally at the times when they happened,
the reproach of extravagance so often addressed
to them falls of itself; nor shall we be tempted to
look upon them as having been merely the result
of false zeal and of blind superstition. That was
the theory adopted by the school of Voltaire and
of the infidels of the last century--a school which
still holds up its head, pretending to have the
monopoly of truth, whereas the trenchant tone of
its assertions is only equalled by its startling igno-
rance. It is easy now to assert that a small corner
of Syria was, for all practical purposes, quite value-
less, and that the expeditions known by the name
64
Early Chronicles of France.
of Crusades could not pay. But the religious
spirit of the Middle Ages argued quite differently,
and could not but do so. For the men of the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Palestine, that
small corner of Syria, was hallowed by all the
associations of religion. There was born, and
there died, for the salvation of mankind, the
Founder of Christianity—the Son of God; there
had been sown the first seeds of the Gospel, and
there were the scenes hallowed by most sacred
associations for those who believed in revealed
truth. The child of Israel still turned his eyes
towards the spot which was his fatherland; the
Mahometan himself respected it, and its protection
was one of the first articles of his faith. Could
a Christian do less than a Jew, or than a follower
of Islam ? Could he cease to venerate those holy
places which he had so long been accustomed to
visit, and which were now shut against him by a
tribe of barbarians ? Was he not, on the contrary,
bound, by the most sacred obligations, to punish
in the severest manner those who closed against
Christianity the road to the Holy Land ?
It was from France that the great movement
sprung, which lasted for more than a century and
a half, and which precipitated the whole of western
Christendom upon Palestine. "On avait pleuré
en Italie,” says Voltaire, "on s'arma en France."
The French were nearly the sole actors in the first
Crusade; they joined in the second with the Ger-
T
FYYA
TTTTTTTTTT
x
ہے جن
NX
CONTENTS.
PAGR
A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL FRENCZI
MEDIÆVAL MEMOIRS AND CHRONICLES
ix
CHAPTER I.
EARLY ANNALISTS- EUSEBIUS-PROSPER OF AQUITAINE,
CHRONOGRAPHER FOR 534”
GREGORIUS
TURONENSIS AND HIS CONTINUATORS
66 THE
I
CHAPTER II.
SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS-CASSIODORUS-SAINT AVITUS-
“ LIVES OF THE SAINTS"- EGINHARD
13
CHAPTER III.
METRICAL CHRONICLES—CHANSONS DE GESTE—THE CAR-
LOVINGIAN LEGEND-ROBERT WAÇE
35
CHAPTER IV.
LATIN ANNALISTS OF THE LATER CARLOVINGIAN AND
THE CAPETIAN EPOCHS-GLABER--ANNALS OF SAINT
BERTIN AND SAINT VAAST-SUGER="L'Ystoire de
LI NORMANT"
50
vi
!
Contents.
CHAPTER V.
PAGE
THE CRUSADES-FOULQUES DE CHARTRES-GUIBERT DE
NÓGENT—" GESTA FRANCORUM"--WILLIAM OF TYRE
AND HIS CONTINUATORS
63
CHAPTER VI.
THE CRUSADES—"LA CHANSON D'ANTIOCHE”_CHRO-
NICLE OF THE DUKES or NORMANDY_"LE ROMAN
HAM”-GARNIER PONT SAINT-MAXENCE
AND HIS METRICAL LIFE OF THOMAS A BECKET
DE
DE
83
CHAPTER VII.
REIGN OF PHILIP AUGUSTUS-CRUSADE AGAINST THE
ALBIGENSES-RIGORD-GULIELMUS BRITO
IOI
CHAPTER VIII.
SAINT LOUIS-GUILLAUME DE NANGIS AND HIS CON-
TINUATORS-JEAN DE VENETTE
114
CHAPTER IX.
VILLEHARDOUIN-JOINVILLE-ROBERT DE CLARI
123
CHAPTER X.
SECOND CRUSADE OF SAINT LOUIS-GUILLAUME ANE-
LIERGRINGORE'S "VIE MONSEIGNEUR SAINT LOYS"
PHILIPPE MOUSKES-RÉCITS DU MÉNESTREL DE
REIMS”
146
CHAPTER XI.
THE 6 CHRONIQUES DE SAINT DENIS".FROISSART
“
157
:
CHAPTER XII.
MONSTRELET AND HIS CONTINUATORS
177
Contents.
vii
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE
THE RELIGIEUX DE SAINT DENIS—THE CHRONICLE OF
Du GUESCⓇIN—THE CHRONICLES OF LOUIS OF
BOURBON
198
CHAPTER XIV.
“LE LIVRE DES FAICTZ DE BOUCICAUT”-JOUVENEL DES
URSINS—THE COUSINOTS-PIERRE COCHON AND HIS
“CHRONIQUE NORMANDE"
213
CHAPTER XV.
THE MAID OF ORLEANS—“ MYSTÈRE DU SIÈGE D'OR-
LÉANS "-JEAN DE WAVRIN-CHRISTINE DE PISAN
233
CHAPTER XVI.
THOMAS BASIN - PHILIPPE DE COMMINES-JEAN DE
TROYES AND THE CHRONIQUE SCANDALEUSE
248
CHAPTER XVII.
MOLINET-GUILLAUME DE VILLENEUVE-BOUCHET-JEAN
MASSELIN
267
CHAPTER XVIII.
LEGISLATIVE MONUMENTS-LAWS OF THE BARBARIANS-
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND THE COUTUMES
PUBLICISTS
279
CHAPTER XIX.
CHRONICLES OF A LOCAL CHARACTER—“CHRONIQUE
DES COMTES D'ANJOU”
"_“CHRONIQUE DES ÉGLISES
D'ANJOU -“CHRONIQUE DE SAINT MARTIAL DE
LIMOGES " SERMON LITERATURE POLITICAL
PREACHERS—ANECDOTES OF ETIENNE DE BOURBON 292
viii
Contents.
CHAPTER XX.
PAGE
THE DRAMA CONSIDERED AS A SOURCE OF HISTORICAL
INFORMATION
318
CHAPTER XXI.
1
" LA GUERRE DE METZ"-BOURDIGNÉ-PARADIN-ALAIN
BOUCHARD-CARTULARIES-POLITICAL SONGS—HIS-
TORIANS " CHRONIQUES MARTINIANES
» NICOLE
GILLES-ROBERT GAGUIN
331
BIOGRAPHIICAL INDEX
355
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
...
...
362
:
A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST
OF THE
PRINCIPAL FRENCH MEDIÆVAL MEMOIRS
AND CHRONICLES.
N.B.The figures on the left-hand side represent the extreme dates
of the epoch covered by the work; those on the right indicate the birth
and death of the authors.
S.H.F.- Publications of the Société de l'Histoire de France.
147
volumes are now edited.
D.--Collection des Documents Inédits relatifs à l'Histoire de France.
180 volumes, 4º, in progress.
G.-F. Guizot: Collection de Mémoires relatifs à l'Histoire de
France, 'depuis la Fondation de la Monarchie Française,
jusqu'au 13° siècle. 31 vols. 80.
Bu.-J. A. BUCHON : Collection des Chroniques Nationales Fran-
çaises écrites en Langue Vulgaire, du 13 au 16e siècle. 47
vols. 80.
Pet.--PETITOT (ET MONMERQUE) : Collection Complète des Mémoires
relatifs à' ( Histoire de France, depuis le Règne de Philippe
Auguste, jusqu'à la Paix ae Paris (1763). 131 vols. 80.
Mich.-MICHAUD ET POUJOULAT. Nouvelle Collection de Mémoires
pour servir à l'Histoire de France, depuis le 13e Siècle jusqu'à
la Fin du 186, 32 vols. 80.
C.B.-Collection des Chroniques Belges Inédites. 44 vols. 8º.
544-595
-600?
300-591 Histoire Ecclésiastique des Francs, par
Grégoire de Tours. S.H.F., G. 1, 2
583-641 Chronique de Frédégaire. G. 2 ...
600651 | Vie de Dagobert I., par un Moine de
Saint Denis G. 2.
616-683 Vie de Saint Léger, par un Moine de Saint
Symphorien d'Autun. G. 2.
622-752 Vie de Pépin le Vieux, ou de Landen.
G. 2.
X
Chronological List.
G, 2.
G. 3.
642-768 Continuateurs Anonymes de Frédégaire.
771-812 Des Faits et Gestes de Charles le Grand,
par le Moine de Saint Gall.
740–814 Annales, et Vie de Charlemagne, par
Eginhard. G. 3, S.H.F.
780-826 Faits et Gestes de Louis le Pieux, par
Ermold le Noir. G. 4
813-835 Vie et Actes de Louis le Débonnaire.
771-844
9th cent.
G. 3.
nome.
/
768–840 Vie de Louis le Débonnaire, par l'Astro-
G. 3.
814-843 Histoire des Dissensions des Fils de Louis
le Débonnaire, par Nithard. G. 3
-858?
830-882 | Annales de Saint Bertin, et de Saint
Waast. G. 4, S. H.F.
855-896 Siège de Paris par les Normands; poème
d'Abbon. G. 6
945-1004
883-903 Annales de Metz. G. 4.
290-940 | Histoire de l'Eglise de Reims, par Flo-
doard. G. 5
894-966
877-978 Chronique de Flodoard. G. 6.
888-999 | Richer, Histoire de son Temps. S.H.F. Ioth cent.
997-1031 | Helgaud, Vie du Roi Robert. G. 6.
-1035 Chronique des Ducs de Normandie. D.
900–1044 Chronique de Raoul Glaber. G. 6
-1050?
950–1058 Vie de Bouchard, Comte de Melun et de
Corbeil, par Eudes. G. 7.
1090-I100 Histoire des Croisades, par Guibert de
Nogent. G. 9, 10
1053-1124
1096-1100 Histoire des Croisades, par Raimond
d'Agiles. G. 21
IIth cent.
949–1108 Chronicon Floriacense. G. 7.
1053-1120 Vie de Guibert de Nogent. G. 9, IO.
1095-1120 Histoire des Croisades, par Albert d'Aix.
G. 20, 21.
I2th cent.
II19-1127 Vie de Charles le Bon, Comte de Flandres,
par Galbert. G. 8.
1095–1127 Histoire des Croisades, par Foulcher de
Chartres.
1059-1127
850–1137 Histoire des Normands, par Guillaume
de Jumiège. G. 29
Ioth cent.
-1141 Histoire de Normandie, par Orderic Vital.
G. 25-28
1075-1142
1146–1148 Histoire de la Croisade de Louis VII.,
par Od on de Deuil. G. 24
-1162
1098-1151 Euvres de Suger.
Euvres de Suger. G. 8, S.H.F 1082-11527
1091–1153 Vie de Saint Bernard. G. 10.
G. 24
Chronological List.
xi
-1220
Bu. 4.
1140-1167 Histoire du Monastère de Vézelay. G. 7.
610-1184 Histoire des Croisades, par Guillaume de
Tyr. G. 16, 18
?1130-11922
-1204 Chronique des Comtes d'Anjou. S.H.F.
1198-1207 La Conqueste de Constantinople, par
Villehardouin, et Henri de Valen-
ciennes. S.H.F., Pet. I, Mich. I, Bu. 3 21155-1213
1165-1208 | Vie de Philippe Auguste, par Rigord.
G. II
-1207
1165-1217 Vie de Philippe Auguste, par Guillaume
le Breton. G. II
--1227?
1203-1219 Histoire de l'Hérésie des Albigeois, par
Pierre de Vaulx-Cernay. G. 14, 15
-1218?
1204-1219 Chronique de la Croisade contre les
Albigeois. S.H.F., D.
1096-1220 Histoire des Croisades, par Jacques de
Vitry. G. 22
-1240
Histoire des Ducs de Normandie. Roman
de Ham. S.H.F.
1183-1223 | La Philippide. G. 12.
II0I-1231 Chronique d'Eroul et de Bernard le
Trésorier. G. 19, S.H.F.
i 700-1242 Chronique de Philippe Mousket. C.B.,
1187-1271 Histoire de Saint Louis, par Joinville.
S.H.F., Pet. 2, Mich. I
I 224-1319
1200–1272 Histoire de l'Hérésie des Albigeois, par
Guillaume de Puy-Laurens. G. 15.
1276–1276 Histoire de la Guerre de Navarre, par
Anelier. D.
380-1282 Chroniques des Églises d'Anjou. S.H.F.
-1282 L’Vstoire de Li Normant, et la Chronique
de Robert Viscart. S.H.F.
-1282 Chronique Métrique d’Adam de la Halle.
-I286?
1223–1292 Chronique de SaintMagloire. Bu. 7.
1160–1306 Guillaume Guiart, La Branche des Royaux
Lignages. Bu. 7, 8
13th cent.
1202-1311 | Chronique de Simon de Montfort. G. 15.
790–1315 Chronique de Saint Martial de Limoges.
S.H.F.
1306–1316 Chronique Métrique de Philippe le Bel,
par Godefroy de Paris. Bu. 9.
1113-1368 Chronique Latine de Guillaume de Nangis.
S.H.F., G. 13 (up to 1327)
13th cent.
1336-1380 Livre des Faits et Gestes du Roi Charles
V., par Christine de Pisan. Pet. 5, 6,
Mich. I, 2
|?1363-14313
Bu. 7
xii
Chronological List.
Bu. 13-25,
376-1381 Grandes Chroniques de France.
1324-1389 Chronique de Bertrand Duguesclin, par
Cuvelier, D.
1327–1393 Chronique des Quatre Premiers Valois.
S.H.F.
1307–1400 | Chroniques de Froissart.
S.H.F.
?1337-14102
1360-1410 | Chronique du Bon Duc Louis de Bourbon.
S.H.F.
1407–1415 Chronique de Lefèvre de Saint Rémy.
Bu. 32, 33, S.H.F.
... ?1394-1468
1364-1421 Le Livre des Faicts du Maréchal de Bouci-
caut. Pet. 6, 7, Mich. 2.
1380–1422 Chronique des Religieux de Saint Denis.
D.
1380–1422 Histoire de Charles VI., par Juvenal des
Ursins. Mich. 2
1388-1473
1407-1427 Mémoires de Pierre de Fénin. Pet. 7,
Mich. 2, S.H.F.
15th cent.
1422–1429 Chronique de Charles VII., par Cousinot 15th cent.
1400-1444 Chronique d'Enguerrand de Monstrelet.
Bu. 26–32, S.H.F.
1390–1453
1409-1449 Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris. Bu. 40,
1434-1449 Chroniques d'Olivier de la Marche. Pet.
9, 10, Mich. 3
?1426–1502
1430–1450 Procès de la Pucelle. Bu. 3, 4, Pet. 8,
S.H.F.
1444-1461 Chronique de Mathieu d'Escouchy. Bu.
34, 35, S.H.F.
15th cent.
1448–1462 Chronique de Jacques du Clercq. Bu.
37-40, Pet. I1, Mich. 3
1420-1468
1430-1470 Chronique de George Chastelain. Bü.
41-43
1403-1475
-1471 Anciennes Chroniques, par Jean de Wavrin.
S.H.F.
-1472?
1460-1483 Chronique Scandaleuse, par Jean de
Troyes. Pet. 13, 14, Mich.
15th cent.
1400–1483 Histoire des Règnes de Charles VII. et de
Louis XI., par Th. Basin. S.H.F. 1412-1491
1494-1497 | Mémoires de Guillaume de Villeneuve.
Pet. 14, Mich. 4
1464-1498 Mémoires de Philippe de Commines. Pet.
II 13, Mich. 4, S.H.F.
1445-1509
1474-1506 Chronique de Molinet.
-1507
1460-1525 Panegyrique du Chevalier sans Reproche,
par Jean Bouchet. Pet. 14, Mich. 4 1476-1550
Mich. 2, 3.
Bu. 43-47
Principal Chroniclers.
65
mans (1147); in the third (1190) with the English;
in the fourth (1203) with the Venetians; the fifth
(1217) and the sixth (1228) were unimportant; the
seventh (1248) and the eighth (1270) were ex-
clusively French. We cannot, therefore, wonder
at Bongars, who published a valuable collection
of the historians of the Crusades, entitling his
work Gesta Dei per Francos. Even at the present
day all Christians are designated, in the East, by
the common name of Franks, to whatever nation-
ality they belong.
Leaving aside Villehardouin and Joinville, whom
we shall consider later on in detail, the principal
chroniclers connected with the Crusades are
Guillaume de Tyr, Bernard the Treasurer, Albert
d'Aix, Raimond d'Agiles, Guibert de Nogent,
Jacques de Vitry, Raoul de Caen, Foulques de
Chartres, Baudri de Bourgueil, and Odo de Deuil.
They have brought together a mass of information
which, despite a large number of inaccuracies and
misstatements, deserves to be thoroughly examined
by all the students of history whose attention is
directed towards the mediæval relations between
the East and the West; and the excellent use
made by M. Michaud of those chronicles in his
Histoire des Croisades is the most conclusive proof
of the attention to which they are entitled.
We have alluded just now to Foulques de
Chartres. He is not the only author of that name
who has treated of the expeditions of the Euro-
FR.
F
66
Early Chroniclers of France.
peans in Palestine. Another Foulque, mentioned
by the Benedictine compilers of the Histoire
Littéraire de la France, announced in the following
doggerel his intention of celebrating the heroes
more immediately identified with the first Cru-
sade:
Inclyta gesta ducum perscribere magnanimorum
Fert animus, patrum qui fortia facta suorum
Non solum magnis successibus æquiparare,
Sed majore fide certârunt exsuperare.
Ardor inest, inquam, sententia fixaque menti
Versibus et numeris transmittere posteritati,
Qualiter instinctu Deitatis et auspice cultu
Est agressa via memorando nobilis actu,
Quo sacrosancti violantes jura sepulchri
Digna reciperunt meriti commercia pravi."
"1
The author of this wretched Latin has devoted
three books to a narrative of the first expedition.
He begins with a description of the effect produced
upon the mind of the Christians by the preaching
of the Crusades; he then names the various leaders
who took a part in the movement, relates their
departure, and indicates the route which they
severally followed in their march towards the
Holy Land. The numerous adventures which the
1 "I have a mind to write about the illustrious deeds of the mag-
nanimous leaders, who not only strove to equal, by great successes,
the brave actions of their fathers, but to surpass them by greater
faith. I say, that an ardour possesses me, a fixed purpose has
seized upon me, to transmit to posterity, in verses and numbers,
a record of the events which led to the condign punishment of those
who violated the Holy Sepulchre."
!
Odo de Deuil.
67
Crusaders met with supply abundance of materials
for the second book, whilst the third is taken up
by an account of the quarrel between Godfrey de
Bouillon and the Emperor Alexis Comnenus.
Foulque, the author of this poem, is neither a
Villehardouin, nor a Joinville, much less a Tasso;
but his poem is a valuable mémoire pour servir, and
it would have been unfair to leave it unnoticed.
Odo or Eudes, born at Deuil in the valley of
Montmorency, near Paris, is a chronicler of much
higher merit than the poet we have just been
noticing. Brought up at the abbey of Saint
Denis, he became the friend of Suger, whom he
succeeded in the government of the monastery.
Previously to his election, he had accompanied
Louis VII. to the Holy Land in the capacity of
secretary and chaplain ; and on his arrival at
Antioch, he hastened to commit to writing an
account of the events in which he had taken part.
This narrative, subdivided into seven books, was
sent to Suger, in the shape of a letter. The pro-
clamation of the second Crusade, and the incidents
which occurred till the departure of the king,
supply the materials for the first book. We then
follow the expeditions through Bulgaria to Con-
stantinople (books ii. and iii.). The entry of the
army into Roumania occupies the fourth book. The
next book describes to us the misfortunes which
befel the German Crusaders on their way from
Nicomedia to Antioch, and their forced retreat to
68
Early Chroniclers of France.
Constantinople. The sixth division is taken up
with the various adventures which occurred to the
army of the French monarch; and in the last we
are told why he embarked at Satalieh and returned
to Antioch.
Odo of Deuil has no pretensions whatever to
be a fine writer ; but yet he is sometimes, as M.
Michaud remarks, equal in conciseness to Sallust,
and he becomes truly eloquent when he relates
the misfortunes and the useless courage of the
Crusaders. Like most of the annalists belonging
to Western Europe, he thoroughly hates the
Greeks, and alludes to their double dealing and
their selfishness in the most energetic manner.
His account of Constantinople is particularly in-
teresting. He died in 1162.
Foulcher, or Foulques, of Chartres, born in 1059,
died at Jerusalem in 1127. He took a part in the
first Crusade as chaplain to Baldwin, the brother
and successor of Godefroy de Bouillon. There is a
kind of naïve conceit running through the other-
wise valuable chronicle which he has left; Ego
Fulcherius Carnutensis is a favourite phrase with
him; he is very minute about the persons and
things which he specially dislikes; the successes
obtained by the Christians call forth his hearty
thanksgivings, and when a battle is about to take
place, he honestly wishes, like a mediæval Bob
Acres, that he were safe at Orleans or at Chartres.
The great feature in the chronicle of Foulcher is
foulcher de Chartres.
69
the abundance of details he supplies on Godefroy,
and on the establishment of the early Christian
settlements in the midst of the Mussulman popu-
lation. Let us quote an extract which shall give
some idea of what we mean: “He who was a
Roman or a Frank has become a Galilean; the
native of Reims or of Chartres has now become
a citizen of Tyre, or of Antioch; we have already
forgotten the place of our birth. This one pos-
sesses in a foreign land houses and slaves ; that
one has married a wife who was not born in the
same country as himself--a Syrian, an Armenian,
or even a Saracen, who has received the grace
of Baptism. One cultivates vineyards, another
tills the fields. All these colonists speak diverse
languages, and already manage to understand one
another; mutual trust and confidence brings side
by side the races the most opposite by their
origin, for it is said that the lion and the ox
shall feed together. Every day our friends and
our relatives come over to join us, abandoning the
property they possessed in the West. Those who
were poor in their native country have waxed rich
here, by the grace of God; those who owned only
a few crowns here possess a large number of
besants ; to those who had merely a farm, God has
given a town, for He will not suffer those who have
taken the Cross to pine away in misery and
distress.”
Our friend Foulcher, as we see, held out a tempt-
jo
Early Chroniclers of France.
ing programme to the adventurous pilgrims, who,
like Walter the Penniless, might feel disposed to
exchange the certainty of beggary at home for the
probability of a rapid fortune abroad. He tells us
briefly the result of the expedition ; we must look
elsewhere for the preliminaries, the fervent addresses
of Peter the Hermit, and the first enthusiasm
which led French, English, and Germans to rush
to arms, at the earnest summons of the preacher.
Here Guibert, Abbot of Nogent, is our guide ; and
when we open his chronicle, we find ourselves on a
totally different ground from that occupied by the
annalist with whom we have just been tarrying.
Guibert, in fact, criticizes most severely the narra-
tive of Foulcher; he accuses him of credulity, of
gross exaggeration, and finds fault with his style,
which does not come up to his own notions of
elegance, or even of grammatical correctness. It
is remarkable that Guibert is far from being inno-
cent of the offences for which he taunts the monk
of Chartres ; a writer who considers that the Cru-
sades were clearly predicted by the prophets of the
Old Testament, can scarcely be justified in bitterly
denouncing the credulity of a confrère, and the
affectation of his style is almost as intolerable as
the ruggedness of Foulcher. However, Guibert, as
we have just remarked, is an excellent authority on
the early period of the first Crusade, and the noble
individuality of Peter of Amiens stands forth in
bold relief in the pages of his work. Guibert
“Gesta Francorum et aliorum," etc.
71
composed, besides, an autobiographical fragment
(De Vita suá), which is full of the most valuable
information Born at Clermont (Auvergne) in
1053, he died in 1124.
But there is another work which Guibert de
Nogent himself, together with other compilers,
inade great use of; we mean the Gesta Francorum
et aliorum Hierosolomytanorum, printed by Bon-
gars at the beginning of his collection, and which
gives the history of the first Crusade. It is the
production of an anonymous writer about whom
nothing certain is yet known. Was he a priest,
or a layman ? an Italian, or a Provençal ? The
answer must be doubtful. A passage might be
quoted which seems to show that a stalwart knight,
recording his own impressions, has for a season
taken up the pen instead of the sword. On the
other hand, the history of the Middle Ages, and,
in particular, of the Crusades, abounds in instances
of fighting clergymen; and the venerable Bishop of
Le Puy, amongst many others, was equally ready
at celebrating divine service and at slaying the
Paynim dogs. We may further remark that several
passages in the Gesta Francoruin could not have
been written by any but a clergyman. On the
point of nationality it is equally impossible to
decide; the expression “Franci tumebant su-
perbia” would be quite as natural on the lips of
a Provençal as on those of an Italian.
At any rate, the Gesta Francorum were handled
72
Early Chrontelers of France.
with the most extraordinary sans façon by the
writers who undertook to give the history of the
first Crusade. Peter Tudebode, a priest of Sivray
(or Civray), in the diocese of Poitiers, was the earliest
offender ; we have already mentioned Guibert de
Nogent; we must now say a few words about
Baudri (Baldericus) de Bourgueil, the author of an
account of the Crusade beginning with the Council
of Clermont, and ending with the siege of Ascalon.
The Gesta Francoruin are comparatively laconic
and matter of fact ; Baudri is fond of expanding
the statements they give, of adding rhetorical or
poétical embellishments, and even of inserting
facts intended to explain, or to extenuate, sundry
details which were not much to the credit of the
Crusaders. The monk of Bourgueil had announced
his intention of giving a certain number of par-
ticulars which he had heard from credible wit-
nesses, and which had been left unmentioned by
the author of the Gesta. He, indeed, kept his pro-
mise, but it is sometimes difficult to distinguish in
his additions truth from fiction; and, as a general
remark, we may say that Baudri de Bourgueil's
statements must be received with a considerable
amount of caution. His work, however, seems to
have enjoyed much popularity during the Middle
Ages. The account of the first Crusade given by
Ordericus Vitalis, in the ninth book of the His-
toria Ecclesiastica, is copied word for word from
him; and an anonymous writer of the twelfth cen-
edilliam, Archbishop of Tyre.
73
tury, following in the same direction, compiled
another narrative of the Crusade, taking Baudri
as his chief authority, and introducing numerous
additions, some original, some borrowed from the
Gesta. Finally, a French poem, composed in the
style of a chanson de geste, must be mentioned
here, as expressly based upon the chronicle of our
friend the monk of Bourgueil.
Baudri was elected to the post of abbot in 1079;
he became Bishop of Dol in 1107, and died in 1130.
William, Archbishop of Tyre, has left on the
history of the Crusades a work of far higher pre-
tensions than any of those we have been ex-
amining. It is not the testimony alone of critics,
such as Vossius, Natalis Alexander, and Renaudot,
which must inspire us with confidence in the
merit of his work, but the authority of recent
savants, MM. Guizot, Lalanne, Michaud, and Pou-
joulat, amongst others. Aubert Lemire says of
him, that his learning was remarkable, and put in
a more agreeable shape than might have been
expected from a man of his time ; and a close
study of his book serves only to confirm this
favourable opinion. Respecting the life of Wil-
liam, we may just say that he was born in 1130,
and died about the year 1193. It is doubtful
whether he was a Frenchman by birth. Named
Archdeacon of Tyre, he was subsequently pro-
moted to the episcopal see established in that
town by the Crusaders, and received the appoint-
74
Early Chroniclers of France.
ment of chancellor to his pupil, Baldwin, King of
Jerusalem. The circumstances of his death are
almost as obscure as the place of his birth; but it
has generally been supposed that he was poisoned
at Rome, where he had gone for the purpose of
petitioning the Pope against the nomination of
Heraclius, Archbishop of Cæsarea, to the patri-
archate of the Holy City. “When Eracle," says a
continuator, “knew that he had gone to Rome, he
ordered one of his physicians to pursue him, and to
poison him ; he did so, and he (William) died.” 1
The chronicle of the Archbishop of Tyre com-
prises a description of the events which took place
in Palestine from the year 1095, when the first
Crusade was determined upon at the Council of
Clermont till the year 1184, twelve months before
the death of Baldwin IV., King of Jerusalem. In
various passages of the work, the prelate refers
both to the pains he had taken in collecting
materials, and to the difficulty which an author
has to encounter, if he aims at being strictly and
uniformly impartial. The space of about ninety
years covered by this chronicle was to have formed
the materials of twenty-three books; the prelate
did not live to finish the last one.
A number of continuators took up the thread
of the narrative, and, as a matter of fact, the
1
Quand Eracle sut qu’alé à Rome, dist à un sien fisicien qu'il
alast après, et qu'il l'empoisonast; et cil si [= lui, ci ainsi] fist, si
[= ainsi] fut mort."
Importance of William of Tyre's Work.
75
chronicle of William of Tyre, together with the
supplements which were from time to time en-
grafted upon it, forms the most important corpus
historiarum we have on the Crusades. M. de
Mas-Latrie has recently discussed this question in
an exhaustive way, and we cannot do better than
borrow some of his remarks.
Let us notice, in the first place, how frequently
the sources of mediaval European history offer us
examples of original chronicles simultaneously
continued after the author's death in various
countries, and on lines totally different from those
which the first compiler had thought fit to adopt.
Thus, the biographies of the popes by Anastasius
and by the Cardinal of Arragon, the chronicles of
Sigebert de Gembloux, the annals of the abbeys
of Waverley and of Mailross, and the chronicle of
Fredegarius, were all followed up and completed
in the manner we have just alluded to. We shall
have presently to notice the additions made to the
Grandes Chroniques de Saint-Denis, and the various
arrangements to which was subjected the narrative
of William of Nangis. The fact that the authors
of these supplements and continuations, almost
without exception, are anonymous, adds con-
siderably to the difficulty of establishing anything
like an accurate classification of their labours; and
we may further observe that the habit they had
tacking upon the original narrative compositions
of their own, accounts sufficiently for the contra-
76
Early Chroniclers of France.
dictions we find in the appreciations of characters
and events.
It is, says M. de Mas-Latrie, by a system of
that kind, a process of additions and accretions
belonging to various epochs and to different
countries, that the chronicles or histories of the
Crusades, so popular in Europe during the Middle
Ages, were formed. Manuscript copies, in great
numbers, were disseminated about, and obtained
extraordinary popularity under the titles of Livres
de la Terre Sainte, Chroniques d'Outremer ; Contes
de la Terre . d'Outremer, Romans de l'Histoire
d'Outreiner, Livre de Voyage de Terre Sainte,
Histoires du Passage de Godefroy de Bouillon, etc.,
etc.
The French translation of William of Tyre
begins with the following phrase, exactly taken
from the first chapter of the Latin text, where are
described the conquests of the Emperor Heraclius,
and his recovering the true cross from the Persians :
-“Les anciennes estoires dient que Eracles, qui
molt fu bons Crestiens,4 governa l'empire de Rome,"
etc. This passage was quite enough for the old
scribes and authors of catalogues, to induce them
to designate the French translation of William of
i See M. de Mas-Latrie's Essai de Classification des Continua-
teurs de Guillaume de Tyr, in the edition of Bernard le Trésorier's
chronicle, published by the Société de l'Histoire de France.
2 Dieni = disent. 3 Molt (Lat. multum) = beaucoup.
4 Bons Crestiens, in strict accordance with the Lat. nominative
bonus Christianus.
Attempt at Classification.
77
Tyre as Le Livre d'Eracles, or L'Histoire d'Eracles,
Empereur de Rome. Another title frequently found
is Livre dis Conquét (Liber acquisitionis [Terræ
Sanctæ]).
An attentive study of the work or works we
are now considering leads us to conclude that the
general compilation, touching the history of the
wars carried on in the Holy Land, was made at
four various epochs, corresponding to the following
divisions :
First epoch.—After the Crusade of the Emperor
Frederic II. (1228-1229) and the arrival of John
de Brienne at Constantinople (1231).
Second epoch.-Subsequently to the Egyptian
Crusade of Saint Louis, and to his return to
France.
Third epoch.-Between the second Crusade of
Saint Louis and the loss of Saint Jean d'Acre.
Fourth epoch.—After the loss of Saint Jean
d'Acre, the last seat of the kingdom of Jerusalem,
taken from the Christians by Malec al Aschraf in
1291.
Amongst the sources which William had con-
sulted in preparing his work, we may name the
chronicle composed by Raymond d'Agiles, canon
of the cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay, who
flourished during the last years of the eleventh
century and the beginning of the twelfth, and who
was present at the taking of Jerusalem by the
Crusaders. Most of the facts he relates are bor-
78
Early Chroniclers of France.
ever.
rowed from other contemporary works, and the
additions he introduces refer chiefly to idle super-
stitions, which have no historical importance what-
The Archbishop of Tyre could certainly
deriye better information from his own personal
experience; and the opportunities he had for
observation supplied him with details which no one
else preserved so carefully.
It would take us too long to give an account of
all the continuators of William of Tyre. We must
be satisfied with a brief notice of the most im-
portant: Ernoul, Bernard the Treasurer, and two
others whose names have not yet been success-
fully identified. Hernoul, or Ernoul, composed his
chronicle when he was still a varlet or squire in the
service of Balian d'Ibelin, one of the first barons
of Syria, and lieutenant of the kingdom after King
Guy de Lusignan had been made a prisoner at
Kittin. Ernoul had witnessed, in the company of
his master, the defeat at Tiberias, the capture of
the king, and the surrender of the capital. The
prologue to his work declares plainly that the
author's purpose is not to describe the conquest of
Jerusalem by the Crusaders. Other historians have
already given the wonderful story, and he would
not recapitulate the tale they have so well told.
The loss of the holy city, recaptured by Saladin, is
the theme on which he has to discourse; and,
accordingly, after a short glance taken at the reigns
of the early Latin princes who ruled in Palestine,
Ernoul.-Bernard the Treasurer.
79
arrow.
he begins the detailed part of his narrative with
1183, and it seems tolerably certain that he did not
go further than the year 1227. Ralph, abbot of
Coggeshal in Essex, and who had been one of the
heroes of the Crusade, composed, besides his
Chronicon Anglicanum, a Chronicon Terræ Sancta,
in which he described specially the siege of Jeru-
salem, where he was wounded in the face by an
With the view of apologizing for the
brevity of his narrative, he refers the reader to a
French history which gives more details, and which
was nothing else than Ernoul's chronicle : “If any
one wishes for further details, let him read the
book which the prior of the Holy Trinity in London
has caused to be translated from French into
Latin, in a style equally elegant and faithful.” 1
Next to Ernoul we must mention Bernard the
Treasurer, a monk who, as we know from incon-
testable evidence, wrote 'one of those popular
histories of the Crusades so widely circulated
during the Middle Ages, and forming an integral
part of the historical monuments known by the
common name of Histoire d'Eracles or Histoire du
Conquêt. Treasurer of the abbey of Corbie in
Picardy, Bernard deserves special mention as a
chronicler. He begins, like most of his confrères,
1 "Si quis plenius scire desiderat, legat librum quem dominus
prior Sanctæ Trinitatis de Londoniis ex gallicâ linguâ in Latinum
tam eleganti quam veraci stilo transferri fecit."
80
Early Chroniclers of France.
with a rapid sketch of the history of the kingdom
of Jerusalem, dwelling particularly on the share
taken in the first Crusades by the Counts of
Flanders, as would be natural to a writer belonging,
by his social position, to that part of the country.
A few brief sentences dispose of the reigns of
Baldwin III. and Amaury I.; but, as he proceeds,
he goes in detail over some of the facts he has
previously mentioned, and his description of Jeru-
salem is specially interesting, because it shows on
the part of the author the local knowledge of one
who had actually visited the Holy Land. The
historical prologue of Bernard, and the abridgment
which follows, cannot be strictly considered as his
work; it is with the year 1227 that he assumes the
part of an original annalist, and he takes us to the
year 1231. The subject on which the treasurer of
Corbie dwells most is the Crusade undertaken by
the Emperor Frederic II., after that monarch had
been anathematized by Pope Gregory IX. He
dwells repeatedly on the secret correspondence
carried on by Frederic with the Sultan of Egypt-
correspondence denied by historians belonging to
the Ghibeline party, but which we find distinctly
alluded to in the narratives of Eastern chroniclers.
In the face of such evidence, it is difficult to under-
stand how the opinion of Boiardo and other Italian
authors could ever be entertained, who would make
us believe that Bernard was treasurer of the Em-
peror of Germany
Continuators of Archbishop william.
81
Two other continuators of Archbishop William
should not be left unnoticed, although they have
not yet been identified, and must, for the present
at least, remain anonymous. The one fills the gap
between Ernoul and Bernard ; the other takes up
the pen where the treasurer of Corbie dropped it,
and conducts us as far as the year 1240.
The
Latin empire of Constantinople does not fix his
attention ; but, dealing exclusively with the affairs
of the kingdom of Jerusalem, he relates the capture
of the holy city by the Arabs, shortly after the
departure of Frederic II.; the expedition of Thibaut,
Count of Champagne; and the temporary union of
the Christians with the Syrian Arabs for the purpose
of repelling the Kharizmians, who had contracted
an alliance with the Sultan of Egypt. This
anonymous chronicler does not conceal his hatred
of the Emperor Frederic II., but he never suffers
himself to be carried away beyond the limits of
strict impartiality; and, notwithstanding M. Gui-
zot's remarks, his description of the war between
the Genoese and the Ghibelines of Pisa is tolerably
accurate. On the whole, therefore, we may con-
sider him as one of the annalists whose works
enable us best to understand the sequence of events
which occurred from 1230 to 1241.
In order to exhaust the subject of the Crusades,
so far as chronicles properly so called are con-
cerned, and still leaving out of consideration
Villehardouin and Joinville, we shall mention here
FR.
G
82
Early Chroniclers of France.
Albert d'Aix, Jacques de Vitry, and Raoul de
Caen. Of the first named, we can only say that
he was a canon of the church of Aix in Provence,
and that he published, under the title of Chronicon
Hierosolymitanum, a narrative of the first Crusades,
from 1095 to 1120. He lived during the twelfth
century. Jacques de Vitry, Vicar of Argenteuil,
near Paris, and who died at Rome April 30, 1240,
preached a crusade against the Albigenses, and was
afterwards made Bishop of Ptolemais (1217). He
went to Syria, and from thence found his way to
Egypt, where he was present at the siege of
Damietta (1218); and, having returned to Rome in
1227, he was successively created cardinal (1228),
Bishop of Frascati, legate to the Court of France,
and Patriarch of Jerusalem. The work of Jacques
de Vitry, which contains his reminiscences of the
Holy Land, is entitled Historia Orientalis, and was
published for the first time in 1597. Raoul de
Caen is, strictly speaking, the biographer of Tan-
cred de Hauteville, whom he followed to the first
Crusade, and whose high deeds he described in a
work published successively by Dom Martène,
Muratori, and M. Guizot.
CHAPTER VI.
THE CRUSADES.--"LA CHANSON D'ANTIOCHE"
CHRONICLE OF THE DUKES OF NORMANDY
-“LE ROMAN DE HAM”—GARNIER DE PONT
SAINT-MAXENCE, AND HIS METRICAL LIFE OF
THOMAS À BECKET.
THE Crusades could not but appeal strongly to
the imagination of the trouvères, and it would
have been wonderful indeed if the expeditions of
Christian Europe, in the Holy Land and in Egypt,
had not roused up the enthusiasm of the Langue
d'Oil poets, who were so busy relating and em-
bellishing the life and exploits of Charlemagne, the
Emperor of the West, the type and pattern of kingly
prowess. The first Crusade took place at the very
time when popular poetry was equally flourishing
in the south and in the north of France, and it
happened most opportunely to furnish the minstrels
with a new and exciting theme for their metrical
narratives. A trouvère, probably a native of Picardy,
who had taken a part in the Crusade headed by
84
Early Chroniclers of France.
Godefroy de Bouillon, related the events connected
with that campaign, and the legendary exploits of
Charlemagne against the Saracens were revived,
recast, and blended together with the reminiscences
of the expeditions undertaken to rescue Palestine
from the sway of the infidels.
The Chanson d'Antioche (such is the name of the
poem we are alluding to deserves, as much as the
Chanson de Roland itself, a place in the historical
compositions of the Middle Ages. Its author,
Richard the Pilgrim, was a worthy companion of
the heroes whom Godefroy de Bouillon led to the
deliverance of Jerusalem and the conquest of
Palestine ; he is named twice in the course of the
narrative, so that there can be no doubt as to his
identity. The chanson itself soon obtained great
celebrity, for we find it recorded more than once
by the different minstrels, as late as a hundred
years after, that they intended in their metrical
works to follow both the rhythm and the general
structure of the Chanson d'Antioche. One troubadour
taunted his rival with not knowing Richard's
poem ; and, finally, the annalist, Lambert d'Ardres,
complained bitterly that the exploits of a certain
Count of Guines had been purposely forgotten by
the trouvère. "Count Arnoul,” says the chronicler,
performed under the walls of Antioch exploits
which his great humility wished to keep concealed ;
but, in spite of his efforts, the knowledge of these
high deeds was obtained by his fellow-Crusaders.
Graindor of Douai.
85
And yet we do not see his name mentioned in the
Chanson d'Antioche; in fact, the trouvère who com-
posed it, more anxious for a temporal profit than
Arnoul was to obtain human praise, made a
secret of the exploits and glory of the noble count,
as a revenge for not having received from him a
pair of scarlet hose (chausses) which he had asked.
That is why the Chanson d'Antioche (in which
certain personages are unduly praised, and others
unfairly forgotten) makes no mention of Count
Arnoul—a hero all the more worthy of glory,
because he had not been afraid of exposing
himself to see his claims frustrated, by refusing to
entertain the sordid request of a contemptible
jongleur."
We know that the Chanson d'Antioche was
revised and almost rewritten by Graindor of
Douai, who lived in the thirteenth century; this
remaniement, as our French neighbours would call
it, need not astonish us. It was the time when the
language of the Langue d'Oil was subjected to a
thorough transformation. Hitherto spoken, de-
claimed, and sung, it was now going through the
ordeal of writing, and in consequence the most
important changes were taking place in the prosody
and the accentuation. A regular system of ortho-
graphy was introduced, and the whole gram-
matical structure received improvements of every
kind. It is no exaggeration to say that the
cantilènes or poems of the twelfth century were, to
86
Early Chroniclers of France.
a considerable extent, a dead letter for the readers
of the thirteenth. Thus, the minstrel Adenèz, who
lived about the year 1280, said, speaking of the old
trouvères : "They sang, accompanying themselves
on shields or blazoned bucklers; instead of bow,
they used swords of steel; therefore they per-
formed strains capable of tearing to pieces the ears
of the Saracens, and the best way of obtaining
paradise would have been to be patient enough to
listen to them.” 1
However, we can say that the Chanson d'Antioche,
the joint production of Richard the Pilgrim and of
Graindor, is undoubtedly a composition of great
historical, as well as literary, value. The introduc-
tion is worth translating :
Barons, hearken unto me, cease your quarrels,
and I shall relate to you a fine chanson. He who
wishes to hear about Jerusalem should draw near
to me; in God's name, I entreat him to do so. I
ask of him neither a palfrey, nor a charger, nor a
1 " Ils vielerent tous d'une chanson
Dont les vieles erent targel ou blason ; 2
Et branca d'acier estoient li arçon ; 4
De leurs vieles retraoient 5 maint son
Grief a oïr à la gent Pharaon
Qui de tel maistre retenroit ? la leçon
Il porroit bien avoir le haut pardon."
| Erent (Lat. erant) = étaient; targe (Eng. target) = bouclier.
2 Blason = écu.
3 Branc (Eng. brand) = épée.
= archet.
5 Retraoient (Lat. retratebant).
* La gent (de) Pharaon.
1 Reterroit = retiendroit.
* Arçon
The “Chanson d'Antioche" a Haluable work. 87
pelisse of miniver or grey, nor even a mere denier,
unless he gives it to me for the sake of God, who
will reward him. I wish to speak to you about
the holy city, and to tell you how the gentle
barons, whom God wished to bless, went beyond
the seas for the purpose of avenging the injury
done to it. The first army suffered great disasters ;
all those who composed it perished, or were made
prisoners without being able to find any refuge.
Peter alone escaped and returned. Then many
princes and noble warriors had assembled together;
there was Hugh the Great and all his knights,
Tancred and the wise Bohemond, Duke Godfrey
so loved of God, the Duke of Normandy and his
Normans, the Picards, Robert of Flanders, and his
brave Flemings. When they had assembled under
the walls of Montpellier, history tells us that they
numbered full one hundred thousand. They cap-
tured by force Nicæa and its palaces, Robais, and
Antioch with its numerous churches; then they
broke open the walls of Jerusalem. But, in the
first place, they had to fast and to watch, to
suffer from rain and storm, snow and hail. Here
then begins the song wherein there is so much to
learn."
The poem of Richard the Pilgrim was finished
before the arrival of the Crusaders at Jerusalem.
It is thought that he was one of the retainers of
the Count of Flanders, and that he died shortly
after the taking of Arches, or Archas, the last event
88
Early Chroniclers of ffrance.
which he recorded ; he did not live, at all events,
to see the capture of Jerusalem. The best gua-
rantee of the historical importance of the chanson
lies in the fact that the author was an eye-witness
of the events he relates. Every page of his narra-
tive bears evidence of this, even in the most in-
different 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 analyzes with much
impartiality the characters of the various leaders.
Thus, Bohemond 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 pre-
judiced. A native of Northern France, our trouvère,
however, dwells especially upon the heroism of his
compatriotes. The warriors of Flanders, Artois, and
Picardy are those in whom he feels chiefly in-
terested. Thus, he relates in detail the farewell
meeting between the Countess of Flanders and
her husband, the exploits of Baldwin Cauderon, of
Gontier d'Aire, of Enguerrand de Saint-Pol, and of
Raimbaud Creton, in whose honour the present
chanson was composed. Independent authority
shows us that Creton really deserved the special
The "Chanson d'Antioche:" its Literary Beauties. 89
distinction bestowed upon him by Richard the
Pilgrim. He was the fourth to scale the walls of
Antioch, and Ordericus Vitalis informs us that
he appeared first on those of Jerusalem ; hence
his motto—“ Vaillant sus la creste." On his return
from the Holy Land, he followed Louis the Fat
in his expedition against Bouchard IV. of Mont-
morency, and was killed at the siege of that town
in IIOI.
The Chanson d'Antioche, we have already re-
marked, is equally striking as a work of art; it
has nothing of the dryness of a mere rhymed
gazette, and the author, whilst adhering strictly
to historic truth, succeeds admirably in working
out episodes where some allowance must be made
for imagination. Nothing, for instance, is more
simply and naturally expressed than the joy of
Dacian, the rich Saracen, appointed to defend one
of the gates of Antioch, when he presses in his
arms his son, who had been made prisoner during
a sally, and whom the Christians send back to him
covered with a magnificent dress, and with a rich
armour:
... in the French style,
And of the smallest armour that could be found.
The father comes to meet him ; he has taken off his arınour;
He kisses and embraces him ; he has longed for him so much !
God has thus allowed it, the King of Paradise .
By that child were conquered the town and the country.”
(1 66... à la guise Françoise
Et des plus petites armes qu'on ait pu trouver.
"1
90
Early Chroniclers of France.
Struck with gratitude, the Paynim becomes a
convert to Christianity, gives up his palace to
the Crusaders, and introduces them into the city
of Antioch.
The few lines we have just been quoting are
from a modern French transcript of the Chanson
d'Antioche, for which we are indebted to the
Marchioness de Sainte-Aulaire.2. Of metrical nar-
ratives composed on the subject of the Crusades,
very few have been handed down to us, and these
have reached us only under very modified forms.
Thus, we possess absolutely no details about the
poem of Gregory of Bechada, except what we
learn from the evidence of the Prior of Vigeois.
The same remark applies, as we have seen, to the
Chanson d'Antioche, for Graindor's revision is, of
course, a work entirely distinct from the original
geste composed by Richard the Pilgrim ; but, to
conclude this notice, we cannot do better than
quote the authority of a distinguished French
critic, M. Géruzez, who describes the chanson aş
surpassing in accuracy even the chronicle of
William, the Archbishop of Tyre.?
Le père vient à sa rencontre, il l'a désarmé,
Il le baise et l'étreint; il l'a tant désiré !
Dieu l'a ainsi permis, le roi du paradis ...
Par cet enfant fut la ville et le pays conqués.
i Paris, Techener. 12°. 1848.
Histoire de la Littérature Française, vol. I, p. 61.
Chronicle of the Dukes of Normandy.
91
We have already described a chronicle treating
of the Dukes of Normandy; the work we shall now
notice is later in point of date. It was published in
1840, by M. Francisque Michel, for the Société de
l'Histoire de France, and must not be forgotten in
our review of mediæval documents. It is divided
into two parts of unequal value, and, according
to all probability, is the work of two different
authors. The first section, extending from the
arrival of the Northmen into France, down to the
reign of Richard Cour de Lion, is nothing else but
a résumé of the Historia Normannorum, composed
by Guillaume de Jumièges, together with a short
supplement. The second part continues the narra-
tive as far as the year 1220, shortly after the
coronation of Henry III., King of England; the
last event recorded being the raising of the body
of Thomas à Becket, le beneoit martyr. This portion
of the work is full of minute and precise details
which are to be found nowhere else, and M. Fran-
cisque Michel is led to suppose that the author,
having come to England with a number of Flemish
adventurers who were anxious to make their for-
tune, was an eye-witness of a great many of the
events which he relates. There is no precise
indication of the author's name, or of his nation-
ality; on this latter point, however, we have plenty
of indirect information, which can enable us to
come to an almost certain conclusion. Let us
note that when he alludes either to the persons
1
Early Chroniclers of France.
92
whom he loves, or, on the contrary, to those
who are the object of his hatred, he exclusively
mentions knights belonging to the provinces of
Artois or of Boulonnais. Thus, giving us an
enumeration of the barons who consented to follow
Louis in his expedition to England, he assigns
the foremost place to the lords of Artois, naming
the Frenchmen only next in order. Again, speak-
ing of the siege of Windsor by the Count de
Nevers and the Count de Dreux, he adds, "A
knight of Artois, by name William de Cerisi, was
killed there; he was little regretted by many
people, for he was much hated."1 Further on, de-
scribing the siege of Dover, he says, "At the siege
Guichars de Beaujeu died; he was taken to be
buried in his estates. A knight of Boulonnais also
died, who was much regretted ; his name was John
de la Rivière. He was also taken to be buried
at Boulonnais."? We think that these three in-
stances, which might easily have been multiplied,
are quite conclusive. As M. Michel remarks, no
1 - Uns Chevaliers d'Artois, ki estoit apielés Guillaume de Cerisi,
i fu ocis, ki assés poi? fu plains de maintes gens ; car molt estoit
haïs.”
2 " Guichars de Beaujeu moru a cel? siege, si fu portés enfouira
en sa tierre; mais ançois é moru uns Chevaliers de Boulenois qui
moult fu plains, Jehans de la Rivière ot d non ;5 et il fu autresz 8
aportés enfouir en Boulenois."
1 Assés pot = assez peu.
3 Enfouir (Lat. fodire) = enterrer.
Ançois = aussi.
6 Otà non = eut d (pour) nom.
Autresi = aussi.
2 Cel = ce.
4
Chronicle of the Dukes of Normandy.
93
chronicler would have troubled himself about such
insignificant details, in the midst of the im-
portant events which marked the reign of King
John, if he had not been urged on by the pride of
nationality
The circumstance which recommends to our
attention the chronicle we are now considering, is
that it gives us all the particulars of the expedition
made against England by the son of Philip Au-
gustus—an enterprise about which we had, till
recently, but very little original information. Eng-
lish historians, very naturally, did not feel anxious
to hand down to posterity an account of the suc-
cesses of the French on this side of the Channel ;
the French, on the other hand, were equally silent,
because the hopes which they entertained of a
second conquest of England speedily disappeared,
never to revive again. The anonymous author of
our chronicle, being neither French nor English,
had not the same difficulty, and this piece of good
fortune has produced a narrative which fills up a
gap in the history of France during the twelfth
century.
Louis, says the old annalist, Matthew Paris,"cum
opprobrio sempiterno ad Gallias transfretavit;" after
the peace had been concluded, he found himself so
utterly destitute of resources that he was obliged
to borrow from the London citizens a sum of five
thousand pounds, and with this, help he returned to
France.
94
Early Chroniclers of France,
The chronicle published by M. Francisque
Michel contains numerous details on the barons
of Northern France, and this fact has induced the
learned editor to print, by way of appendix, a
metrical narrative entitled Le Roman de Ham,
which was composed in 1278. The author is a
trouvère of the name of Sarrazin. Guillaume de
Nangis informs us that Saint Louis, having heard
from the pope, in 1268, the news of the disasters
experienced in the Holy Land by the Crusaders,
had issued a decree forbidding the holding of
tournaments for the space of two years, and
directing that the only pastimes allowed should
be practising with the bow and cross-bow. In the
preface to his poem, Sarrazin remarks bitterly on
the fatal consequences which such a prohibition is
likely to bring about. In the first place, there will
be an end of the profession of the jongleurs, who
used to go from place to place, earning their live-
lihood by entertaining with tales and romantic
stories the knights who had been wounded in the
tournaments. Then, what a loss for the saddlers,
armourers, harness-makers, smiths, farriers, and
other tradesmen and artificers, whose occupations
depended almost entirely upon the existence and
popularity of martial exercises ! Finally, a serious
decay of morals must speedily follow; and Dame
Courtesy is introduced, looking back with fond
regret upon the days of King Arthur, and of the
Knights of the Round Table ;-as the practical
Sarrazin—"Le Roman de Ham."
95
.
teaching of chivalrous virtues is now forbidden, let
the youths learn from the romances of Chrestien de
Troyes lessons of urbanity.
The subject of Sarrazin's poem is the holding of
a tournament at the castle of Ham, in Picardy.
The lords of Longueval and of Barentin are com-
missioned to proclaim it throughout all the pro-
vinces of France and England. A number of
English knights and ladies, supposed to represent
King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and other stars of
the Arthurian court, and amounting to upwards of
seven hundred persons, appear at this tournament,
where for the space of three days deeds of valour
are performed by warriors who have assumed
names well known in the annals of the Round
Table. The enumeration given by the trouvère
includes many celebrated French and Anglo-
Norman barons, such as the lords of Harcourt,
Montaigu, Neville, Ver, Bailleul, Blosseville, Tes-
son, Hangest, Carbonel, Ferrières, Esneval, Trie,
etc. All these names are also to be found in the
anonymous chronicle we have just been describing,
and we notice that Enguerrand de Bailleul is made
the subject of special praise. The poem is written
in octosyllabic lines, and although the constant
recurrence of fictitious characters produces a singu-
lar effect, yet, to a considerable extent, we have in
the Roman de Ham an historical document which
deserved to be published, if only as a kind of
biographical summary or catalogue of the noble
96
Early Chroniclers of France.
families of England and France towards the end
of the thirteenth century. We may add that the
edict of Saint Louis caused a great deal of sensa-
tion when it was issued, as being contrary to all the
usages and traditions of chivalry. It is alluded
to in many contemporary writings, and forms
the subject of a story in the Italian book entitled
Libro di Novelle è di bel Parlar Gentil.
Amongst the historical poems which the Middle
Ages have bequeathed to us, we must not forget the
one composed on the life and death of Thomas
à Becket, by Garnier de Pont Saint-Maxence. The
subject is essentially English, but the author was a
Frenchman, and therefore deserves a place in our
sketch ; it is interesting, besides, to ascertain how
the great Archbishop of Canterbury was appre-
ciated on the other side of the Channel. We all
know that, a short time after the death of Thomas
à Becket, four priests, attached to his person and
honoured with his friendship, wrote memoirs of his
life, viz., John of Salisbury, Herbert of Bosham,
William of Canterbury, and Alan, Abbot of
Tewkesbury. The details given by these four
authors were afterwards compiled together, under
the direction of Pope Gregory XI., so as to form
one single work, entitied Quadrilogus or Historia
Quadripartita; the compiler of this new production
taking care, at the same time, always to name for
each fact the one of the original biographers on
whose authority it was given.
Garnier de Pont Saint-Marence.
97
The poem of Garnier de Pont Saint-Maxence is
extremely valuable, because it is an independent
work. “If you wish," says he, "to read the life
of the holy martyrs, you can learn it from me
in its completeness, without either omission or
error. I have spent at least four years in making
and perfecting it, retrenching, adding, without
taking any account of my trouble. In the first
place, I had written it for my own pleasure, and
more than once was guilty of untruth (et suvent
ai menti). Since then, I went to Canterbury, for the
purpose of getting the truth from the friends of
Saint Thomas, and from those who had served him
ever since he was a child. I had already laboured
much in correcting and adding, but certain scribes
stole from me this first romaunt before I had had
time to finish it, and to soften down what there was
in it too hard or too rough. I had not yet sup-
pressed what was unnecessary, nor filled up what
was deficient; many places are either false or in-
complete; and yet no more exact account is to be
found as yet, and many wealthy men have pur-
chased it from me. May those who have stolen
it from me be blamed for such a deed! As for the
present romaunt, I have entirely corrected and
completed it. In all the other narratives com-
posed on the martyr, by either clerks or laymen,
monks or ladies, I find errors; they are neither
true nor complete. Truth and integrity you may
expect here, for I would not depart from the truth
FR.
il
98
Early Chroniclers of France.
for any damage or death I might endure (n’isterail
de vérité pur perdre u. pur murir).”
The
poem in question is written in Alexandrine
verses; the author thus gives us his name and the
place of his birth :-
"Since now, and so late a time in the history of
the world), a new martyr is given to you, Garnier
the clerc, a native of Pont Saint-Maxence, thinks
it right to tell you the date of this event; it took
place full eleven hundred and seven years after the
Incarnation."
It is impossible to read the poem of Garnier
without being convinced that it deserves serious
attention as a trustworthy historical document.
He is thoroughly acquainted with English customs,
and the care he displays in describing and account-
ing for them, shows an amount of observation per-
fectly wonderful for a trouvère of the twelfth cen-
tury. Nor can we doubt that he derived much
information from the relatives and friends of the
archbishop, so minute is he in his description of
Thomas à Becket's life, his habits, the appearance
and circumstances of his house, etc. He goes so
far as to clothe in rhyme the correspondence of the
prelate, and even the charters issued by Henry II.
in the course of the debates which form the sub-
ject of the poem. Now, as these official documents
are still extant in their original shape, it is quite
easy to compare them with Garnier's version, and
· Isterai = sortirai; from the old French verb issir (Lat. exire).
2
Univ... 15
MIC
Garnier de Pont Saint-Mexence.
99
thus to verify his claims to the position of a con-
scientious and well-informed historian.
As far as the general plan is concerned, and the
course of events, there is considerable agreement
between the Historia Quadripartita and the metri-
cal biography; it is in matters of detail that the
differences appear so strongly as to shield Garnier
from the accusations of having plagiarized the Latin
work. Herbert of Bosham, and the three other
monks, his collaborateurs, describe Thomas à Becket
as a patient, meek, and humble martyr; our friend of
Pont Saint-Maxence gives us the full-length portrait
of a haughty prelate, impatient of contradiction,
irritable, and restrained only by the sense of his
episcopal dignity from giving way to fits of passion.
Several of the circumstances related in the poem
do not appear in the Historia Quadripartita; thus,
the manner in which Thomas à Becket received the
palliuin from Pope Alexander III. One of the
most curious passages is the one where Garnier dis-
cusses the pretensions of Henry II. with reference
to the political status of the Church; he examines
the whole question from the point of view of a
canonist, and his opinion represents that of the
clergy during the twelfth century. “I appeal,"
says he, "to the king and to the clercs, which are
the laws best calculated to govern Christians-
those which have been established by heathens
and barbarians, or those drawn up by holy men in
the shape of a constitution ?" A little further on
100
Early Chroniclers of ffrance.
he discusses, article by article, the charter of
Henry II., which the bishops had accepted in the
Westminster assembly, and which reduced eccle-
siastical jurisdiction to so humble a degree when
compared with that of the Crown. "The prelates,"
he remarks, “are the servants of God, and princes,
therefore, ought to cherish them; they are above
kings, who should bend under them (et si seint
chiefs des rois, li rois leur doit fléchir).”
Garnier's chronology is not uniformly faultless,
and he does not always give us the events in their
real sequence ; but the great episodes of Thomas
à Becket's biography are all recorded the meet-
ing of the prelates at Northampton, the archbishop's
condemnation, his flight into France, his interview
at Sens with Pope Alexander III., his exile at
Pontigny, the visits paid to him by the French
king, Louis VII., etc. The poem is an interesting
drama, written with a considerable amount of
vigour, and by no means destitute of literary
merit.1
I
See an interesting article by M. le Roux dc Lincy, in the
Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes, vol. iv.
UBE
CHAPTER VII.
REIGN OF PHILIP AUGUSTUS.---CRUSADE AGAINST
THE ALBIGENSES. RIGORD. — GULIELMUS
BRITO.
THE majestic figure of Charlemagne still appeared
as the representative of the monastic principle in
all its grandeur, and the old trouvères seemed
anxious to associate it with heroism of every kind,
daring, and generosity. Their disposition to do so
was, perhaps, increased when they looked about
them, and considered into what hands the sceptre
of France had fallen during the tenth and eleventh
centuries. At last Philip II. came to the throne,
and although he cannot be regarded as equalling
in genius or in administrative powers the founder
of the Carlovingian dynasty, yet it would be unfair
to refuse him the qualities of a great king. He
strengthened the royal authority, which the tur-
bulent vassals were still too much disposed to set
at nought, and, whilst braving tne thunderbolts of
the Holy See, he managed to secure the goodwill
IO2
Early Chroniclers of France.
of the French clergy. The cares of home adminis-
tration seemed to engross his attention; he divided
his dominions into seventy-three prévôtés, each
placed under the rule of a bailiff; then the estab-
lishment of la quarantaine-le-roy attacked feudalism
in one of its most important privileges, the right
of private warfare. This name was given to the
interval of forty days occurring between every
murder or insult and the revenge which the
aggrieved party had a right to exercise. During
this space of time, anger might subside; it was a
kind of truce, which the king took advantage of to
interfere, and enforce the claims of justice. The
architectural works commenced under the reign
of Philip; the protection and encouragement he
granted to the University of Paris ; finally, his con-
quest of Maine, Anjou, Normandy, Touraine, and
Poitou, together with the acquisition of Auvergne,
Artois, and Picardy, justified the title of Augustus,
which was universally bestowed upon him. We
find it mentioned for the first time in the chronicle
of Rigord (Rigordus, Rigoltus, Rigotus), who is
one of the chief authorities respecting the reign
of Philip. A native of Languedoc, Rigord, about
whose birth we have no certain data, save that he
belonged to the twelfth century, had intended, in
the first place, to follow the medical profession;
want of success, however, determined him to alter
his plans, and, leaving his country, he took up his
abode in the abbey of Saint Denis, which the
1
Rigord.
IO3
administration of Suger had rendered so justly
celebrated. We are informed that about the year
1190, and probably at the instigation of Hugh,
abbot of the community, Rigord undertook to
write the history of Philip Augustus. He spent
ten years in preparing his work, but was so dis-
satisfied with what he had accomplished, that he
would have destroyed the portion he had already
committed to writing, had not his superior dis-
suaded him from doing so. Better advised, Rigord
dedicated his life of the king to Louis VIII., his
successor, who was then a youth of thirteen.
Philip Augustus appreciated so highly the com-
position of the monk of Saint Denis, that he
ordered copies to be placed among the public
records, and he named Rigord his historiographer.
The history begins at the coronation of the king in
1179; after having related the events connected
with the first five years of the reign, Rigord stops
suddenly, and launches forth into a discussion
about the origin of the French nation, which he
traces up to the fabulous Francus; he next gives
the succession of all the kings, and then, resuming
the thread of his narrative, goes down as far as the
year 1207. There death alone appears to have
stopped him; and, according to the Nécrologe of the
abbey of Saint Denis, he died, at a very advanced
age, on the 27th of November.
The other historian of the reign of Philip
Augustus is a man whose literary talents leave
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Early Chroniclers of France.
those of Rigord quite in the shade, and who, like
the old monk Abbo, attempted to hand down to
posterity, through the medium of poetry, the events
it had been his lot to witness. Guillaume le
Breton, to call him by his French name, was in
every respect a far more distinguished personage
than his predecessor. A Breton by birth (? 1165),
he took orders at an early age, and became chap-
lain to Philip Augustus, who entrusted him with
several political missions of great importance ;
sending him, for instance, to Rome for the purpose
of obtaining his divorce from the Princess Ingel-
burgha of Denmark. Gulielmus Brito enjoyed
considerable influence over the mind of the king ;
he took a leading part in the councils of the crown,
and accompanied his master in most of his mili-
tary expeditions. We do not know the date of
Brito's decease; but in all probability he survived
Louis VIII., whose death occurred in 1226. The
works of this author are two in number, the first
being a mere prose continuation of Rigord down
to the year 1219, and the other, the Philippid, has
already been alluded to. M. Walckenaër remarks
that Guillaume le Breton's chronicle contains a
number of interesting particulars on the author's
native country, and he may be considered as the
annalist of Brittany for the epoch embraced in his
narrative. For a detailed account of the events
which occurred between 1209 and 1219, Guillaume
is invaluable-he had never left the king's side
The Albigenses.
105
during the campaigns of Flanders; and his book
is equally minute and accurate. The poem, on the
other hand, may be regarded as throwing con-
siderable light, not so much upon historical events,
as on geographical details, manners and customs.
The style here, we need scarcely say, is very far
from perfect; whole lines copied from Virgil,
Ovid, and Statius merely help to make the
surrounding Latin look more wretched ; and, if the
description of the battle of Bouvines can be quoted
as an exception, its comparative merit is due
probably to the author's patriotism alone.
Philip Augustus refused to take a share in the
Crusade against the Albigenses, although he had
allowed his son Louis to join for that purpose the
standard of Amaury de Montfort. This momen-
tous event, which led to the destruction of
Languedoc thought and culture, and which re-
sulted in the triumph of Teutonic over Latin
civilization, has been recorded in several chronicles,
which we must proceed to enumerate. Alluding
to the Crusade itself, Sir James Stephen remarks-
“The imputations of irreligion, heresy, and
shameless debaucheries, which have been cast with
so much bitterness on the Albigenses by their
persecutors, aad which have been so zealously
denied by their apologists, are probably not ill
founded, if the word Albigenses be employed as
synonymous with the words Provençaux or Lan-
guedocians. For these were apparently a race
106
Early Chroniclers of France.
among whom the hallowed charities of domestic
life, and the reverence due to divine ordinances,
and the homage due to divine truth, were often
impaired, and not seldom extinguished, by ribald
jests, by infidel scoffings, and by heart-hardening
impurities. Like other voluptuaries, the Proven-
çaux (as their remaining literature attests) were
accustomed to find matter for merriment in vices
which would have moved wise men to tears." I
There seems no doubt that a broad distinction
must be made between the Albigeois and the Vaudois,
whose dissent from the doctrines of the Church
of Rome was their only fault, and against whom
even the charge of heresy must be received with
considerable caution; but, at the same time, we
should not forget that the writers of the thirteenth
century do not acknowledge the difference which
fair dealing obliges us to admit, and the author
of a poem, to which we shall presently refer more
in detail, classes the Vaudois amongst outlaws and
highwaymen. “Knowest thou,” says Bishop Fol-
quet, addressing the pope, “that the Count de
Montfort has remained in the district of Carcassis
for the purpose of destroying the wicked and
establishing the good, for the purpose .of driving
out the heretics, the routiers, and the Vaudois,
and peopling the country with Catholics, Normans,
and French ? " 2
1 Lectures on the History of France.
2 Croisade contre les Alb., lines 3500-3503.
Pierre de Saulr-Cernay.
107
At any rate, the history of the Crusade against
the Albigenses has been made the subject of
several works, which may be found in the nine-
teenth volume of the Recueil des Historiens, and
the principal of which, translated into. French,
form part of the collection of documents published
by M. Guizot (vols, xiv. and xv.). Let us first
mention the memoirs of Pierre de Vaulx-Cernay,
who died about the year 1218, and who took an
important share in the terrible deeds he relates.
It is curious to note the expressions of his zeal for
the Church of Rome; to watch him as he travels
from one end of France to the other, recruiting
for the Crusade, preaching, confessing, exhorting
his erring brethren, and assisting, as he acknow-
ledges himself, “with unutterable joy," at massacres
and auto-da-fé. The uncle of Pierre de Vaulx-
Cernay, Guy, abbot of the same monastery, be-
came Bishop of Carcassonne after the domains of
the Count of Toulouse had been conquered by
Simon de Montfort. Sharing the fanaticism of
his nephew, he threw all his energy into the
Crusade, and appears as one of the leading cha-
racters in the stirring drama unfolded by the monk.
The history we are now alluding to, being the
work of a partisan, is not very reliable. Peter
distorts or omits, not only the circumstances
favourable to the Count of Toulouse and to his
followers, but all the facts which tell against the
Crusaders. You rise from the perusal of his book
103
Early Chroniclers of France.
knowing absolutely nothing about the petty rival-
ries of the orthodox barons, their greed, their
ambition, the reproaches frequently addressed to
them by the pope. In the opinion of the annalist,
Simon de Montfort is an immaculate hero, to
whose glory he does not hesitate to sacrifice in-
differently friends and foes. On the other hand,
as M. Guizot remarks, there are few historical
productions so thoroughly interesting as the work
of Pierre de Vaulx-Cernay-few which make us so
well acquainted with the character of the times,
the spirit which animated the Crusaders, and the
whole policy of the expedition. The work begins
with the supposed origin of the Albigensis heresy,
and ends with the death of Simon de Montfort.
The next chronicle to which we shall call the
attention of our readers is a metrical one, pub-
lished for the first time by M. Francisque Michel
in the Collection de Documents Inédits, begun during
the reign of Louis Philippe, and a new edition of
which, prepared by M. Paul Meyer, is now in
course of publication under the auspices of the
Société de l'Histoire de France. This poem is the
work of two distinct authors-Guillaume de Tudela,
and a troubadour, who seems to have been a native
of Toulouse, or of the immediate neighbourhood.
The fact of its being a poem might lead some
critics to suppose that it is destitute of historical
importance, and that its only merit is that of a
literary composition, in which a few events and
Guillaume de Tudela's Poem.
109
characters are introduced as the pretext for giving
a kind of material in which the author's fancy
could freely display its powers. Now, it is quite
true that Guillaume de Tudela talks of his work
as of a chanson, but exactly in the same manner as
Robert Wace called his poems rornarices.
There
is, of course, some share to be given to fancy, but
the metrical composition we are examining is, to
all intents and purposes, a history. It contains the
narrative of events which the author has either
witnessed himself, or heard from the lips of credible
and trustworthy persons. We may notice here
that whilst writing his account of the Crusade,
Guillaume de Tudela, anxious, no doubt, to earn
reputation as a littérateur, endeavoured to take for
his pattern some of the most popular of the
chansons de geste which were then current. Thus,
in giving an interesting description of the siege of
Beaucaire by the young Count of Toulouse, he
introduces to us the French knights who were
defending the citadel for the Count de Montfort,
reduced to the greatest distress, and deliberating
on the best course which they should adopt :-
"Raynier de Chanderon is the last to speak.
'My lord,' says he, remember Guillaume au
Cort-nez. What fatigues he endured at the siege
of Orange! Let us all be knights, both for life
and for death, and let us disgrace neither France
nor Montfort.'” 1
· Lines 4106 and foll.
IIC
Early Chroniclers of France.
This allusion evidently proves that the author
had seen one of the old chansons de geste relat-
ing the wars of Guillaume au Cort-nez with the
Saracens, and that the chanson was well known in
Languedoc.
In another passage, describing the arrival of
the Crusaders under the walls of Carcassonne, we
find the following allusions to a supposed incident
which took place in the siege of that town by
Charlemagne :
"Charles, the emperor, the powerful crowned
king, kept the town, as we are told, besieged for
the space of more than seven years, without being
able to take it either in summer or in winter. But
when he departed, the towers bent forward to do
homage to him, so that he captured it on his return,
if the geste can be trusted ; and it would have been
impossible for him to take it otherwise.” 1
Until quite recently, the poem we are now de-
scribing was regarded as being one work, composed
throughout by one and the same author. Such
was the theory put forth by MM. Fauriel and
Francisque Michel-a theory so absurd that it
will not bear investigation ; for, if we accept it,
we find ourselves face to face with an historian
writing the commencement of his chronicle from
one point of view, and finishing it under the
influence of diametrically opposite principles. Up
to the account of the battle of Moret, where the
| Lines 562 and foll.
Guillaume de Tudela's Poem.
III
King of Arragon was killed (1213), the political
and religious sympathies of the author are entirely
on the side of the Crusaders; Simon de Montfort
is his hero as he was that of the monk of Vaulx-
Cernay, and the heretics deserve nothing but de-
struction. After this event, the whole character of
the work is changed; the Albigenses become the
object of the poet's good wishes, and the orthodox
party are treated by him with a severity which their
deeds of cruelty only too thoroughly justified. At
the same time, he professes to be a fervent Catholic,
and his condemnation of the manner in which the
authority of the Church was maintained does not,
in the slightest degree, shake his attachment to the
Church itself. M. Paul Meyer's solution of the
problem clears away every difficulty, and we are
no longer puzzled by the apparent want of con-
sistency, when we find that the romance is, in
reality, the artificial association of two distinct
works, representing two opposite views of religious
policy. M. Francisque Michel takes care to note
the principal passages, where much has evidently
been allowed to imagination; the most remarkable
is the episode of the famous Council of Lateran
and of the resolutions which were taken there.
“It is," said the learned editor, “a poetic creation
where history is handled with very little scruple."
At the same time, even there we find historical
statements which have been abundantly confirmed
by other evidence; and the conduct of Pope
I[ 2
Early Chroniclers of France.
Innocent III. towards Simon de Montfort, amongst
other things, is accurately stated and ascribed to
its true causes.
The poem of the Crusade consists
of nearly 9580 Alexandrine lines, arranged in 1214
stanzas of unequal length; it gives us the events
of the war from the year 1208 to the taking of
Toulouse in 1219.
Another chronicle on the same epoch, reprinted
in M. Guizot's collection, deserves special mention,
because it was evidently written as a paraphrase
of the metrical account we have just been examin-
ing, and the one is a mere reproduction of the
other. The facts are presented in the same
manner, explained by the same motives, and the
only difference between the prose and the metrical
narratives consists in peculiarities of style and of
literary composition. From various circumstances
and allusions given in the course of the work, the
Benedictine Dom Vaissète, who published it for
the first time in his Histoire du Languedoc, was led
to conclude that it belongs to the middle of the
fourteenth century, or even, perhaps, to a more
recent date.
Guillaume de Puy-Laurens, who flourished about
the end of the thirteenth century, and was chap-
lain to Count Raimond VII., must not be forgotten
amongst the historians of the war against the
Albigenses. Beginning quite ab ovo, and discussing
fully the origins of the heresy, he takes us down to
the year 1272; and his account is the more valu-
Chronicle of Simon de Montfort.
I13
able because he has related a number of facts
omitted by other writers. We must give him
credit, also, for an endeavour to be impartial, and
for the comparative freedom with which he appre-
ciates the events and personages he has to review.
The great drawback to his work is the chronology ;
there Guillaume de Puy-Laurens signally fails,
especially when, wandering away from the main
subject he has in hand, he attempts to survey the
general course of European history.
The last chronicle which we shall mention here,
in connection with the Crusade against the Albi-
genses, is a very brief one, generally known by the
name of Chronicle of Simon, Count de Montfort.
It extends from 1202 to 1311, and is disfigured by
blunders of every kind, which detract considerably
from its merit. It will be found in the fifteenth
volume of M. Guizot's collection,
FR.
I
TT
TTTTTTTT
SIZES
NOK
CHAPTER VIII.
SAINT LOUIS-GUILLAUME DE NANGIS AND HIS
CONTINUATORS-JEAN DE VENETTE.
We have thus arrived at the thirteenth century,
the most remarkable epoch in the whole Middle
Ages. Two great prelates, Innocent III. and
Innocent IV., occupied the papal chair. A saint
ruled over France, and the empire was under the
sway of Frederic II.—a monarch who, .at any
time, would have attracted the notice of the whole
world. The quarrel of the investitures between
Rome and Germany had come to an end, and
Italy was once more throwing off the yoke of its
Teutonic oppressors.
England established the
foundation of its liberties. The results of the
Crusades were beginning to manifest themselves
in a remarkable intellectual, industrial, and com-
mercial movement. The love of study had spread
far and wide, monuments of national literature
were appearing, and in the various 'walks of
philosophy, science, divinity, and belles lettres, the
progress accomplished was of the most extra-
Guillaume de Nangis.
115
ordinary character.
Let us see how historical
composition was affected by this general revival,
and ascertain what impression the development of
mediæval civilization had produced upon the
writers whose business it was to record passing
events, and to delineate the portraits of leading
personages in Church and State. We have already
mentioned Rigord and Guillaume le Breton. For
the biography of Saint Louis, we can profitably
consult the confessor of Queen Margaret, his con-
sort, besides Geoffroy de Beaulieu (? 1274), who
was, during the space of more than twenty years,
his own spiritual adviser; Guillaume de Chartres,
his chaplain and his fellow-captive in Palestine
(? 1225-1280); Albéric des Trois Fontaines, and
Baudouin d'Avesnes. Most of the historical docu-
ments or compilations written by these annalists
have been printed in the collections of Duchesne,
Dom Bouquet, and Leibnitz.
Guillaume de Nangis and his continuators are
entitled to a separate mention, on account of the
exceptional merit of the chronicle with which their
names are associated—a chronicle edited, a few
years ago, for the Société de Histoire de France by
M. Géraud. Of Guillaume himself very little is
known, for not one of the writers belonging to the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries has mentioned
him, and he is provokingly reticent about his own
biography. Was he born at Nangis, a small town
in the department of Seine-et-Marne? Even that
116
Early Chroniclers of France.
is far from being ascertained, and the words de
Nangiaco, which accompany his name in the
original manuscripts, afford the only fact upon
which we can rest this supposition. He was a
Benedictine monk of the abbey of Saint Denis,
and died shortly after the year 1230. The his-
tory of Guillaume's works is not, to quote Lacurne
de Sainte-Palaye, as barren as that of his life. He
has left behind him a biography of Saint Louis,
and one of Philip the Bold, in Latin ; a Latin
chronicle extending from the creation of the world
to the year 1300; and a small account of the kings
of France, written in French. He is, moreover,
supposed by some critics to have translated into
French his biography of Saint Louis and his general
chronicle. Guillaume de Nangis does not pretend
to any origiriality in the first of these works;
his guides, he says, are Geoffroy de Beaulieu and
Gilon de Reims. The memoir of the confessor
of Saint Louis still exists; it is what we should
call strictly a work of edification, and therefore we
are led to conclude that the narrative of the wars
in which the king took a part, and the account of
his administration,"were borrowed by Guillaume de
Nangis from Gilon de Reims, whose own composi-
tion is lost. Now, if our author has followed this
writer as he has done in the case of Geoffroy, we
need not regret very much that Gilon's ipsissima
verba are not to be found at present in any library,
either public or private. The history of Philip III.
Jean de Venette.
117
deserves still more confidence, and is still more
reliable. Here Guillaume de Nangis required no
guide; he described what was taking place under
his own eyes, events in which he sometimes had a
share.
The chronicle, as far as the year 1300, is a
mere compilation from the works of Eusebius,
Saint Jerome, and Sigebert de Gembloux ; sub-
sequently to that date, it assumes the appearance
of an original work, and is nearly the only autho-
rity for the first sixteen years of Philip the Fair,
the portion of the chronicles of Saint Denis cor-
responding to that epoch being nothing else but
a translation of Guillaume's own composition.
Guillaume de Nangis, like Guillaume de Tyr, had
his train of continuators, all monks of Saint Denis,
coinmonachi nostri, and of whom we need not say
much till we come to a certain Jean de Venette,
who took up the thread of the narrative at the
year 1340, and brought it down as late as 1368.
Master Jean de Venette dit Fillons, born about
1307 or 1308, and a Carmelite friar, was a man of
somewhat irregular habits, if we may judge from
the following curious extract, which readers in-
terested in antiquarian lore may find in his poem
on the three Marys. Talking of the miracle at
Cana, he exclaims feelingly,
“Would to Heaven, for my solace,
That I had three or four bottles (shares= lots) of it,
118
Early Chromclers of France.
Yea, a jar quite full !
I would drink hard.” 1
This is tolerably good French, if somewhat of a
bacchanalian character. Venette's Latin, on the
other hand, is uncouth in the extreme, and he
frankly acknowledges it himself: "Ad ea ... re-
citanda me verbis rudibus applicabo ruditer, cum
sim rudis.” But, as the latest editor of our chro-
nicle well remarks : "How superior to his prede-
cessors he is by his manner of understanding and
writing history! Previous to him, history is a
mere record of facts stated in all their simplicity,
with no other connection except chronological
sequence. No criticism, no comments; the reader
is left to unravel cause and effect, to appreciate
men, things, institutions: the historian seems to
make a merit of concealing himself, and courts
oblivion. Jean de Venette follows an entirely
different method ; his bold and independent pen
not only puts down the facts he has witnessed, or
those which have been related to him, but also the
impression he has received from them. He dis-
cusses, censures, approves with equal freedom the
acts of the crown, the excesses of the feudal lords,
16 Pleust à Dieu, pour moy esbatre,
Qu'en tenisse trois los ou quatre,
Voire une isdrie? toute plaine !
Si en buvroie a grant alaine, 3
I Voire (Lat. verè) = vraiment.
3 Isdrie (Gr. 'u plov)
3 Alaine = halline,
= cruche.
Style of Dean de Jenette's Chronicle.
119
the resistance of the people. Engaged by his
sympathies, and perhaps by a direct share, in the
internal struggles which, during his lifetime, deluged
France with blood, he stamps his narrative of
events with all the independence of his ideas and
the warmth of his convictions. Passion stands for
him in the stead of style and of literary talent, and
for the first time, under the barbarous Latin of the
Middle Ages, history becomes animated, and as-
sumes a dramatic form to which it had not been
accustomed.''
It is curious to compare Jean de Venette with
Guillaume de Nangis. The older chronicler is the
pattern of a staunch conservative. The idea which
runs through his book is that of complete sub-
mission to the powers that be; the greatest mis-
deeds committed by the kings of France are
recorded without any reflection or expression of
blame, as if it was quite impossible for a monarch
to do anything wrong. Jean de Venette, on the
contrary, never misses the opportunity of inveigh-
ing against the nobles, and, next to the English,
he hates them with an earnestness which is some-
times quite amusing. Belonging probably by his
birth, and certainly by his convictions, to what our
neighbours would call le petit peuple, he accepts as
a challenge the famous sobriquet of Facques B012- ·
homme, applied by the feudal barons to the country
population. Jacques Bonhomme is the object of all
his care; the miseries of the people engross his
I 20
Early Chroniclers of France.
attention; the triumphs and virtues of the people
monopolize his praises. Relating a well-known
episode in the wars against the English, he first
alludes to the treaty of peace concluded in 1359
between the Regent of France and the King of
Navarre, and then goes on :-
“Dissatisfied with this place, the English en-
deavoured to do still greater harm to France; but
their designs did not always meet with the success
which they expected, for, by the permission of the
Lord, they were defeated in several private com-
bats. I wish to relate one of these such as I heard
it from the mouth of trustworthy witnesses, and I
do so the more willingly, because the event took
place near the village where I was born, and was
stoutly despatched by Jacques Bonhomme.
Et
fuit negotium per rusticos, seu Facque Bonhomine
strenue expeditum."
We cannot wonder at finding Jean de Venette
accused of being a democrat in the modern sense
of the words; but a close attention to his chronicle
will lead an impartial critic to modify this opinion
very materially Let us again quote from M.
Géraud's excellent preface :
"Jean de Venette never dreamt that the people,
the object of his predilection, should obtain any
privilege; taxes, services, impositions, were so many
sacred obligations to which they must submit
without a murmur. But, on the other hand, the
faithíul and conscientious discharge of all these
Jean de Venette and the Nobles.
121
burdens should, as a matter of justice, guarantee to
the people the right of working with security, and
of enjoying the fruit of their labours; and if the
nobles, whom Jean de Venette regarded as the born
defenders of the country, deserved to be called to
account, it was because they had not protected the
land against foreign invasion, and because they
had plundered the lower classes instead of assisting
them. If the regent, notwithstanding the supreme
authority with which he was invested, merited the
severest blame, it was because he had done nothing
to repress the insolence and exactions of the
barons."
The chronicle of Jean de Venette was evidently
written subsequently to the year 1358, when the
treacherous conduct of the King of Navarre and of
Etienne Marcel had become notorious. He does not
attempt to palliate this crime; in fact, he ascribes to
Charles le Mauvais the burning of Saint Lazare, of
Saint Laurent, and of the stores preserved in the
neighbourhood of Paris. What, then, was the secret
hope which governed the mind of that faithless
prince and of his adherents ? Nothing else, our
author answers, but the ambition of obtaining the
crown of France : ad hoc totis viribus anhelabat. If
Etienne Marcel favoured the views of Charles le
Mauvais, by attempting to open to him the gates
of the capital, it was because the Parisians dreaded
the wrath of the regent, whom the catastrophe of
Robert de Clermont and of the Marshal of Cham-
I 22
Early Chroniclers of France.
pagne, both murdered under the eyes of Charles V.,
had justly infuriated. The account of the death of
Etienne Marcel is one of the most striking episodes
in Jean de Venette's narrative, and the sentiments
of the Parisians are expressed with singular naïveté.
We have been led to dwell at some length on these
circumstances, for the purpose of showing that Jean
de Venette was not, as Lacurne de Sainte-Palaye
and other critics have supposed, an admirer of the
King of Navarre. If ever he was so, remarks
M. Géraud, he had completely altered his original
opinion, and no adherent of Charles le Mauvais
could have spoken with such evident delight of the
defeat of the Captal de Buch, and of the Navarrese,
at Cocherel in 1364.
ry:
CHAPTER IX.
VILLEHARDOUIN-JOINVILLE-ROBERT DE
--
CLARI.
IN order not to separate Guillaume de Nangis from
his continuators, we have been obliged to neglect
two historians, whom we shall now examine some-
what in detail, because they combine literary merit
of the highest kind with all the qualities of excellent
and trustworthy memoir-writers. We mean Ville-
hardouin and Joinville, whose works have recently
been edited by M. N. de Wailly in the most
scholarly manner. We may affirm, without fear of
contradiction, that they stand by themselves as
brilliant specimens of mediæval French literature.
Villehardouin gives a lively and interesting, and, on
the whole, a faithful, account of the fourth Crusade.
The foundation of a French empire at Constanti-
nople, the taking of that city, and the transportation
of the whole system of feudal institutions to the
shores of the Black Sea, amongst the descendants
of the ancient Hellenes, were facts startling enough,
and well calculated to draw forth the powers of an
'124
Early Chroniclers of ffrance.
#
observer. Villehardouin had the advantage of
taking a part in the expedition as a soldier and a
diplomatist. He relates the things which he saw,
and the sobriety and simplicity of his narrative are
among its greatest merits. As M. de Wailly well
observes, Villehardouin is the father of French
vernacular history. It is true that at the same
epoch, or even a few years previous, other writers
had attempted to describe contemporary events in
the language of their country. Thus, we have seen
that a Crusader of the name of Brehada composed
in the Romance language a history of the first
Crusade; but his work has not reached us. Then,
again, the first translations of Aimoin and Egin-
hard seem to belong to the beginning of the reign
of Philip Augustus; but they are only translations,
whilst the Conqueste de Constantinoble is the first
original French work of a thoroughly historical
character. We shall not dwell long on Villehar-
douin's biography. Born about the year 1167, in
a château situated between Bar and Arcis-sur-Aube,
belonging to one of the most ancient families of
Champagne, and to one of those who enjoyed most
influence at the court of the lord of that province,
he had for some time discharged the duties of
marshal, when, in 1199, Count Thibault, happening
to be at a tournament with all the nobility of the
neighbourhood, announced that he was about to
undertake the voyage to Jerusalem, and to do his
service as a Crusader. A considerable number of
Willehardouin.
125
barons, Geoffroy de Villehardouin amongst the rest,
took the cross on the occasion. They assembled
first at Soissons, then at Champagne, for the
purpose of determining the epoch of their starting
and the road they would take. Villehardouin, as
we have already said, was a personage of much
political importance; with the chivalrous courage
of which he gave repeated proofs, he combined the
eloquence of a debater and the experience of a
statesman. As he had a prominent share in all the
negotiations, as well as in the military exploits of
the Crusade, it is almost a subject of wonder that
he should have found time to describe the romantic
expedition which his memoirs make so well known.
At any rate, it is not too much to say that his work
is a masterpiece of candour and of veracity. He
begins by enumerating the various lords and barons
who joined in the war. The chiefs were the Count
de Brie; Louis, Count de Blois and de Chartres;
Baudouin, Count de Flanders; and his brother.
Amongst the Crusaders belonging to Champagne,
we notice Geoffroy de Joinville, the uncle of the
celebrated friend and biographer of Saint Louis.
The years 1199 and 1200 were spent in all the
necessary preparations. The commander decided
at last upon despatching six messengers or depu-
ties, the best that could be found ; and these
forerunners, if we may use the expression, Geoffroy
de Villehardouin being amongst them as a matter
of course, started for Venice, where they arrived in
I 26
Early Chroniclers of France.
February, 1201. It is not our intention to describe
here the events of the fourth Crusade; we shall
merely say that, after the taking of Constantinople
in 1204, the Marshal of Champagne, as a reward
for his services, received from the Marquis of
Montferrat the grant of a fief situated in Thessaly,
where he died about the year 1213. The Conqueste
de Constantinoble comprises the history of the
events from 1198 to 1207.
It is a matter of regret that we should not
possess the original text of the Maréchal de
Champagne; but an attentive study of the six
manuscript copies which are still extant has
enabled M. de Wailly to give us an edition far
surpassing those of Ducange (1657), Dom Brial
(1822), M. Paulin Paris (1838), and M. Buchon
(1840). The best of the six copies alluded to is
one which was done during the reign of Philippe
de Valois, by an Italian. It was preserved for a
long time in one of the Venice libraries. The
transformations undergone by the French language
from the eleventh century to the fourteenth have
often been a source of great confusion to scribes;
and we know, besides, that persons working on
texts belonging to the early Middle Ages purposely
altered the original which they had to copy, in
accordance with the grammatical fashion of their
own times. We shall have to note this circum-
stance when we treat of Joinville ; the Chronique
de Constantinoble gives us an opportunity of men-
M55. Copies of Hillehardouin's History.
127
tioning it now. Fortunately, in the case of this
work, the Italian amanuensis knew nothing about
the difference existing between the French of the
fourteenth century and that of the thirteenth. He
was, moreover, totally incapable of understanding
the character of the variations introduced into the
etymology and the syntax. His copy, therefore,
may be accepted as a faithful transcript of the
original, and the blunders he has committed are
not deliberate alterations, but the result of care-
lessness; he never had the intention of modern-
izing the narrative he was directed to reproduce.
Next to the Venice manuscript, as it is called,
comes Longó Intervallo, another one, in all pro-
bability due to a native of Ile-de-France about the
beginning of the fourteenth century. Here con-
siderable liberties have been taken with the text.
Long phrases are abridged, entire sentences con-
densed, synonyms introduced, and orthographical
modifications applied for the purpose of giving to
Villehardouin's idiom the colour of the locality to
which the copyist belonged. M. de Wailly notices,
however, that the manuscript in question is still of
great importance, and that it helps, in many
instances, to rectify the blunders of the Italian
codex. A series of three transcripts, of evidently
like origin, because they exhibit the same altera-
tions, suppressions, and mistakes, then deserves to
be mentioned here. The dialect used in the three
is that of Picardy or of Flanders, and we have,
128
Early Chroniclers of France.
therefore, a text totally different from the Cham-
penois original of Villehardouin, such as we find
it in the Italian manuscript. These three copies
belong to the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth
centuries respectively.
After having thus briefly given our readers an
idea of the letter, if we may so say, of the Chronique
de Constantinoble, we shall now offer a few remarks
on the work itself. The critical appreciations made
of it by M. Villemain, M. Géruzez, M. Demogeot,
and other eminent writers, have all given a true
estimate of its merits, and we can only re-echo the
verdict thus passed.
Compelled to speak often of himself, Villehar-
douin always does so with the greatest modesty
possible, and his narrative is singularly untainted
by that affectation which detracts so much from
the merit of the great majority of memoir-writers.
Critics have often found fault with our author on
the score of obscurity and of want of elegance.
Now, it would not be difficult to show that the
supposed obscurity with which he is charged arises
from the ignorance or carelessness of copyists, who
undertook to transcribe the chronicle; for we
presume that, when Villehardouin is accused of
being obscure, this epithet merely implies that his
indications of persons and of localities are not
always given with sufficient distinctness.
As for the want of elegance, we can hardly
understand the weight of such a reproach, for
Admirable qualities of billehardouin's Owork. 129
Work
the slightest study of Villehardouin's prose will
convince the reader that no mediæval French
author can be named, more noteworthy for clear-
ness of style, neatness of composition, and ad-
mirable delineation of character. M. de Wailly
very aptly remarks that, in the thirteenth and four-
teenth centuries, France numbered nearly as many
dialects as there were provinces. The most elegant
of these dialects—those which have had the greatest
share in moulding the French of the present day-
were those of Anjou, Ile-de-France, and especially
Champagne. The Norman parlance was deemed
most disagreeable; those of Artois and
Picardy, with their harshness and abruptness, were
equally neglected, as unfit for the usages of polite
and courtly society. The critic who must be held
chiefly responsible for the accusation we have just
alluded to is Etienne Pasquier; he names Ville-
hardouin as an indifferent writer, and talks con-
temptuously of him, as having adopted the ramage
de son pays. Now that ramage, to quote once more
M. Natalis de Wailly, was the most elegant lan-
guage of the time. Thanks to Marie de France,
widow of Henry I., and daughter of Eleanora of
Guienne, the court of Champagne had become,
even to a greater extent than the court of the
sovereign, the favourite abode of all the most
distinguished poets and prose writers. Gautier de
Coinsy, the Châtelain of Coucy, Auboins de Sé
zanne, Chrestian de Troyes, are all well known
FR.
K
130
Early Chroniclers of France.
1
amongst the leading French mediæval poets; they
were all natives of Champagne. If we compare
their works with those of Blondel de Nesle, for
instance, or with the metrical romances of Robert
Wace, we shall see at once the decided superiority
of the Champenois littérateurs. One short extract
from Villehardouin's Conqueste will serve to give an
idea of his style :-
“ When they had arrived at the palace, they
alighted at the gate, and went in, and saw the emperor
Isaac the father, and the emperor Alexis his son,
sitting side by side in two chairs ; next to them
was sitting the empress, who was wife of the father.
and stepmother of the son, and sister to the King
of Hungary, a handsome and kind lady. And
with them were many people of distinction, and it
certainly seemed the court of a powerful prince.
By the consent of the other messengers, Quèsnes.
de Béthune, who was very wise and eloquent, spoke,
and he thus said : “Sir, we have come to you in
the name of the barons of the host, and of the
Doge of Venice. And know that they reproach
you for the great service they have rendered you,
as your own people are aware, and as is quite
apparent. You have sworn, you and your father,
to keep the agreement you had promised, and they
have your written deed to the effect. You have
not kept it as you ought. More than once have
they summoned you to do so, and we now sum-
mon you again, in the presence of all your barons.
Quègnes de Béthune and the Emperor.
IZI
If you comply, it will go well with them ; if you
do not, they hold you neither as their lord, nor
as their friend; but they will endeavour to obtain
their right in every possible way. And they
send you word that they would harm neither you
nor any one else, without first challenging you, for
they have never been guilty of treachery, and in
their country treason is not known. You have
heard what we have said ; decide, then, what you
please. The Greeks took this challenge as a
wonderful thing and a great insult; and they said
that never had there been a man in the world so
bold as to defy the Emperor of Constantinople in
his own room." 1
1
1 " DISCOURS DE QUESNES DE BÉTHUNE À L'EMPEREUR DE
CONSTANTINOBLE.
Quant ils furent venus jusques au palais, il descendirent à la
porte et entrèrent ens, et trovèrent l’Empereour: Kyrsac 4 le père,
et l'Empereour Alexis son fil, séant ambedui 5 lez-à-lezo
chaieres, et de lès els seoit l'empereris, 8 qui feme estoit au père et
en dui
1 The want of faith on the part of the Greek emperor Isaac, so
energetically denounced by Quesnes de Béthune in his speech, led
to the storming of Constantinople, and to the partition of the empire
between the conquerors, viz. Baldwin IX., Count of Flanders;
Boniface II., Marquis of Montferrat; and the Republic of Venice.
? Dans, Lat. intus.
3 Accus. sing. of the substant. emperères. In the French grammar
of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, all substantives ending in
ères take the termination cour in the oblique cases,
4 Isaac.
5 Both, Lat. ambo, dro; in the obl. cases, ainbedeus.
6 Side by side ; lez, or lès, from the Lat. latus. The word still occurs
in various compounds; thus, Plessis-les-Tours, Saint-Pierre-lcz-Calais,
7 For chaises.
* Impératrice. The old feminine emperiere occurs likewise.
132
Early Chroniclers of France.
The Latin empire founded in the East by the
heroes of the fourth Crusade was not of long
marastre au fil, et estoit suer 1 le Roi de Hongrie, bele dame et
bone. Et avoec els avoit grant planté2 de bone gens, et mout
sembloit cour à riche prince. Par l'assentement des autres messages
monstra la parole Quèsnes de Béthune, qui plus estoit sages et bien
emparlés 3 que nus des autres, et dist en tele manière : ‘Sires, nous
somes à vous venu de part * les barons de l'osts et de part le Duc
de Venise ; 6 et sachiés que il reprouvent le service que il ont à vous
fait, tel come tot la gens sevent, et come il est aparissant; vos et
vostre pères lor avés juré leur convenances? à tenir; il en ont vos
chartres. Vous ne leur avez mie8 is bien tenii come vous déussiez.
Meintes fois vous en ont semorzs 9 et encore vous en semonnons-nous,
voiant tous vos barons, se vous le faites, moult leur sera bel, et se ce
non 10 il ne vous tiennent ne pour seigneur ne pour ami. Ensi por-
chaceront que il auront leur raison, en toutes les manières que il
porront : et bien vous mandent ce; que, sans deffiance 11 ils ne
feroient mal ne à vous, ne à autrui, car il ne firent oncques 12 trahison,
et en leur terres n'est-il mie acoustumé que il le facent. Vous avés
bien oï ce que nous vous avons dit ; si 13 vous conselliés ensi que il
vous plaira.' Mout tindrent le Gricu 14 à grant merveille et à grant
outrage ceste deffiance, et distrent que onques inès 15 nul home el
monde ne fu tant hardis qu'il osast deffier l'Empereour de Constan-
itinoble en sa chambre méismes."
1 For saur du roi.
? Eng. plenty, from the Lat. plenitas. Hence the adject. plan-
tureux, which is still used, and which should be spelt plentureux.
3 Eloquent.
4 Another example of the genitive employed without a connecting
preposition; see above, note 1.
5 Hostis.
The Doge, Henry Dandolo.
? Convenances, covenant.
.8 Pas, from the Lat. mica ; ne mie ; lit. not a crunb.
9 The verb is semondre, to summon; Lat. submonere, sunnionere,
from which is also derived the verb sommer. The substant. senonce
is frequently employed in the sense of a scolding, a reprimand.
10 Sece non, if not.
11 A challenge.
12 Ever, Lat. unquan.
13 Si (ainsz) vous conselliés=conseillez vous.
15 Onques mès = jamais.
14 Grecs.
The Epic of the Crusades.
133
duration ; Villehardouin's 'record of it, to quote a
recent critic, has outlived it, and it is no exaggera-
tion to say that it will subsist as long as the French
language. A captain, a statesmen, and an historian,
he reminds us sometimes of Thucydides, more
frequently of Herodotus. His actions, as well as his
language, belong to epic times.
When we peruse
his entertaining work, we fancy we can see before us
the jongleur Taillefer, celebrated by Robert Wace,
riding in front of the Norman lines at the battle
of Hastings, singing the exploits of Charlemagne
and of Roland, then pushing his charger through
the ranks of the Saxons, and striking the first blow
upon one of the standard-bearers of King Harold.
M. de Ségur's Histoire de la Grande Armée has often
been called the epic of Napoleon ; might we not,
in like manner, designate La Conqueste de Constanti-
noble as the epic of the Crusades?
Another question, and a more important one,
must be briefly alluded to here; it affects not the
style, but the truthfulness of Villehardouin's
assertions-of some of them, at least. The dis-
cussion carried on by M. Natalis de Wailly and
Count Rianti seems to prove that, although the
Marshal of Champagne's narrative must be re-
garded as of the highest authority respecting the
military progress of the Crusade, it is by no means
of equal value as a political appreciation; and
when we find some of the statements contradicted
1 See the Revue des Questions Historiques, vols. xvii., xviii.
134
Early Chroniclers of France.
by those of Pope Innocent III. in his official de-
spatches, we should naturally give the preference
to letters written whilst the events were taking
place, over a chronicle composed some time after
the end of the Crusade, and in the preparation of
which the author was not always faithfully assisted
by his memory.
Villehardouin's continuator, Henri de Valen-
ciennes, must not be forgotten; his short chronicle
is so far curious, that it is thrown into a kind of
romantic shape, and has about it a poetical appear-
ance which cannot be mistaken, although, like
the Conqueste de Constantinoble, it is in prose.
M. Paulin Paris is of opinion that Henri wrote it
first as a metrical composition, and that it formed
part of a chanson de geste, like the well-known
romances of Godefroy de Bouillon, Baudoin de
Sebourc, and the poem on the Crusade against the
Albigenses. The length to which the speeches
extend, the minute descriptions of single combats,
are further proofs of the assertion put forth by
M. Paulin Paris; we may also notice that the chro-
nological order is not uniformly adhered to, and
that some of the events described are of a very
improbable character. Notwithstanding all these
drawbacks, Henri de Valenciennes deserves to be
studied by readers who are anxious to know the
history of the fourth Crusade, because his narra-
tive embraces years on which Western annalists say
absolutely nothing, and Eastern ones very little.
Robert de Clari.
135
Robert de Clari is another hero of the expedition
to Constantinople; “ quoiqu'il ne l'ait point aussi
bellement contée' que l'eussent fait maints bons
auteurs, il en a toutefois conté la droite vérité."
His narrative, covering the same ground as that of
Villehardouin, differs from it in many important
respects. Both begin their memoirs by a long list
of the Crusaders, in which the same names occur ;
but Robert de Clari arranges his characters under
two classes, the rich and the poor, and he devotes
an equal amount of attention to the one and to the
other. A friend of the leaders of the expedition,
the Maréchal de Champagne bids us accompany
him to their council board, and lets us into the
secrets of their policy ; Robert de Clari, whose
companions are the petites gens, the soldiers and
humble members of the Crusade, tells us what is
spoken aloud, and describes the events which have
taken place in the broad daylight. Another im-
portant difference between Villehardouin and
Robert de Clari is to be found in the descriptions.
The sketches of the former are mere sketches, boldly
dashed off, so as not to interrupt the progress of the
narrative. The latter, on the contrary, goes into
details ; he enumerates the various kinds of ships
of which the fleet consisted, gives a list of the
instruments of music which helped to stir up the
courage of the Crusaders, and is very minute in his
account of the tents, pavilions, standards, etc.
Robert de Clari was, no doubt, one of the first to
136
Early Chroniclers of France.
visit the monuments of Constantinople, and the
numerous particulars he gives us are not the least
remarkable portion of his work. A few lines suffice
to Villehardouin for the purpose of expressing the
astonishment of the Crusaders at the sight of the
city "which was sovereign amongst all others;”
Robert de Clari takes us from street to street,
considers leisurely, and makes us share the interest
with which he surveys the wonders of a civilization
so totally different from that to which he was
accustomed. In short, the chronicle we are now
appreciating, despite several rather notable in-
accuracies, deserves a conspicuous place in the list
of the memoir-writers of the thirteenth century,
side by side with Geoffroy de Villehardouin.
We now turn to Joinville, the adviser and friend
of Saint Louis, the man whom we should be
disposed to consider as the best model of a feudal
baron, just as his master was the most ac-
complished type of the king. There is scarcely
any doubt that if all the members of the mediæval
nobility had been cut out on the pattern of Join-
ville, and if the sceptre had been always placed in
the hands of monarchs such as Saint Louis, the
feudal system would not have been open to the
objection so loudly and so justly directed against
it. The biography of Saint Louis, which has im-
mortalized the Sénéchal de Champagne, and
which will endure as long as the French language,
was composed long after the author's return from
Bonbille's Life of Saint Louis.
137
the Crusade, when he was stricken down by age, and
without the slightest pretension on his part to
obtain literary fame, or to pass himself off as a
scholar.
"To his good lord, Louis, son of the King of
France, by the grace of God King of Navarre,
Count Palatine of Champagne and Brie, John,
Sire de Joinville, his sénéchal of Champagne,
greeting, love, honour, right willing service.
“ DEAR SIRE,
“I make known to you that madam
the .queen, your mother, who loved me much (to
whom God be merciful !), entreated me as earnestly
as she could, that I would cause a book to be
written of the holy words and good deeds of our
sainted King Louis. I made her that promise, and
by God's help the book is finished, in two parts.
“The first part relates how Saint Louis ruled
himself throughout his whole life, according to God
and the Church, and for the good of his realm.
“The second part of the book speaks of his
great deeds of arms."
Jeanne de Navarre had, no doubt, often heard
Joinville relate the souvenirs he had treasured up
on Saint Louis; she had been entranced by the
narrative of the battle of Massorah, and of the
sacking of Sidon; the character of the king, his
piety and love of justice, could not also but excite
138
Early Chroniclers of France.
her admiration, and she naturally felt anxious that
all Frenchmen should know something about the
life of a monarch who had done so much, both for
the glory of God, and for the happiness of his
country. Hence the memoirs we are now attempt-
ing to describe. The plan adopted by the author
is not the best possible, if we examine it from the
literary point of view; but, as we have already said,
his intention was not so much to produce an artistic
or rhetorical composition, as to leave behind him
a work of edification. Hence also the repetitions,
which are of frequent occurrence, and which Join-
ville might easily have dispensed with, if he had
aimed at anything like dramatic effect.
It is unnecessary to dwell here upon the merely
material part of Joinville's work--that is to say,
upon the authority we have for the text as it now
stands in M. de Wailly's splendid Édition Défini-
tive; a few remarks will suffice. The original
manuscript of the Vie de Saint Louis does not
exist; three copies alone have been handed down
to us, the most ancient and best being now pre-
served in Paris amongst the treasures of the
Bibliothèque Nationale, after having belonged to the
library of the Dukes of Burgundy and Brussels. It
was done about the end of the fourteenth century,
by a scribe who modernized the text, and substituted
the style of the reign of Charles V. instead of the
picturesque and terse idiom of Joinville's epoch.
The second copy, discovered at Lucca by Lacurne
Various Manuscripts of the Work.
139
de Sainte-Palaye, in 1741, is of a still more recent
date, for it cannot be assigned to a higher period
than the fifteenth century. It belongs, like the one
just named, to the Paris Bibliothèque, and is valu-
able as reproducing a certain number of archaic
expressions contained evidently in the manuscript
which the copyist was using. The third codex,
forming part of a private collection, also gives us
a Joinville dressed up in the French of the Re-
formation era. From these remarks, it will appear
that all the editions of the worthy seneschal pub-
lished between 1761 and 1867, although they cer-
tainly give us the thoughts and the substance of
the original work, do not reproduce the text; and
it was reserved for M. de Wailly to place before
us, so far as can reasonably be expected, the
ipsissima verba disfigured and altered by the
conceit of scribes, whose refined taste could not
endure the roughness of the primitive draft. In
doing this, the learned critic had to guide him
twenty-six charters and other official documents,
drawn up by Joinville's own clerks, and extending
from the year 1238 to the death of the chronicler.
These pieces, together with a letter addressed to
the king by Joinville himself, and with the Credo
which he composed, according to the pious habit
of those days, supplied the necessary materials
for a restitution of the original reading; and in the
absence of the author's own manuscript, we must
acknowledge that we now possess its next best
140
Early Chroniclers of France.
substitute. We are told distinctly, both at the
commencement and at the and of the work, that
Joinville a dicté et fait écrire ce livre ; and it is not,
therefore, too bold to suppose that the scribes who
wrote it under his dictation were also those who
drew up the twenty-six charters just alluded to.
It has been remarked that Villehardouin is often
touching, but that he never smiles. Equal in
beauty to the Conqueste de Constantinoble, but superior
in point of attractiveness, the life of Saint Louis
is also the narrative of the Crusade; but it is some-
thing more, and the history of the war may be
considered as the framnework destined to set off
and bring out in strong relief the character of the
king. A few quotations will serve to illustrate the
nature and style of Joinville's memoirs; and, first,
let us watch the Crusaders, as they take their de-
parture for the Holy Land. We add the original
text as an interesting specimen of the seneschal's
French:
“The day we embarked, the door of the vessel
was opened, and the horses were led inside that we
were to take with us; then they fastened the door,
and closed it up tightly, as when one sinks a cask,
because when the ship is at sea the whole of the
door is under water. When the horses were in,
our sailing master called out to his mariners, who
were at the prow, ' Are you all ready?' And they
1 The English extracts are taken from the translation published
by Mr. James Hutton. London, 1868.
Embarking of the Crusaders.
141
replied, 'Sir, let the clerks and priests come for-
ward !'
As soon as they had come nigh, we
shouted to them, Chant, in God's name!' And
they, with one voice, chanted, Veni, Creator
Spiritus.' Then the master cried to his men, 'Set
sail, in God's name!' And they did so. And in a
little time the wind struck the sails, and carried us
out of sight of land, so that we saw nothing but
sea and sky; and every day the wind bore us
farther away from the land where we were born.
And thereby I show you how foolhardy he must be
who would venture to put himself in such peril
with other people's property in his possession, or
while in deadly sin; for when you fall asleep at
night, you know not but that ere the morning you
may be at the bottom of the sea.” 1
1“A celle journée que nous entrames en nos neis i fist l'on (on fit)
ouvrir la porte de la nef, et mist l'on tous nos chevaux ens (dedans)
que nous deviens mener outre-mer ; et puis reclost l'on la porte et
l'enboucha l'on bien, aussi comme l'on naye (noie) un tonnel, pour-
ceque quand la neis [est] en la grant mer, toute la porte est en
l'yaue.
Quant li cheval furent ens, nostre maistres notonniers escria à
ses notonniers qui estoient ou bec (proue) de la nef et lour dist :
Est arée (prête) votre besoigne?' Et il respondirent : Oil, sire.
Vieignent avant li clerc et li provere (prêtres).' Maintenant que il
furent venu, il lour escria : Chantez de par Dieu !"2 Et il s'es-
crierent tuit à une voix, Veni, Creator Spiritus.' Et il escria à ses
notonniers, 'Faites voile de par Dieu !' Et il si (ainsi) firent.
"Et en brief tens, le vent se féri ou 3 voile et nous ot tolu
(enlevé) la vue de la terre, que nous ne veismes que ciel et yaue : et
1 Neis, Lat. naves.
3 Se féri ou
? De par Dieu = de la part de Dieu.
= frappa dans la .
Lat. ferire.
.
142
Early Chroniclers of France.
The relations between Saint Louis and Joinville
had always been cordial without being intimate ;
the crossing from Egypt to Palestine brought the
monarch and the seneschal into habitual intercourse
with each other, and a memorable circumstance
sealed their friendship. Contrary to the advice of
the legate and of the principal leaders of the
expedition, Joinville had, one day, in a full council,
urged the king not to return to France, but to
remain in the Holy Land. On leaving the as-
sembly, he had been assailed with taunts and jokes,
and, the same day, during the dinner, the king,
contrary to his custom, had not addressed him a
single word.
“While the king was listening to the thanks-
giving, I went to a barred window that was in a
recess near the head of the king's bed, and I
passed my arms through the bars. . . . Whilst I
was standing there, the king came and leaned upon
my shoulders, and put his two hands upon my
head. I thought it was Monseigneur Philip de
Nemours, who had annoyed me incessantly all that
day because of the counsel I had given the king,
chascun jour nous esloigna li venz des païs où nous aviens estei neis.
Et ces choses vous moustré-je que cil (celui-là) est bien fols hardis,
qui se ose mettre en tel péril a tout autrui chatel 1 (avec le bien
d'autrui) ou en péchié mortel ; car l'on se dort le soir, là où l'on ne
scait se l'on se trouvera ou font de la mer.
1 Autrui chatel (Eng. chattel) les biens d'autrui (Lat. alterius).
Note the-genitive pronoun autrui used without the preposition de,
much more logically than the modern form d'autrui.
Joinville for the Pay of Saint Louis.
143
and I said, 'Leave me in peace, Monseigneur
Philip !! By accident, as I turned my head round,
the king's hand slipped down over my face, and I
saw it was the king by a emerald he wore on his
finger. And he said to me, 'Keep still, for I want
to ask you how so young a man as you had the
hardihood to venture to counsel me to stay here,
contrary to all the great and wise men of France
who advised me to depart?'
Sire,' said I, ‘if I had evil in my head, still I
would advise you not to depart at any cost.'
“Do you say,' he asked, that I should act
wrongly, if I went away?'
“Yes, sire,' I answered, 'so help me God!'
“Then,' said he, if I remain, will you remain ?'
“'Yes, sire, if I can ; either at my own charge,
or at that of some one else.'
“Be at ease, then,' he answered ; 'for I am
greatly obliged to you for the counsel you gave;
but do not say so to any one all the week.'”
From that time forward, Saint Louis took Join-
ville in his own pay, and found in him not only
a faithful knight and a sincere adviser, but a friend,
who shared his toils, was the companion of his
walks, and the comforter he could rely upon in
all his troubles. The worthy seneschal often
amused the king by sallies of wit, and the harm-
less jokes in which he indulged relieved the mono-
tony of the evenings spent under canvas in
the plains of Egypt and of Palestine. On one
144
Early Chroniclers of France.
occasion, before leaving the Holy Land, Join-
ville, who had been on a pilgrimage to Our Lady
of Tortosa, brought back with him some relics
given to him by the Prince of Tripoli, and a hun-
dred pieces of camlet of variours colours, which the
king had ordered him to buy. This was an excel-
lent opportunity for Joinville to make a present to
Queen Margaret. She was hoping to receive the
relics—he had thought only of the pieces of camlet,
and he sent them to her by one of his knights.
“The knight who took them carried them
wrapped in a white cloth. When the queen saw
him enter the room where she was, she knelt down
before him, and the knight, in his turn, knelt
down before her; and the queen said to him,
* Rise, sir knight; you, the bearer of relics, ought
not to kneel down.' But the knight replied,
*Madam, these are not relics, but pieces of camlet
which my lord sends to you. When the queen
heard that, she and her maidens began to laugh,
and the queen said to my knight, 'Tell your lord
that I wish bad luck to him, for making me kneel
before his camlet.'"
Time will not allow us to dwell any longer in
the company of the excellent Sénéchal de Cham-
pagne, however much we might wish to do so, or
to enjoy the wonderful beauty of that style, which
is equaily admirable when the author describes
touching episodes, or when he attempts a piece of
quiet, good-humoured satire, or a naïve outburst
Joinville and Willehardouin.
145'
of badinage. A modern writerhas well pointed
out the difference which separates Villehardouin
from Joinville : the former is the brilliant exponent
of feudal independence; the latter, by the bio-
graphical mould into which he has cast his narra-
tive, already expresses the growing importance of
the monarchical principle.
1 M. Demogeot, Histoire de la Littérature Française.
Di
FR.
L
Kes
DI
COXoXoX
CHAPTER X.
SECOND CRUSADE OF SAINT LOUIS--GUILLAUME
ANELIER GRINGORE'S VIE MONSEIGNEUR
SAINT LOYS - PHILIPPE MOUSKES—"RÉCITS
DU MÉNESTREL DE REIMS."
THE second Crusade of Saint Louis has not been
described by Joinville, who declined to take part in
it; fortunately we have, as a source of information
on that campaign, the metrical chronicle of Guil-
laume Anelier, which was published for the first
time in 1856, by M. Francisque Michel, in the
Collection des Documents sur l'Histoire de France.
We must repeat about the old troubadour what
we have so often been already obliged to say, and
what we shall, no doubt, have to confess more than
once, viz. biographical details are absolutely want-
ing. The title of the manuscript used by M. Michel
bears the following indication: Guillelmus Anelier
de Tolosa me fecit; and we know that he lived during
the latter part of the thirteenth century, but that is
all we do know with any amount of certainty. One
Boem on the second Crusade of Saint Louis. 147
important circumstance deserves to be noted; he
was an eye-witness of most of the events which he
relates, and thus his work has an historical value
which cannot be contested. Alluding to the sailing
of Louis IX. from Aigues-Mortes, he observes-
"The Crusade was a great one, and they went to prepare themselves
At the port of Aigues-Mortes. What I have seen, I can relate.” ?
Further on, describing the civil war which broke
out at Pampeluna, he makes use of the same ex-
pression; when he relates the siege of a farm, he
talks of us, showing that he had taken part in the
action ; in the middle of a narrative he breaks out
with the phrase "ea adons yeu vi lo" (and then
I saw it).
The poem we are now examining professes to
relate the war of Navarre in 1276 and 1277 ; but
Guillaume Anelier, after a prologue of twelve
lines, begins with the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa,
which the King of Navarre, Sancho VIII., sur-
named the Strong, together with the Kings of
Arragon, Leon, and Portugal, won, on the 16th of
July, 1212, over Mohammed el-Nassireddin-Allah,
Sultan of the Almohades, who never recovered
from the blow they there received. It is well
known that Thibault, Count of Champagne and of
Brie, nephew of Don Sancho, ascended the throne
of Navarre in 1234, and founded a new dynasty.
He died in 1253, and was succeeded by his son,
1
« La Crozada fom granda e ancron s'aprestar
Lai al port d’Aigas-Mortas. Ço qu'eu vi puis contar.”
148
Early Chroniclers of France.
er
Thibault II., a prince whose piety Anelier cele-
brates as something quite remarkable. It is, pro-
bably, with the view of illustrating this quality of
the monarch that our troubadour passes on
abrupto to the narrative of the Crusade which hap-
pened only a long time after, in 1270. Perhaps,
also, he was eager to come to facts of which he had
been a witness, and which he could, therefore,
describe more accurately. Even if he had not
expressly stated that he was present with the
invading army under the walls of Tunis, we might
have expected so, from the minuteness with which
he relates the events of the campaign, and the
details he gives. The Toulousan poet, having
become a Navarrese by the result of political cir-
cumstances, is loud in praise of his new compatriotes,
and he contrives to make the Saracens themselves
pronounce the panegyric of King Thibault's fol-
lowers :
"And the Navarrese, who saw their lord hard
beset, exclaimed, 'Barons, let us go and protect
our lord, and let us all die with him rather than
allow him to be forced. Then you might see cross-
bows stretched and let loose, spears strike and
darts hurled, and the Navarrese jumping about
here and there in their shirts. And the Saracens,
when they saw them thus rushing about, said,
* These are not men, by Mahomet; but it seems
that they are living devils, since we see them thus
jumping for they are not afraid of death, nor do
“Annales del Reyno de Navarra."
149
they fear to be wounded, and certainly it is no
good fighting with such men'” (lines 400-414).
Saint Louis, the leader and soul of the Crusade,
died in 1272 ; Thibault II. soon followed him to
the grave, leaving the throne to his brother Henry.
The civil war which was the result of this arrange-
ment, and the consequent interference of the King
of France, Philip III., form the subject of the re-
mainder of the poem, which, unfortunately, is very
much mutilated towards the end. It consists of
.
5118 lines arranged into assonant stanzas of un-
equal length. M. Francisque Michel shows very
conclusively, in his preface, the historical import-
ance of Anelier's work; till it was published, the
only sources we possessed for the events related
were the biography of Philip III., by Guillaume de
Nangis (Grandes Chroniques de France, edit. P.
Paris, chaps. xix., xxiii., xxiv.), Guillaume Guiart's
Branche des Royaux Lignages, and the chronicle of
the Prince of Viana. The slightest reference to
historians who have dealt with that episode in the
annals of the thirteenth century will sufficiently
prove the high value of the metrical chronicle, for
which we
are indebted to Guillaume Anelier.
M. Francisque Michel supposes (not without reason)
that Garci Lopez de Roncevaux, treasurer of King
Charles III. of Spain, was alluding to our trouva-
dour, when in his Annales del Reyno de Navarra
(vol. iii. p. 414), he says that he abstains from giving
an account of the civil war of Pampeluna, because
150
Early Chroniclers of France.
it was a long one, and that the details of it were
enumerated in books preserved at Pampeluna itself,
and elsewhere. The reader will observe further
that the history of Navarre, at that time, is the
history of a country almost entirely French. The
Prince of Viana, just now alluded to, speaks of the
population of Saint Cernin and Pampeluna as con-
sisting of Frenchmen who had come from Cahors ;
and the names of most of the burgesses mentioned
in the poem belong to the southern provinces of
France. With reference to the language, it may be
designated as Provençal, strongly modified by the
introduction of Spanish words and phrases; and,
what is extremely curious, it offers the closest
resemblance with the poem on the Crusade against
the Albigenses, already noticed in this volume. The
structure of the lines, their distribution into stanzas,
the metre-in short, every detail of composition is
alike. Finally, the poem is full of interesting
details on the arms, equipment, navy, etc., of the
fifteenth century--details which M. Francisque
Michel has well illustrated and explained in his
notes. Thus, we know that the ships engaged by
Saint Louis for the sixth Crusade belonged to the
Venetians, and the deed of agreement for the pur-
pose has been preserved in Duchesne's Hist. Franc.
Scriptores. Thus again, the skill of the Navarrese
archers and cross-bowmen alluded to by Guillaume
Anelier is amply confirmed by the author of the
metrical romance of Gérard de Roussillon.
" Complainte et Jeu de Pierre de la Proce." 151
+
It has often been remarked as a subject of regret
that French literature should boast of no composi-
tion such as the historical plays of Shakespeare,
and that no writer of genius should have ever
stepped forward to carve out tragedies from Mon-
strelet, Froissart, and Joinville, as the author of
King Henry V.” did from Holinshed. Be the.
cause what it may, the fact subsists, and the few
French historical plays which the Middle Ages have
left us cannot lay claim to the slightest spark of
genius. The Complainte et Feu de Pierre de la Broce,
written on the episode of the disgrace of Philip :
the Bold's favourite minister, is rather a metrical
dialogue than anything else; and all the interest
it possessed for the Parisians of the thirteenth
century arose from the fact that it denounced, to :
the indignation of the mob, an unpopular statesman.
If we have alluded to dramatic works in connection
with this part of our subject, it is because the
history of Saint Louis found two writers to arrange
it for public performance, and these compositions
are sufficiently founded upon fact to deserve the
title of metrical chronicles. The former may be
described, indeed, as "une véritable chronique
découpée en dialogues," composed by an author
whose name has not been handed to us. It dwells
especially upon the events of the Crusade, eschews
the allegorical personages and incidents which
mediæval poets indulged in so freely, and allows
nothing to imagination. The second play com-
152
Early Chroniciers of France.
posed on the life of Saint Louis is by Gringore,
a well-known author, who flourished during the
first half of the sixteenth century, and to whom
we shall refer, further on, more particularly. It is
written in octosyllabic lines, and subdivided into
eight parts or books, treating respectively of the
following incidents 1. The early years of the
king. 2. The attempts made against the crown by
the great vassals. 3. The wars of the Emperor of
Germany against the pope and the King of France.
4. The first Crusade in which Saint Louis was
engaged. 5. The king's return to France. 6. The
king's careful administration of justice. 7. The same
subject, illustrated by the account of two sentences
of condemnation pronounced, the one against a
blasphemer, and the other against the Lord of
Coucy. 8. The second Crusade and the king's
death. The play winds up with an epilogue,
relating three miracles due to the intercession of
the king
If we now endeavour to ascertain the sources
which Gringore consulted whilst writing his Vie
Monseigneur Saint Loys, we shall find that he made
use especially of the Golden Legend of Jacopo de'
Voragine, and of the French rédaction of the
chronicles of Saint Denis, about which we shall
presently have more to say. Gringore has, no
doubt, grouped the facts with a view to a certain
amount of stage effect, but he does not adulterate
or misrepresent them; and it would be a curious,
Philip Mouskes.
153
and by no means an unprofitable study, to com-
pare his voluminous play with the narrative given
by the prose annalist of the abbey of Saint Denis.
In order to finish at once what we had to say
about the Crusades, we shall mention Philip
Mouskes, or Mousket, a French writer, who occu-
pied the episcopal see of Tournay in 1274. The
metrical chronicle composed by that author, and
which extends over thirty thousand lines, is not very
remarkable as an exhibition of literary talent, but
it is curious on account of the historical facts which
the author has preserved, and which confirm the
statements given in the works of professed chro-
niclers. Philip Mouskes entitles his poem a
chronicle, and, in the introductory lines, he declares
it as his express purpose
" Des rois de Franche' en rime mettre
Toute l'estoire et la lignée."
His authority, he adds, is the collection of histories
preserved in the abbey of Saint Denis. The
greater part of his work, however, belongs almost
exclusively to the realms of fable, and appears
borrowed mainly from the old chansons de geste
and the chronicle of the pseudo-Turpin. Beginning
quite ab ovo with the Rape of Helen by Paris,
Philip Mouskes takes us down as far as the year
1242; and the earlier part of his work, from the
election of Baldwin to the throne of Constanti-
nople, is the one on which he chiefly rests his
i Franche is the Picard and Flemish way of writing France.
154
Early Chroniclers of France.
re-
pretensions to be called an historian. It has been
printed separately, first by Ducange, as an ap-
pendix to his edition of Villehardouin, and by
M. Buchon.
Louis IX. may be said to have closed the era
of the Crusades. Nothing but the influence of
so holy a character, so distinguished a prince,
could have led against the enemies of the cross
a society already tainted by scepticism, and more
careful of its comforts than of the claims of
religion. After his death, the appeals made from
time to time on behalf of the Christians in Pales-
tine remained unsuccessful; nothing soon
mained of those principalities, once so flourishing,
which the old Crusaders had founded in the
Archipelago and in Asia Minor; nor even did the
name survive of that ephemeral kingdom of Jeru-
salem, for the establishment of which the nations
of Europe had, for the space of nearly two centuries,
spent so much blood, so much money, so much
heroism.
The historians whom we have been reviewing treat
the subjects of which they have to inform us with
the gravity of writers who feel conscious that the
task undertaken by them is an important one, and
that they are providing for the instruction of pos-
terity. It is amusing, by way of a contrast, to see a
chronicler selecting the satirical and comical side of
the picture, and eager only to entertain the public
and to express his own political and social ideas.
“Le Ménestrel de Reims."
155
Such is exactly the line adopted by an anonymous
writer, whom we may designate, as his editor M.
N. de Wailly does, by the title of Le Ménestrel de
Reims, and whose singular narrative has recently
been published by the Société de l'Histoire de France.
We have seen that the old metrical romances and
chansons de geste were designed to be sung by the
trouvères and wandering minstrels in the form of
episodes, each one choosing the parts which suited
him best, and which were most likely to captivate
his audience. What is quite novel is to find history
treated in that fashion, and chapters of prose com-
position recited (without any musical accompani-
ment, of course), just as poetry had been, and still
was, during the thirteenth century. Now, this is
just the peculiarity belonging to the récits of the
Rhemish minstrel; the work is a collection or
series of short chapters beginning with the death
of Godefroy de Bouillon, and ending at that of Saint
Louis in 1860. The Crusades, the histories of
France, Germany, and England, are reviewed in
this extraordinary work, which has sometimes been
honoured with the name of chronicle, but which
has not the slightest claims to historical accuracy.
It is quite clear, 1. That the minstrel, more anxious
to secure the applause of his hearers than to give
us well-authenticated facts, was, above all, led by
the desire of pandering to the satirical tendencies
of the time; and the grotesque way in which he
launches against the avarice of the court of Rome
156
Early Chroniclers of France.
and the college of cardinals proves exactly the
reverse of what he meant to establish, viz. that
the papacy was then hopelessly degraded. 2. The
minstrel must not be held responsible for the
numerous errors and misstatements contained in
his work; he followed to a great extent the data
of popular tradition, and several of the episodes
which he relates can be found either in the com-
pilation known under the name of Chronique de
Flandres, or in other works of the same kind.
After borrowing largely from others, our minstrel,
in his turn, was subjected to the same treatment by
later historians. Thus, the Chronique Normande of
Pierre Cauchon, as far as the first three chapters are
concerned, is an abridged reproduction of the
minstrel's narrative. From what we have just
stated, it seems singular that the récits should have
been printed as part of a series of historical works;
but it is interesting to see how prejudice, ignorance,
or a kind of political bias, can lead an author to
disfigure what we would suppose to be the best
known facts; and the traditional severity of
Louis IX., whenever the Church was attacked, or
even made the subject of satirical remarks, must
have been sometimes very lax, if he tolerated the
buffoonery which our anonymous minstrel indulged
in before the people gathered together to listen
to his pseudo-historical effusions.
CHAPTER XI.
THE “CHRONIQUES DE SAINT-DENIS"-FROISSART.
WHILST the records of the Crusades were thus
committed to writing by Villehardouin, Joinville,
and Robert de Clari, another great work, intended
to be the national history of mediæval France, was
gradually getting into shape, thanks to the industry
of the monks of Saint Denis. England boasts its
chronicles of Saint Alban's, an important series of
documents throwing so much light upon the events
of the country during the Middle Ages; in like
manner, the famous establishment of which the
King of France was always ex officio the avoué,
where the oriflamme was kept, and which contains
in its vaults the remains of a long race of
monarchs—the abbey church of Saint Denis—had
its studious monks, who were busily engaged in
compiling the history of their native land, both
from the old traditions which had been handed
down to them in the chansons de geste and other
158
Early Chronulers of France.
documents, and from their own personal observa-
tions. It is now successfully demonstrated that
the Grandes Chroniques cannot be ascribed to an
earlier period than the beginning of the reign of
Philip the Bold, who succeeded to the throne in
1270. Undertaken at his command-nay, even,
perhaps, by the order of Saint Louis, his father-
the chronicles were drawn up in the first instance
by a monk of Saint Denis, named Primat, under the
direction of Matthieu de Vendôme, abbot, and
regent of the kingdom. The original narrative,
concluding with the death of Philip Augustus
(1223), was completed in 1274, when Primat, ac-
companied by his superior, had the honour of
submitting it to Philip the Bold. As we have
already hinted, the Chroniques de Saint Denis can-
not pretend to be anything but a compilation.
M. Paulin Paris, in his excellent edition of the
work, has carefully enumerated all the sources
from which the narrative was borrowed; they in-
clude Aimoin, Eginhard, Suger, Rigord, Gulielmus
Brito, Guillaume de Nangis, and the first continuator
of that annalist, and are therefore mere translations
from Latin texts, interspersed here and there with
facts borrowed from other sources, but so incon-
siderable in point both of number and importance,
that they hardly deserve mentioning. Continued
successively by different writers whose names are
now unknown, but who seem to have all been, as
was the first translator and compiler, monks of Saint
"Chroniques de Saint Denis."
159
Denis, the chronicles were thus carried on as far
as the reign of King John. From 1310 to the
death of Philip de Valois, in 1350, the work ceases
to be a translation, and has all the characters of
an original production; still, however, it must be
ascribed to a religieux of the royal abbey, who
wrote his share of the chronicles before the battle :
of Poitiers (1356).
For a considerable time the Grandes Chroniques
ended with the death of Philip de Valois; several
manuscripts belonging to the reign of King John
or of Charles V. prove this beyond a doubt—some
of them concluding as they do with the word amen,
whilst others, still more explicit, state : ce fenissent
les Chroniques de France. At last Charles V., one
of the best known and most illustrious of French
kings, and who owed the surname of "the Wise"
to his intelligent love of the arts of civilization,
as well as to the character of his government,
entrusted to the Chancellor of France, Pierre
d'Orgemont, the task of continuing the work left
unfinished by the monks of Saint Denis, and of
writing the annals of a glorious and happy reign.
That Pierre d'Orgemont is responsible for all the
portion comprised between 1350 and 1377 is quite
certain ; it is extremely probable that he went on
as far as the death of Charles V., in 1380. Con-
tinued till the year 1461, the Chroniques de Saint
Denis were published in 1476, under the title Chro-
niques de France depuis les Troyens jusqu'à la Mort
160
Early Chroniclers of France.
The part
de Charles VII.; they became extremely popular,
and, being regarded almost in the light of a national
monument, they served as the source from which
Nicole Gilles, Gaguin, and the other early French
historians derived their information.
treating of the reign of Charles VII. was written
by Jean Chartier, brother of Guillaume Chartier,
Bishop of Paris, and of Alain Chartier, the most
celebrated French poet of the fifteenth century.
Named historiographer of France in 1437, and
subsequently precentor of Saint Denis, "qui étoit,"
says Dom Félibien, “une des premières dignités
de l'abbaye," Jean Chartier lost no time in begin-
ning his task as a chronicler; but we are bound
to say that very few have done so wretchedly a
work which, in competent hands, might have been
made exceptionally interesting, considering the
political events which marked the reign of Charles
VII. Chartier is dull and inaccurate, slovenly in
his composition, and absolutely regardless of chro
nology. The value of his work, as M. Vallet de
Viriville (his recent editor) remarks, consists entirely
in its being a kind of official record, a Moniteur
given under authority, and registering only what
the king wished to commend to the attention of
the public. It has preserved, besides, a number
of authentic documents of the most valuable kind,
the great portion of which cannot be found any-
where else.
Whilst the Grandes Chroniques de Saint Denis,
Adam de la Halle.
161
thus gathering, as time went on, fresh materials,
came to assume the proud position of an official re-
cord, compiled (so to say) cum privilegio, independent
authors added their share to the stock of historical
information, and left, on the stirring events of the
thirteenth century, memoranda which are still
profitably consulted. Let us name Adam de la
Halle, surnamed Le Bossu d'Arras, although he
indignantly repudiated a sobriquet which it seems
he did not deserve :-
“On m'apele bochu, mais je ne le suis mie."
Having left his native town in order to seek his
fortune in Paris, Adam de la Halle attached himself
to Robert II., Count d'Artois, nephew of Saint
Louis, and son of Robert I. In 1282, he went to
Naples, in the company of the Duke d’Alençon,
whom Philip the Bold was sending to Charles of
Anjou, King of Naples, for the purpose of assisting
him in punishing the authors of the Sicilian
Vespers. Our trouvère composed on that occasion
a short metrical history of 378 lines, entitled
C'est du Roi de Sézile. He died about the year
1286.
The poem known by the name of La Branche
des Royaux Lignages belongs to the same epoch; it
is the production of a native of Orleans, Guillaume
Guiart, who, in common with so many others,
professes to have taken as the ground-work of his
compositions-
| Bochu, Picard for bossu,
FR.
MI
162
Early Chroniclers of France.
**The certain chronicles,
That is to say, the true words,
The memoirs of which I have transcribed
At Saint Denis, evening and morning,
From the Latin original,
And which I have translated into good French,
And then arranged into rhyme.”
The portion of the Grandes Chroniques translated
by Guillaume Guiart, is the history of Philip
Augustus for which we are indebted to Gulielmus
Brito; but the French poet continued it as far as
the year 1306, and the part which is really his own
work deserves special notice, because it records
several events which Guiart himself witnessed.
He had taken an active share in the war waged by
Philip the Fair against the Flemings; he was
present at the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, and at
the attack of the Haiguerie, where he was disabled.
The poem, begun in 1304, whilst the author was
recovering at Arras from the wounds he had re-
ceived in the campaign, is dedicated to Philip the
Fair. As a sequel to it, the reader can take up the
metrical chronicle of Godefroy de Paris, an author
about whose biography nothing certain is known,
but who lived during the reigns of Philip IV.,
Louis X., Philip V., and Charles IV.
1 - Les certaines croniques,
C'est-à-dire paroles voires,
Dont j'ai transcites les mémoires
À Saint Denis, soir et matin,
À l'exemplaire du Latin,
Et à droit Français ramenées
Et puis en rimes ordenées."
· Voires = vraies.
1
Sir Waalter Scott and froissart.
163
The thirteenth century was the culminating
point of mediaval institutions and of feudalism;
with the fourteenth we see the growing power of
the crown, the influence of the legists, and the
foundation laid of that system of centralization which
was destined to become the characteristic feature
of the government in France. Froissart and
Monstrelet stand by themselves as the chroniclers
of that epoch, and even the heavy, prosy work of the
latter leaves far behind the useful, but somewhat
dull, labours of the monks of Saint Denis.
Sir Walter Scott's appreciation of Froissart has
often been quoted ; it is so true that we cannot
resist the pleasure of transcribing it once again :
“ His chapters inspire me with more enthusiasm
than even poetry itself. And the noble canon,
with what true chivalrous feeling he confines his
beautiful expressions of sorrow to the death of the
gallant and high-bred knight, of whom it was a
pity to see the fall, such was his loyalty to his king,
pure faith to his religion, hardihood towards his
enemy, and fidelity to his lady-love! Ah! bene-
dicite! how he will mourn over the fall of such a
pearl of knighthood, be it on the side he happens
to favour, or on the other. But, truly, for sweeping
from the face of the earth some few hundreds of
villain churls, who are born but to plough it, the
high-born and inquisitive historian has marvellous
little sympathy."
Jean Froissart (1337-1410) was a native of
)
164
Early Chroniclers of France.
Valenciennes. Destined from his childhood for the
Church, he put off as long as he could the period
of his ordination, for the purpose of enjoying the
pleasures which were then within the reach of a
young man of fashion and of taste. Dancing,
hawking, music, dress, sports of every kind, en-
gaged his attention much more than the study of
theology, and he tells us very honestly, in one of
his poems, that throughout his whole life he pre-
served a fondness for the diversions which had
given so much charm to his youth. Fortunately,
intellectual pleasures had also for him a peculiar
kind of fascination; he was eager for travels and
adventures, he had all the gifts of a shrewd and
careful observer, and he noted down diligently all
the events of any importance which either came
under his own cognizance, or which he became
acquainted with through the report of trustworthy
witnesses. Like most young men of his times,
he attached himself to the household of a person
of importance, in whose service he might hope to
obtain both preferment and honour. Robert de
Namur was his first master, and at his request he
undertook to write the history of the wars which
were then desolating Europe. He then became
clerk of the chapel of Philippa of Hainault; he
visited Scotland (1364), followed the Prince of
Wales to Bordeaux (1366), the Duke of Clarence to
Italy (1368), and on his return to Flanders, his
native country, was presented to the cure of Les-
Extent of Froissart's Chronicle.
165
tines (1369) We cannot imagine a
man of
Froissart's temperament settling quietly down to
the duties of a village clergyman, and ending in
retirement a life which had been marked by so
much action. His next master was Wenceslaus
of Luxemburg, Duke of Brabant, who took him as
his secretary and chaplain, and at whose death he
obtained a clerkship (1384) of the chapel of Guy
de Chatillon, Count of Blois. This nobleman was
wise enough to appreciate Froissart's tastes, and
to encourage that passion for travelling which had
already produced such brilliant results in the first
part of the chronicle presented by the Rector of
Lestines to the queen consort of Edward III.
Assisted by the Count of Blois, Froissart visited
Touraine, Blaisois, Berry, and Bearn; he stopped
several times in Paris, journeyed as far as Holland,
and went once more to England, where he met
with the most cordial reception. On the death of
his patron, the Count of Blois (1397), he retired
to Climay, in Flanders, and spent the last fourteen
years of his life in comparative quiet.
The chronicle of Jean Froissart extends from
1328 to 1400, and treats of the events which took
place not only in France, but in England, Scotland,
Ireland, Flanders, Spain, and the other countries of
Europe. There exist three different drafts (rédac-
tions) of this work, each represented by a certain
number of manuscripts, and corresponding to the
different epochs in the author's life. The first
166
Early Chroniclers of France.
rédaction, composed at the time when Froissart was
enjoying the friendship and patronage of Robert
de Namur, is often a mere transcript of another
chronicle compiled by Jean le Bel, Canon of Liège;
it must be ascribed to the period included between
1369 and 1373. It breathes the strongest partiality
for England, and is characterized by a brilliancy of
touch, a verve, a spirit particularly striking. The
descriptions of the battles of Crécy and of Poitiers,
as this rédaction presents them to us, are master-
pieces which have never been equalled. When, at
a later period of his life, Froissart attempted to
give another account of these memorable engage-
ments, he fell far short of that animation, that
freshness, which stamp his earliest compositions.
Time went on, however, and our chronicler
became chaplain to the Count of Blois, and the
favourite poet of Wencelaus of Luxemburg, Duke
of Brabant. Thus circumstanced, Jean Froissart
began to see from a totally different point of view
the political events, which he had originally related
under the prestige of the flattering reception he
had met with at the court of the enemies, or at
any rate the rivals, of France. This difference
is particularly noticeable in the description of the
battle of Poitiers; and it is interesting to see how
the same events have been successively appreciated,
according to the prejudices and impressions of the
two conflicting parties.
The third rédaction, posterior to the year 1400, is
Jean le Bel.
167
remarkable especially, from the philosophical style
in which it is written. Here Froissart appears no
longer as a mere chronicler ; he endeavours to
trace events to their true causes, and his account
of the manners, laws, and institutions of the various
people whose history he relates, is striking for its
depth and accuracy. He judges the English espe-
cially with an amount of harshness which could
scarcely have been expected from the enthusiastic
writer who gave so anti-Gallican a version of the
battle of Poitiers; but this final draft, we must not
forget, was composed after the tragic end of the
unfortunate King Richard II., and Froissart, when
he wrote it, was still mourning, no doubt, over the
death of a monarch who was son of the Black
Prince, and grandson of the chronicler's earliest
friend, the good Queen Philippa of Hainault.
The episode about the elevation of Arteveld and
the Flemish revolution exemplifies perfectly well
the way in which the three rédactions have been
successively prepared by Froissart. In the first,
he merely reproduces the text of Jean le Bel,
without either addition or suppression. In the
second, he still retains as his groundwork the nar-
rative of the Canon of Liège, but he improves upon
it; and, amongst other developments, he explains
the origin of the troubles of Flanders with the
greatest impartiality, the deepest political insight,
and an amount of discrimination which is almost
incredible. The third draft allows nothing to
168
Early Chroniclers of France.
remain of Jean le Bel's description; all the details
are Froissart's own, and the particulars he
presents to us have an unmistakable character of
originality.
Froissart's chronicle is of the highest importance
as a biographical and geographical répertoire; it
may be considered as a kind of international
temple, where all the grand feudal families of
Europe are represented, and where our aristocracy
can find its title-deeds. No writer excels him in
describing the bustling scenes which took place
around him. Gifted with a real passion for observ-
ing, knowing, and relating all that was worth
attention, we fancy we can see him travelling from
spot to spot, making friends everywhere by his
agreeable manners, his lively temperament, his
talent as a poet, and availing himself of the otiun
cum dignitate which he enjoyed, for the purpose
of taking notes of all the deeds of valour and of
chivalry which were performed throughout the
battle-fields of Europe. The reader must not seek
in the pages of Froissart for anything like the spirit
of patriotism; he was the historian of chivalry, not
of one single nation, and provided he could record
the catastrophes of tournaments, battles, or such
other dazzling exploits, his motto was-
"Tros Rutulus ve fuat, nullo discrimine habebo."
There are two good English translations of
Froissart, the one written by Lord Berners being
Sir Dohn Bourchier.
169
particularly valuable, not only for its fidelity, but
for the naïveté and picturesque character of its
style. Born about the year 1474, Sir John
Bourchier (Lord Berners) did good service to King
Henry VII., and was made by Henry VIII.
chancellor of the exchequer for life. He held the
important post of lieutenant of Calais and of the
marches, when he died at Calais in 1532. Alderson,
who published (1812) an edition of Lord Berners'
Froissart, has the following remarks: “The
language is at once nervous, yet plain; elegant,
yet impressive; it is very often affecting, but never
tame. Notwithstanding his sentences, from their
length and involution, are sometimes, though
rarely, difficult of immediate comprehension, Lord
Berners' style, on the whole, may be considered
as giving us a very favourable specimen of the
power and compass of the English language in
the early part of the sixteenth century."
We have thought that our readers would be
interested by a comparison between Froissart's
original text and the translation of Lord Berners;
we therefore subjoin, as a specimen, the account
of the Lollard insurrection:
INSURRECTION DES LOLLARDS.
1381.- En ces tretiés durans et parlemens faisans, avinrent en
Engletière très grans meschies i de rebellions et esmouvement de
menu peuple, par lequel fait Engletière en fu sus le point que de estre
toute perdue sans recouvrer; ne onques roiaulmes, ne païs n'en
fu en si grant péril, ne aventure, comme il le fu en celle saisson; et
1 Meschies, from mès = mis and cheoir (Lat. cadere).
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Early Chroniclers of France.
pour la grant aise et abondance de biens où li menus peuples
d'Engletière gratoit et vivoit, s'esmut et esleva ceste rebellion, eussi
que jadis s'esmurent et eslevèrent en France li Jaque-Bonhomme
qui y fissent moult de maulx et par quels incidensses li nobles
l'oiaulmes de France a esté moult grevés.--1357.
Che fu une merveilleuse cose et de povre fondation, dont ceste
pestillensse commencha en Engletière ; et pour donner exemple à
toutes manières de bonnes gens, j'en parleray et le remonstreray
selonc ce que dou fait et de le incidensse j'en fuy adont' infourmés.
Uns usages est en Engletière (et ossi est-il en plusieurs païs) que
li noble ont grant francisse sus leurs hommes et les tiennent en
servage, c'est à entendre que il doient de droit et par coustume
labourer les terres des gentils hommes, quellier les grains et amener
à l'ostel, mettre en la grange, batre et vaner, et par servage les fains
fener et amener à l'ostel, la busce copper et amene à l'ostel, et
toutes telles corvées ; et doient cil lomme tout ce faire per servage
as signeurs, et trop plus grant fuison 3 de gens a en Engletière que
ceilleurs, et en sont li gentil homme et li prélat ou doient estre
servy ; et par especial en la conté de Kent, d'Ersexs, de Sousexs et
de Beteforce en y a plus que ens ou demorant de toute Engleterre.
HOWE THE COMONS OF ENGLANDE REBELLED
AGAYNST THE NOBLEMEN.
1381.-In ye meane season whyle this treate was, ther fell in
England great myschife and rebellion of mouyng of the comon
people, by which dede England was at a poynt to haue been lost
without recouery ; ther was neuer realme nor countrey in so great
aduentur as it was in that tyme, and all bycause of the ease and
ryches that the comon people were of whiche moued them to this
rebellion, as somtyme they dyd in Fraunce, the whych dyd moche
hurt, for by suche incidentes the realme of Fraunce hath been greatly
greued.
It was a marveylous thing and of poore foundacion that this
myschife began in Englande; and to gyue ensample to all maner of
people, I wyll speke therof as it was don, as I was enfourmed, and
of the incidentes therof. Ther was an vsage in England, and yet
is in diverse countreys, that the noble men hath great franches
ouer the comons, and kepeth them in seruage, that is to say, their
1 Adont donc.
2 Busce = buche.
3 Frison = foison.
Decay of Chivalry.
171
tenauntes ought by custome to laboure the lordes landes, to gather
and bring home theyr cornes, and some to threshe and to fanne,
and by seruage to make theyr hey, and to heaw their wood and
bring it home; all these thynges they ought to do by seruage; and
ther be mo of these people in Englande than in any other realme :
thus the noblemen and prelates arre serued by them, and specially
in the countie of Brendpest,' Sussetter, 2 and Bedford.
A chronicler of the twelfth century informs us
that, on one occasion, certain knights, having
conquered a castle in Syria, gave up the plan they
had originally formed of pursuing the miscreants,
in order to look for the gold which, according to
report, lay hidden under the foundations of the
fortress they had obtained possession of. How-
ever, through a just visitation of God, the castle
gave way, and fell to the ground, burying them
amidst its ruins. It was the same with chivalry,
that great and memorable institution, as with these
knights. It sank under the weight of its faults,
and corruption was its ruin. As soon as, from
being courteous, it became covetous, gold rose
in esteem, and honour proportionately declined.
Money grew to be the moving principle of the new
generation of knights, and the auri sacra fames
prevailed where disinterestedness and generosity
had formerly reigned supreme. These symptoms
of decay are apparent in the chronicles of Froissart,
and examples might be easily multiplied to prove
it. We shall select one almost at random ; and, as
our first quotation was borrowed from the trans-
* Kent and Essex.
2 Sussex,
172
Early Chroniclers of France.
lation of Lord Berners, we shall turn for the follow-
ing to the modern version of Colonel Johnes :
“Amerigot Marcel was besieging the castle of
Merceur, in Auvergne, on behalf of the English.
He and his men took up their lodgings early in
a small wood near the castle, where they remained
until sunset, and the garrison had retired into
the castle. While the governor, whose name was
Gérardon Buissel, was at supper, the English, who
knew well what they had to do, affixed their
ladders, and entered the castle at their ease. Those
passing through the courts saw others climbing
over the walls, and instantly cried out, 'Treason !
treason!' Gérardon, on hearing this, had not any
hope of saving himself but through a private
passage, which led from his apartment to the great
tower, which served as the dungeon of the castle.
Thither he instantly retired, taking with him the
keys of the gates, and shut himself in, whilst
Amerigot and his companions were otherwise
employed. When they discovered that the governor
had retired into the great tower, which they were
unable to take, they said they had done nothing,
and repented greatly having enclosed themselves,
for the gates being fastened, they could not get
out. Amerigot, having mused a little, came to
the tower, and, addressing the governor, said,
'Gérardon, give us the keys of the castle gate, and
I promise you we will leave it without doing any
mischief to the castle.' 'Indeed,' replied Gérardon,
The Knights of Germany.
173
* but you will carry off all my cattle.
How can
I believe you?' "Give me your hand,' answered
Amerigot, and I swear to you on my faith that
you shall not suffer the smallest loss. Upon this
he, like a fool, came to a small window in the
tower, and offered his hand for him to pledge his
faith on; but the moment Amerigot got hold of
it, he pulled it to him, squeezing it very hard,
and called for his dagger, swearing he would stick
his hand to the wall unless he gave him all the
keys.
“When Gérardon saw himself thus caught, he
was stupefied, as indeed he had reason, for Amerigot
would not give up his hand without nailing it to
the wall, unless he received the keys. With his
hand, therefore, he gave the keys, for he had
them near him. “Now see,' said Amerigot to his
companions, when he had got the keys, 'if I have
not well cheated the fool. I am equal to many
such feats as this. They opened the tower gate,
and, being the masters, put out of the castle the
governor and all who were in it.”
Froissart speaks to us of the knights of Germany
and of the banks of the Meuse, who are "good
warriors, provided they are suitably paid, but who
will not do any service if money is not forth-
coming." In the south, towards Bearn and Gas-
cony, the same lust for gold is apparent, and is
denounced by our historian in the strongest terms.
“The Gascons," says he, "are never, for thirty years
174
Early Chronicles of France.
running, steadily attached to one lord. . . . Such
are the Gascons; they are very unsteady" Turn
to Brittany, you find exactly the same complaint.
The Bretons often forgot the honourable names
which had shed so much lustre over their land ; they
considered war as merely an opportunity for
marauding and plunder. Princes did not trust
Gascons; knights looked upon themselves as lost
if they fell into the hands of the Germans; the
inhabitants of the good cities, the commons and
the peasants, dreaded one Breton soldier as much
as twenty Germans or twenty Gascons. Together
with the most thorough contempt of plighted
troth and solemn engagements, perjury and lying
stepped in, deceit took the place of courage, and
generosity made way for hatred and treachery.
The episode of the murder of Clisson is a notable
instance of the decay of chivalry; the assassin was
the Duke of Brittany, the son of the illustrious
Duchess of Montfort, of whom it was said that
she had the heart of a woman and the courage of
a lion. He restored, indeed, his adversary to liberty
in the first instance, at the earnest entreaty of
the Lord of Basvalan, after having treacherously
enticed him to the ducal castle of Ermine, near
Nantes; but he soon regretted the act of generosity,
and sent Pierre de Craon to contrive the murder
of Clisson in the streets of Paris.
The pages of Froissart teem with the exploits
of the freebooters and soldiers of fortune who,
The “ Grandes Compagnies."
175
under the name of the Grandes Compagnies, laid
waste the whole of France. Geoffrey Tête-noire,
Briquet, Meschin, Perrot de Savoie, Antoine le
Nègre, Talebart Talebardon---such were the ple-
beian names which frightened French children in
the nursery, just as the Black Douglas was the
terror of English infants. One of the most savage
amongst them was the English Hawkwood (Falco
in Bosco), who stormed Rome, and who, as well
as his companions, put off till his death the moment
for making his peace with the pope.
So melancholy a state of things had succeeded
to the chivalry of Roland, King Arthur, the Cid,
and Joinville. No wonder that Froissart, on
finishing his chronicle, indulged in thoughts of the
gloomiest kind on the revolution which had taken
place throughout Europe, and on the dissolution of a
society whose principles of existence were courage,
generosity, and the strictest regard to honour.
“Flayers," " butchers," "hammerers," inherited the
rich succession of glory left by the knights of old.
What was to be the result of such a disorganisation?
The Vicar of Lestines could not, of course, foresee
the advent of modern society, the substitution of
the monarchical principle instead of feudalism, and
the growing power of the bourgeoisie ; hence his
expressions of regret and discouragement. In
the mean while, the urgent question was how to
get rid of all those adventurers who, like a swarm
of locusts, were eating up the resources of France.
176
Early Chroniclers of France.
Duguesclin stepped forward, took command of
them, and led them into Spain.
As a general conclusion, we would just say
that, in point of style and of brilliant colouring,
Shakespeare alone can be placed on the same line
with Froissart.
HEN
CHAPTER XII.
MONSTRELET AND HIS CONTINUATORS.
As we pass on from Froissart to the chroniclers
who immediately followed him, we find ourselves
in the midst of a literary atmosphere entirely
different from that wherein the early mediæval
annalists moved so freely and
freely and so gracefully.
History is rising by degrees to the position of a
Science and the naïve, uncritical sketches of the
old school make way for writings more philo-
sophical and more ambitious in their style and
composition. When we consider that upwards of
thirty chronicles belong to the former half of the
fifteenth century, to the epoch extending between
Froissart and Philippe de Commines, we shall see
at once that important events were taking place,
and that the political world was affording to
thoughtful observers food for serious meditation.
The reputation which Froissart acquired con-
tributed, no doubt, to swell the ranks of historians;
and many a writer was fired by the ambition of
N
FR
178
Early Chroniclers of France.
rising to the popularity enjoyed by the brilliant
painter of chivalry and of mediæval civilization.
Indiciaries, as they are called, or historiographers
henceforth are the necessary appendage of every
noble household; each king, each prince, each
baron, has not only his chaplain and his court fool,
but his official annalist. Some of these are scholars
of no despicable pretensions; most are gentlemen
holding posts of trust, and often engaged in im-
portant diplomatic transactions.
The principal feature which characterizes the
historians of the epoch we are now considering,
is that, according to their political sympathies,
they are French or Burgundians. Froissart had,
as we have seen, adopted no distinctive badge, and
joined no special nationality. His successors do
exactly the reverse, and make no secret of their
party spirit. Another trait deserving to be men-
tioned here is the frequent introduction of state-
papers, speeches, and official documents in the
body of the narrative. The literary effect of the
composition is sadly marred thereby; but the work
acquires, of course, greater weight, and claims more
attention. Even when pièces justificatives ate not
copied in extenso, and clumsily tacked on to the
tedious and drowsy memoirs, we see that the
archives and muniment-rooms of cathedrals, town
corporations, and baronial residences, have been
assiduously consulted and searched for illustrative
matter. The style, too, is frequently elaborate and
1
Decay of Mediæval Institutions.
179
pretentious; and the approaching influence of the
Renaissance is perceptible in the display of an
erudition equally ill-timed and puerile. Finally,
whilst the biographies of lords and kings, losing
their personal character, too often become mere
panegyrics or even codes of morality, the bourgeoisie
steps in, and from the ranks of the third estate
shrewd observers appear, who, keeping records of
passing events, and taking notes of all that they
had the opportunity of witnessing, show them-
selves the worthy predecessors of Tallemant des
Réaux or Pierre de l'Estoile.
We have now arrived, in fact, at the time when
chivalry is in its decay, and when mediæval institu-
tions are making way for a new order of things. En-
guerrand de Monstrelet and his continuators have
the sad task of chronicling the events which marked
an epoch when France had apparently reached the
brink of destruction, and when, a prey to enemies
both from within and without, and torn by religious
schism and political anarchy, the unfortunate
country seemed to be in the last convulsions of
death. Charles VI. then occupied the throne;
after having been for a period of six years under
the surveillance of his uncles, he had married the
infamous Isabel of Bavaria, and his mind, which
had never been strong, completely forsaking him
at last, the kingdom was given over to the rapacity
of the queen, and the ambition of the Dukes of
Orleans and of Burgundy. The former of these
180
Early Chroniclers of France.
princes was murdered in the streets of Paris
(November 24, 1407), by ruffians hired for the pur-
pose by the Duke of Burgundy, who openly dared
to justify the assassination. Somewhat to account
for this crime, if not to vindicate it, it was stated
that the profligate Orleans had had the effrontery
to introduce the Duke of Burgundy into a cabinet,
which he said was adorned with the portraits of
all his mistresses, amongst which that of the
Duchess of Burgundy occupied a prominent place.
Valentine Visconti, Duchess of Orleans, died of
grief without having been able to avenge her
husband (1408); but her son, Charles, married the
daughter of the Earl of Armagnac, and that noble-
man excited a large number of partisans, in the
south and west provinces of France, to take up
the cause of his son-in-law against the Duke of
Burgundy. This prince, in his turn, united himself
with Henry of Lancaster, who had become King
of England by the murder of Richard II., and he
called to arms the provinces of the north and
east. The result of this terrible conflict was the
civil war of the Armagnacs and the Bourguignons,
and to the pages of Monstrelet we must turn for
a narrative of the events which marked the strife.
Born about the year 1390, Enguerrand de Mon-
strelet belonged to a noble family of Picardy, or of
Flanders, and attached himself to the fortunes of
the Duke of Burgundy, through whose influence he
became Provost of Cambray and Bailli of Walin-
Monstrelet's Style.
181
court; we need not be astonished, therefore, at finding
that his work is deeply characterized by Burgundian
sympathies, and that its statements of the views
and motives of the Armagnacs must be received
with extreme caution. He died July 20, 1453.
His chronicle begins in 1400, takes us down to
the year 1444, and has been continued in succession
by several writers as far as 1516. He gives us a
broad, general history of the epoch which has
occupied his attention, and there is no doubt that,
compared with the brilliant sketches of Froissart,
his narrative is singularly tame, considered from
a merely literary point of view. The pièces justifi-
catives quoted by him in extenso, in support of the
facts he relates, mar the effect of the narrative, and
give to it an appearance of prolixity, which makes
it wearisome to the general reader; but, on the
other hand, the almost uniform accuracy of the
details amply compensate for any amount of literary
shortcomings. The following extract from Dacier's
memoir, published in the transactions of the French
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a very
fair and satisfactory description of Monstrelet :-
“If the numerous imperfections of Monstrelet are
not made amends for by the beauty of his style, we
must allow that they are compensated by advan-
tages of another kind. His narration is diffuse,
but clear, and his style heavy, but always equal.
He rarely offers any reflections, and they are always
short and judicious. The temper of his mind is
182
Early Chroniclers of France.
particularly manifested by the circumstance that
we do not find in his work any ridiculous stories of
sorcery, magic, astrology, or any of those absurd
prodigies which disgrace the greater part of the
historians of his time. The goodness of his heart
also displays itself in the traits of feeling which
he manifests in his recitals of battles, sieges, and of
towns won by storm; he seems then to rise superior
to himself, and his style acquires strength and
warmth. When he relates the preparations for,
and the commencement of, a war, his first sentiment
is to deplore the evils by which he foresees that the
poorer ranks will soon be overwhelmed. Whilst he
paints the despair of the wretched inhabitants of
the country, pillaged and massacred by both sides,
we perceive he is really affected by his subject, and
writes from his feelings. . . . It appears that bene-
volence was the marked feature of his character, to
which I am not afraid to add the love of truth.” 1
Dacier alludes to the "numerous imperfections"
of Monstrelet. One of the most noteworthy of these
imperfections is the frequent recurrence of chrono-
logical mistakes, which disfigure his pages, as well
as those of Froissart; and what deserves particu-
larly to be noticed, to avoid falling into errors, is,
that each of these chroniclers, when passing from
the history of one country to another, introduces
events of an earlier date, without even mentioning
1 Mémoires de l'Acad. des Inscript., xliii. 535, transl. in Johnes's
translation, I. xxviii.
Monstcelet's Imperfections.
183
it, and intermix them in the same chapter, as if
they had taken place in the same period ; but
Monstrelet has the advantage of Froissart in the
correctness of counting the years, which in-
variably begins on Easter Day, and closes them on
Easter Eve.1
Another drawback must be mentioned here--the
frequent disfiguring of proper names, more espe-
cially foreign ones, which are often so mangled
that it is impossible to decipher them. Ducange
had corrected between one thousand and eleven
hundred on the margin of his copy of the edition
of 1572, and these corrections appear, of course, in
the edition published by the Société de l'Histoire
de France.
Finally, we should not forget to notice the very
unequal proportions assigned by the annalist to
the various episodes he brings before his readers.
Whenever he has to relate facts concerning Flan-
ders or Picardy, he goes into the most trivial
circumstances, and preserves the most stupid de-
tails ; on the other hand, he frequently apologizes
for the brevity of his narrative, when discussing
events bearing upon the history of France, and
which led to political results of the gravest
character. Rabelais, who often shows so much
shrewdness and critical acumen in the midst of his
coarseness, has aptly described Enguerrand de Mon-
strelet as "more slobbering than a mustard-pot"
| Dacier, ubi suprd, xxvi., xxvii.
184
Early Chroniclers of France.
(plus baveur qu'un pot à moutarde). There can
scarcely be any doubt whatever that Monstrelet is
the most remarkable of a series of annalists, who,
natives of Flanders or of Picardy, had been at-
tracted to the court of Burgundy by the protection
of the duke, Philip the Good, an enlightened patron
of art and literature, and who attached themselves
to his fortunes, and to those of his son, the cele-
brated Charles the Bold. We shall name the most
remarkable amongst them.
Jacques du Clercq, born in 1420, died during the
second half of the fifteenth century; his chronicles,
which extend from 1448 to the death of Philip the
Good (1467), give us a narrative, almost day by day,
of the events of every kind which took place in
Flanders, both at court and elsewhere. Of all the
histories of that epoch, his is the one where the
people occupy the largest share; and the number of
details he introduces on private and domestic life,
the amusing and characteristic anecdotes which
make up the main substance of his memoirs, are
extremely important towards an acquaintance with
the history of society during the early part of the
century.
Olivier de la Marche (? 1426-1502) is distin-
guished by other qualities, which make him as
valuable as Monstrelet and as Du Clercq, though in
a different manner; and we may say that these
three historians supplement each other. Du Clercq
generally expresses himself with much naïveté; his
Olivier de la Marche.
185
work is neither a piece of special pleading nor a
bill of indictment, and, Burgundian as he is, he
does not hesitate to give us a faithful description
of the scandalous maladministration produced by
the unpardonable nonchalance of Duke Philip. His
ignorance of the history of foreign countries is
amusing; but when he treats of events which have
taken place, either in France or in Flanders, he is
singularly accurate. Olivier de la Marche resem-
bles Du Clercq in point of style, and there it would
be difficult to decide which of the two is the weaker;
laden with provincialisms, diffuse and obscure, the
narrative in both historians drags its weary length
along, unrelieved by the slightest quality of
harmony or elegance. Olivier de la Marche is
useful for military history, and he describes chiefly
the jousts, tournaments, combats, and engagements
which took place at the court of Burgundy between
1435 and 1492. He is remarkably sincere, and
from that point of view many sound critics prefer
him even to Philippe de Commines.
George Chastellain, celebrated equally as a poet
and a chronicler, was born in 1403, at Alost in
Flanders, and died at Valenciennes in 1473. After
having followed for some considerable time the
military profession, and travelled in France and in
England, he joined the court of Philip the Good,
who named him his historiographer. Charles the
Bold conferred upon him the order of knighthood.
The chronicle composed by Chastellain extended
186
Early Chroniclers of France.
originally from 1419 to 1474 ; all the part included
between 1422 and 1451 is, however, lost. The dis-
putes between Lonis XI. and Charles the Bold,
together with the principal events more or less
referring to it, form the theme of our author's
researches. Aiming at exceptional literary perfec-
tion, and carried along by the desire of being con-
sidered as an artist in point of style, Chastellain
never loses the opportunity of indulging in his
taste for verbiage; he dilates the slightest speeches,
even the conversations of the dramatis persona, in
the most tedious and wretched manner, and the
reflections which the events suggest to him are
uniformly put in the shape of oratorical outbursts,
in which he apostrophizes either the princes, his
contemporaries, or France, or even himself. We
must acknowledge, at the same time, that he paints
admirably the artful and treacherous policy of
Louis XI., and the violence of Charles the Bold.
If Monstrelet is liable to the accusation of being
too much of a Burgundian by his political sym-
pathies, the charge is still more applicable to
Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy, of whom we have now
to say a few words. Born at Avesnes (in France,
department of the Somme) about 1394, he became
king-at-arms of the Order of the Golden Fleece,
and died at Bruges, June roth, 1468. The memoirs
of Jacques Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy, extending
from 1407 to 1436, are chiefly plagiarized fro
Monstrelet; and may be regarded as a kind of
Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy.
187
abridgment of the older chronicle. The portion
included between 1407 and 1411 is a mere tran-
script, often disguised in a somewhat clumsy
manner. The next division of the work (1411-1422)
presents all the characters of an exact copy, entire
chapters being reproduced without the slightest
alteration, whilst the few changes introduced are
of the slightest possible nature. Sometimes Saint-
Rémy leaves out episodes mentioned by Mon-
strelet; occasionally, on the other hand, he adds
a few details, and he condenses all the illustrative
documents, giving only their purport, instead of
reproducing the original text. The third portion
of the chronicle we are now noticing (1422–1428)
still presents to us Saint-Rémy in the character of a
copyist, but with less servility than before; he now
describes certain facts otherwise than Monstrelet
had done, whether he appears in the character
of a condenser, or, on the contrary, indulges in
minute descriptions. Finally, the concluding part
(1428–1436) deserves to some extent to be re-
garded as an original composition. Here Saint-
Rémy gives his own version of the events related
by Monstrelet, adding new particulars and suppress-
ing still more. We can see that he has been an
eye-witness of some of the incidents he narrates,
and that he has taken a prominent share in not
a few of them. For this period of eight years, his
memoirs are a valuable résuliné of the history of
France. We have said already that Saint-Rémy
188
Early Chroniclers of France.
is much more prejudiced still than the very partial
and one-sided Monstrelet. Thus, when he copies
from his predecessor, he suppresses carefully the few
passages unfavourable to John, Duke of Burgundy;
thus again, before relating the murder of that prince
on the bridge of Montereau, he writes a preamble
in which he openly accuses the dauphin of having
premeditated the assassination. The affection
which Saint-Rémy entertains for the English is
never concealed, and the French are certainly those
with whom he sympathizes least. Monstrelet always
gives the name of king to the dauphin imme-
diately after the death of Charles VI. ; Saint-Rémy
never styles him but as dauphin till the day of the
actual coronation. Monstrelet designates the Duke
of Bedford as the soi-disant (self-styled) regent,
whenever he does not call him by his title-
Bedford ; with Saint-Rémy, the duke is uniformly
the regent. Let us conclude this notice by observing
that some critics have erroneously considered
Monstrelet and Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy as inde-
pendent authorities, whose evidence should bear
distinct and separate weight; whereas, for the
greater part of his memoirs, Saint-Rémy, as we have
already seen, is nothing but an echo of the more
exact and more complete Monstrelet.
The excellent edition of Mathieu d'Escouchy's
memoirs, published by M. Dufresne de Beaucourt
for the Société de l'Histoire de France, enables us
to give a few trustworthy particulars of a writer
Mathieu d'Escouchy.
189
whose merits are, in every respect, far superior to
those of Monstrelet, and who belongs to the same
group of Burgundian sympathizers. Born about the
year 1420, at Quesnoy-le-Comte, in the province
of Hainault, Mathieu de Coucy (de Coussy or
d'Escouchy) continued the chronicle of Monstrelet
as far as the 27th of July, 1461. He held the
important post of Provost of Péronne for several
years, and seems to have been a man of the most
troublesome and litigious nature, always appearing
before the law courts either as defendant or as
plaintiff, often taking the law into his own hands,
assaulting his neighbours, and righting himself
vi et armis, when he could not obtain in a legiti-
mate manner the redress to which he fancied
himself entitled. In this respect, there cannot be
imagined a greater contrast'than that which exists
between the vindictive, turbulent, spiteful provost,
and the impartial, grave, dignified annalist, writing
under the inspiration of genuine modesty, and reveal-
ing a moral perception which is really most remark-
able. The memoirs of Mathieu d'Escouchy are not
of equal value, but portions of them are original, and
relate facts which we would vainly look for else-
where; thus the description of the battle of Saint-
Jacques, so justly praised by M. Michelet ;1 the
account of the festivities which took place in Scot-
land on the occasion of the marriage of James II.
| Hist. de France, v. 251, note: “C'est l'historien contemporain;
il a parlé aux combattants même."
190
Early Chroniclers of France.
with Mary of Gueldres. With reference to this
event, Pinkerton has the following remark :"In
the barrenness of materials for the reign of James
II., the information of that writer is invaluable, and
yet has been unknown to all our historians.” The
chapters devoted to the establishment of the
corrpagnies d'ordonnance, to the trial of Brézé, to
the battle of Castillon, to Jacques Cour, are also
well worth the reader's attention. On the other
hand, many instances might be named where
d'Escouchy's narrative is the mere reproduction
of documents which he had borrowed from various
sources, and which he gives us in common with
other contemporaries. Thus, several relations of
feats of chivalry may be found in Olivier de la
Marche and in the chronicles of Jacques de Lalaing;
thus again, the descriptions of the vow of the
pheasant, and of the funeral of Charles VII., are
only the transcript of official documents, the text
of which can be found elsewhere. The history of
the campaign of Normandy is taken from the
herald Berry's Recouvrement de la Normandie.
Mathieu d'Escouchy was on terms of friendship
with many of the officers who took part in that
expedition, and so he could aspire to something
better than the position of a mere copyist. As
M. de Beaucourt well observes, whenever he copies
he does so intelligently, and has often observations
of his own wherewith to supplement those of other
chroniclers. He in general only describes those
3Fairness of d'Escouchy's Appreciations,
I91
"1
things which he has actually witnessed, and frankly
acknowledges his ignorance whenever there is occa-
sion for doing so; he may commit blunders, but it
is in honest good faith. The introductory words
of his prologue are remarkable from this point of
view : “In order to avoid committing blunders, as
is my duty, and according to my power, I have in
the present treatise followed my subject without
partiality or favour; and I have always made
diligent inquiries one year before putting down
anything in writing." Every page shows this
praiseworthy aim at being strictly impartial. We
meet constantly with sentences like the follow-
ing :-"Et me fut dit sur ceste matière;" "Comme
il me fut certifié ; " " Selon ce qui me fut rapporté."
If we compare d’Escouchy with Monstrelet, we
cannot help being struck by the fairness of the
former's appreciation, and by the impartiality with
which he holds the balance between the King of
France and the Duke of Burgundy. As a writer
he is infinitely superior to Froissart's continuator,
and sometimes rises to the brilliancy and pictur-
esqueness of Froissart himself; in short, for an
accurate knowledge of the last seventeen years of
the reign of Charles VII., no work can replace the
16 Pour eschicver i de commettre faulte, à mon devoir et pooir, en
ce présent traictié ay porsievy ma matière sans partialité ny favour
aucune à l'une des parties plus que à l'autre; et me suis toujours
infourmé diligamment ung an auparavant que aye riens mis ne
couchié par escript.”
1 Eschiever esquiver.
1
192
Early Chroniclers of France.
chronicle of Mathieu d'Escouchy. M. de Beaucourt
has given several instances of the high moral tone,
the delicate touch, and the lifelike sketches, which
make the remarkable work so pre-eminently in-
teresting; we shall quote a few by way of
specimen :-
Q12 flatterers :-"People of wicked note, through
whose influence princes are often in great dis-
honour and damage.” 1
On the death of Charles VIII. :-"There were
in this kingdom great cries and lamentations, for
during his time he had wisely and powerfully kept
and governed his aforesaid people in peace and
prosperity.”
On Margaret d'Anjou :-"She was often irri-
tated and grieved because she saw and knew pretty
well the wretched government of her lord and
husband; in the sight of the people she bore these
grievances patiently, but when she was alone, she
often made great lamentations and piteous com-
"2
plaints." 3
On the tragic end of the Duke of Gloucester :-
1 "Gens de meschant estat, dont aucunes fois les princes se trouvent
en grand deshonneur et domaige.”
2“Y ot en icellui royaueme de grans cris et lamentacion, car en
son temps avait bien et sagement et grandement tenu et gouverné
son dit peuple en paix et prospérité."
3 « Souventes fois estoit en grant haine et dolleur de ce que elle
véoit et assez congnoissoit le petit gouvernement de son seigneur et
mary
.. lesquelles choses à la veue des pouple elle portoit
paciamment, mais quant elle estoit à son privé, souvent faisoit de
grans lamentacions et piteuses complaintles.”
Death of Talbot.
193
“ The wheel of fortune showed him one of its
revolutions, as it very often does to many, and of
various conditions.” 1
The following narrative of Talbot's death brings
out in strong relief the literary inerits of Mathieu
d'Escouchy :-
"The next day, several heralds and officers from
the English side came to the aforesaid field,
amongst whom was the herald of the aforesaid
Talbot, who had put on his coat-of-arms; they
requested that permission and leave might be
granted them to seek and look for their master.
Talbot's herald was asked whether he would re-
cognize his master if he saw him ; thinking that
Talbot was alive and a prisoner, he answered that
he would like to see him. Thereupon he was led
to the place where the aforesaid Lord Talbot was
dead, and on the ground; and when he saw him
there, some one said, 'See if this is your master.'
Then he changed colour, but yet he could not at
once decide; for Talbot was much disfigured on
account of the scar he had on his face; and since
his death he had been lying there, the whole night
and the day following, in consequence of which he
was much changed. Nevertheless, the herald knelt
down, saying that he would immediately know the
truth. Then he thrust into the dead man's mouth
one of the fingers of his right hand, in order to feel
I "La roe de fortune luy monstra ung de ses tours, comme elle
fait moult souvent à pluseurs et de divers estatz."
FR.
0
194
Early Chroniclers of France.
on the left side for a tooth which he knew to a
certainty that Talbot had lost; he found as he
had suspected, and immediately, still being on his
knees, as I have said, he kissed him on the mouth,
saying, ‘My lord and master, my lord and master,
is it you? I pray God that He may forgive you
your sins. I have been your officer-at-arms for
forty years or more ; it is time that I should
surrender my post to you.' Then, making piteous
wailings and lamentations, and crying bitterly, he
took off his coat-of-arms, and placed it on the
corpse of his master.” 1
{"Le lendemain, furent audit champ pluseurs heraulx et officiers
d'armes du partie des Anglois, entre lesquelz estoit le hérault dudit
Seigneur de Talbot, qui avoit vestu sa cotte d'armes ; lesquels firent
requeste de avoir licence et grace de quérir et cherquier i leurs
maistres. Auquel hérault de Talbot fut demandé, se il véoit son
maistre, se il le recongnoisteroit; à quoi respondit joyeusement,
cuidant
que il fut vif prisonnier, que voullentiers le verroit. Et sur
ce fut mené du lieu où ledit Seigneur de Talbot estoit mort et sur le
pavais ; et quant il le vit illec, on lui dit : 'Regardez se c'est vostre
maistre. Lors lui changa la coulleur, sans de prime face en faire
le jugement, car il estoit fort deffait par la trenche? qu'il avoit ou
visage, et sy avoit esté depuis sa mort toutte la nuit et le lendemain
jusques à ceste heure, par quoy il estoit fort deffais. Néant mains
il se mist à genoulx, et dit que incontinent il en saveroit la vérité ; et
lors lui boutta l'an des dois de sa main destre en la bouche, pour
quérir au costé senestre ung dent maceler 3 qu'il savoit de certain
qu'il avoit perdu, lequel il trouva ainsy comme il entendoit ; et
incontinent qu'il ot trouvé, lui estant à genoulx comme dit est, le
baisa en la bouche, disant ces mos : Monseigneur mon maistre,
monseigneur mon maistre, ce estes-vous ! Je prie à Dieu qui vous
pardoinst vos meffais. J'ay esté vostre officier d'armes xl. ans ou
* Cherquier = chercher.
2 Trenche = blessure.
i Maceler = machelière.
Pierre de Fénin.
195
After Mathieu d'Escouchy, when we open the
chronicle of Pierre de Fénin, we feel as if we were
falling very low indeed in the domains of historical
composition. Born in the province of Artois, and
belonging to the first half of the fifteenth century,
Fénin has written the history of the events which
took place in France from 1407 to 1422. The wars
between the houses of Orleans and of Burgundy
are the subjects of his book, and the Dukes John
and Philip are the most prominent personages of his
narrative. Indeed, as the latest editor of Fénin's
memoirs has observed, it seems as if the history
of France was a mere appendage to that of the
Dukes of Burgundy. The great drawback of the
work we are now noticing is that, generally speak-
ing, it merely reproduces Monstrelet, or the sources
from which Monstrelet compiled his own chro-
nicle. There are, however, a certain number of
facts given by Fénin which we would uselessly
look for in contemporary writers; and although
the style, as a rule, is slovenly and poor, yet when
he has to describe a feat of arms, the siege of a
town, or the scenes of a battle-field, he sometimes
contrives to be animated, and even eloquent. We
may also notice that his appreciation of dis-
tinguished historical characters is often remarkably
shrewd and correct. Thus, describing the state
plus, il est temps que je le vous rende,' en faisant piteux cris
et lamentacions et en rendant l'eaue par les y ung très piteuse-
ment.
Et lors devesti sa cotte d'armes et ce niist sus son dit
maistrc."
196
Early Chroniclers of France.
of moral prostration from which the unfortunate
King Charles VI. was suffering at the time of the
siege of Paris, he says, “The king was satisfied
with worse things, and with everybody, whether
Bourguignons or Armagnacs, and he cared little
how matters went."1 The following character of
Charles VII. cannot fail to strike the reader by its
accuracy :-"He was a very handsome prince,
affable to all, and compassionate to the poor; but
he did not arm himself willingly, and if he could
have done without war, he would not have cared.” 2
The memoirs of Pierre de Fénin do not deserve
to be ranked in the same place as those of Mathieu
d'Escouchy or of Monstrelet, but they still possess
an importance of their own, and the Burgundian
proclivities, which distinguish all the chroniclers of
Northern France at that time, are here reduced
to an almost insignificant minimum.
The publications of the Société de l'Histoire de
France include on the reigns of the first four Valois
kings, a volume which must be briefly mentioned
here. It is the production of an anonymous author,
who lived during the latter half of the fourteenth
century, and who, according to all probability, was
a clergyman and a native of Normandy. The
Chronique des Quatre Premiers Valois is written
1 “Le roy estoit de tout content, et de Bourguignons et d'Ermi-
gnas, et peu luy chaloit comme tout allast.”
2“Il estoit de sa personne moult bel prince et biau parleur à
toutes personnes, et estoit piteux envers povres gens; mais il ne
s'armoit mie vollentiers, et n'avoit pour chier la guerre, s'il s'en
eust pu passei."
The Rundred Years' Mar.
197
in a clear and easy style, but without much vigour,
except when the annalist has to describe the
vicissitudes of a campaign and the excitement
of the battle-field. It does not add any great
amount of information to what we gather from
Froissart, the Chronique de Saint Denis, and the con-
tinuators of Nangis; at the same time, it brings
before us a number of details which the anonymous
clerk seems to have alone observed and noted.
The final incidents of the Jacquerie, the events
which brought to an end the rebellion of Etienne
Marcel, are the principal episodes here illustrated ;
and on those various points we must say that the
Chronique helps us to supply desiderata left by
other contemporary historians. There is also the
account of a curious expedition made in England
by 'some adventurers from Picardy, together with
the revenge taken by the English. The Hundred
Years' War, commenced in 1336, was then raging,
and a number of attacks, forays, invasions, and
skirmishes of greater or less importance were con-
stantly taking place, some of which are recorded
by one annalist, while the others are recorded
elsewhere. Thus it is that the numerous historians
belonging to the fifteenth century must all be
studied, whatever may be their relative importance;
for it often happens that, from amongst the dull,
lifeless details registered in an apparently insig-
nificant volume, we find one entry which enables
us to establish a doubtful point of chronology,
or to identify an imperfectly known character.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RELIGIEUX DE SAINT DENIS- THE CHRONICLE
OF DU GUESCLIN-THE CHRONICLES OF LOUIS
OF BOURBON.
It appears extraordinary, at first, to find on the
Burgundian side such a numerous and powerful
array of historians; but we must bear in mind that
the Armagnacs were associated in the thoughts of
the Paris bourgeoisie with the rapacity of the
court, the immorality of the French aristocracy,
and the misery of the nation. The Burgundians
had, no doubt, been guilty of crimes; but still, on
the whole, they seemed to have preserved the tradi-
tions of good government, and therefore we see
the duke, Philip the Bold, and his son, John the
Fearless, supported by the University of Paris, the
Hôtel de Ville, and the magistracy. A revulsion of
feeling took place later on, it is true, but it was
when John appealed for support to the Cabochiens
and to the mob, and finally betrayed the kingdom
into the hands of the English. The influence of
the University of Paris, and the important part it
played in the civil wars of the fifteenth century,
The “Religieux de Saint Denis."
199
are especially evident in the Latin chronicle which
is generally known under the name of Chronique
du Religieux de Saint Denis, and which was pub-
lished by M. Bellaguet, together with a French
translation, in the year 1839. The author of this
work is still unknown ; he had written a history
of the reign of Charles V., with the view of setting
before the unfortunate successor of that monarch
a pattern for imitation, little suspecting, as M. de
Barante remarks, that the sceptre so cleverly
wielded by Charles le Sage was doomed to fall into
the hands of Charles l'Insensé. The former compi-
lation has been lost, and the one we are now
noticing gives us only the reign of Charles VI.
It is a series of annals, and not a history strictly
so called; the events are registered as they occurred,
and we are led to the conclusion that the honest
religious, writing by the express orders of his
superior, was merely accumulating materials for
the great national monument we have already
attempted to describe—the Grandes Chroniques de
Saint Denis. As a matter of fact, the portion of
the Grandes Chroniques which treats of the reign
of Charles VI., so far at least as its early years are
concerned, is nothing but a transcript of the
Chronique du Religieux.
We have said that the present compilation is
anonymous. Le Laboureur, who has made free use
of it in preparing his own history of Charles VI.,
tells us that two of the monks of Saint Denis were
1
200
Early Chroniclers of France.
at that time particularly conspicuous for their
learning and their literary talents : the one was
Guillaume Barrault, belonging to a family having
decided Burgundian sympathies; the other, Benoit
Gentien, doctor of divinity, one of the most illus-
trious members of the University of Paris. It seems
probable, notwithstanding Le Laboureur's assertion,
that if the religious is to be identified with one
of these personages, the claims preponderate in
favour of Guillaume Barrault, and it would be
difficult to speak too highly of his impartiality.
"Quand il parle," says the historian, “des exactions
du Duc d'Orléans, on dirait qu'il est Bourguignon;
quand il donne le détail des pratiques et des
funestes intelligences du Duc de Bourgogne avec
des assassins infâmes, et avec la canaille de Paris,
on croirait qu'il est Orléanais."
A number of passages from the chronicle we
are now noticing might be quoted, to show that the
author was an eye-witness of the events which he
relates. Thus, he was at the port of Sluys when
the king, after having collected together all the
preparations for an attack upon England, awaited
impatiently the arrival of the Duc de Berri, whom
he urged, by repeated messages, not to allow the
opportunity to slip for carrying out so momentous
an enterprise : “Mihi et universis residentibus in
castris et de rerum statu sciscitantibus asserebant
ducem ipsum nihil amplius affectare," etc., etc. Such
are the very words of the annalist.
The “Religieux de Saint Denis."
201
In 1393, the same Duke de Berri ordered him to
make an exact memorandum of what was taking
place at the Lelinghen conferences, for the purpose
of entering these details in his chronicle. He was
present at the siege of Bourges in 1412; two years
later, we find him sharing the tent of the Sire
d'Aumont, oriflamme-bearer, who took compassion
upon him, amidst the disorder and the wretchedness
of the expedition conducted by the King of France
against the Duke of Burgundy.
On the other hand, we notice that, either de-
signedly or from want of accurate information, the
Religieux de Saint Denis omits several important
facts, and as part of the ground which his narra-
tive covers is also occupied by Froissart, it is
interesting to compare the statements of the two
historians with one another. Thus, the monk,
describing the death of the Count d'Armagnac
before Alexandria (July 25, 1391), distinctly says
that he was made a prisoner, and that he died
from the eight wounds which he had received
during the action. If, on the contrary, we are
to credit Froissart's account, the Count d'Armagnac
was struck down by apoplexy, captured by a
Lombard squire, and taken into Alexandria, where
he breathed his last during the night, without
having been able to utter a single word.
The Hundred Years' War presents to our notice
several distinguished historical characters whose
courage and patriotism still live in the grateful
202
Early Chroniclers of France.
recollections of all Frenchmen, and whose exploits
have been recorded in biographical poems which
remind us of the old chansons de geste. Let us
name, amongst others, the well-known Bertrand
Du Guesclin, the hero of a metrical narrative extend-
ing over thirty thousand lines, and which deserves
our attention, as well for its literary merits, as for its
historical importance. The name of the stalwart
Constable of France is spelt in ten different man-
ners; there seems to be an almost equal variety in
the orthography of the poet's appellation, and this
fact has been the origin of endless blunders. No
wonder that Cimelier, Cuvelier, and Tueiller should
have been thought to be three distinct personages,
whereas they are really one and the same indi-
vidual. The poem composed by Cuvelier (such
seems to be the right designation) may be regarded
as the last specimen of a long series of semi-his-
torical, semi-fictitious epics, beginning with the
Chansoir de Roland, and forming the poetical
and popular annals of mediæval times. From it,
as branches from a tree, have sprung a number of
chronicles unequal in point of artistic talent, and
in which history is singularly blended with fiction.
A time came, however, for all the old chansons
de geste when poetry was replaced by prose, and
when the wonderful anecdotes about the warriors
and knights of mediavalism, instead of being sung
by the minstrels to the accompaniment of harp or
cittern, were merely related by the fireside in modest
Du Guesclin's Life written by Cubeller.
2n3
sermo pedestris. The chronicle of Cuvelier shared
this fate, and led to the appearance of works such
as Le Livre des Faiz de Messire Bertrand du Guesclin,
Les Prouesses et Vaillances du Preur et Vaillant
Chevalier Bertrand du Guesclin, etc., etc.; all having
their origin in the same monorhyme poem, the accu-
rate title of which is Le Roumant de Messire Bertran
du Glayequin, jadis Chevalier et Connestable de France.
Cuvelier's romance is not only a history of Du
Guesclin, but, in point of date, the earliest French
account we have of the war about the succession
to the dukedom of Brittany, the expedition into
Spain, and the campaign against the English
invaders. It may not be uniformly trustworthy,
but it has over other narratives the decided ad-
vantage of being almost contemporaneous with
the events related, and in this respect it must be
preferred to Froissart, whose brilliant chronicles
as a whole, were published only during the last
years of the fifteenth century, subsequently to the
composition of the poem we are now examining.
We have just named Froissart; Dom Morice,
who has written a history of Brittany and made
considerable use of Cuvelier, thus draws the parallel
between the two annalists : “Tueiller [read Cuve-
lier] has the same defects as Froissart; he seldom
gives the dates of the episodes he describes, nor
does he observe the chronological order throughout
his narrative. His work requires a great deal
of comments and explanatory notes." We may
204
Early Chroniclers of France.
examine the Roumant de Bertran du Glayequin
either as an historical document, or as a picture
of society during one of the most interesting
epochs in the Middle Ages. The first thing that
strikes us is that the author, who was not himself
a Breton by birth, says very little about the native
country of the illustrious captain, and takes a very
disinterested and impartial view of the great quarrel
which broke out between Charles de Blois and
Jean de Montfort. Here, again, he compares most
advantageously with Froissart, as far as the accu-
racy and the fulness of his statements is con-
cerned. The expedition into Spain occupies half
the chronicle; it is decidedly the weakest part of
the work, if we look at it from the point of view
of literary composition, and here Cuvelier presents
curious and interesting analogies with Ayala and
the other Spanish historians who have discussed
the same events. Froissart is disappointingly
brief; our poet, on the other hand, goes into
details, and if many of the facts he introduces
contain an amount of exaggeration, the fictitious
element can always be easily distinguished ; and
the impression we preserve is that, if the author
is not uniformly accurate, he is, at any rate,
strictly honest.
To sum up the above remarks, we may say that
Cuvelier's work is neither a general history, nor
a biographical memoir ; it participates in the
nature of both classes of writings, and this in-
The “Chronique du Bon Duc Loys de Bourbon." 205
decision on the part of the author tells unfavour-
ably upon the book. The facts are put together
without any connection with each other; they are
frequently presented in a mutilated form, not in
their natural sequence, but according to the caprice
of the poet, unsystematically, almost at random,
and just as they appear useful by way of contrast.
The defects are still more glaring, if we consider
the romaunt as a biography; for, in the first
place, a great number of circumstances in Du
Guesclin's career are entirely omitted, and, in the
second, Cuvelier does not take the trouble of
explaining the meaning of certain incidents, or
the influence they had on contemporary history.
He merely selects such episodes as seem to him
most amusing, most romantic; and here the littéra.
teur, the artist, endeavours to outshine the historian.
To the same epoch belongs the Chronique du Bon
Duc Loys de Bourbon, published for the Société de
l'Histoire de France by M. Chazaud.
Louis II.,
Duke de Bourbon, son and successor of Peter I.,
who was killed at the battle of Poitiers, took an
important share in the events of the fourteenth
century. Born August 4, 1337, he belonged to
the band of hostages sent to England (1360) as
securities for the ransom of King John; he resided
for the space of eight years in this country, and
on his return to France he founded a new order
of knighthood, under the designation of the Shield
of Gold. The Duke de Bourbon earned consider-
206
Early Chroniclers of France.
able reputation for courage and generalship in the
wars against the English, both in Brittany and in
Guyenne; he was one of the four princes of the
blood appointed as guardians of King Charles VI.
(1380), he fought at the battle of Rosebecke
(1382), and took the command of the Crusade
summoned in 1390 against Tunis. He died at
Moulins in 1410.
The chronicle we have now to consider gives
us the complete biography of Louis de Bourbon.
The author describes himself as Fehan d'Orreville,
Picard, nommé Cabaret, pouvre pèlerin. Having
undertaken to "compiler et descripre les ouvres
d'armes et chevalerie, vertus, bonnes meurs, belle
vie et bonne fin” of so illustrious a prince, he
feels a modest distrust of his own powers, and he
deplores the "insuffisance de son petit engini et
de son rude langage.” Fortunately, in this ex-
tremity, help comes to him from the right quarter,
and Jehan de Châteaumorand, an ancient companion
in arms of the Duke de Bourbon, volunteers to
relate to the historian the biography of his friend;
therefore, after having taken down his notes and
written from them the first draft of his work, Jehan
d'Orreville will have merely to revise and correct
it, arrange it in chapters, and clothe it in language
best calculated to fix the reader's attention. We
thus see that, although Jehan d'Orreville actually
committed the biography to writing, he was merely
i Lat, ingenium.
Châteaumorand.
207
the amanuensis of Châteaumorand, to whom belongs
the honour of recording the belle vie et bonne fin of
the illustrious Duke de Bourbon. With reference
to Châteaumorand himself, we must turn for in-
formation either to Froissart or to Boucicaut, The
combined evidence of these two historians shows
him to have been not only a brave soldier, but a
distinguished statesman and diplomatist. He took
a prominent part in what could already be styled
the Eastern question, and was appointed by King
Charles VI. to accompany Jacques de Helly, for
the purpose of negotiating with Sultan Bajazet
the final liberation of the prisoners made at
Nicopolis. When Boucicaut returned to France
in charge of the Emperor Manuel-Palæologus,
Châteaumorand was left behind to defend Con-
stantinople. He, whom Froissart describes as a
"chevalier pourveu de sens et de langage, froid et
attrempé de toutes manières," was certainly worthy
of composing the biography of a prince whose
interests he maintained both at the council board
and on the battle-field, and he is entitled to a
distinguished place in the annals of the fourteenth
century. Born about the year 1355, he lived long
enough to see the appearance of the maid whose
courage and patriotism rescued France from utter
destruction.
The chronicle of the "good Duc Loys" was, if
not composed, at any rate put into shape and sub-
divided into chapters in 1429.
Châteaumorand
208
Early Chroniclers of France.
was then about seventy-five years old, and age had,
no doubt, somewhat obscured his recollection of
things long gone by. D'Orreville does not seem to
have consulted other witnesses, or borrowed from
other sources of information. The only annalist
whom he names is Froissart, to whose description
of the battle of Rosebecke he refers the reader
anxious for further details on this episode. As his
sole object is to write the biography of the Duke
de Bourbon, the other heroes in the stirring drama
are mentioned by him merely incidentally, and
so far as they are brought into contact with the
duke. He writes, above all, to leave to posterity an
amusing, instructive, and profitable book. Accord-
ingly, he never troubles himself to verify the dates
or statements for which he is indebted to Château-
morand's conversation, and he takes as his models
the chronicles of Du Guesclin and of Boucicaut,
rather than the brilliant pages of Froissart, or the
somewhat ponderous style of Christine de Pisan.
It follows, from what has just been said, that the
chronology of the present work, the geographical
indications, and even the proper names of persons,
require to be verified and in most cases corrected ;
nor can we much wonder at this circumstance, when
we remember that D’Orville wrote down memoirs,
not of what he had seen himself, but of the events
related to him by a knight who had overstepped
the limit of threescore years and ten, and whose
memory could not be as good in 1429 as it was in
Du Guesclin and the Messengers of Charles T. 209
1380, when, at the siege of Châteauneuf de Randon,
he fought side by side with Constable du Guesclin.
D'Orreville, or his collaborateur, Châteaumorand,
shares with Froissart an enthusiastic admiration
for the nobility, whom he considers as the true
sinews and the glory of the country. We must also
note, by way of literary merit, an amount of genuine
eloquence which we do not generally find in com-
positions belonging to the class of official pane-
gyrics or professed éloges. One short extract will
suffice to give an idea of D'Orreville's style; it is
taken from the thirth-eighth chapter, where is
described the interview between the Dukes d'Anjou
and de Bourbon on the one side, and Du Guesclin
on the other. It is well known that, in the year
1378, the King of France obtained from the parlia-
ment a decree of confiscation of the duchy of
Brittany; the nobles of that province immediately
revolted, and Du Guesclin, who had vainly at-
tempted to reduce the county of Rennes, and
had been accused of treachery by the king, finally
refused to carry on the war against his compatriotes,
and sent back to Charles V. his sword, resigning at
the same time his office as constable.
“Thereupon the King of France, Charles, thought
better of it, and wished to mend matters; he ac-
cordingly sent the Dukes d'Anjou and de Bourbon
into Brittany, for the purpose of appeasing the
constable's wrath. They went to Pontorson, and
sent for the constable, who came readily. And
FR.
P
1
2 10
Early Chroniclers of France.
when he had arrived, the Duke d'Anjou said,
'Constable, my lord the king sends us to you, both
myself and my fair cousin of Bourbon, because of
the displeasure you have felt at certain words
'which he has addressed to you, to the effect that
you were siding with the Duke of Brittany, as he
was given to understand. Now, you should be
very pleased and joyful at hearing that the king
believes none of these reports. Here is the sword
of your office; take it back again the king orders
you to do som-and come along with us. The
speech of the Duke d'Anjou being ended, the good
constable answered, 'My most dread lord, I thank
you very humbly for the words you tell me, and
for informing me that the king does not believe
the reports spread about me; for which I thank
the king, notwithstanding the great rumour which
has arisen. And I wish the king to know that
I have served him well and loyally, as a gentleman
should do, and I have never been guilty of treason
towards him. For, if I should serve the Duke of
Brittany, who is against him, I should be a traitor
towards him, who is the greatest king alive, and
the small amount of honour I have earned in this
world, I would not lose for any consideration
whatever. And tell the king that I rate my
honour higher than all the lordships and goods
he could give me, and that I certify unto him.
I thank you for the sword you have brought back
I shall not take it: bestow it upon any
to me;
Original Tert.
2 II
one whom he may please to appoint. For, in order
to give no room for suspicion, both to him and to
all others, I am going to Spain, and I give you
my word that I shall remain no longer in this
kingdom.
The interview referred to above occurred in
1379; a year had scarcely elapsed, when the body
of the valiant constable found its last resting-place
in the vaults of the abbey of Saint Denis.
» 1
I “Sur ce le Roi de France, Charles, se advisa, et voult réparer
la chose, et envoya les Ducs d'Anjou et de Bourbon en Bretaigne,
pour apaiser le Conestable du courroux qu'l avoit; lesquels allèrent
à Pontorson, et là mandèrent le conestable, qui à eulx vint voulen-
tiers. Et estre là venu, dit le Duc d'Anjou : 'Conestable,' fait-il,
'monseigneur le roi nous envoie à vous, moi et beau cousin de
Bourbon, pour ce que vous avés esté mal content d'aucunes paroles
qu'il vous a mandées, c'est assavoir qu'on lui avoit donné à entendre
que vous teniez la partie du Duc de Bretaigne, et devez bien estre
lie et joyeux, quand telles choses vous mande, les quelles le roy ne
creut oncques. Véez-cy l'espée d'honneur de vostre office : repre-
nez-la, le roi le veult, et vous en venez avecques noris. Les
paroles finées du Duc d'Anjou respondit le bon conestable: 'Mon
très redoubté seigneur, je vous remercie humblement des paroles
que me dictes, et des paroles que vous m'avez aussi dit, que le roi
ne les creut oncques, dont je remercie le roi, non obstant le grant
bruit qu'on a couru. Et veuil bien, monseigneur, que le roi saiche
que je l'ai servi bien et loyaument, comme preu d'homme et ne lui
fis oncques trahison; car si je servoie le Duc de Bretaigne, qui est
contre lui, je seroie traistre envers lui, qui est le plus grant roi qui
vive, et ce pue d'honneur que jai conquis en ce monde, je ne-le
vouldroie
pas perdre, pour quelque chose qui vive. Et dictes au roi
que j'aime plus mon honneur que toutes les seigneuries et biens qu'il
me pourroit donner, et cela je lui certiffie. Si vous regracie de
l'espée que vous m'avez apportée. Je ne la reprendrai point, baillez
la à ung aultre qui lui plaira. Car pour le oster de souspeçon et
Jui et tous autres, je m'envois en Espaigne, et vous jure, par ma foi,
que já mais en ce royaume je ne demourerai. "
2 1 2
Early Chroniclers of France.
We cannot terminate this brief notice without
drawing the attention of our readers to the fact
that, despite the numerous blunders which we have
alluded to above, the Chronique du Bon Duc
Loys is not unfrequently more reliable than the
brilliant narrative of Froissart. This point is satis-
factorily demonstrated by M. Chazaud in the notes
to his excellent edition, who gives as an instance
the episode of the capture of the Duchesse de
Bourbon at Belleperche, in 1372 (d'Orreville), or
1369 (Froissart). At any rate, if we wish to study
the work of D'Orreville, we should compare it closely
with the accounts given by Christine de Pisan,
and Froissart, and the anonymous historian who
composed the memoirs of Boucicaut.
YS SYFT
तन
नमः
CYKELKL
EKKA
CHAPTER XIV.
"LE LIVRE DES FAICTZ DE BOUCICAUT”-JOU-
VENEL DES URSINS THE COUSINOTS
PIERRE COCHON AND HIS “CHRONIQUE
NORMANDE.”
A PROVERB was current in France during the
fourteenth century, to the effect that-
“Quand vient à un assault
Mieulx vault Saintré que Boussiquaul;
Mais quand vicat à un traicté,
Mieulx vault Boussiquaut que Saintré.”
Patriotism, military skill, and also diplomatic
genius were hereditary in the Le Maingre family.
Jean le Maingre, surnamed Le Brave, and as Bran-
sôme says, par esbatement, was Marshal of France,
and an intimate friend of Jean de Saintré; the
peculiar merits ascribed to him in the couplets
quoted above caused him to be appointed as one
of the negotiators of the treaty of Bretigny, in
1360. The Boucicaut with whom we are more
specially concerned here was Jean II. le Maingre.
214
Early Chroniclers of France.
Placed by Charles V. as a companion to the
dauphin, afterwards Charles VI., he showed the
most decided disposition for warlike pursuits; he
was only twelve years old when he made his
first campaign under Du Guesclin, and the brilliant
service he rendered to France on the field of battle
caused him to receive the staff of Marshal of France
at the early age of twenty-five. Chivalry was on
the wane, and the noble institution which had done
so much for the good of mediæval civilization was
gradually losing all the qualities which render it
still attractive in the work of Friossart. Boucicaut
may be considered as the model of the genuine
knight ; like the Loyal Serviteur, he maintained
unimpaired the best traditions of chivalry, and
certainly he cannot be taxed with remissness as a
warrior. We find him at the battle of Rosebecke
(1382), where he distinguished himself amongst the
most intrepid; his next exploits are in the ranks of
the Teutonic knights against the Lithuanians. On
his return from Germany, sent into the comtat
d'Avignon for the purpose of putting an end to
the schism, he takes possession of Pope Benedict
XIII. The fondness for adventures of a warlike
character then took Marshal de Boucicaut to
Hungary, where he was made a prisoner at the
battle of Nicopolis (1396). Having escaped from
the terrible massacre of his companions, by the
clever and generous interposition of the Count
de Nevers, our hero was sent into Bithynia as a
Boucicaut at Constantinople.
215
captive, and on payment of a heavy ransom he
obtained his liberty during the course of the same
year. The Greek emperor, Manuel-Palæologos, was
at that time sorely pressed by the Sultan Bajazet,
who, after conquering the Hungarians, was bent
upon finishing the ruin of the empire of Constanti-
nople; he despatched as an ambassador Theodoros
Cantacuzene, to apply for assistance from the King
of France. Boucicaut started immediately with
a few troops; he drove back the invaders, fortified
Constantinople, healed the divisions which had
contributed to weaken the imperial family, and,
as a reward for his services, received from Manuel
the title of Constable of the Greek Empire. This
exploit very soon led to another. Whilst defending
Constantinople, Boucicaut had gained the affection
of the Genoese, whose commercial establishments
he had saved from destruction. Weary of anarchy,
the republic of the Genoese had, some years before,
placed itself under the French rule, but no governor
had yet succeeded in establishing his authority;
Charles VI. was accordingly requested to delegate
Boucicaut for that important post. The marshal
administered from 1401 to 1409 a nation remark-
able for its fickleness and dislike of all restraint.
Obliged, in 1409, to go to Milan on a diplomatic
errand, the Genoese took advantage of his absence,
rose to arms, and massacred the French garrison.
The last occasion which the unsettled state of
Europe afforded to our hero for the display of his
216
Early Chroniclers of France.
undoubted talents as a warrior was the battle of
Agincourt; sharing the fate of so many of his
countrymen, he was made a prisoner, and taken
to England, where he died, in 1421.
The Livre des Faictz du Bon Messire Fean le
Maingre, dict Boucicaut, takes the reader from
1368 to 1408. “It seems that, weary of the painful
scenes of which France had been the theatre
since the accession of Charles VI., the anonymous
historian endeavoured to divert his thoughts from
the horrors of civil war, by relating the exploits
and singular adventures of a knight who spent out
of France the best part of his life, and filled the
world with the fame of his consummate courage."
The author of Le Livre des Faictz is gifted with a
brilliant imagination; he is deeply read in classical
literature, and his style, thus formed in the best
school, is singularly free from the defects which
are so characteristic of his contemporaries. Follow-
ing the destinies of the gallant marshal, he relates
in detail the various exploits in which he was
engaged, but carefully avoids touching upon the
unfortunate condition of France, satisfied, when
obliged to do so, with a few allusions of the most
insignificant nature. The biography of Boucicaut,
therefore, throws no light whatever upon the reign
of Charles VI., the anarchy which succeeded to a
long minority, and the terrible conflicts between
the Armagnacs and the Bourguignons; its only
importance consists in its being a record of the
Juvenal des Urgins.
217
relations of France with other countries, and the
biography of a gentleman who, as the anonymous
author wittily remarks, deserved to be called le
philosophede combat, just as the philosophers of old
were surnamed chevaliers de sapience. The first
edition of the Livre des Faictz was published in
1620, by Theodore Godefroy, a distinguished
historian and lawyer, to whom we are indebted
for many works of the same kind, such as the
chronicles of Juvenal des Ursins, Jean d'Auton,
Seyssel, Jaligny, the history of Bayard, and that
of Artus III., Duke of Brittany.
We have just named Juvenal des Ursins; it is
time that we should say a few words on his cha-
racter, both as a politician and as an historian.
Like the Boucicauts, the Jouvenels, Juvenels, or
Juvenals numbered two generations of distinguished
men. Jean Juvenal, born about the year 1360,.
died on the ist of April, 1431. He was successively
councillor at the Châtelet, advocate in the court
of Parliament, provost of the merchants (mayor of
Paris), king's councillor, and chancellor of the
dauphin, Duke of Guienne. Driven from Paris by
the Burgundian party, he became president of the
Parliament of Poitiers, and afterwards of that of
Toulouse. Jean II. Juvenal added to his name
that of des Ursins, pretending to be derived from
the Orsini family at Rome. Born in Paris,
November 23, 1388, he died at Reims, July 14,
1473 ; and during the course of his long life he
2:8
Early Chroniclers of France.
took a very prominent part in the events of the
time, both in Church and State. He held the fol-
lowing offices : Avocat général at the Parliament
of Poitiers (1425), Bishop of Beauvais and peer of
France (1431), Bishop of Laon (1444), Archbishop
of Reims (1449). The history of Charles VI.,
composed by Juvenal des Ursins, is a very impor-
tant work, and has always been considered as an
excellent authority for the epoch of which it treats.
The archbishop had at his disposal a number of
documents for the narrative of those events in which
he had not actually joined, and there is no doubt
that he procured information of the most valuable
kind from his father, whom he often names in
his work, and who had, both as a councillor and as
chief magistrate of the city of Paris, been actively
employed during the disturbed reign of Charles
VI. Godefroy remarks in his preface that Juvenal
des Ursins is always careful to state nothing but
the truth, and to be strictly impartial in his account
of the civil wars between the Burgandians and the
Armagnacs:-"As Froissart and Monstrelet incline
towards the Burgundians, suppressing what might
be quoted in condemnation of their party, so the
present history gives, on the contrary, the evidence
in favour of the just and lawful quarrel of those
who were styled Orléanais or Armagnacs. The
author, at the same time, never forgets the notable
judgments of God upon those (however exalted
their rank, and to whatever party they belonged)
Accuracy of his tatements.
219
whose actions followed an evil course, and who,
moved by ambition, avarice, revenge, and other like
passions, have been the cause of the misfortunes
which followed. That is the reason why the author
would not be known. In one place he even gives
us to understand that he was born in the diocese
of Châlons, and that he was a subject of the Duke
of Burgundy." If we turn to the passage alluded to
by Godefroy, we find the following statement :--
“Some said that he who has written on these
transactions, and from whom have been derived the
things said above, was an Armagnac. He has
throughout told the exact truth. He had almost
always been a servant of the late Duke of Bur-
gundy; but when he saw that the son of the duke
wished to place the kingdom in the hands of the
Inglish, he abandoned the service of that son, and
returned into his own native country, namely, the
diocese of Châlons, where he has continued to write
with as little imperfection as he could, according
to what was related to him."1 Papirius Masson,
alluding to Juvenal des Ursins, says : Cujus libros
aliquot ad Carolum Regem, nondum editos evolvi-
inus, plenos sapientiæ, et singularis erga rem-
publicam animi.” Scævole and Louis de Sainte-
Marthe, in their Histoire Généalogique de la Maison
de France, likewise bear witness to the accuracy of
Juvenal des Ursins, adding, "Il est d'autant plus
digne de foi, qu'il a été témoin oculaire de la
T
pp. 376, 377.
220
Early Chroniclers of France.
ce plupart de qu'il écrit.” The history of Charles
VI. is written in a very interesting and simple
style; the author does not fall into those pedantic
habits which were so dear to most of the authors of
the fifteenth century. The Renaissance movement
was at hand; a taste for classical literature had
spread all over Europe, influencing for good the
few whose mind was sufficiently well balanced to
avoid pedantry, but spoiling, in all the others,
whatever talent and imagination they possessed.
Juvenal des Ursins escaped the contagion. His
work is extremely readable, and he has shaped
his way most dexterously between the affectation
of the professed scholar and the pompous verbiage
of a lawyer. The history of Charles VI., beginning
with the 13th of September, 1380, and ending in
1422, comprises the whole reign of that monarch.
Godefroy's edition gives, by way of appendix,
several interesting documents which illustrate the
same epoch in the history of France, and amongst
these a fragment of a chronicle extending from 1402
to 1455, and generally supposed to have been
written by Gilles le Bouvier, who occupied the
office of herald under the title of Berry, and during
the reign of Charles VII.
“Whereas," he says,
"in the year 1402, the kingdom of France had
reached the highest pitch of honour, and therein
could be found the greatest amount of riches and
power, as much in princes, prelates, knights, mer.
chants, clerks, and common people, as in everything
" Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris."
221
else, I resolved that, according to my small abilities
and in proportion as I could understand, I would
see all the high deeds which might happen hence-
forward in the aforenamed kingdom, and betake
myself where the largest assemblies and most
important transaction would take place. Then,
I would make it my business to write, or have
some one write for me, so far as I could best
understand, eveything that had happened, whether
good or bad.” Berry's chronicle, composed in a
very interesting manner, is distinguished by its
impartiality, and forms the natural supplement to
the longer work of Juvenal des Ursins.
We must mention likewise another curious docu-
ment referring to the history of the reigns of Charles
VI. and Charles VII. It is the Journal d'un Bour-
geois de Paris, edited for the first time by Gode-
froy, together with the memoirs we have just been
noticing, and which has found its place in all the
large collections of autobiographies.
Two works appear to be here put together under
the same title. The former, beginning with the year
1 409, takes us as far as 1431; the latter then steps
in, and follows the course of events to the year
1449. Bourgeois No. I was, according to all pro-
bability, a Paris curé and a doctor of divinity ;
bourgeois No. 2 modestly proclaims himself l'un
des plus parfaits clercs de l'université. All that can
interest a Parisian contemporary of the Cabochians
and the Flayers is related, and the dismal cata-
222
Early Chroniclers of France.
logue gives us a slight idea of all the miseries, both
public and private, which made of French life at
that time one long tragedy. Riots and famine,
plunder and massacres, hangings at Montfaucon,
depreciation of the coinage—the list is so appalling
that it sickens us to look at it. “ !
Hélas !” ex-
claims the bourgeois, "je ne cuide mie que depuis
le roi Clovis France fut aussy désolée et divisée
comme elle est aujourd'huy. ... Le royaume de
France va de mal en pis, et peut on mieulx dire
la terre déserte que la terre de France." We regret
to say that our two annalists are very unpatriotic ;
their wishes are entirely on the side of the English,
and the second especially repeats against Joan of
Arc the calumnious imputations which passed
current in the camp of the Duke of Bedford.
Mixed up with well-authenticated details, there
are many anecdotes of doubtful origin; and the
fancies, wishes, and imaginings of the Parisian
populace are faithfully reproduced.
We possess a third journal of the same kind.
The third bourgeois was a contemporary of
Francis I., and therefore does not come within the
scope of the present work. Our Parisian fifteenth-
century clergymen have not yet been identified.
All we know is the extreme character of their
political sentiments. Rabid · Burgundians, they
never lose an opportunity of expressing their
opinions, and inveighing in the strongest possible
manner against the Armagnacs. They are two
Sjoan of Arc.
223
amongst the large company of chroniclers who
took Monstrelet as their guide, but who do not
equal him in point of talent. The Fournal amply
justifies its title; it is merely a succession of short,
dull entries, extending, as we have said, from 1409
to 1449. Finally, Salmon, secretary to King
Charles VI., has left memoirs, which are full of
interest, on the first half of the fifteenth century;
subdivided into fifty-five chapters, they contain
historically an account of the author's travels in
Italy and in England, where he had been sent on
diplomatic errands.
Salmon was perfectly ac-
quainted with the causes of the feud which had
broken out between the Burgundians and the Ar-
magnacs, and he explains them better, perhaps,
than any of his contemporaries.
There are few episodes in the whole history of
France so touching as that of Joan of Arc. The
genius of Schiller and the talent of Southey have
thrown the garb of poetry around one of the
noblest characters which our neighbours can boast
of, and have made us forget the misrepresentations of
Shakespeare and Voltaire's shameful ribaldry. M.
Michelet's touching chapters and M. Wallon's ex-
cellent monograph are, no doubt, the best modern
sources for the history of the Maid of Orleans ;
but if we want to turn to original documents, and
to accounts given by contemporary writers, we
should consult the Procès de Jeanne d'Arc, pub-
lished by the Société de l'Histoire de France; the
224
Early Chroniclers of France.
Mystère du siège d'Orléans, which forms part of
the Collection de Documents Inédits; and Cousinot's
Chronique de la Pucelle, an excellent edition of
which was given, a few years ago, by M. Vallet
de Viriville. We shall notice these various works
in succession, beginning with the one mentioned
last.
It is more than two hundred years since the
learned Godefroy printed, in his recueil of historians
of the reign of Charles VII., a work composed by
an author whose name he had not been able to
identify, and which he introduced to the reader in
the following manner:
" Autre histoire d'un
auteur inconnu contenant partie du règne du
même Charles VII., savoir depuis l'an 1422 jusques
en 1429. Dans laquelle se voient diverses cir-
constances curieuses et particularités mémorables
.:. surtout de la Pucelle d'Orléans, du surnom
de laquelle cette histoire est communément ap-
pelee." Reprinted by Roucher, M. Buchon, and
M. Quicherat, this chronicle exercised the in-
genuity of many critics; and M. Quicherat, after a
long and attentive study, ascertained that it was
borrowed, almost word for word, from another
compilation still inédit, and entitled Les Gestes des
Nobles Françoys, which was known to be written by
a certain Cousinot. It was reserved for M. Vallet
de Viriville to tear completely asunder the veil
which still hung over the Chronique de la Pucelle,
and the results at which he has arrived may be
briefly stated as follows.
The Cousinots.
225
1
Guillaume I. Cousinot, Cousinet or Cosinot, dis-
tinguished as a barrister, was in the year 1406
councillor of the Duke of Burgundy in the Paris
Parliament, at the time when the kingdom was
rent asunder by the civil war, and apparently fated
to perish for ever. During the next year, Louis
d'Orleans having been murdered by order of John
the Fearless, Petit, as every one knows, made a
public justification of that crime. But soon, at the
request of Valentine de Milan, dowager Duchess of
Orleans, a new assembly was summoned at the
Louvre, on the IIth of September, 1408. There,
by the medium of Maître Guillaume Cousinot,
“notable avocat au parlement," says Juvenal des
Ursins, she defended her husband, and appeared
in her turn as plaintiff against the Duke of Bur-
gundy. Cousinot thus took a prominent part on
the Armagnac side, and exposed himself to the
hatred of the Burgundians. He occupied posts
of considerable trust, discharged with much courage
and patriotism the most arduous duties during
the civil wars, and was rewarded for his services,
in 1439, by his nomination as président à mortier in
the Parliament of Paris. He was still living in
1422. The Gestes des Nobles Françoys composed by
Guillaume I. Cousinot is nothing else, so far as the
opening chapters are concerned, but a very succinct
résumé of the Grandes Chroniques de Saint Denis,
and other old historical documents. When we
come to the reign of King John (1350), the work
FR.
Q
.226
Early Chroniclers of France.
assumes a character of greater originality ; the
details increase in number, sketches of a certain
importance take the place of dry and dull indica-
tions, and the account given us of the reign of
Charles VI. clearly shows that the author was a
witness of the events which he relates, and there-
fore quite competent to pass judgment upon them.
Seven years of the reign of Charles VII. are de-
scribed in the work. Here the Gestes des Nobles
Françoys becomes a regular journal, the incidents
being duly entered as they take place. We need
scarcely tell our readers that, when he describes the
tragic episodes of war between the Armagnacs and
the Burgundians, Cousinot takes no trouble to
conceal his political sympathies ; quite the reverse.
He is always temperate and calm in his sentiments;
he never allows party spirit to carry him beyond
the limits of the strictest impartiality ; but, at the
same time, he takes care to bring prominently
forward all the acts capable of interesting the
reader in favour of the Orleans family. We often
find even events of a purely domestic nature
assuming the proportions of historical episodes,
and, to quote M. Vallet de Viriville, Guillaume
Cousinot stands forth as a retainer of the house
of Orleans, wearing honourably its colours and its
coat of arms. But events hurry on; the hour of
deliverance has struck for France, and La Pucelle
appears on the banks of the Loire to raise the siege
of Orleans. The narrative of Cousinot then
Guillaume IX. Cousinot.
227
assumes an entirely new character; it is a long,
detailed, consecutive memoir, reproducing illustra-
tive documents of an official nature : thus, the
famous letter in which Joan of Arc summoned the
English to depart from the land which they had so
long occupied, and to recross the Channel. The
Geste takes us to the 6th of July, when Charles VII.
besieged Troyes, and it then stops abruptly, without
giving us even the result of the campaign.
The Chronique de la Pucelle, as we have already
hinted, is borrowed from the Gestes des Nobles
Françoys, and was written by another Guillaume
Cousinot, nephew of Guillaume I. Born about
the year 1400, Cousinot de Montreuil, as he is
generally called, rose to become one of the most
important personages of his time. We find him
secretary to the king, maître des requêtes, and privy
councillor. In 1442 he was nominated senior
president to the Conseil Delphinal, which soon as-
sumed the title of Parliament of Grenoble. From
1438 to 1444 he discharged, in the capacity of
royal commissioner, a number of important duties
of an administrative nature; he then became the
principal agent of the negotiations between France
and England, proving himself equally capable of
serving his country on the field of battle and
at the council board. Cousinot's extraordinary
abilities were thoroughly appreciated by Louis XI.,
who employed him upon the most delicate public
affairs; and he lived to take a part in the States-
228
Early Chroniclers of France.
General assembled at Tours (1484), where his expe-
rience and skill proved of great assistance in the
course of the deliberations. The work known by
the title of Chronique de la Pucelle was composed
by Guillaume II. Cousinot, and is the amplified
continuation of the Gestes which we have been just
now examining. It embraces the first seven years
of the reign of Charles VII., and takes us as far
as the month of September, 1429, a little later on
than the Geste. Written in a much higher style
than the compilation upon which it is based,
it differs from it, besides, in various important
particulars. Thus, when Guillaume I. describes the
beginning of the reign of Charles VII., he merely
alludes to the faults of that monarch; to the scan-
dalous insouciance of his advisers; to the intrigues,
follies, and misdeeds of the worthless favourites
whom he had honoured with his confidence. This
was, perhaps, to be expected from an author who,
writing in the year 1429, was obliged to use ex-
treme caution, and to avoid every statement which
might give offence in high quarters. Guillaume II.,
on the contrary, being relatively unfettered, could
accumulate details ; and, accordingly, his narrative
of the same facts is full of the most valuable and
important revelations. The Chronique de la Pucelle
is a journal of the sittings of the privy council; it
explains, with the fullest details and the most
remarkable shrewdness, the complications of poli-
tics, the affairs of the kingdom, and the moral
Merits of the “Chronique" and the “Gestes."
229
causes which led to this or that special result.
The account of Joan of Arc's arrival at Orleans is a
mere reproduction of the narrative contained in the
Gestes, for the simple reason that Guillaume I. had
been an eye-witness of that event, and that, con-
sequently, he was best qualified to describe it. On
the other hand, the episode of La Pucelle's ex-
amination at Poitiers is one of the original parts in
the Chronique, because Guillaume II. was present
when it took place. His evidence, therefore, is
extremely important here, and it cannot be ade-
quately replaced by a reference to other contem-
porary memoirs. The Chronique and the Gestes,
as a matter of fact, supplement each other, and
give us, on the early part of the reign of Charles
VII., a mass of particulars, the authenticity of
which is fully borne out by comparison with inde-
pendent sources. We have already observed that
the work of Guillaume I. might almost be con-
sidered as a domestic chronicle---as a memoir of the
house of Orleans.
The majority of chronicles
composed during the fifteenth century are, in like
manner, personal works, if we may use such an
expression—that is to say, family records or
biographies in the strictest sense of the word; and
it has, therefore, sometimes been supposed that the
Chronique de la Pucelle was indebted for its title
to the fact that it had been written under Joan of
Arc's dictation. This hypothesis, however, is abso-
lutely destitute of all solid foundation.
230
Early Chroniclers of France.
Before terminating this notice, we must say
that Guillaume II. composed, in addition to the
Chronique de la Pucelle, another work of still
greater importance, alluded to by Lacroix de Maine
and other authors, but which seems to have hope-
lessly disappeared. No traces of it, at any rate,
can now be found in any public or private library.
Before examining the valuable collection of
documents published by M. Quicherat under the
title of Procès de la Pucelle, we must say a few
words of a small chronicle which is generally
printed as a sequel to the memoirs of the Cousi-
nots, and which deals with the history of France
during the fifteenth century, from the Burgundian
point of view. We mean the Chronique Normande
of Pierre Cochon. Very little is known about the
writer, except that he was a native of Normandy,
and that he died about the year 1434.
His
chronicle begins with the year 1181, and its first
part is taken almost entirely from Monstrelet.
When we come, however, to the middle of the
fourteenth century, we find ourselves in the com-
pany of an eye-witness; and here the work has
the importance belonging to contemporary evi-
dence. Cochon re-echoes the popular passions of
the time; a member of the University of Paris,
he has endorsed with the utmost enthusiasm and
bitterness the Burgundian sympathies of that body,
and his memoirs read almost like a political
pamphlet. John the Fearless is his hero. He
Pierre Cochon and his “ Chronique formande." 231
а.
defends his conduct, takes up his quarrel, and
stands boldly by him up to the dastardly murder
of the Duke of Orleans in the Rue Vieille du
Temple; here a sense of shame makes him hesi-
tate, and we are bound to add that the sight of
his native country invaded by the English wakes
up in him sentiments of patriotism to which he
had not accustomed us. Pierre Cochon was
clergyman, and throughout his chronicle the in-
terests and privileges of the Church occupy a
prominent part. The memoirs which he has left
us may be divided into two sections: the former,
of a local character, deals exclusively with the
history of the city of Rouen, and the latter treats
of the general history of France. It has been
noticed that Cochon is provokingly silent on the
trial of La Pucelle and her melancholy death; and
M. Vallet de Viriville ingeniously remarks. that,
whilst his feelings as a Frenchman prevented him
from expressing approbation of so ill-judged a
measure, his delicate position in a town then
occupied by the English obliged him to say
nothing which might irritate the invaders. We
need scarcely say that Pierre Cochon must not be
mistaken for Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais,
who tried and condemned Joan of Arc. They
belonged to different provinces, and, in spite of
an apparent similarity of names, they had in
common no family ties whatever. The chronicler's
name is not, we grant, a very dignified one;
232
Early Chroniclers of France.
Cauchon, on the other hand, is derived from the
Latin calx, which, in the dialect both of Normandy
and of Picardy, has produced caucu = chausse, and
cauchor = chausson.
XO
CHAPTER XV.
THE MAID OF ORLEANS—"MYSTÈRE DU SIÈGE
D'ORLÉANS ”—JEAN DE WAVRIN-CHRISTINE
DE PISAN.
We now come to the voluminous work of M. Jules
Quicherat, Proces de Condamnation et de Réhabili-
tation de Feanne d'Arc, a publication the study of
which is indispensable for those who wish to be
thoroughly acquainted with the life of the Maid of
Orleans. The learned editor has not only collected
all the documents referring to both trials, but also
the allusions, testimonies, and evidence of every
description to be found in the annalists and his-
torians of the fifteenth century, French, Burgun-
dians, and foreigners. His bibliographical account
is as complete as possible, and there are few causes
célèbres on which we possess such an amount of
valuable information. The documents bearing
upon the first trial, the trial of condemnation, are
given in the first volume, and we can see, by
studying these pieces, the futility of the proofs on
234
Early Chroniclers of France.
which the sentence was delivered. When, during
the reign of Charles VII., a fresh inquiry was
instituted for the purpose of revising and annulling
the original one, public opinion had forestalled the
decision of the king, and in the mind of most
impartial judges the condemnation was deemed
null, both on account of the absence of a civil
judgment, and also because the usual formalities
had not been carried out. As early as the year
1440, we find the following passage in a small
poem entitled Le Champion des Dames, which was
dedicated to the Duke of Burgundy, the very
prince who caused Joan of Arc to be delivered
over to the English. One of the characters having
maintained that Outrecuidance (conceit) had ruined
the maid, and that Reason had caused her to be
burned at Rouen, Franc-vouloir (free-will) answers:
“ Your arguments do not avail much
Against the innocent maid,
Or that of the secret judgments
Of God upon her she should feel any the worse ;
And it is right that every one should agree
To give 'her honour and glory,
For her most excellent virtue,
For her strength and her victory."
16 Guères ne font tes arguments
Contre la Pucelle innocente,
Ou que des secretz jugements
De Dieu sur elle pis on sente ;
Et droit est que chacun consente
À lui donner honneur et gloire
Pour sa vertu très-excellente,
Pour sa force et pour sa victoire."
Martial d'Auvergne.
235
Martial d'Auvergne, another contemporary poet,
rightly described, in hiïs Vigiles de Charles VII., the
trial as an iniquitous one, because the same persons
were both judges and plaintiffs :
“ Lui firent ung tel quel procés
Dont les juges estoient partie."
It is not our business here to go through the
various circumstances of the trial of rehabilitation ;
they have been fully described by M. Wallon in his
history of Joan of Arc, and the reader who cares
to examine the case for himself, can easily do so
with the help of the documents published in the
second volume of M. Quicherat. There is no doubt,
and the learned editor is the first to acknowledge
it, that the trial of condemnation shows a far
greater amount of skill than the other one. The
manner in which the documents are arranged and
commented on, the lucidity of the discussion, the
classing and selecting of the witness, are extremely
remarkable. But, on the other hand, in the inquiry
which led to the rehabilitation, no real care was
needed. There were few witnesses to examine, no
contradiction to expect, no arguing worth the
name; in fact, the result was known beforehand.
The documents referring to the rehabilitation of
the Maid of Orleans occupy the second and third
volumes of M. Quicherat's work; the last two are
taken up by testimonia, bibliographical tables, and
information of every kind on the principal events
in the life of the heroine.
236
Early Chroniclers of France.
Amongst the numerous publications issued by the
French Government in the Collection des Documents
Inédits, we must notice a kind of mystery or dra-
matic poem entitled Le Mystère du Siège d'Orléans.
We mention it here because it is important both
from an historical and a literary point of view.
Under its primitive shape, it seems to have been
performed publicly as early as the year 1435, on
the anniversary of the raising of the siege, and
again in 1439. The rédaction we possess, however,
in which it is not difficult to trace the collaboration
of several authors belonging to different epochs,
should be ascribed to the year 1456. It is a very
extensive development of the original text, and,
as the title itself sufficiently proves, it must be
regarded as a veritable historical compilation,
intended to render the festival more attractive by
the addition of dramatic performances, and, at the
same time, to keep up amongst the good people of
Orleans the spirit of patriotism. The Mystère was
represented, with more or less excisions and in
various forms, during the latter half of the fifteenth
century. Like most of the monuments of the
mediæval stage, it has very little artistic merit to
boast of, and the 20,529 lines of which it consists
are, to all intents and purposes, a metrical gazette
or chronicle recording the chief episodes of the
siege. King Charles VII. is introduced imploring
the assistance of the Almighty, but ready, at the
same time, to retire from a desperate contest, and
“Le Mystère du blege d'Orléans."
237
feeling that the taking of Orleans by the English
must carry along with it the submission of the
whole kingdom. The intercession of the Blessed
Virgin, and the prayers of Saint Euvertus and
Saint Aignan, formerly Bishops of Orleans, obtain
the welcome assurance that France shall be de-
livered from the English invaders. God declares
that the French are bearing the just punishment of
all their misdeeds-
" And I wish them to be warned
That they shall be severely punished.” 1
At the same time the archangel Saint Michael
is instructed to start immediately for Domrémy-
" Which is situated in the land
And lordship of Vaucouleur,"
in quest of the maid through whose instrumen-
tality the deliverance of the realm is to be brought
about. Alain Chartier, in his Quadriloge Invectif,
had already lectured the various orders of the State
on their vices, and on that neglect of duty which,
during the reign of Charles VI., had well-nigh
brought France to ruin. The anonymous author
of the Mystère takes up the same strain; but he then
introduces Joan of Arc, and gives us the narrative
1 “E vueil que on les admoneste
Que pugniz seront grandement."
? « Qui est situé en la terre
Et seigneurie de Vaucouleur."
238
Early Chroniclers of France.
of her exploits down to her triumphal entry into
Orleans after the battle of Patay.
Respecting Jean de Wavrin, another contem-
porary of Monstrelet, we cannot do better than
borrow a few particulars from the interesting and
exhaustive preface written by the late Sir Thomas
Duffus Hardy for the edition of the Chroniques
d'Angleterre, published in the Master of the Rolls
series of Chronicles and Memorials.1
“Like his more widely known contemporary,
Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Wavrin was born of a
noble and ancient family ; but a blot was equally
on the escutcheon of both. As regards our author,
he tells us this fact in a manner clearly indicating
how little he viewed such a circumstance as reflect-
ing discredit upon his name ; and perhaps few will
be found at this day to esteem him the less on that
account. .. He thus describes himself: 'I, John
de Wavrin, knight, Lord of Forestel, illegitimate
son of your grandfather, Monseigneur Robert de
Wavrin, formerly knight, and lord of the lands
and seignories of Wavrin, Lillers, and Malannoy.'”
We have no certain indication of the year of Jean
de Wavrin's birth, but we may assign it roughly
to the end of the fourteenth century, somewhere
about 1394. He was brought up, like most young
men of noble family, to the profession of arms;
and by referring to the list of names given by
Sir T. D. Hardy in the notes to his introduction, we
| Preface, page xviii.
Jean de 20 abrin.
239
find that several of the Wavrins distinguished
themselves during the Middle Ages on the battle-
field. One of them was killed at the siege of
Ptolemaïs in 1169; another was taken prisoner at
Bouvines, with his three sons; Robert de Wavrin
was present at the battle of Poitiers in 1356;
Froissart mentions a Sire de Wavrin amongst the
knights slain at Rosebecke;"le Seigneur de
Wavrin et son fils" died for their country at
Agincourt; finally, Philippe de Wavrin took part
in the battle of Montlhéry.
It appears that our Seigneur de Forestel was
advanced in age when he undertook to appear
before the public in the capacity of a chronicler.
His arm was no longer strong enough to mind the
sword, but it had still sufficient vigour to use the
pen; and in his prologue he gives as an excuse
for writing, that he is incapacitated for the busy
duties of the soldier's profession: "Feeling within
me that old age is approaching, and that I can no
longer follow the profession of arms, nor prosecute
long voyages, as I did aforetime with you” (his
nephew Waleran)," and in the company of many
other princes and knights, which now, through the
good pleasure of our Lord God, I have quitted,
without blame or reproach."
The epoch of Jean de Wavrin's death is as
difficult to determine as that of his birth. We
shall quote another passage from Sir T. D. Hardy's
introduction : "His chronicle, as it is at present
240
Early Chroniclers of France.
known to us, concludes somewhat abruptly at the
end of chapter xxxii., with Edward's letter to the
men of Bruges, dated the 29th of May, 1471 ; but
the relation of the taking, by the King of Portugal,
of the city of Azille, in Africa, by assault on the
24th of August, 1471, is given by Wavrin in
chapter xxiv. The portion of this narrative which
follows from chapter xxiv. is based upon, and, as
regards the principal portion, is closely translated
from, a contemporary English narrative of the
'arrivall of Edward IV. in England, and the finall
recouerye of his kingdomes from Henry VI., A.D.
incccclxxj.' Wavrin, it is conjectured, wrote two
accounts of the progress of King Edward IV. in
recovering his crown; one immediately upon the
news of Edward's victories reaching the court of
the Duke of Burgundy, and the second after he
had become acquainted with the English narrative.
The earlier relation appeared in the first edition
of his sixth and last volume; the subsequent
account was intended to take the place of the
former in the revised edition, the materials for
which he was preparing when overtaken by death.
He did not, probably, survive very long the period
of Edward's recovery of the crown of England.
Assuming the time of his birth to be satisfactorily
referred to about the year 1394, he may be said to
have died an octogenarian, in or about 1474."
The chronicle of Jean de Wavrin is entitled
1 1
Pp. xxi., xxii.
Jean de Wavrin.
241
Recucil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istoires de la
Grant Bretaigne, à présent 140minée Engleterre. It
was originally intended to be comprised in four
volumes, each volume being subdivided into six
books, and each book comprising an unequal
number of chapters. Referring the reader to the
very full and minute analysis given by Sir T. D.
Hardy (introd. xlix.-li.), we need only say here that
the fourth volume of the chronicles, as designed in
the first instance, ends with the death of King
Henry IV. in 1413, and was probably compiled
between the years 1445 and 1456. The fifth
volume, written later on by Jean de Wavrin as
a continuation of the previous work, takes us to
the year 1443, when the inhabitants of Dieppe
were succoured by the Dauphin Louis, son of
King Charles VII. It relates the history of the
Maid of Orleans, and of her great undertaking for
the deliverance of her native country from the
English. The sixth and last volume, as it was
originally published, bore the following title, En
ce Livre sont Escriptes les Guerres Advenues en
France, en Angleterre et en Bourgoine depuis l'an
1444 jusques en l'an 1471. As we have already
hinted, it was revised for a second edition, the
author inserting at the commencement a long
account of the expedition despatched against the
Turks in 1444. This armament, fitted out partly
at the expense of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, was
under the command of Waleran de Wavrin, so
R
FR.
242
Early Chroniclers of France.
far, at least, as the duke's contingent was con-
cerned.
With reference to the sources from which Jean
de Wavrin has taken the materials of his chronicle,
we may name Matthew Paris and the Brut, for
the early part of the history of England; where
the Brut d'Engleterre ceases, Froissart becomes the
principal authority, although the narrative of the
great annalist is not strictly followed, even when,
according to all probability, he has supplied the
information. Sometimes the narrative is abridged,
sometimes episodes are transposed, occasionally
other sources are consulted. Here we find great
anxiety to invoke the authority of Froissart, and
to leave him the responsibility of the events de-
scribed; further on, Wavrin, on the contrary,
repudiates Froissart altogether, and would appear
as the original narrator of the facts he unfolds
before us.
Monstrelet and Lefevre de Saint-Remy
have also been consulted by our chronicler, but
with a liberty which must exonerate him from the
charge of being a mere plagiarist; and, finally, he
acknowledges his obligation to the Chroniques de
Saint Denis. Respecting the sixth volume, where
Jean de Wavrin describes contemporary events,
and which is, therefore, the most important part of
his work, Sir T. D. Hardy considers it as being
really a second and revised edition of the continua-
tion of Monstrelet's chronicle.
Christine de Pisan.
243
As late as the sixteenth century Clément Marot
said-
“D'avoir le prix en science et doctrine
Bien mérita de Pisan la Christine.”
This praise is somewhat above the mark, but still
there is no doubt that the elegant authoress to
whom we are indebted for the Livre des Faictz et
Bonnes Mæurs du Roi Charles V., was a person of
remarkable talent, and the historical work we have
just mentioned entitles her to a distinguished place
in our volume. Very few biographical details have
been preserved on Christine de Pisan, and all our
information is derived from the scanty particulars
she has herself furnished in her various writings.
She was born at Venice, about the year 1363. Her
father, Thomas de Pisan, councillor of the republic,
and a man of considerable intellectual attainments,
was invited by King Charles V. to come over to
France in the quality of a court astrologer, and he
arrived in Paris in 1368, together with his daughter
Christine, who was then about five years old. They
were both extremely well received at the Louvre,
and, thanks to the protection of a powerful monarch,
a career of prosperity seemed to be opening before
them. Brought up at court as a young lady of
rank, Christine soon displayed talents of no common
order. Her accomplishments of various kinds, joined
to the high and lucrative position which her father
enjoyed at court, attracted a number of suitors.
244
Early Chroniclers of France.
Thomas de Pisan, however, gave the preference
to a young man named Etienne du Catel, a native
of Picardy, but who, although of good family, had
no fortune. Through the influence of his father-in-
law, he obtained the office of notary and secretary
of the king, and the circumstances of the Pisans
seemed especially brilliant, when the death of
Charles V. inflicted upon them the first blow.
Together with his protector, Thomas soon lost
his influence; the greater part of his salary was
suppressed, and the remainder paid at irregular
intervals. He was no longer young, and the com-
bined effects of infirmities, age, and sorrow, brought
him to the grave, Etienne du Catel followed him
very soon, leaving Christine with three children, a
young widow of twenty-five, comparatively destitute
and helpless. Her talents, however, had procured
for her a number of distinguished friends. The
Duke of Milan, the Earl of Salisbury, Henry of
Lancaster, wished to attract her to their respective
courts, but she preferred residing in France. Philip,
Duke of Burgundy, took her eldest son into his
service, and commissioned her to write the life
of King Charles V. She had finished the first book
of this work when the duke died. Notwithstand-
ing her reputation as an authoress, and the support
of her patrons, she was far from being in affluent
circumstances. Charles VI. at last presented her
with a sum of two hundred livres. The date of
her death is still unknown, and it is a remarkable
“ Livre des Faictz."
245
fact that a person so superior in every respect,
and who at one time enjoyed such great and well-
deserved popularity, should occupy in biographical
dictionaries so insignificant a place.
On the ist of January, 1403, Christine de Pisan
had offered to the Duke of Burgundy, as a New
Year's present, her book entitled Le Livre de Muta-
cion de Fortune. Philip was so struck with the
talent and learning displayed by the authoress in
her sketch of the various revolutions which have
affected the history of the world, that he requested
her, as we have already said, to take up as her
next subject the biography of King Charles V.
She consented, and the protection of the duke was
useful in enabling her to consult all the documents,
charters, and official pieces she stood in need of.
The persons who had lived in the intimacy of the
late king, or who had taken a part in the affairs
of the State, were directed to give her all the
assistance she might require; and, thus amply
furnished with materials, she wrote a work which
is all the more valuable because its authenticity
is beyond a doubt.
The Livre des Faictz is divided into three books.
The first of these, entitled Noblesse de Courage,
describes the education of Charles V., his manner
of living and of travelling when he had ascended
the throne, the order established in his palace,
his patience, humility, chastity, and temperance.
Christine also gives us curious particulars on the
246
Early Chroniclers of France.
expenses of the royal household, and the minutiæ
of court life.
The second book bears the title Noblesse de
Chevalerie, and has for its subject the king's
foreign policy, the wars he had to make, and
the principal military events which occurred during
his reign. Several chapters are devoted to notices
of the king's brothers, and of other princes of the
blood royal.
The third volume, treating of Noblesse de Sagesse,
tells us first the science and arts which Charles
had more specially cultivated; it dwells upon the
prudence manifested by him in all his actions, and
in support of this statement it quotes a number
of memorable sayings. We have next a descrip-
tion of the visit made to Paris by the emperor
Charles IV.; the election of Pope Clement, the
death of the queen, that of the king, are duly
registered, etc., etc. It is a matter of regret that
Christine should have adopted an artificial order,
instead of following the chronological one, and that
she should have written her work in the strain of a
panegyric; but the merit of the composition is not
much affected by these drawbacks, for the most
superficial acquaintance with the history of France
during the reign of Charles V. will enable the
reader to classify the events recorded in the three
divisions of the book. As for the style, it is
certainly far too heavy for our taste. Formed upon
a close study of classical writers, it lacks the
Style of Christine de Pisan.
247
naïveté which delights us so much in Joinville,
and that easy, graceful flow which is so charac-
teristic of Froissart; but a vein of deep feeling
runs through all her works, more than compensating
for any redundancy of style, and she deserves a
high place, side by side with Alain Chartier, Gerson,
and the other patriotic writers, who maintained the
dignity of France in the midst of the most terrible
distresses, and who endeavoured to show that a
speedy return to the path of duty, on the part of
all the orders of the State, would be the best means
of retrieving the past and preparing for the future.
1
CHAPTER XVI.
THOMAS BASIN-PHILIPPE DE COMMINES-JEAN
DE TROYES AND THE “CHRONIQUE SCANDA-
LEUSE."
THE history of the reigns of Charles VII. and of
Louis XI., composed by Thomas Basin, Bishop of
Lisieux, was for a long time ascribed to a certain
Belgian writer, named Amelgard, who lived during
the fifteenth century. This opinion, endorsed by
Labbe, Duchesne, and Dom Martène, who quoted
long extracts from the work, seemed to recent
critics, at any rate, open to controversy; for it was
somewhat curious that a humble priest of Liège
should have been favoured by Charles VII. with
several private interviews, that at the suggestion of
the king he should have composed an apology of
the Maid of Orleans, and that he should have
resided at one time in Trèves, and at another in
Utrecht. Then, was it not extraordinary that a
Liégeois should apply to his own fellow-country-
men the epithets "stulti” and “temerarii"? How-
Thomas Basin.
249
ever, the history in question continued to pass as
the work of Amelgard, till a Flemish writer,
Antoine Meyer, author of the Annales Flandriæ,
found out the mistake. He made great use of the
Latin history of the reigns of Charles VII, and
Louis XI., quoting long passages from it, some-
times transcribing whole chapters, and always with
expressions of most unqualified praise. At first he
merely describes him as an anonymous writer, about
whom all he knows is that he enjoyed the fami-
liarity of Charles VII.; further on, he designates him
by the title of Bishop of Louvain; then the Bishop
of Louvain is transformed into a Bishop of Lisieux,
and finally the name Thomas Basin is given in full.
It is useless to explain here by what train of cir-
cumstances, by what process of identification, the
real authorship of the work was ascertained. Suffice
it to say that a number of facts perfectly inex-
plicable on the supposition that the writer was a
Liégeois clergyman of the name of Amelgard, now
became quite clear; many an expression destitute of
all significance under the pen of, a Flemish priest,
assumes an important meaning when written by
the Bishop of Lisieux; and, to mention only one
fact, it is perfectly consistent that a Norman pre-
late, associated by virtue of his dignity to the
deliberations and discussions of the provincial
assemblies, should have been a councillor and
adviser of Charles VII., trusted with the honour-
1
Antwerp, 1561.
250
Early Chroniclers of France.
able duty of writing an apologetic memoir on La
Pucelle, and sent by the King of France on certain
political missions.
Thomas Basin was born at Caudebec, in 1412.
His talent, learning, and shrewd common sense,
backed by a certain amount of ambition, soon con-
tributed to help him on the road to ecclesiastical
promotion. He began by a canonry at Rouen; he
was then named lecturer on canon law at the Uni-
versity of Caen; and, finally, the see of Lisieux
having become vacant, he was presented to it by
the unanimous votes of the cathedral chapter. His
bull of institution bears date October 11, 1447,
being the first year of the pontificate of Nicholas V.,
and the twenty-sixth of the reign of Henry VI., by
the grace of God King of England and of France.
Basin was obliged to act with the utmost caution
in his new dignity ; the tide was beginning to turn
against the English, but they still held possession
of Normandy, and the Bishop of Lisieux saw him-
self compelled to disguise, as carefully as he possibly
could, his patriotic sympathties. He had good
reason to hate the invaders; the misfortunes by
which his family had been visited were all due to
them, and he ascribed to thein the calamities under
which France had been suffering for nearly a cen-
tury. He openly declared for Charles VII. as soon
as he was able to do so, and was rewarded with a
nomination to the office of councillor. We cannot
enter here into the detail of the causes which led
Thomas Basin's Work.
251
Basin to join the League of the Public Good against
Louis XI.—these causes have been very accurately
described by M. Quicherat;1 suffice it: to say that the
radical measures introduced by the new king
seemed to the Bishop of Lisieux dangerous for the
safety of the realm. Two things especially offended
him, viz. the law against hunting, and the decree
ordering all the cathedral churches, parishes, and
religious communities to send in a statement of
their revenues and properties, whatever might be
their origin and nature. At all events, Basin, in the
first place, was prohibited from appearing at court;
he then was sentenced to exile, deprived of his
see and of his temporalities. Then it was that he
retired to Louvain, where he lectured on law, and
afterwards to Utrecht. Sixtus IV. named him
Archbishop of Cæsarea, in partibus. He died at
Utrecht, December 30, 1491.
The work of the Bishop of Lisieux with which
we have to do is the history of Charles VII. and of
Louis XI., erroneously ascribed, as we have already
stated, to Amelgard. M. Michelet calls it "une satire
de Louis XI.," and Legrand describes the author as
“ très envenimé contre Louis XI.” The portion
referring to this monarch seems to have been com-
posed between 1471 and 1472; that is to say, at the
very time when the disgraced bishop, concealed at
Trèves, was endeavouring to avoid the wrath of the
offended king. It must be acknowledged that he
i Bibl. de l'École des Chartes, 1re série, vol. iii.
252
Early Chroniclers of France.
was not then in a position to write impartially and
calmly. M. Quicherat observes of him that he was
"an upright, sincere, intelligent man, but his cap-
tious spirit prevented him from viewing events and
appreciating characters with clearness, and his
feelings were so easily moved that he could scarcely
help being sometimes unfair. From the
From the very be-
ginning of his book, you can see at once this
peculiar disposition of his mind, in the expression
of hatred with which he visits indiscriminately all
the English commanders, and the dissatisfaction he
shows in describing the timid reforms introduced
by Charles VII. This tone of universal condemna-
tion increases a hundredfold when the reign of
Louis XI. comes under notice, and when our author
has to appreciate administrative changes of a far
more sweeping character. As M.Quicherat observes,
he is so eager to blame everything, to find fault
with every one, that he scarcely allows himself time
to narrate the incidents of the reign. Nothing is
excused by him ; Louis XI., for him, is merely a
ruthless tyrant, destitute of every quality, without
wit, without even eloquence, utterly unable to dis-
criminate character, and to judge those with whom
he has to do, or who are appointed to play a part
in the carrying out of his government. At the
same time, we must do Thomas Basin the justice to
say that he hardly ever trusts merely to public
rumour when he states facts; when he has not
been an eye-witness, or when he could rely for
Character of Louis XX.
253
information neither upon eye-witnesses nor upon
official documents, he preferred being silent. His
appreciations are generally untrustworthy; his
facts are always well authenticated and reliable.
With Louis XI. the era of mediævalism defini-
tively closes, and modern history begins. More
than any other prince, perhaps, he contributed to
found the French monarchy. Unfortunately, his
government was one of violence and of dissimula-
tion. Amongst the charges which history has
justly brought against him, and for which there is
no excuse whatever, we may name the deaths of
Guyennec, Armagnac, and Nemours; the punish-
ment of Cardinal Balue; his treachery in the case
of the citizens of Liége; his want of faith when
required to perform the conditions of treaties which
he had signed with his own hand. The state of
prosperity in which he left France may be adduced
on the other side of the question. He obtained of
John II. of Arragon the cession of Roussillon and
Cerdagne; the betrothal of the dauphin procured
to him Franche Comté and Artois; he confiscated
Burgundy; the succession of René of Anjou brought
to him that province, Maine, and Provence, in addi-
tion to eventual rights on the kingdom of Naples,
which, unfortunately, led to a long period of disas-
trous wars.
At home his levelling disposition
destroyed the power of the nobles, and the prin-
ciple he acted upon, of allowing nothing to birth
and all to merit, justifies us in considering him as
254
Early Chroniclers of France.
the representative of the modern system in politics
and administration. Unfortunately, intellect with
him was another term for duplicity and perfidy,
and his endeavours to consolidate the national
unity were carried out per fas et nefas. If the
maxim so extolled by a certain class of statesmen,
that the end justifies the means, be sound, then the
appreciation of Duclos is a correct one: “Louis XI.
fut également célèbre par ses vices et ses vertus, et
tout mis en balance, c'était un roi." Commines,
too, would have spoken the truth when he says:
"Encore fait Dieu grand grâce à un prince, quand
il sçait le bien et le mal, et par espécial quand le
bien l'emporte, comme au roi nostre maistre dessus.
dit.” But history is bound to deal more sternly
with a character such as Louis XI., and, whilst
acknowledging the successful results of his policy,
we cannot approve of the means by which that
policy was carried out.
The dexterity with which the wily monarch
managed to extricate himself from all the ap-
parently overwhelming difficulties by which he was
beset during the course of his reign, had excited
the admiration of some statesmen who, even then,
were inaugurating that immoral system which we
may call "the politics of accomplished facts."
Philippe de Commines, originally the adviser of
the Duke of Burgundy, abandoned his master in
1472, and attached himself to Louis XI., who re-
warded him handsomely for his defection. Named
Commines.
255
successively a councillor, Sénéchal of Poitou, Lord
of Argenton and of other estates, Commines
rendered to the King of France the most im-
portant services. Born in 1445 at the castle of
Commines, in Flanders, he died in 1509. At the
beginning of the reign of Charles VIII., he espoused
the cause of the Duke d'Orleans, and was for eight
months in one of those iron cages with which
Cardinal Balue had seemed so painfully acquainted.
“Plusieurs les ont maudites," says he, speaking of
those cages, "et moi aussi qui en ai tâté sous le
roi d'à présent." Charles VIII. employed him in
several negotiations, but Louis XII. did not avail
himself of his services. During the period of
comparative retreat which marked the latter years
of his life, he wrote his memoirs, which are, no
doubt, extremely remarkable for the common sense
they display, but which are composed from the
stand-point of a very easy, elastic code of political
morality. The work of Commines extends from
1464 to 1483, and from 1488 to 1494. It was pub-
lished for the first time in 1524, with the following
title: Cronique et Hystoire Faicte et Composée par
feu Messire Philippe de Comminus; but this edition
includes only the first six books of the memoirs,
and ends with the death of Louis XI. The re-
mainder appeared in 1528, as the Chroniques du
Roy Charles Huytiesme. Absorbed by the study of
effects and causes, full of admiration for successful
intrigue, Commines is in his glory when he can
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Early Chroniclers of France.
follow three or four political combinations which
are unfolding themselves simultaneously. If he
holds in his hand all these diplomatic threads,
which cross one another, divide, meet again, and
yet never get confused, his joy is boundless. “Et
se menoient tous ces marchés," he exclaims, en
un temps et en un coup." Sometimes the reader
perceives that Commines had occasional scruples
of conscience respecting the actions of his royal
master; but these qualms are soon quieted by the
thought that, after all, “Louis XI. étoit un des plus
sages hommes et des plus subtils qui aient regné
en son temps;" and that "au fort, en nul n'y a
mesure parfaite en ce monde.” It is only fair to
add that Commines was no friend to despotism.
In several passages of his memoirs he expresses
his admiration of the English form of government
(iv. i., v. 19); and he thus exposes the secret
thoughts of those who would not consent to the
summoning of the States-General for fear of cur-
tailing the authority of the crown: "Ces paroles
servoient et servent encore à ceux qui sont en
autorité et crédit sans en rien l'avoir mérité, et qui
ne sont propices d'y être, et n'ont accoutumé que
de flageolet et fleuretter en l'oreille, et parler de
choses de peu de valeur, et craignent les grandes
assemblées, de peur qu'ils ne soient connus, ou que
leurs duvres ne soient blasizées."
It is impossible, however, to give an adequate
idea of Commines as a writer and historian without
Xllustrative Extract from Commines.
257
transcribing at least one extract from his admirable
memoirs, and we have selected, by way of speci-
men, the following striking paragraph :-
“Is there any king or prince that hath power
to levy one penny upon his subjects besides his
domains, without leave or consent of those that
must pay it, unless it be by tyranny and vio-
lence? A man will say that sometimes a prince
cannot tarry to assemble his estates, because it
would require too long time. Whereunto I answer
that if he move a war offensive, there needeth.
no such haste: for he may have leisure enough
at his own pleasure to make preparation. And
further, he shall be much stronger, and much
more feared of his enemies, when he moveth war
with the consent of his subjects, than otherwise.
Now, as touching a war defensive, that cloud is
seen long before the tempest fall, especially when
it is foreign war; and in this case good subjects
ought not to complain, nor refuse anything that
is laid upon them. Notwithstanding such invasion
cannot happen so suddenly, but that the prince
may have leisure at the least to call together
certain wise personages, to whom he may open the
causes of the war, using no collusion therein,
neither seeking to maintain a trifling war upon
no necessity, thereby to have some colour to levy
money. Money is also necessary in time of peace
to fortify the frontiers, for the defence of those that
dwell upon them, lest they be taken unprovided ;
FR.
S
258
Early Chroniclers of France.
but this must be taken measurably. In all these
matters the wisdom of a sage king sufficeth; for
if he be a just prince, he knoweth what he may
do, and not do, both by God's law, and man's.
To be short, in mine opinion, of all seniories in
the world that I know, the realm of England
is the country where the commonwealth is best
governed, the people least oppressed, and the
fewest buildings and houses destroyed in civil war,
and always the lot of misfortune falleth upon those
that be authors of the war.
“Our king is the prince in the whole world that
hath least cause to allege that he hath privileges
to levie what him listeth upon his subjects, con-
sidering that neither he nor any other prince hath
any power to do so.
And those that say he hath,
do him no honour, neither make him to be esteemed
any whit the mightier prince thereby; but cause
him to be hated and feared of his neighbours, who
for nothing would live under such a government.
But if our king, or those that seek to magnify
and extol him, should say: 'I have so faithful and
obedient subjects that they deny me nothing I
demand, and I am more feared, better obeyed,
and better served of my subjects than any other
prince living; they endure patiently whatsoever
I lay upon them, and soonest forget all charges
past;' this, methink (yea, I am sure), were greater
honour to the king than to say: 'I levie what
me listeth, and have privileges so to do, which
Original Passage.
259
I will stoutly maintain'" (Danett's translation,
fo. 1596).
1"Y a il roy ne seigneur sur terre qui ait povoir, oultres on
domeine, de mettre ung denier sur ses subjectz, sans octroy et con-
sentement de ceulx qui le doibvent payer, sinon par tyrannie ou
viollence? On pourroit respondre qu'il y a des saisons qu'il ne
fault pas attendre l'assemblée ; et que la chose seroit trop longue à
commencer la guerre et à l'entreprendre. Ne se fault point tant
haster, l'on a assez temps : et si vous dis que les roys et princes en
sont trop plus furs, quant ils entreprennent du conseil de leurs sub-
jectz, et en sont plus crainctz de leurs ennemys. Et quant se vient
à soy deffendre, on voit venir ceste nuee de loing, especiallement
quand c'est d'estrangiers : et à cela ne doibvent les bons subjectz
rien plaindre ne refuser : et ne sçauroit advenir cas si soubdain où
l'on ne puisse bien appeler quelques ungz et personnaiges telz que
l'on puisse dire : "Il n'est pas faict sans cause,' et en cela ne user
point de fiction, ne entretenir une petite guerre à voulenté et sans
propos, pour avoir cause de lever argent. Je sçay bien qu'il fault
argent pour deffendre les frontieres et les environs garder; quant il
n'est point de guerre, pour n'estre point surprins; et le tout faire
moderement : et à toutes ces choses sert le sens d’ung sage prince :
car s'il est bon, il congnoist qui est Dieu et qui est le monde, et ce
qu'il doibt et peult faire et laisser. Or, selon mon advis, entre
toutes les seigneuries du monde, dont j'ay congnoissance, où la chose
publicque est mieulx traictee, où regne moins de viollence sur le
peuple, et où il n'y a nulz ediffices abbatus, ny desmolis pour-guerre,
c'est Angleterre ; et tombe le sort et le malheur sur ceulx qui font la
guerre.
“Nostre roy est le seigneur du monde qui le inoins a cause de
user de ce mot: 'J'ay privilege de lever sur mes subjectz ce qui me
plaist,' car ne luy ne aultre ne l'a : et ne luy font nul honneur ceulx
qui ainsi le dient pour le faire estimer plus grant, mais le font hayr
et craindre aux voisins, qui pour riens ne vouldroient estre soubz sa
seigneurie : et mesmes aucuns du royaulme s'en passeroient bien,
qui en tiennent. Mais si nostre roy, ou ceux qui le veulent louer et
agrandir, disoient : "J'ay des subjetz si trés bons et trés loyaulx
qu'ilz ne me reſusent chose que je leur sçaiche demander, et suis
plus crainct, obey et servy de mes subjectz que nul aultre prince qui
vive sur la terre, et qui plus patiemment endurent tous maulx et
260
Early Chroniclers of France.
Mr. Hallam's appreciation of the distinguished
writer whom we have just been examining may be
quoted here, as remarkably correct: "The memoirs
of Philip de Commines . . almost make an epoch
in historical literature. If Froissart, by his pictur-
esque descriptions and fertility of historical inven-
tion, may be reckoned the Livy of France, she had
her Tacitus in Philip de Commiries.... He is the
first modern writer ... who in any degree has
displayed sagacity in reasoning on the characters
of men, and the consequences of their actions, and
who has been able to generalize his observation by
comparison or reflection. ... An acute understand-
ing and much experience of mankind gave Com-
mines this superiority; his life had not been
spent over books; and he is consequently free from
that pedantic application of history which became
commori with those who passed for political
reasoners in the next two centuries."
One of the most valuable sources for the history
of Louis XI. is the chronicle of Jean de Troyes,
generally known by the title of Chronique Scanda-
leuse. It includes the narrative of events between
1460 and 1483, and the earliest edition of it has
neither date nor author's name on the title-page.
Lacroix du Maine, in his Bibliothèque Française, .
published in 1584, alludes to “ Jean de Troyes,
toutes rudesses, et à qui moins il souviengne de leurs dommaiges
passez,' il me semble que cela lui seroit grant ioz (et je dis la verité),
non pas dire : "Je prens ce que je veulx et en ay privilege ; il le me
fault bien garder.''.
The “Chronique Scandaleuse."
261
historian François du temps de Louis XI.” He then
goes on to say, "Il a écrit la chronique du dit roi,
laquelle est vulgairement appelée La Chronique
Scandaleuse, à cause qu'elle fait mention de tout ce
qu'a fait le dit roi, et récite des choses qui ne sont
pas trop à son avantage, mais plutôt à son des-
honneur et scandale." Notwithstanding this decla-
ration, it will be evident to any one who takes the
trouble of reading Jean de Troyes, that there is
nothing whatever in his work to justify the descrip-
tion of Chronique Scandaleuse, and we must conclude,
with Sorel and other critics, that the title was given
by some publisher for the purpose of exciting
curiosity and securing a sale. Brantôme, in his
Éloge de Charles VIII., alludes to a history of
Louis XI., which was in the king's library, and
which Francis I. would never allow to be printed,
on account of its satirical character.
That is,
in all probability, the real Chronique Scandaleuse,
and it would be curious to find it out and pub-
lish it.
With reference to the biography of Jean de
Troyes we absolutely know nothing. Grosley,
in his Mémoire sur les Troyens Célèbres, suggests
that he may have been the son of that other
Jean de Troyes who, according to Juvenal des
Ursins, played an important part in the political
disturbances which marked the reign of Charles VI.,
and who held the post of grand master of the
artillery under Charles VII. The old relations
262
Early Chroniclers of France.
of the father with the municipal body of Paris
procured for the son the office of registrar (greffier)
to the Hôtel de Ville. As Jean de Troyes, speaking
of the sister of Louis XI., Joan of France, calls her
his trés redoutée dame, it has been conjectured that
he belonged to the household of that princess.
“Jean de Troyes," says Sorel, “is an honest
bourgeois, who speaks very openly. We find in
his work curious remarks on what took place in
those days, such as you might expect from a man.
who knew the surface and outside of things, with-
out having ever penetrated to their motives and
circumstances.” This very fact gives a great deal
of interest to the memoirs of Jean de Troyes,
-- which should be read immediately after those of
Commines. The adviser of Louis XI. exposes
the policy of the monarch, unravels his intrigues,
and explains the secret causes of the events he
relates. The registrar never dreams either of going
to the bottom of political occurrences, or of account-
ing for them; he merely states them just as the
king wished them to be known by the Paris
bourgeoisie and by the common people. If we
take, for instance, the well-known episode of the
interview at Péronne, in 1468, Jean de Troyes gives.
us an account of the journey of Louis XI. as an
ordinary thing; you would not suppose from his
narrative that the king, a dupe of his own artifice,
has imprudently placed himself at the discretion
of the Duke of Burgundy, and that he has been
Jean de Troyes a Collector of Gossip.
263
his prisoner. The agreement signed at Péronne
appears in the Chronique Scandaleuse as having
been freely signed by Louis, who of his own accord:
decides upon joining Charles the Bold in an expe-
dition against the inhabitants of Liége. When
we have studied, in the pages of Commines, the
real course of events as they actually occurred,
we are interested in seeing how the king wished
them to be known by his subjects, and the colour-
ing he put upon them for the purpose of concealing
both the dangers which had threatened him, and
the humiliation which he had been obliged to put
with. The memoirs of Jean de Troyes are full
of particulars which he alone gives; they contain
a number of details illustrating the habits, feelings,
and domestic life of the Parisians; they make us
acquainted with the political sympathies of the
capital of France, and it is not too much to say
that no work gives us a deeper insight into the
history of Paris about the end of the fifteenth
century. The great drawback to the narrative
of Jean de Troyes is that the worthy registrar
seldom speaks from actual observations. He is
rather a collector of gossip, and therefore his
statements are not always reliable ; at all events,
they require to be compared with those of Philippe
de Commines and other writers. We must spare
room for a couple of extracts from the Chronique
Scandaleuse.
The first refers to the death of Charles the Bold,
L.
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Early Chroniclers of France.
Duke of Burgundy. On that subject Jean de Troyes
is better informed than Philippe de Commines; and
after describing the battle, the losses of the Bur-
gundians, the pursuit of the Swiss, etc., he informs
us that “on Monday, which was Twelfth Day (A.D.
1476), the Count de Campobasso met with a page
that was taken prisoner, belonging to the Count
de Chalon, who was with the Duke of Burgundy in
the battle. This lad, upon examination, confessed
the Duke of Burgundy was killed ; and the next
day, upon diligent search after him, they found
him stripped stark naked, and the bodies of four-
teen men were in the same condition, at some
distance from each other. The duke was wounded
in three places, and his body was known and dis-
tinguished from the rest by six particular marks,
the chiefest of which was, the want of his upper
teeth before, which were beaten out with a fall;
the second was a scar in his throat, which was
occasioned by the wound he received at the battle
of Montlhéry; the third was his great nails,
which he always wore longer than any of his
courtiers; the fourth was another scar upon his
left shoulder; the fifth was a fistula in his right
groin, and the last was a nail that grew into his
little toe. And, upon seeing all these above-
mentioned marks upon his body, his physican,
the gentlemen of his bed-chamber, the Bastard
of Burgundy, Messire Olivier de la Marche, his
chaplain, and several other officers that were taken
Extract from the “Chronique Scandaleuge."
265
prisoners by the Duke of Lorraine, unanimously
agreed it was the body of their lord and master,
the Duke of Burgundy.”
The second quotation describes the muster of
troops made by Louis XI. in 1467:-
“On the fourteenth of September, the king, who
had ordered the Parisians to make standards,
published a proclamation commanding all the
inhabitants from sixteen to threescore, of what
rank or condition soever, to be ready to appear
in arms that very day in the fields; and that those
who were not able to provide themselves with
helmets, brigandines, etc., should come armed with
great clubs, under pain of death; which orders
were punctually obeyed, and the greater part of
the populace appeared in arms, ranged under their
proper standard or banner, in good order and
discipline, amounting to fourscore thousand men;
thirty thousand of which were armed with coats
of mail, helmets, and brigandines, and made a very
fine appearance. Never did any city in the world
furnish such a vast number of men, for it was
computed there were threescore and seven banners
or standards of tradesmen, without reckoning those
of the court of Parliament, exchequer, treasury,
mint, and Châtelet of Paris, which had under them
as many or more soldiers than what belonged to
the tradesmen's banners. A prodigious quantity
of wine was ordered out of Paris, to comfort and
refresh the vast body of men, which took up a
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Early Chroniclers of France
vast tract of ground; extending themselves from
the Lay-stall between St. Anthony's gate, and
that of the Temple as far as the Town-ditch,
upwards to the Wine-press; and from thence, along
the walls of St. Antoine des Champs, to the Grange
of Reuilly; and from thence to Conflans; and
from Conflans, back again by the Grange aux
Merciers, all along the river Seine, quite to the
royal bulwark over against the Tower of Billy;
and from thence, all along the Town-ditch on the
outside, to the Bastille and St. Anthony's gate.
In short, it was almost incredible to tell what a
vast number of people there were in arms before
Paris, yet the number of those within was pretty
near as great."
CHAPTER XVII.
MOLINET-GUILLAUME DE VILLENEUVE--
BOUCHET-JEAN MASSELIN.
MOLINET is not the first French mediæval author
who combined the talent of a poet with that of
a chronicler; Froissart's joli buisson de Forèce is
well known, and George Chastellain has left a
volume of songs. We do not mention, of course,
Robert Wace, Benoit de Sainte-Maure, and the
numerous array of annalists who were poet-historians
rather than poets and historians. Jean Molinet
was born in a village of the Boulonnais, and he died
at Valenciennes in 1507. After the death of his
wife, he took orders, and obtained a canonry in
the collegiate church of Valenciennes. He was
the historiographer to the house of Burgundy, and
subsequently librarian of Margaret of Austria, who
governed the Netherlands on behalf of her father,
the Emperor Maximilian I. It is chiefly as a poet
that Molinet was appreciated by his contemporaries,
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Early Chroniclers of France.
and if we would form a just idea of the absurd
character of his style, we cannot do better than
turn to the satirical description which Rabelais
gives of it in chapter liv. of the Gargantua. Never
was criticism so thoroughly deserved, and the fol-
lowing specimen, which we take almost at random,
will furnish an accurate idea of his Temple de
Mars, Complainte de Constantinople, etc., etc. :-
s Molinet 1 is neither without fame, nor without name.
He has his sound, and, as you see, his voice.
His sweet pleading pleases more than does your tune ; .
For wind often comes to the small windmill." 2
Amongst his historical works we would name
the historical stanzas which he added to those
of Georges Chastellain, entitled the Recollection des
Merveilles Advenues en 120stre Temps. This poem
is a kind of review of the principal events which
happened during the fifteenth century, such as the
invention of printing, etc. Molinet thus alludes to
the new process devised for multiplying the pro-
ductions of the human mind:
“I have seen a great number
Of printed books
In order to draw to study
Poor, impecunious people.
1 Molinet, diminut. of moulin, old French molin, “a windmill”
Ylow Latin, molinus).
2 - Molinet n'est sans bruyt, ne sans nom, non.
Il a son son, et comme tu vois, voix.
Son doulx plaid plaist mieulx que ne faict ton ton;, .
Car soubvent vent vient au Molinet net."
Molinet's Chronicle.
269
Thanks to these new fashions,
Many a scholar will have
A book of decrees, Bibles, and codes,
Without giving much money.
1
The only work of Molinet which in the slightest
degree justifies the reputation he enjoyed is his
chronicle, which extends from the year 1474 to
1506, and is introduced by two prologues, having
respectively the following mottoes :-"Fundata est
domus Domini super verticem montium," and " Militi
est vita hominis super terram." The domus Domini,
we need hardly say, is the house of Burgundy, “la
très illustre et réfulgente maison," as he designates
it; and all the resources of metaphorical language,
the whole Latin vocabulary, with its various com-
binations and associations, are employed for the
purpose of describing the virtues, both civil and
political, of the various princes and princesses who,
from the days of Charles V., King of France, have
ruled over the destinies of Burgundians. The royal
family is described as a "liligerous orchard” (ver-
gier liligère), and the Duke of Burgundy is praised
for the energy he displayed in subduing “the m2b-
L" J'ay veu grand multitude
De livres imprimés,
Pour tirer en estude
Povres mal argentés.
Par ces nouvelles modes
Aura maint escollier
Decret, Bibles, et codes,
Sans grand argent bailler."
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Early Chroniclers of France.
:
tins rebellans, the rebelles mutinants, the traffiqueurs
séduisants, and the séducteurs traffiquants.” A whole
work of considerable length, written in that style,
is sufficiently tedious. When he is not hurried along
by the vivacity of the narrative or the interest
of historical descriptions, Molinet launches forth
into the most incongruous platitudes, written in
a ridiculously pompous style; and his faults as an
author are all the more deplorable because he can
relate a touching episode or sketch a war-picture
with considerable vigour.
The last two books of Philippe de Commines
contain a history of the reign of Charles VIII.;
but the author, as we have already hinted, had
incurred the king's displeasure in the early part
of his reign, for having joined the faction of the
Duke of Orleans, and he had even spent eight
months as a prisoner in one of the iron cages.
of the castle of Loches. We are not surprised at
finding, therefore, that he says nothing whatever
about the States-General held at Tours, or about the
regency of Madame de Beaujeu. Sent afterwards
to Venice during the Italian expedition, and not
having witnessed the greatest part of the events
which occurred in consequence of that war, he
merely describes the negotiation with which he
was entrusted. Now, whilst, in his narrative of
the mission to Venice, he displayed a foresight
and a skill which deserve the highest praise, we
cannot help, on the other hand, being struck by
Guillaume de Villeneuve.
271
the unfairness he shows in his appreciation of a
young monarch full of honour and of kindness,
but whom he could not forgive what he regarded
as an act of tyranny, although it was really an act
of justice. For the reign of Charles VIII., then,
Philippe de Commines is an insufficient authority,
even so far as the expedition to Naples is con-
cerned; and we must complete the details he gives
us by referring to the memoirs of Villeneuve, who
explains the consequences of the invasion, and the
disasters which befel the French army.
Nothing certain is known about Guillaume de
Villeneuve, except that he accompanied Charles
VIII. to the kingdom of Naples, and was one of
the officers intrusted with the difficult task of pro-
tecting the French conquest when the monarch
had recrossed the Alps. It might have been
expected that the yoke of France would not be
patiently borne by the Italians, and that, at the
very first opportunity, a rebellion would break out.
Two months after his arrival at Naples, Charles
VIII. received from Philippe de Commines an
ominous letter, informing him that a formidable
league of the sovereigns of Europe had been
organized against him, for the purpose of stopping
his retreat from Italy, and of reducing France
to its original limits. Charles accordingly marched
back towards the Apennines, leaving 4000 men,
under the command of Gilbert de Montpensier,
besides the small forces which garrisoned the chief
272
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towns. Villeneuve shut himself up in the castle
of Trani, fully resolved to die rather than sur-
render. Betrayed by his own soldiers, he was taken
prisoner and detained at Naples, where he wrote
the memoirs of the campaign in which he had
taken a prominent part. He subsequently re-
covered his liberty, and was named by Charles
VIII. master of the royal household. The memoirs
of Villeneuve contain local descriptions which can
be found nowhere else; they are the only historical
record of an authentic character describing the
fatal results of the French expedition of 1494. The
Italian campaign promised to be merely a brilliant
military promenade, where the only trouble would
be that of nominating governors, quartering the
troops, and collecting the taxes; the result proved
far otherwise, and the victory of Fornovo, decided
as it was, had no other consequence but that of
facilitating the retreat of the French.
The Panegyrique du Chevalier sans Reproche is
mentioned here because, although it takes us as far
down as the reign of Francis I. (far beyond the
limits of our subject), it discusses likewise the events
of the reign of Louis XI. The Chevalier sans
Reproche is none other than Louis de la Trémouille,
governor and lieutenant-general of Burgundy, who,
born September 20, 1460, was killed at the battle
of Pavia, February 24, 1525. Sent into Brittany
at the head of an army by Madame de Beaujeu,
the regent, he defeated the Duke d’Orléans (after-
Jean Bouchet.
273
wards Louis XII.) at the battle of Saint Aubin du
Cormier, and made him prisoner (1488); he went
through the campaign of Naples with Charles VIII.,
helped Louis XII. to conquer the Milanese (1500),
and failed completely in an expedition organized
against the kingdom of Naples (1503). We next
find him at the battle of Agnadel (1509), and
at that of Novara (1513), where he was beaten by
the Swiss, with whom he was obliged to conclude,
at Dijon, an ignominious treaty. He was also
present at the battle of Marignan (1515).
The author of the Panegyrique is a certain Jean
Bouchet, born at Poitiers in 1476, and who, despite
his great taste for literature, practised as an at-
torney (procureur) in his native city, as his father
had done before him. He appears to have been
very young when he attached himself to the
fortunes of the La Trémouille family, and when
Louis XII. died at Pavia, he resolved upon raising,
as far as he could, a monument to the memory of
a benefactor who had always honoured him with
special marks of kindness. Bouchet was fifty years
old then, and the Panegyrique, far from betraying
signs of old age, is, on the contrary, characterized by
an amount of imagination which is frequently quite
juvenile. The title of the work must not lead us to
suppose that it is written in a tone of adulation, or
as a declamatory memoir ; Bouchet always remains,
notwithstanding his political fervour, within the
bounds of truth. He describes briefly the military
T
FR.
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Early Chroniclers of France.
exploits and political labours of La Trémouille,
placing on his lips very appropriate remarks, and
characterizing most accurately his courage and his
prudence. The chief interest, however, of these
memoirs is the picture they give of domestic life,
of a nobleman's home in the France of the fifteenth
century, and of the relations which then existed
between a landlord and his dependents. The great
defect of Jean Bouchet is one which he shared with
all those amongst his contemporaries who aspired
to the honour of being considered scholars, viz. a
passion for classical allusions, and for the traditions
of Greek and Latin mythology. The chief deities
of Mount Olympus appear in his pages : Minerva
cautions the young hero against the seductions of
love; Juno gives him lessons on political science;
and Mars, of course, teaches him all the mysteries
of the art of war. Some of the speeches ascribed
to these fictitious characters contain very accurate
and shrewd observations; but, on the whole, they
produce a disagreeable effect, and throw upon the
composition an air of unreality which detracts from
the merits of the volume.
We have seen that the memoirs of Guillaume de
Villeneuve and of Jean Bouchet have a fragment-
ary and, if we may so say, a special character.
The volume we are about to notice is of a totally
different nature ; it treats of interests which affected
the whole of France, and the administration of the
kingdom in its various branches forms the topic of
Jean Masselin's interesting journal.
The French States General.
275
We have only the scantiest possible details of
Jean Masselin, and we shall borrow them from
M. Bernier's biographical notice. The name of
Masselin occurs nowhere previous to the month
of May, 1468, when we find it on the capitular
registers of the cathedral of Rouen, to which he
was attached as a canon. Received doctor in civil
and ecclesiastical law, Masselin enjoyed the repu-
tation of being a learned and distinguished man-
egregius vir et scientificus, says a chronicler; and, as
such, he was habitually selected by the chapter to
be their spokesman on great occasions.
Louis XI. died August 30, 1483. He left France
full of abuses and of irregularities, which it was
absolutely necessary to destroy. Was a lad of
thirteen governing under the authority of a woman,
Madame de Beaujeu, capable of facing the diffi-
culties of the situation? It was thought not. The
States-General were summoned at Tours; and the
causes which led to their convocation are duly
and minutely set forth in the journal we are now
introducing to our readers. All the provinces of
the kingdom sent representatives; the bailiwick of
Rouen deputed Jean Masselin, official of the arch-
bishop, together with Georges de Clere, knight,
Jacques de Croismare, and Pierre Daguenet. Jean
Masselin was present at the States-General during
the whole time of their meeting—that is to say, from
January 5, 1484, to March 14 of the same year.
His journal contains the fullest particulars on his
276
Early Chroniclers of France.
parliamentary career, and a contemporary, alluding
to the part he took in the proceedings of the
Assembly, says, "Ut summus orator, ante reges et
principes elegantissimus pro bono publico fecit
orationes.” Four years after the meeting of the
States-General, Jean Masselin was named Dean of
Rouen, and he died, from the consequences of a
short illness, in the night of the 26th to the 27th
of June, 1500.
It does not appear that our hero composed any
other work besides the remarkable memoirs he
wrote on the transactions of the Assembly at Tours.
This journal had long remained unpublished, but
it had been often consulted and turned to excellent
use by historians, who were unanimous in regarding
it as one of the most curious monuments left to us
by the fifteenth century. The edition prepared for
the Collection des Documents Inédits by M. Adhelm
Bernier is in every way worthy of the series to
which it belongs.
There is no doubt that Jean Masselin, as M.
Picot remarks, deserves a distinguished place
ainongst the greatest political orators which France
can boast of. The States-General, which might
have been productive of so much good by the in-
troduction of necessary reforms, ultimately failed,
through the weakness of some of the deputies and
the venality of others. But Masselin identified him-
self from the very first with those who asserted the
1 Histoire des États Généraux.
Reforms Proposed by Masselin.
277
right of the nation to discuss, vote, and assess the
taxes; and "his independent eloquence made him
the natural interpreter of the States whenever the
deputies showed any amount of courage.” One of
his most noteworthy speeches is the one which he
delivered on the 20th of February, and in which
he discussed the various items of expenditure
to be met by the taxes. According to him, there
are not more than four kinds of necessary expenses:
1. The king's household ; 2. the salaries of the
judges and magistrates; 3. the maintenance of
the army; 4. the various pensions granted by the
Crown. “ All these matters," observed Masselin,
"are so intimately connected together, that not one
of them can be treated separately; if money is
squandered upon one of them, the others must
necessarily suffer. The deputies, therefore, have a
right to insist on examining these four points
together; but, in the first place, it is indispensable
that they should possess an accurate statement of
the income resulting from the royal domains, and
from the aids of every kind paid into the king's
exchequer, for it is impossible that the budget of
expenses should be fixed without a knowledge of
what the revenue amounts to.” Our readers cannot
fail to notice the boldness of the step thus taken by
Jean Masselin, and the important precedent it
created. For the first time, the States-General had
in their hands all the elements of the financial
problem, and they had wrested from the king's
278
Early Chroniclers of France.
entourage the real power, by obtaining the control
over the exchequer. So decided, so unheard-of a
procedure was regarded as scandalous ; obstacles
were thrown in the way of a solution, and the
returns claimed by the deputies were so manifestly
false, that, rather than be put to the long and use-
less task of correcting these returns, the States-
General, on the motion of one of the members,
determined upon proposing that the country should
pay, for the space of two years, the annual sum
which was raised at the end of the reign of Charles
VIII. After that epoch, the States were to be
again summoned, and a final resolution taken.' In
support of this mezzo termine, Jean Masselin made
a speech which M. Picot justly describes as a
magnifique résumé. It shows what an amount of
good sense, knowledge of public business, and true
patriotism was to be found in that gathering of
men, till then unknown, who had come forth from
their chapter-houses. their guild-halls, and their
mansions, to carry on together the important work
of administrative reform.
The few remarks we have thus made show the great
value of Masselin's journal towards an accurate
knowledge of France during the fifteenth century.
The only regret we feel is that a monument of the
same kind should not exist for all the other
assemblies of the States-General.
VO
CHAPTER XVIII.
LEGISLATIVE MONUMENTS-LAWS OF THE BAR-
BARIANS-THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND THE
COUTUMES”-PUBLICISTS.
AFTER the notice we have given of M. Adhelm
Bernier's publication, we need scarcely tell our
readers that a study of mediæval history would be
incomplete if we did not endeavour to form some
slight idea of the legislative enactments made at
various epochs, and which, modified from time to
time according to the vicissitudes of the kingship
and the progress of the feudal system, contributed to
make up the body of French law. To the Mero-
vingian epoch belong the Salic law, the Ripuarian
code, and that of the Burgundians. Respecting
the first of these monuments, which we must con-
sider as a tarif of compensations and not as a real
code, we may say briefly that, according to the
opinion of a distinguished legist, M. Pardessus, the
text which has reached us is the Latin translation of
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Early Chroniclers of France.
a document originally compose in the German
language. But, further, we do not even possess the
editions supposed to have been drawn up by the
order of Clovis; and the fact that the sentences of
which the Salic law consists vary in number from
sixty-five to a hundred, according to the manu-
scripts, is explained by the circumstance that Clovis
himself and his successors added fresh enactments
to those originally laid down. Charlemagne was
the last Frankish king who issued a revised edition
of the Salic law ; if, indeed, this name is not more
appropriately reserved for the body of customs
preserved traditionally amongst the various tribes,
rather than to a written document which has very
little indeed of a legislative character,
The Ripuarian code is so far similar to the Salic
law that it consists chiefly of penal sentences
(eighty-nine or ninety-one, according to the manu-
scripts), but differs from it because it is less uncouth
in its form, and has retained considerable traces of
Roman legislation. As its name indicates, it was
compiled for the use of the Frankish tribes which,
instead of penetrating into Gaul at the time of the
general invasion, remained quartered on the banks
of the Rhine (ripuarii). Drawn up for the first
time by Theodoric I., King of Austrasia, at
Châlons-sur-Marne, between the years 511 and
534, it was successively revised by Childebert,
Clotaire, and Dagobert I. ; Charlemagne himself,
towards the beginning of the ninth century, intro-
>
Lot Gambette.
285
ducing into it important alterations and addi
tions.
Gregorius Turonensis, alluding to Gondebaud,
king of the Burgundians, remarks, Burgundionibus
leges mitiores instituit, ne Romanos opprimerent.
This code of laws, known generally by the name of
Loi Gambette, was issued in 468, and is, in fact, an
attempt to soften down and humanize, if we may
employ this expression, the rude and savage
customs of the Teutonic invaders. It is the only
monument of legislation connected with these
tribes which enforces the rights of hospitality, and
punishes those who are guilty of refusing food and
shelter to the poor traveller.
We now come to the capitularies, about which so
many mistakes have passed current, and have been
accepted even by professed historians. It will be
best, on this subject, to quote M. Guizot's own
words: “The capitularies (capitula, small chapters)
are the laws or legislative measures of the Frankish
kings, Merovingian as well as Carlovingian. Those
of the Merovingian are few in number, and of slight
importance; and amongst those of the Carlovin-
gians, which amount to 152, sixty-five only are due
to Charlemagne." A German writer, H. Klimrath,
tells us that the capitularies were kept at the
imperial chancery, and that copies of them were
distributed amongst the officers and prelates who
having taken part in the various legislative assem-
blies, had to promulgate and make known the reso-
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Early Chroniclers of France.
t
lutions there adopted. Hence there exist various
sets of capitularies, more or less complete according
as the persons who had them transcribed had been
present or not at these public deliberations. Not
only did the dignitaries of the empire, lay or
ecclesiastic, form these collections, but also private
individuals who had been struck by the insufficiency
of the recueils preserved at the various episcopal
palaces. Thus Ansegise, abbot of Fontenelles and
of Flavigny, composed, in 827, a work offering a
methodical arrangement of the capitularies of
Charlemagne and of Louis le Débonnaire. This
code was so celebrated that it was quoted by Louis
le Débonnaire himself in the laws he promulgated
subsequently to the year 827. Charles the Bold
also referred constantly to it. Another compila-
tion, made in 845 by Benedict, surnamed the Levite,
a deacon of the Church of Mentz, obtained likewise
great popularity. It contains, however, besides the
capitularies of Charlemagne and his predecessors,
a mass of enactments derived from other sources,
such as conciliar canons, decretals, texts of Scrip-
ture, extracts from the Fathers of the Church, etc.;
and is generally regarded as inferior to the work of
Ansegise, so far as authenticity is concerned.
The variety of subjects discussed in the capitu-
laries is extremely striking, and some of them
seen hardly to fall within the scope of a code or
a distinctive law. If we attempt a rough classifi-
cation of the sixty-five capitularies which belong
Marculphus.
283
properly to Charlemagne, we find the following
result: these enactments make up together 1151
articles, subdivided into 87 treating of moral legis-
lation, 130 of a penal character, Ilo dealing with
civil cases, 85 bearing upon religious topics, 305 on
canonical details, 73 of a domestic nature, and 12
on miscellaneous subjects. The first edition of the
capitularies. was published in 1545, at Ingolstadt,
by Amerbach. The best one was that of Baluze
(1677, 2 vols. folio), until Pertz gave to the world
his splendid Monumenta Germania Historica, the
thirteenth volume of which contains a much more
complete text of all the laws edicted, both by the
Merovingian and the Carlovingian kings.
The formula of Marculphus should also be con-
sulted; the author lived during the seventh century,
and compiled his work about the year 640. The
Teutonic legislation is the basis on which these acts
have been drawn up; and they are subdivided into
two books, the former being consecrated to the
royal charters (carta regalis), that is to say, treating
of public enactments, whilst the latter, taken up by
the cartæ pågenses comprises the acts and laws of a
private nature, affecting the inhabitants of the
several pagi. The original formula collected by
Marculphus are followed by an appendix of a
more recent date. It will be useful, perhaps, if we
name here the best editions of these various
works:-SALIC LAW: Pardessus, Commentaire sur
la Loi Salique, Paris, 1843, 4°. RIPUARIAN LAW:
i
284
Early Chroniclers of France.
Walther, Deutsche Rechtsquellen. LAW OF THE
VISIGOTHS :-Haenel, Rex Romana Wisigothorum,
Leipsig, 1869, folio. LAW OF THE BURGUNDIANS :
Bluhme, Lex Burgundiorum. The conciliar canons
have an equal importance, for we must always bear
carefully in mind that, in those days, political
society was deeply leavened by the influence of the
Church. The Councils of Agde (506), of Orleans
(511), and of Yenne (Epaône, 577), judged from
this point of view, deserve to be closely studied;
and the last, in particular, shows in the most
striking manner the catholic character of the reign
of Sigismund. The second Council of Tours (506),
the fourth of Valence (584), and the fourth of
Mâcon (585), are not less instructive with reference
both to the internal organization of the Church, and
to its connection with the State. We might dwell
at much greater length on the ecclesiastical legis-
lation of the Middle Ages, and on its extreme
worth as a treasure-house of information, but we
must be satisfied with referring the student to
M. Guizot's lectures on civilization, and to Father
Sirmond's Concilia Antique Gallice (Paris, 1629,
folio), where the texts of the various conciliar enact-
ments will be found.
The charters and official acts of the Merovingian
epoch are scanty (Pardessus, Diplomata, Charta,
Epistola, Leges, Paris, 1843–1863, 7 vols. folio), but
the indications they contain are of the higl
value. Finally, the student will discover ample
Pierre de Fontaines.
285
means of verifying the assertions of historians and
annalists in M. Le Blant's splendid recueil of epi-
graphic "monuments (Inscriptions Chrétiennes de la
Gaule, 3 vols. folio, Paris, 1856-1865).
With the Capetian dynasty we come to the
Feudal system properly so called, the legislative
history of which is contained in the coutumes and
the coultuiniers. The reader must here be cautioned
against an error which is often committed, and
which consists in mistaking the collections of feudal
laws and enactments (coultumes) with the explana-
tions, discussions, and commentaries published at
various times on those texts (coutumiers). The
last-named work—that is to say, the scientific
arrangement and treatment of the feudal laws-is of
a relatively modern date. In 1250, or about that
time, Pierre de Fontaines, formerly bailli of Ver-
mandois (1253), composed, under the title of Conseil
à un Ami, a commentary on the laws of Ile-de-
France, and of the district subjected to his admin-
istration. Undertaken, it appears, at the suggestion
of Saint Louis, this work was never finished; it is
interesting, however, as showing the transition from
the old Germanic legislation, even in civil cases, to
the usages of canon law.
The Établissements de St. Louis, the Assises de
Férusalem, and the Coutumes du Beauvoisis, are the
most remarkable monuments of feudal legislation,
and a slight acquaintance with them is indispen-
sable towards a satisfactory knowledge of French
286
Early Chroniclers of France.
mediæval history. With reference to the first men-
tioned of these three compilations, we may notice
that the word établisseinent was not applied ex-
clusively to it; in the thirteenth century all decrees
of a general character received the name of étab-
lissement (stabilimentum), and if the work we are
now alluding to is the only one now known by that
name, it is simply because its superior merits have
left all the others in oblivion. Although published
under the guarantee, so to say, of Saint Louis, the
Établissements are posterior to the reign of that
monarch, and are the work of a legist whose name
has remained unknown. The character of this.
work is a constant endeavour to reconcile two
principles according to all appearances incom-
patible; and in trying to interpret feudalism from
the point of view of canon law, the writer is led to
exaggerate the pretensions of the Crown in oppo-
sition with the prerogatives of the nobles. On the
other hand, the Établissements lay down very
clearly the rights which belonged undoubtedly to
the barons, and show what the state of the feudal
system was at a time when its , glories already
seemed on the wane. Thus, we find the barons.
still enjoying the serious right of summoning their
vassals together even against the king, whereas the
king could not raise any troops on the domains of
the barons.
· The Assises de Férusalem next claim our
attention for a brief space. After the taking of
“Assises de Jérusalemn."
287
Jerusalem in 1099, the Crusaders established two
courts of law: the superior one for the barons,
presided over by the king, and the inferior one for
the bourgeoisie, under the chairmanship of the
viscount of the city. As the expedition to the
Holy Land had been undertaken by men belonging
to several nationalities, it was obviously indispen-
sable that the legislative enactments should be
adapted to them all; accordingly, Godefroy de
Bouillon caused a compilation to be made of the
principal customs belonging to these various
nations, and gave them force of law. The Assisesi
de Férusalem differ from the other mediaval
coritumes, inasmuch as they were from the beginning
a written code; and although the part which we
possess does not belong to the end of the eleventh
century, as some persons will believe, it is anterior,
nevertheless, by sixty years to the coutumiers of
France, and is one of the most important authorities
we possess on feudal usages.
The Coutumes de Beauvoisis, drawn up by
Philippe de Beaumanoir (?-1296), are extremely
useful as a source of information on the legislative
ideas prevalent about the end of the thirteenth
century in the Pays de Langue d'Oil, because the
learned author, not satisfied with collecting and
annotating the customs of the province of Beau-
voisis, had also consulted for purposes of com-
parison the usages of other districts, and brought
together a mass of illustrative matter from various
285
Early Chroniclers of France.
sources. The Coutumes de Beauvoisis throw con-
siderable light, not only upon law, properly so called,
but upon politics, and Philippe de Beaumanoir,
agreeing with the rédacteur of the Établissements de
Saint Louis, exalts the authority of the Crown at
the expense of feudalism.
If we were to give the complete list of all the
collections of feudal laws which have been pub-
lished since Charles VII. first conceived the idea of
having them arranged in methodical order, we
should be taking up uselessly the time and atten-
tion of our readers; we prefer noticing briefly here
two or three legists who, although not having
composed ex professo treatises on legislature, took
upon themselves to judge very freely the institu-
tions and government under which they lived, and
whose works are, therefore, of great value for the
history of the Middle Ages. Pierre Dubois (four-
teenth century,) Raoul de Presles (1316-1381), and
Philippe de Maizières (1312–1405) show us the spirit
of independence and of inquiry taking possession
of the third estate, and leading them to discuss the
origin of government, its conditions, and its obliga-
tions. The Établissements and the Coutumes de
Beauvoisis expressed clearly the triumph of the
kingship; in the Songe du Verger of Raoul de
Presies, and the Songe du vieil Pélerin of Philippe
de Maizières, we see the bourgeoisie preparing itself
for the exercise of power by assurning the right
of political discussion. Pierre Dubois composed a
« Le Songe du Verger."
289
number of pamphlets, some in French, most in Latin.
M. Renan, who has devoted to him two interesting
notices in the Revue des Deux Mondes, gives us the
highest idea of his political and administrative
capacity. France was to have universal dominion,
exercising it, of course, for the wisest purposes, and
in the most unobjectionable manner. The power
of the court of Rome is curtailed.
is curtailed. Gallican
maxims prevail in the relations between the king
and the pope; a perpetual peace is established
throughout Europe ; and the cessation of hostilities
thus obtained in the west enables the various
potentates to join together in a crusade, which ends
in a definitive solution of the Eastern difficulty.
Not only is Palestine wrested from the infidels, but
European civilization is introduced into Constanti-
nople. The explanation of this grand scheme
gives the author an opportunity of stating his
views on education, military tactics, etc.
The political views of Raoul de Presles are
developed under the similitude of a dream in the
Songe du Verger, or dialogue between a clerc and
a knight; the former being a decided ultramon-
tanist, whilst the latter stands up manfully against
the pope, the ecclesiastical courts, the monastic
orders, and the absorption of the temporal power
by the successor of Saint Peter. It is amusing to
see the clerc anticipating the unpatriotic theories
of the Ligueurs, and attacking the throne on behalf
of the Vatican. He openly pronounces against the
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Early Chroniclers of France.
Salic law, and sides with the King of England and
the Duke of Brittany, who were then threatening
France. His hatred of the crown even goes so far
as to transform him into a violent demagogue; he
disputes the right of the king to raise the taxes,
maintains to his antagonist that the aristocracy has
no raison d'être, and that all men are equal. The
only incontestable privilege which he grants to the
monarch is that of fleecing the Jews, and expelling
them from the kingdom.
The Songe du Verger is, our readers will see,
a most important contribution to the historical
literature of the Middle Ages; it describes in very
vivid colours the state of society, and illustrates
public opinion during the reigns of Charles V. and
Charles VI. Philippe de Maizières, in his Songe die
vieil Pelerin, develops exactly the same views,
and makes himself the spokesman of the Gallican
bourgeoisie against the ultramontanist tendencies
of the day. Another semi-political work, containing,
under the shape of an allegory, a kind of pro-
gramme in favour of the crown, is the remarkable
pamphlet entitled Le Vray Régime et Gouverne-
ment des Bergiers et Bergières. It was composed
in 1379, and the name Jean de Brie, given to the
author, is evidently a pseudonym which the his-
torians of French literature have not been able to
identify. We thus find that in the fourteenth
century the freedom of the press was beginning
to assert its rights, and that the kings of France
« Le Vray Régime."
291
fully aware of the power of public opinion, were
endeavouring with much shrewdness to obtain its
support in the serious contest they were carrying
on with the still respected and dreaded authority
of the court of Rome. History is the best com-
ment on legislative enactments; pamphlet litera-
ture, in its turn, perpetually illustrates history.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTA
KXXX SK
FKKBX X
CHAPTER XIX.
CHRONICLES OF A LOCAL CHARACTER- CHRO-
NIQUE DES COMTES D'ANJOU CHRONIQUE
DES ÉGLISES D'ANJOU"-"CHRONIQUE
-DE
SAINT MARTIAL DE LIMOGES”-SERMON
LITERATURE— POLITICAL PREACHERS-ANEC-
DOTES OF ETIENNE DE BOURBON.
In addition to the histories or chronicles of a
general character which have been brought to
light at various epochs, we must not forget works
of a more local description, bearing upon the
annals of the country, and, at the same time, full
of interest by the light they throw upon the laws,
institutions, and customs of the various provinces
of France. The volume published by the Société de
l'Histoire de France, under the title of Chroniques des
Contes d'Anjou, is an excellent specimen of what
we mean. It comprises five works, which we shall
examine successively. In the first place, it appears
that towards the end of the twelfth century there
existed several histories of the Counts of Anjou,
viz. : 1. An anonymous chronicle, beginning with
“ Chronique des Comtes d'Anjou."
293
all
the words, De Consulibus Andegavorum ; 2.
abridged chronicle, ascribed to a certain Abbot
Eudes; 3. a history of the Counts of Anjou, ,
written by Thomas de Loches ; 4. another history
of the same counts, composed by Robin and Le
Breton of Amboise ; 5. a compilation, the author
of which is John, a monk of the abbey of Marmou-
tiers. The first of these documents, and the oldest
of all, concludes with the death of Geoffroi Martel
(1107), son of Foulques le Réchin. It is far from
being devoid of merit, and although it dwells too
much in detail on the origin of the Counts of
Anjou, yet it allows comparatively little room to
the absurd legends with which most mediæval
chronicles are full. When he comes to the acces-
sion of Foulques Nerra, especially, our author really
takes up his position as a trustworthy historian, and
his statements are amply confirmed by the official
documents which time has handed down to us.
The author of the second rédaction appears to have
been Eudes, Abbot of Marmoutiers (1124), who
died April 13, 1137. Thomas de Parcé (de Paccio),
Prebendary of Loches (died April 27,1168), adopted
the text of Abbot Eudes, and modified it so con-
siderably that it reads almost like a distinct and
independent work. The passages he suppresses
or abridges are numerous. On the other hand, he
has introduced several additions, some of which
would suffice to give him a distinguished rank
amongst mediæval chroniclers; thus, the descrip-
294
Early Chroniclers of France.
tion of the battle fought at Alençon in 1118,
between Foulques the Young and Henry I. King
of England. The compilation of Robin and Le
Breton of Amboise does not call for any distinct
notice; it was prepared between 1160 and 1169:
We come next to the fifth draft, that of the monk
John, about whom all that we know is that he
wrote his history of the Counts of Anjou about
1169 or 1170, and his biography of Geoffroy le Bel,
Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, about
the year 1180. This second work, full of valuable
particulars, but composed without the slightest
regard to method or style, forms part of the volume
issued by the Société de l'Histoire de France. We
are indebted to a monk of the abbey of Pont le
Voy for two memoirs, bearing immediately upon
the history of the castle of Amboise and of its lords,
and incidentally illustrating the annals of the
Counts of Anjou. The Gesta Dominorum Amba-
ciensium is an excellent work, whether we regard
it from the historical or the literary point of view.
The Liber de Compositione Castri Ambacie, on the
other hand, borrowed by the Abbot of Pont le Voy
chiefly from popular collections of legendary
stories, such as the famous Gesta Romanorum, is
comparatively valueless. To the same collection
of documents on the history of Anjou belongs the
Historia Andegavensis Fragmentum, a Fulcone Comite
Scriptum. The author of this piece is Foulques le
Réchin, and, in spite of the assertions of Dom
Blographical Notices.
295
Luc d'Achéry, who published his work for the first
time, we cannot be expected to ascribe much
historical importance to a production full of ana-
chronisms and errors of every kind. Foulques
acknowledges himself that he knows nothing about
the early Counts of Anjou, such as Ingelger, Foul-
ques le Roux, and Foulques le Bon; accordingly,
he omits them altogether. The life of Geoffroy
Grise-Gonelle is equally characterized by misstate-
ments of a serious kind; thus, Foulques le Réchin
places to his credit two battles which he never
fought, which are mentioned by no other author,
and which the circumstances related must have
made utterly impossible. Even the biography of
Geoffroy Martel—the least imperfect portion of the
work-is often inaccurate in its details. Finally,
let us name a treatise composed by Hugues de
Cleres under the inspiration of English political
ideas, and in which he puts forth the pretended
claims of the Counts of Anjou to be hereditary
mayors and seneschals of France. This treatise
has absolutely no value, and it is mentioned here
only for the purpose of completing the series of
documents which we possess on the subject of the
Angevin chronicles. It is not our business to state
here the results which historians have deduced
from an attentive study of this important subject;
we shall only say that the supposed first Count of
Anjou, Ingelger, appears to have been a legendary
personage, destitute of all claims, even to existence,
296
Early Chroniclers of ffrance.
and that Foulques le Roux must be regarded as
really heading the list of these chieftains.
In close connection with the volume we have
just described, must be named another one, com-
prising a set of historical documents taken from
the most ancient monasteries, abbeys, and convents
of Anjou. They are, for the most part, eccle-
siastical annals, giving year by year the history of
the monastery where they were compiled, and
mentioning specially the nomination and decease
of abbots or other distinguished members of the
community, the promotion of bishops, the building
and dedication of churches. We have already
had to remark on the great historical importance of
documents of this kind, and on the intimate con-
nection which existed, during the Middle Ages,
between religious and civil society. This connec-
tion is illustrated in the most interesting manner
in the pieces which compose the Chroniques des
Églises d'Anjou, and it is not too much to say that
documents such as these form one of the most
useful and solid foundations of local history, besides
the importance they possess towards the accurate
determination of chronological particulars.
The cathedral church of Anjou, the church of
Saint Maurice, appears first, and the chronicle
connected with it seems the oldest, in point of date,
of the monuments before us. Like most annals, it
begins in the far remote periods of ancient history,
and is merely a compilation from the popular work
"Chronique de Rainaud."
297
of Orosius, till we come to the year 965, when it
becomes of the highest value for the history of the
province. The indications given are remarkable
for their accuracy. Most of them seem borrowed
from the obituaries or official records, preserved in
the muniment-room of the chapter-house. The
chronicle we are mentioning is generally designated
as the Chronique de Rainaud, although this annalist
is responsible only for the part concluded between
976 and 1075. Rainaud was successively Canon of
Saint Maurice, Archdeacon of Angers about the
year 1040, and then écolatre of the chapter. He
had studied under Fulbert, Bishop of Chartres.
Baudry, Abbot of Bourgueil, praises his erudition
and his eminent virtues. He died about the year
1076.
The abbey of Saint Aubin, founded during the
sixth century at Angers, furnishes us with another
set of annals, which had already attracted the
notice of both Duchesne and Labbe on account of
their general, as well as their local, importance.
Begun towards the end of the tenth century, and
continued to the thirteenth by contemporary
writers, they deserve the fullest credence. Besides
a number of ecclesiastical details referring to the
abbey of Saint Aubin and to the see of Angers,
they contain, on the political history of Anjou, a
mass of information which no other chronicles give
us with such minuteness. The first compilers had
been satisfied with brief memoranda of facts and
298
Early Chroniclers of France.
characters; but as we get into comparatively
modern times, the narrative expands, the short
phrases become long paragraphs, and when we
reach the epoch of Henry II. and Richard Cour de
Lion, we find ourselves in possession of a narrative
sketched with much vigour and picturesque talent.
The statement of the dissensions between these
two princes, and of their wars against the kings of
France, is well worth studying.
It appears that the monks of Saint Aubin had
to suffer considerable violence from the lords of
Montreuil-Bellay, on account of a certain priory
which they possessed at Méron, in Poitou. This
incident has supplied materials for another brief
chronicle, which reads almost like a sermon, but
which will be found to illustrate, in the most curious
and interesting manner, the social life of the Middle
Ages and the habits of the barons, who recognized
no law but their sword. This fragment gives us,
likewise, a number of details on the siege of
Montreuil-Bellay, by Count Geoffroy le Bel, in
I 151.
Saint Sergius and Saint Bacq were the patrons
of another abbey, founded in the seventh century
by King Clovis II., at a short distance from
Angers. The chronicle which bears their name
is the work of several monks belonging to the
abbey. It takes us down to the year 1180, and,
important as it is for the history of the province, it
seems in many places to have been borrowed from
the annals of Saint Aubin.
“ Chronique de Vendôme."
299
We must next mention the document known as
the Chronique de Vendôme, and which was succes-
sively continued, from 607 to 1251, by monks
belonging to the priory of Evière, situated at
Angers, but being an offshoot of the abbey of
the Holy Trinity at Vendôme.
The early part
of this compilation is often a transcript of the Saint
Maurice chronicle, some passages of which are
copied verbatim.
With the year 965, a greater
attempt at originality is made, and the literary
merit of the work goes on increasing till its end,
which occurs in 1251. It is evident that two or
three authors, at least, are responsible for the con-
tinuation of this chronicle. They were all, like the
first compiler, monks of the priory of Evière, and
belonged to the abbey of the Holy Trinity at
Vendôme. With reference to the merits of the
work as an historical document, we may say that
the details it gives us on some of the events of the
twelfth century are very trustworthy, and that it
completes the chronicles of Saint Aubin and Saint
Sergius.
The abbey of Saint Florent, at Saumur, con-
tributes to the volume we are now examining a
miscellaneous series of documents, the most notable
of which are a Breve Chronicon Monasterii S. Florentii
Salmuriensis and a prose work on the destruction of
the monastery by Nomenoé, Duke of Brittany. The
former of these pieces is important, especially from
the chronological point of view. It describes the
300
Early Chroniclers of France.
siege of Angers (873), the burning of that town,
and the death of the Countess Elizabeth (999), the
foundation of Saint Nicholas of Angers (1020),
the taking of Saumur (1023), the burning of the
monastery of Saint Martin of Tours (903), etc., etc.
Several of the dates given by the writer enable us,
besides, to determine somewhat accurately certain
particulars which had remained obscure in the
chronology of the Counts of Anjou.
For the mediæval history of Lower Poitou, at
the time when the destinies of that province were
closely connected with those of Anjou, the chronicle
of Saint Maixent, or of Maillezais, is an excellent
source of information. It includes numerous ex-
tracts from obituaries now lost, and entire tran-
scripts of the annals of several abbeys-annals
which have not reached us in their primitive form.
The abbey of Saint Martial of Limoges, like all
important religious houses, boasted of its series of
chronicles compiled by the monks of the com-
munity, who faithfully transmitted to one another
the care of drawing up the annals of their alınce
mater, and of connecting them with the history
both of France and of the world at large. Just as
the annals of the Counts of Anjou, and those of the
churches and monasteries of that province, are a
fruitful source of information respecting the dis-
tricts of France situated on the banks of the Lower
Loire, so the chronicles of Saint Martial of
Limoges are the history of Aquitaine during the
Bernard Ither.
301
busiest part of the Middle Ages. The oldest and
most important of them was begun by Adhémar
de Chabannais, who described the origin of the
abbey, and continued its annals down to the year
1025; he subsequently took the cross, and died
in the Holy Land in 1034. This compilation
was continued in succession by several monks,
and brought down as late as the fifteenth cen-
tury. Of these continuators, the most remarkable
was, no doubt, Bernard Itier, whose biography
is given in detail by M. Duplès-Agier in his
edition of the chronicles, and who was evidently
one of the leading representatives of the French
regular clergy during the later part of the twelfth
century and the beginning of the thirteenth. Born
in 1163, Bernard Itier became, at the age of
fourteen, a novice in the monastery of Saint
Martial, and soon rose to the important position
of librarian, which he filled for a period of twenty-
five years with equal assiduity and success. The
original idea of Bernard Itier was, at first, merely
to note down the most important events which had
happened since the eleventh century, in connection
especially with the history of the abbey. For this
purpose he made use of the margins of an old
church-service book, and, beginning with the year
1000, he entered his remarks on the recto of the
pages till the end of the year 1224. Later on, his
ideas expanded, and he attempted to put down a
kind of historical summary for the time anterior
302
Early Chroniclers of France.
to the epoch he had first selected as his starting
point. The recto pages being already full, he
utilized the verso ones; and by the time he had
crowded with his notes the margins of the author's
book, his work was complete. Written in the
usual Latin of the thirteenth century—that is to
say, rather incorrect and uncouth-the chronicle of
Bernard Itier has, at all events, the merit of im-
partiality; and, although its statements are, in a
great measure, confined to the events which affected
the monastery, yet we find interspersed with them
details of a more general character. The con-
tinuators of Bernard Itier, the various fragment
added by M. Duplès-Agier in the appendix to his
volumes, will be found full of interesting details on
the history of Aquitaine. It is necessary some-
times to wade through many a page before we
discover any incident worth our attention ; but
still the labour spent on such , researches is not
vain, and the sum total of facts collected in the
course of this investigation tells, with considerable
weight, in the history of Aquitaine and the general
history of France.
There is another valuable source of historical
information which we should not forget in this
enumeration, although it does not belong to the
class of memoirs or annals properly so called ; we
mean the sermons, discourses, and other works of
edification which were so frequent during the
Middle Ages. M. Lecoy de la Marche had already
" Le Chaire Française du Moyen âge.”
303
:
shown, in his volume entitled La Chaire Française
du Moyen Âge, the great profit which historians
might derive from an attentive study of the in-
numerable collections of sermons bequeathed to us
by the Middle Ages.
The study of this subject is extremely interest-
ing, for the preachers of those days made use of
an amount of freedom to which we are not accus-
tomed, and often stooped to personalities which
make their sermons most piquant, however con-
trary such a mode of procedure may seem to all our
notions of good taste and decorum. Cum tangit
prædicando, presbyter durus esse debet was a precept
laid down by Jacques de Vitry; and we must
acknowledge that most of the pulpit orators of
the Middle Ages, whether regulars or seculars,
acted up to it in a really conscientious manner.
The Church itself was not spared : and the sermons
of Maurice de Sully and other celebrated preachers
are full of allusions to the opulence, the immorality,
the ignorance, and the laziness of the prelates,
priests, and religious. The king comes next; and
whilst Philip Augustus is rather roughly handled,
Saint Louis, of course, is held up as a pattern of
all the virtues which a monarch should possess.
A rather amusing anecdote is related about the
former, which, if true, shows a great amount of wit
and of common sense. Philip Augustus, it is well
known, was fond of the company of trouvères,
minstrels, and jugglers, and bestowed upon them
304
Early Chroniclers of ffrance.
frequent marks of his partiality. One day a buffoon
came boldly to him, asking for relief under the pre-
text that they were relatives. “On what side, and
at what degree, are you my relative?" asked the
king. “We are brethren on Adam's side," was the
answer, “only the inheritance has been unequally
divided between us." Philip told the man to come
back the next day; and then, in the presence of
all his courtiers, he gave him a penny. “I restore
to thee," added he, “the legitimate share which
belongs to thee by virtue of our relationship; and
when I have paid the equivalent to all my other
brethren, I shall not even have as much left for
my own use." The barons, the knights, the military
orders, the lawyers, the magistrates, the university,
all deserve to be reproved; for the degeneracy is
complete, and, unless the work of reformation
begins speedily, society must soon perish. What
is the lot of the poor? and how all the rules of
Christian charity are forgotten by those whose
duty it is, and whose highest privilege it should
be, to render the circumstances of life easier for
the disinherited and the miserable! Lords and
barons are bad enough, but provosts (præpositi)
and beadles (bedelli) are infinitely worse; they
may be likened unto “crows from hell,” watching
greedily for the remains of the victims; and the
serf has thus a multitude of lords, to whose will
and good pleasure he is bound.
"Aspera sors populi: hic imperat, ille minatur.'
Anecdotes.
305
They do not know what to invent for the purpose
of wringing money out of the tax-payers, and, in
their rapacity, they even manage to press the sun
in their service. “My lord,” said one day a certain
bailiff to a count, “if you will trust me, I shall
procure for you every year a splendid income
only allow me to sell the sun in your estates.'
“ How?" “There are on your domains certain
people who bleach and dry linen in the open air ;
by exacting twelve deniers for each piece of linen,
you will realize a considerable sum.” And thus it
was done. But, on the other hand, examples are
quoted of strange punishments inflicted upon these
rapacious tyrants, and well calculated to make
them reflect. “In the county of Mâcon, before
that fief had been sold to the king (in 1239) by
the Count John and his wife, there were continual
disputes between the bishops, the clergy, and the
citizens on one side, and the count, his knights,
and his retainers on the other. Thanks to these
quarrels, extortions of every kind abounded. A
provost of the neighbourhood saw one day a cow
which tempted him. “Take that cow,' said he to
one of his attendants. He had no sooner, how-
ever, uttered this phrase, than his tongue was
struck with paralysis; and during the remainder
of his life, the only words he could say were,' Take
that cow.'”
The sermons of the mediæval preachers are full
of allusions which give us a curious insight into
FR.
X
306
Early Chroniclers of France.
the framework of feudal society. Thus, Jacques
de Vitry, describing the household of a rich man,
divides it first into three classes: the varlets, the
maid-servants, and the serfs. The serfs, in their
turn, compose four categories : I. the servi hominis,
also called ascripticii; 2. the servi gleba, attached
to the land, and liable to be sold together with it;
3. the servi originarii, sprung from the ascripticii
on the baron's estates; and 4. the servi conducticii,
hired for a limited time, at the expiration of which
they recover their liberty. All these famuli are
represented by the preachers as plunged in igno-
rance and disorder ; pride, blasphemy, and theft
are their every-day vices. The servants (garçones- =
mod. Fr. garçons) who wait upon the students of
the University of Paris are singled out for special
denunciation (omnes ferè latruncuii solent esse), the
carelessness of their masters unfortunately en-
couraging them in their nefarious habits. Books,
clothes, articles of furniture—they seize indifferently
all they can, fleecing the wretched young men out
of their last penny, and making them pay for their
board at the rate of four hundred per cent. !
Generalities, however, did not always satisfy the
preachers, and they soon transformed the Church
into political clubs, where the most violent denun-
ciations, hurled against kings, queens, statesmen,
and ministers, stirred up the animosity of party
spirit and encouraged rebellion. What the Baso-
chians and the enfants sans soucy attempted to do
Michel Menot.-Olivier Maillart.
307
on the stage, the popular pulpit orators accom-
plished from the altar-steps, with this difference
that whereas the former stood out generally as the
mouthpieces of the temporal power against the
pretensions of the Church, the latter claimed to be
expressly commissioned by the Church to denounce
the wrong-doings and short-comings of the State.
The sermons of Michel Menot (?-1518) and of
Maillart (?-1502) are curious as pictures of society
and as specimens of the most barbarous style, but
the allusions they contain to politics and to govern-
ment, are of a general nature; indeed, Louis XI.
threatened Maillart with drowning if he was bold
enough to venture upon any strong expressions of
discontent at the condition of France; and the friar
was wise enough to take the hint.
The period in the history of the French Middle
Ages, when pulpit eloquence illustrates history
with the greatest and most painful effect, is marked
by the Hundred Years' War, and chiefly by the
reign of the unfortunate Charles VI. During the
second half of the fourteenth century, as M.
Aubertin truly observes, sacred oratory, coming
into contact with civil and religious disturbances,
lost its character, and compromised its dignity.
The preachers assumed the part of political orators,
and made themselves the spokesmen of dema-
gogues; they were seen in the assemblies of the
States, at the Paris street-corners, in the public
thoroughfares, exciting the passions of the mob,
308
Early Chroniclers of France.
stimulating their hatred, and selling to the highest
bidder their shameless eloquence. The “Malle-
teers," the “Flayers," the cut-throats of every kind,
thought themselves thus justified, because they
were backed by texts of Scripture and scholastic
distinctions; the English invaders found champions
amongst the members of the University of Paris,
whilst the French cause had scarcely a man of
talent to defend it from the pulpit.
If we wish to form some idea of the violence
which characterized the representatives of the
Gallican Church in those days, we must turn to
the sermons of the Carmelite friar, Eustache de
Pavilly ; the master of arts, Benoit Gentien ; and
the Abbot of Moutiers, Saint Jean. Some of their
addresses have been transmitted to us in substance
by the religieux de Saint Denis, Monstrelet,
Juvénal des Ursins, and other contemporary his-
torians; and their style, their constant appeals to
violence, their disregard of all the claims of logic
and of fairness, remind us of what M. Thiers,
M. Mortimer Ternaux, and M. Mignet tell us
about the Reign of Terror in 1792 and 1793. "See
these little truants, who were quite lately lawyers'
clerks, men of nothing, and of small origin; now
they are so befurred with sable and marten that
no one can recognize them. . . . And you, chan-
cellor, receiving two thousand livres of annual
salary, besides four thousand five hundred gold
francs for letters of remission, twenty-six thousand
Revolutionary Eloquence.
309
coun-
livres on the war subsidies, and two thousand livres
for your wardrobe ! ... you, attorney-generals,
with a salary of six hundred livres
cillors paid at the rate of three hundred livres ...
all running about in quest of bribes, carrying on a
bargain of sentences and decrees! ... and you,
officers of the court, pluralists holding three or
four posts to which you cannot attend, and of
which you pocket the high and excessive wages;
weeds and dangerous nettles of the royal garden,
preventing the good seed from growing—we must
clear you away, remove you, and have done with
you, so that the rest may profit the more. We
therefore require that you should be all taken, you
and your property.”
The result of such an outburst, pronounced from
a window in the town hall, or from the top of a
stone in the market-place, to an assembled multi-
tude of three or four thousand armed men, can
easily be imagined. We are told that after a
speech delivered by Eustache de Pavilly, fifteen
ladies belonging to the queen's household were
locked up in the Conciergerie, besides a number
of the king's officers. Amongst the manuscripts
preserved in the Paris National Library, we find a
Relation Manuscrite de la Sédition et Émotion Popu-
laire arrivée à Paris en l'An 1413. It is preceded
by a sermon which Pavilly pronounced, and which,
no doubt, led to the riot. What the popular
orators had advised, the mob immediately carried
into execution.
310
Early Chroniclers of France.
We have thus enumerated the principal advisers
on the side of the discontented. There is not the
slightest doubt that during the conflict between
the Burgundians and the Armagnacs, whilst the
infamous Queen Isabel of Bavaria, the “she-wolf
of France," was ruining the kingdom, and whilst
the incapacity of Charles VI. and the wickedness
of Charles the Bad, King of Navarre, combined,
were helping on the work of destruction—there
is no doubt, we say, that reforms were urgently
needed; but appeals to brute force are seldom
productive of any good, and the episode of Etienne
Marcel shows, in the most conclusive manner, the
folly of revolutionary measures. As a contrast to
Eustache de Pavilly and his compeers, let us name
Jean Chartier de Gerson (1363–1429), the celebrated
chancellor of the University of Paris. Each of
his speeches, says M. Aubertin, was a victory won
by the party of order, of good sense, and of peace,
over the worst demagogues that France ever saw.
The evidence of historians is unanimous to prove
that to his sound advice, his genuine eloquence,
and his moderation, are due the measures which
led gradually to the pacification of France under
the reign of Charles VII. Another distinguished
orator, the monk Augustin Legrand (fifteenth 'cen-
tury), did much also for the cause of quiet and
lawful reforms; and he would have deserved the
gratitude of posterity, if the latter end of his life
had not, to a certain extent, belied the promises
Augustín Legrand.
311
of its beginning. We are told by the chronicler
Guillebert of Metz that the whole of Paris flocked
to Legrand's sermons. Preaching one day before
the court, at a time when the officers who sur-
rounded the king at the Louvre had the power in
their own hands, he was bold enough to denounce
openly the vices which dishonoured it, and which
had nearly brought France to the verge of de-
struction. “If you do not believe me," he ex-
claimed, addressing Queen Isabel, “walk through
the city in the disguise of a poor woman, and you
will hear what every one says about you.” He
had hardly concluded his sermon when one of the
courtiers said aloud, " If people believed me, this
wretch should be pitched into the river."
That the generous indignation of Gerson and
of Legrand produced the best possible results,
there is no reason to doubt; that the sermons
which have been handed down to us, as composed
by them and by the other representatives of the
French mediaval Church, throw the greatest light
upon contemporary history, is equally certain.
The recueil of anecdotes compiled by the
Dominican friar, Etienne de Bourbon, belongs
also to sermon literature, and it is full of the
most valuable information respecting the state
of society during the thirteenth century-the
political feeling, the intellectual tastes and pur-
suits; in one word, life considered in its broadest
aspect.' The name of the author is not given on
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the title-page of the work which M. Lecoy de
la Marche has published. He was one of those
who carried out in their life the maxim ama
nesciri; and it is only from conjectures, based
upon an attentive study of the text, that we have
been able to ascertain with tolerable accuracy who
he was, to what religious order he belonged, and
what position he held in the Church. His work,
entitled Tractatus de Diversis Materiis Prædica-
bilibus, is a collection of anecdotes, or facts, which
might carefully be quoted by preachers in support
of any point of doctrine they wished to enforce.
Jacques de Vitry had already set the example of
analecta of the kind; and, before him, Saint
Dominic had indulged frequently in the habit of
drawing for his sermons on the large stock of
popular anecdotes and well-known tales, or legends,
which were current in society during the Middle
Ages. This system of preaching was not faultless,
of course, and our readers will see at once how
easily it could be turned aside from its proper
channel, and made the vehicle of satire or scurrilous
jokes ; but, kept within proper bounds, it was
extremely useful, and has preserved for us a
number of curious historical facts. Etienne de
Bourbon adopted the idea of Jacques de Vitry-he
even developed it to a considerable extent-and
the result of his labours as a pulpit orator is a
volume where the practical applicaticn of all the
Christian virtues is enforced through the medium
Etienne de Bourbon.
313
of episodes borrowed from the most diverse
quarters. The character of these episodes suggests
a very natural and obvious division of Etienne de
Bourbon's work into two parts of very unequal
merit. The former is borrowed from old theological
writings, acta sanctorum, legends, fables, poetry,
etc., etc. The latter is the record of the author's
own observations; it contains allusions to con-
temporary events, and to circumstances which had
been related to him by eye-witnesses, when he had
not been in a position to see them himself. The
former portion, whilst it is of no value as bearing
upon the history of the time, can still enable us
to know what was the amount of erudition to be
found in the University of Paris, and what works
were read by the undergraduates. On the other
hand, when we come to the anthology of historical
extracts, and to the narrative of contemporary
transactions, we find ourselves in possession of
details which illustrate the reign of Saint Louis,
and which deserve to be carefully noted. It would
be absurd, of course, to claim for all these anec-
dotes, indiscrininately, the authenticity which we
expect to find in the writings of professed historians.
Etienne de Bourbon repeats a number of wonder-
ful stories or idle rumours which would require
close investigation; but in this respect he often
compares favourably with mediæval annalists, and
in many cases he relates things which he actually
witnessed. Let us also note that he is always
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careful to quote his authorities; certain facts
were told him by those who had taken a part
in them, others belong to some local tradition
which he had heard on the spot, a few are quoted
on the evidence of a preacher. He carries so far
his respect for truth, that whenever he is not
absolutely certain of the faithfulness of his own
memory or of that of his informers, he makes use
of sentences such as “Sicut credo me vidisse; me
audivisse credo, vel ab eodem, vel ab aliis ; credo
me interfuisse," etc. A man who displays so
scrupulous a disposition can surely be believed,
and the only circumstance in which he abstains
from mentioning personages or families is when
the narrative of some crime or scandalous trans-
action occurs as a caution to his hearers. Then
he very properly declines to drag in a name which,
although disgraced by one individual, might still
be honourably borne by other members of the
family. We should notice, likewise, that if he
quotes some legend or miraculous story, he merely
gives it as an apologue, without vouching for its
authenticity - it is sufficient that it should con-
tain a wholesome, moral lesson. Amongst the
stories contained in the collection of anecdotes
gathered together by Etienne de Bourbon, there
are several which illustrate the character of Philip
Augustus, Louis VII., Louis VIII., and of Saint
Louis; and it is curious to remark how sometimes
the appreciations given by the preacher differ from
Anecdotes.
315
6
those which history has accustomed to consider as
authentic. Thus, the father of Philip Augustus is
generally described as a violent, headstrong prince;
here, on the contrary, we find him a good, simple-
minded monarch, a judicious and wise arbitrator.
"The Bishop of Paris (Peter Lombard) was dead,
and the canons, before proceeding to the election
of his successor, were anxious to consult Louis
VII.
Who,' said the king, "are the best clercs
in your Church ?' They named two who com-
pletely outshone all the others by their learning
and their general reputation; the one was Master
Maurice, and the other Peter Comestor. The king
inquired which of the two was the most zealous
for the salvation of souls, the busiest in preaching,
and the most anxious about the spiritual interests
of the people. They answered that Maurice was
distinguished chiefly as an earnest preacher, and
as eager for the eternal welfare of the diocese;
whereas Peter shone especially as a Biblical scholar
and a divine. 'Well,' said the king, 'place the
former at the head of the see, and appoint the
latter to the direction of the schools. It was thus
done, and everybody was the better for the
arrangement."
Philip Augustus, too, in the compilation of
Etienne de Bourbon, is somewhat different from
what history describes him to have been; he is
facetious, fond of smart repartees, and the author
places in his mouth a number of stale jokes, which
316
Early Chroniclers of France.
are the current coin of the old esprit Gaulois. Con-
sulted one day on a canonical election, he adopts
a course which contrasts strangely with that related
in the previous anecdote. The priests are all
drawn up in a line; he reviews them, holding in his
hand the pastoral staff, and discovering one of
them more lean than the rest, he says to him,
“Here, take this staff, in order that you may be-
come as fat as your companions.
Of the really historical episodes quoted in the
book of anecdotes, we shall name the following :-
I. The taking of Damietta by Saint Louis, in
1249. Here the author relates an incident, on the
authority of one of the king's companions, which
is not mentioned by other historians, although
Matthew Paris, Joinville, and Lenain de Tillemont
describe facts exactly similar in their general
character. 2. The taking of Avignon by Louis
VIII., on the 12th of September, 1226, when a
certain number of houses were levelled with the
ground, and two hundred hostages delivered into
the power of the king. 3. The sacking of Déols
by the Coteraux, during the wars between the
French and the English, in 1187. Allusions to the
Crusade against the Albigenses occur repeatedly,
and the life of Saint Louis supplies Etienne de
Bourbon with a number of anecdotes which are, to
a great extent, undoubtedly authentic. It would
be worth while comparing the recueil we are now
describing with the voluminous collections of
Etienne de Bourbon generally Authentic,
317
sermons which the Middle Ages have transmitted
to us; we should, no doubt, find an ample crop of
materials to glean in confirmation of the details so
diligently gathered by Etienne de Bourbon.
CHAPTER XX.
THE DRAMA CONSIDERED AS A SOURCE OF
HISTORICAL INFORMATION.
IF there was any doubt respecting the importance
of dramatic literature in connection with the sub-
ject of the present volume, we might refer our
readers to M. Aubertin's Histoire de la Langue et
de la Littérature Françaises au Moyen Âge, where
a separate section is devoted to political comedy.
The historians of the French nineteenth century
in times to come will have to consult the produc-
tions of MM. Scribe, Bayard, Duveyrier, Emile
Augier, and others, for allusions to political events,
anecdotes, and satires ; in like manner, M. Four-
nier's Théâtre Français avant la Renaissance and
M. Jannet's Ancien Théâtre Français supply us
with materials which could easily be expanded
into a series of chapters. Leaving on one side the
confrères de la Passion, who dealt with solemn
subjects, and were supposed never to overstep the
bounds of the strictest propriety, we find two com-
The Basoche.
319
panies of players enjoying the privilege of amusing
the public : 1. a set of lawyers' clerks, known by
the designation of clercs de la Basoche; the
Basoche (basilica ? Bálw, oikol ?) being the name
given to the chief court of law in Paris. These
young fellows acted dramatic satires, called farces
or pièces farcies, from the farsitæ epistolæ in maca-
ronic Latin, sung at church on certain solemn feast-
days. A fine opportunity was thus given to them
for denouncing the vices, foibles, and ridicules of
their neighbours, and they availed themselves of
it to the full, venturing even on the dangerous
ground of politics, and expressing themselves
rather freely on the blunders of the Government,
Court intrigues, and international disputes. The
Basochians, licensed by virtue of a charter of
Philip the Fair, have left a voluminous répertoire;
their best-known play being the famous Farce de
Patnèlin, which was translated into modern French
by Bussy and Palaprat during the reign of Louis
XIV., and has ever since retained its popularity.
If, however, we place ourselves at the historical
point of view, there is no doubt that one of the
most curious specimens of the Basochian drama,
if not the most notable in the whole collection, is
the farce entitled Mestier ei Marchandise, which
M. Fournier has printed in his elegant volume
already alluded to. It is anonymous; but every-
thing leads us to believe that the author was a
citizen of Paris, and that he expressed the general
320
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feeling of the bourgeoisie on the state of things in
France at the time when Charles VII. occupied
the throne. "Every subject which engaged the
attention of the public,” says M. Fournier, “is here
mentioned: the rebellion of the barons and of
the feudal lords, who were then (1440) organizing
the war of the Praguerie, at the suggestion and
under the leadership of the dauphin; the com-
plaints of the working classes-tradesmen, me-
chanics, and husbandmen, whom these perpetual
disturbances threw out of work; finally, the general
hope which France placed in God's providence,
first, and then in the wisdom of the king." Jacques
Caur, Jean Bureau, and several other distinguished
patriots selected by Charles VII. from the third
estate, were indeed endeavouring at that time to
heal the wounds which their native country had
received in consequence of the wars with England,
the ambition of the nobles, and the wretched in-
capacity of the late monarch.
Next to the clercs de la Basoche we must notice
another company of actors, known by the desig-
nation of the enfants sans soucy. It was an asso-
ciation of young men of good family, but not
bound together by any similarity of trade or pro-
fession. Under the direction of a leader who as-
sumed the ominous title of prince des sots, they
acted a kind of plays called soties, the purpose of
which, like that of the farces, was to hold up to
ridicule the different orders of society, and to state
Pierre Gringore.
321
with considerable freedom what the public thought
of their rulers. Amongst the authors of soties we
must mention Pierre Gringore, whom we have
already alluded to in connection with the Mystère
de Saint Louis, and who flourished during the
fifteenth century. His proud motto was, Tout par
raison, raison par tout, par tout raison. His play,
Le Jeu du Prince des Sots, is the most remarkable
of all his works.
It is no matter of surprise to find that the
liberty enjoyed by the clercs de la Basoche and the
enfants sans soucy soon degenerated into un-
bridled licentiousness. Besides overstepping very
frequently the limits of decency and good taste,
they were unsparing in their attacks upon those
who exercised authority; and, as a necessary con-
sequence, several edicts were fulminated against
them. M. Aubertin remarks, very truly, that the
power enjoyed by these dramatists was analogous
to that which the newspaper press has at present,
and that their audacity could be estimated from
the more or less severity of the condemnations and
interdictions which they incurred. In 1442 a few
Basochians, of a hypercritical disposition, are locked
up in prison, and fed upon bread and water. All
the productions of the Basoche are, further, sub-
jected to the examination of Government censors.
On the 6th of May, 1475, a fresh edict is issued,
prohibiting the acting of any new play without
special permission. In 1476, the clercs of the
FR.
Y
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Early Chroniclers of France.
Parliament and of the Châtelet are visited with
a preventive measure still more stringent in its
character, for the bringing out and performance
of any play à convocation de peuple is absolutely
forbidden under penalty of banishment and con-
fiscation. A clerc found guilty of asking leave to
act in a farce, sotie, or moralité, is liable to have
his name erased from the registers of the law
courts. In 1486 Charles VIII. sends to prison, for
twelve months, five Basochians who had indulged
too freely in political allusions. Permissions to
act are thus alternately granted and withdrawn;
and finally, Henry III., the last of the Valois
kings, pronounced a sentence of definitive suppres-
sion.
We see that the various kings of France who
reigned from the thirteenth to the sixteenth cen-
tury understood perfectly well the power exercised
by the Basochians, and especially by the enfants
sans soucy; nor can we wonder at their having,
on more than one occasion, attempted to make
use of that power for their own purposes. A
certain poet, of the name of Jean Bouchet, who
died about the year 1550, places this fact in the
clearest light in a passage which we shall translate
here, and which gives at the same time a correct
definition of the term sotie :
“ Satire bears in France the name of sotie, be-
cause the sots exhibit in polished language on
stage the follies both of persons high in renown,
Necessity of Stage Players.
323
and of the common people. This is allowed by
princes and kings, in order that they may know
the misdeeds of their advisers which no one dares
bring plainly under their notice, and which they
discover through the medium of satire. King
Lous XII. desired that these soties should be repre-
sented in Paris ; and he used to say that he thus
became acquainted with many scandals which were
otherwise too artfully concealed from him.” 1
Brantôme confirms this statement in his biog-
raphy of Anne of Brittany, showing that Louis
XII, was not afraid of seeing the stage-players
indulge in political allusions :
“The king honoured him (Gringore) so much
that one day, when he had been told of the manner
in which the clercs of the Palace Basoche and the
Paris students had performed pieces containing
allusions to his majesty, the court, and the nobility
in general, he merely answered that they might
employ their time in diverting themselves. He
had no objection, therefore, to their speaking both
of him and of his court, provided they kept within
due bounds ; especially they were not to mention
the queen his wife in any manner whatsoever,
under penalty of being all sent to the gallows.
Pierre Gringore availed himself unscrupulously
of the permission he had thus obtained ; he under-
took to interest the Parisian badauds in the
» 2
1
Epistres Morales et Familières. du Traverseur.
2 Brantôme, M. Lalanne's edition, vii. 316.
324
Early Chroniclers of France.
quarrel which had broken out between Louis XII.
and Pope Julius II., and it is not venturing too
far to suppose that he was secretly encouraged by
the king in his attempt to turn the Holy See into
ridicule, and to represent the pontiff as an odious
and absurd character. This curious and amusing
specimen of satirical and historical comedy, en-
titled Feu et Sotie du Prince des Sots, was brought
out,” as we should say now, at the Paris market-
place during the carnival of 1511, in the presence
of the king, the parliament, the town councillors,
and the whole of the population. Gringore, like
Molière, used to act in his own plays, and on the
present occasion he took the part of la Mère Sotte.
In giving our readers a brief account of this
amusing contribution to the historical drama of
the Middle Ages, we cannot do better than take
as our guide M. Aubertin, to whose excellent work
on mediaval French literature we have already
alluded several times. The subject-matter, then,
of the Feu du Prince des Sots, is the opposition
between the pope and the king, the temporal and
the spiritual powers.
Two characters appear as
the antagonists, namely, the Prince des Sots (the
king) and la Mère Sotte (the Church), each sur-
rounded by his court. The great object for both
of them is to secure the countenance and support
of a third personage, Sotte Commune ; that is to
say, the nation, the commonalty of the realm. hey
are attached to the Church, as good catholics should
“Deu et otie du Prince des Sots."
325
be ; means must be devised to alienate them from
the pope, and win them over to the king. By way
of preface, we have first a dialogue between two
or three sots, who discourse freely about the events
of the day : the French garrison has been driven
out of Bologna ; the English still occupy Calais;
the Church encroaches upon the temporal power;
the king is always “humane, just, and patient;
the Spaniards are "stretching their nets,” and
watching the opportunity of interfering and taking
part either on one side or on the other. By degrees
the stage begins to fill ; the king and his court
arrive, and the conversation turns upon the pre-
lates, whose vices, ignorance, treachery, and fickle-
ness are violently denounced. Finding that every
one gives with all liberty his opinions on the state
of the political world, Sotte Commune joins in:
What careth it for all the wars, treaties, conquests,
alliances, and treacheries which are made so much
of? Of what consequence is it that the chair of
St. Peter should be occupied by a fool or a wise
man ? All that the commonalty require is peace,
the opportunity of earning an honest living, and
the assurance of not being ruined by an edict
which alters the currency. Mère Sotte then inter-
feres, attempting first to win over by the most
brilliant promises the dignitaries of the Gallican
Church ; having so far succeeded, she tries, but in
vain, to secure the assistance of the lay lords for
the cause of ultramontanism. Defeated in this
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Early Chroniclers of France.
instance, Mère Sotte draws the sword, becomes
gend'arme, and orders the prelates to fight man-
fully on the side of Rome. In the midst of the
general confusion, Sotte Corninune goes over to the
king's party, being duly cautioned that Mère Sotte
is not the Church, but a counterfeit power which,
under the mask of religion, troubles consciences
and endangers the peace of Christendom.
This very brief and incomplete sketch will show
sufficiently, we hope, the drift of Gringore's sotie,
and its great importance as illustrating the history
of France during the reign of Louis XII. Viewed
from the literary standpoint, it cannot be said to
have any literary merit, but is a curious specimen
of that Gallican animus which has characterized
almost uniformly the policy of our neighbours on
the other side of the Channel from the days of
Philip the Fair to those of Bossuet and of Saint
Cyran. Gringore was, to all intents and purposes,
the court poet during the reign of Louis XII., and
his sotic of the Prince des Sots had been preceded by
attacks of equal violence directed against the court
of Rome at the suggestion of the French Govern-
ment : thus the pieces entitled L'Entreprise des
Vénitiens, La Chasse du Cerf des Cerfs (allusion to
the well-known phrase, Servus servorum Domini),
L'Espoir de la Paix, etc. In a very exhaustive
article published by M. Pico (Romania, April, 1878),
twenty-six soties are described, all, or nearly all,
full of political allusions, and deserving a mention
“ Les Sots Nouveault Farcez."
327
here. Thus, in the play Les Menus Propos, com-
posed, as it seems, by a Norman poet of the name
of Cardinot, mention is made of Jeanne le Féron,
an impostor who tried in 1460 to pass off as Joan
of Arc, and was condemned in consequence during
the following year. Thus again (Farce des Gens
Nouveaulx), we have a notice of the edict of 1448,
which instituted the body of Francs-archers, and
was the first step towards the establishment of a
regular army in France. The Sots Nouveaula
Farces belong, probably, to the Rouen theatre.
They tell us of Louis XII.'s expedition against
the Venetians (1503); of the Pampeluna cam-
paign (1512), where Francis I. made his first
acquaintance with the vicissitudes of war; of the
combined undertaking of Henry VIII. and the
Emperor Maximilian against France (1513). André
de la Vigne, who flourished in 1513, has also left
a sotie, where a certain number of historical details
can be easily discovered. “By Saint John! the
king pays for this mess and for the pardon which
it brings along with it.” “It is the jubilee"
(jubilee ceiebrated after the election of Leo X. to
the papacy [March, 1513], and reconciliation of
Louis XII. with the court of Rome [December,
1513]). "Oh, how deaf (ill-advised) the king was
not to appoint to the chancellorship so
great, so good, so holy a man, full of miracles such
as might be worked in Rome! By my oath, it is
no joke!” “Who is that Paris legate? Do you
SO
328
Early Chroniclers of France.
think he would take the office ? " "'Sdeath! he
thought he would lead the king astray by dissimu-
lation." The chancellor whose place it was
necessary to fill was Jean de Gannay, who died at
Blois in 1512. Instead, however, of appointing a
successor to him, the king entrusted the seals for
a time to the Bishop of Paris, Etienne Poncher,
who retained them till the accession of Francis I.
The “so great, so good, and so holy man" whom
the poet would have liked to see raised to the
dignity of keeper of the seals was the well-known
Briconnet, one of the prelates assisting at the
Council of Pisa. Julius II. had deprived him of the
purple, but Leo X. restored him afterwards to his
position in the Church. Pierre Gringore is also
supposed to have been the author of the Sotie
Nouvelle des Croniqueurs, which belongs to the reign
of Francis I. This dramatic poem is nothing else
but a series of political remarks, which would
appear of the boldest character, says M. Picot, if
we did not know that Francis I., as well as Louis
XII., allowed the enfants sans soucy freedom of
speech only on condition of their favouring the
policy of the Government. The Croniqueurs from
the very outset show plainly their hatred of the
court of Rome: if France has suffered so many
misfortunes during the last century, it is because
the statesmen to whom the destinies of the kingdom
were confided belonged to the clergy. They are
particularly bitter against Cardinal la Balue.
" Les Trois Pélering.”
329
“ Louis XI. was led," they say, “to Liège by a
cardinal, whence there nearly came great evil to
his own person. . . . No priest ever did, or ever
will do, good to France." The only dignitary of
the Church who finds favour with the Croniqueurs
is Briconnet, "who died at Narbonne (1514) not
long ago." All the favourites who formerly lived
upon the substance of the people are severely
called to account - Chastillon, Bourdillon, Bon-
neval. The Croniqueurs pass successively in review
Louis XI., Charles VIII., Louis XII., Popes Julius
II. and Leo X.; and they allude to the Italian
expedition organized by Francis I. in May, 1515.
This circumstance enables us to determine ap-
proximatively the date of the sotie, whilst the
whole character, the style, and the introduction of
a character named la mère (sotte) justifies us in
ascribing it to Gringore.
If the States incur danger under ecclesiastical
rule, it is equally desirable that power should not
be placed within the hands of a woman. Such is
the theme developed by the author of a farce
morale entitled Les Trois Pélerins; and the person
selected for special censure is Louise de Savoie,
whose want of principle drove the Constable of
Bourbon to open revolt, and who was generally
considered as responsible for all the misfortunes of
the reign of Francis I. As early as the month
of December, 1516, the king had caused three
actors to be arrested and brought before him at
330
Early Chroniclers of France.
Amboise, to be tried on the charge of having
turned the queen-mother publicly into ridicule on
the stage by the name of Mère Sotte, accusing her of
pillaging France, and of governing it according to
her own whim. The sentence pronounced against
Jacques the Basochian, Jean Serres, and Jean de
Pont-Alais did not have the result which the king
anticipated, for six years later the farce morale was
performed to which we are now alluding.
We shall not continue our survey of historical
dramatic literature any further. As our readers
may have noticed, the last two specimens dealt
with have landed us into modern history, and
must not forget that mediæval times mark the
limits with which this volume is concerned.
CHAPTER XXI.
“LA GUERRE DE METZ"_BOURDIGNÉ-PARADIN
-ALAIN BOUCHARD-CARTULARIES-POLITI-
CAL SONGS-HISTORIANS—"CHRONIQUES MAR-
TINIANES”-NICOLE GILLES—ROBERT GAGUIN.
THE poem published by M. de Bouteiller, on the
war of Metz in 1324, is another proof of the
increased interest lately taken in historical works
of a merely local character, but which are never-
theless, more or less, connected with the general
destinies of the country. The city of Metz, after
having been, under the Merovingian régime, the
metropolis of the kingdom of Austrasia, became
the capital of Lorraine when the dismemberment
of the empire of Charlemagne took place, and was
ceded in 980, together with the whole province,
by King Lothaire, to the Emperor Otho II. In
a very short time the rule of these monarchs
became purely nominal, so far as Metz was con-
cerned, and the government of the city fell into
the hands, first of the bishops, then of an oligarchy
332
Early Chroniclers of France.
of bourgeois, known by the name of the paraiges (i.e.
families—compare the Latin cognationes, parentela).
At the time when the war of 1324 broke out, Metz
had long been a kind of independent republic ; en-
joying, indeed, the title of imperial town, but in no
wise contributing to the defence of the empire in
time of war, and, by a kind of reciprocal arrange-
ment, being left by the emperors of Germany, its
nominal masters, perfectly at liberty to carry on its
own private feuds, without any interference on their
part. Political independence has its advantages,
no doubt, but these are compensated by serious
difficulties, and in 1324 Metz had to resist the
combined efforts of no less than four neighbouring
princes who had determined upon destroying it;
viz. John, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxem-
burg, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trèves, Ferry IV.,
Duke of Lorraine, and Edward I., Count of Bar.
The poem published by M. de Bouteiller is a real
historical chanson, celebrating the exploits of the
Messins during the siege ; it is divided into two
hundred and ninety-six stanzas of octosyllabic
lines, and is equally interesting if we consider it as
a literary monument, or an illustration of municipal
laws and customs during the Middle Ages. The
war, maintained with the utmost energy by the
besieged citizens, ended in a more satisfactory
manner than they had any reason to anticipate,
and, although they were obliged to surrender, the
conditions imposed upon them were of the easiest
« La ruerre de Metz."
333
description possible. If we consult the evidence
supplied by the historians of the fourteenth cen-
tury, we are led to think that the inhabitants of
[etz had partly brought upon themselves the evils
which a siege must always entail. Rather over-
bearing by nature, and proud of the position which
their beloved city enjoyed, both financially and
politically, they did not always scrupulously pay
the feudal dues and rights to the barons and lords
on whose territories they purchased landed estates.
On the other hand, two of the princes who had
joined the league against Metz (the Count of Bar
and the Duke of Lorraine) were over head and
ears in debt, and as their creditors were the mer-
chants of the imperial city, they thought that the
opportunity of a war was excellent to enable
them to cancel summarily the claims outstanding
against them. The author of the poem on the
siege of Metz is not known; M. de Bouteiller has
endeavoured to identify him with a certain Lam-
belin who has composed a smaller work on the
same subject, but it is even doubtful whether the
name Lambelin is not a 120mn de pluie.
Amongst the local chronicles which have ob-
tained the greatest reputation, although they are
not original works, but compilations borrowed
from other sources, we must name the Chroniques
d'Anjou, or, to give the real title, the Histoire
Agrégative des Annales et Chroniques d'Anjou, con-
tenant le commencement et origine avecques partie des
334
Early Chroniclers of France.
!
chevaleureux et marciaulx gestes des magnanimes
princes, consulz, contes et ducs d'Anjou. This work,
printed for the first time in 1529, and then in
1533, had become extremely rare, when a new
edition, in two vols. royal octavo, was published
in '1842, by the care of a few learned and patriotic
Angevins.
We possess no information respecting the life
of Jean de Bourdigné, the author of the Chroniques
d'Anjou. All we know about him is that he was
born towards the end of the fifteenth century, and
that he belonged to an ancient and noble family,
possessing large estates in the province of Maine.
Destined from his earliest infancy to the Church,
he studied at the University of Angers, and took
his degree of doctor of laws before he received
ordination. It happened that, at the beginning
of the year 1512, Roland de Bourdigné, the father
of the young clerk, passed through Angers to take
leave of his son. He was going to Italy, to join
the army of Gaston de Foix, accompanied by a
retinue of knights and squires of Anjou and Maine.
Several months then elapsed before Jean received
news of his father. One day, however, a herald,
bearing the escutcheon of Jacques du Lude, high
seneschal of the province, published through all
the streets and public places of the city the glorious
news of the great victory gained over the Spaniards
by the French at Ravenna ; and Jean was further
informed that Sir Roland, after having distinguished
Bourdigné's Chronicles of Anjou.
335
himself in the battle, had managed to escape safe
and sound. This welcome intelligence seems to
have inspired our young clerk with the desire of
becoming an historian, and, as his sacred character
did not allow him to take an active part in military
exploits, he formed the resolution of at least
recording them to the best of his ability. He
considered that "the deeds and glorious actions
of the noble and brave consuls, counts, and dukes
of Anjou had never yet been described, although
they existed in the shape of chronicles, and there
was great danger lest, in course of time, their high
renown might be forgotten.” Moved by this idea,
Jean de Bourdigné set immediately to work. He
visited the monasteries, churches, and baronial
halls of the province, collecting traditions, examin-
ing records, charters, and title-deeds, and noting
down with the utmost care whatever details seemed
to him worthy of remembrance. The uncritical
spirit of those days accepted indiscriminately, as
equally true, the legends of the saints, the won-
derful tales about Charlemagne and his twelve
peers, and the best authenticated facts of com-
paratively recent times. Nay, the more wonderful
the origins of a nation were, the better; and no
kingdom, dukedom, or principality was considered
as worth notice which could not trace back its
ancestry to some nephew or cousin of Æneas or
Turnus. Bourdigné's annals are compiled according
to that well-established and thoroughly orthodox
336
Early Chroniclers of France.
principle. They are divided into three parts, the
first of which must be set aside as historically worth-
less, with the exception of a few geographical
indications, the list of the Bishops of Angers, and
some genealogical details on the houses of France
and Anjou. To give an idea of the extravagances
which Jean de Bourdigné seriously passes off as
history, we may say that he traces down from
Noah the list of the Kings of Gaul and the Counts
of Anjou. He ascribes to a grandson of Japhet
the foundation of the earliest universities, and he
describes the colonization of Gaul by a band of
fugitives from Troy, under the command of Francus,
the son of Hector. In the fourteenth chapter we
have the description of a terrible battle fought
by King Arthur with a giant, whom, of course, he
puts to death; and of another noteworthy en-
counter, where 460 Romans are killed by the Celtic
king, and where perished the first Count of Anjou,
Gayus, who had massacred the King of Babylon !
The chapter following, although disfigured by a
great many historical blunders, nevertheless con-
tains a few well-authenticated facts; and, as we
go on, accuracy increases, and fable makes way
for truth.
Book I., beginning with the Flood, goes down to
the baptism of Clovis; the next one describes the
reign of the successors of Ingelger, whom Jean de
Bourdigné considers as the founder of the second
house of Anjou, and takes us down to the erection
Bourdigné's Chronicles of Anjou.
337
of the county of Anjou into a duchy on behalf
of the second son of King John; the third ends
with the year 1529, and the treachery of the
Constable of Bourbon. In this division of the
work we find ourselves treading safely on historic
ground, and having to deal with realities, instead
of legends and dreams more or less poetical. We
are supplied with abundance of details on the
princes of the third house of Anjou, good King
René, and the general history of the period. As
he goes on, our author describes the miseries under
which the common people were groaning; the
famines, inundations, plagues, and pestilences which
at various times afflicted the country; the miracles
performed by holy men of God, the foundation
of monasteries and other religious establishments,
the heresies and schisms which distracted the
Church, and especially the deeds of valour per-
formed by Angevin knights and squires. Jean
de Bourdigné is a thorough Frenchman; he hates
with equal intensity le monstre Luthérique, the
Burgundians and the English. We may observe
also that, whilst having no pretensions to be
called a philosophic historian, such as Philippe de
Commines, our Angevin chronicler has sometimes
shrewdly perceived, and expressed accurately, the
motives for certain political arrangements and inter-
national combinations. Thus, when he describes
the expedition of Louis XII. into Italy, he appre-
ciates perfectly well the policy of the French, the
FR.
1
Z
338
Early Chroniclers of France.
Venetians, and the Mussulmans. The style of Jean
de Bourdigné is very pleasant, even picturesque
at times, and, without equalling in the slightest
degree the brilliant language of Froissart, it carries
the reader along through a variety of scenes and
of political, civil, and ecclesiastical incidents. The
Angevin barons played a prominent part in the
history of Europe. Their province was the cradle
of two of the greatest dynasties of kings; on the
shores of the Mediterranean, at Jerusalem, in
England, in Sicily, in Arragon, and in Hungary
they left traces of their passage; and it is not much
to be wondered at if the recollection of so many
heroes inspired a patriotic scholar with the am-
bition of becoming their historian. The Chronique
d'Anjou was dedicated by Bourdigné to the queen,
Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I.
Paradin de Cuiseaux and Alain Bouchard en-
deavoured to accomplish, respectively, for Burgundy
and for Brittany, the task which Jean de Bourdigné
had so successfully done for Anjou. Born about
the year 1510 at Cuiseaux (Saône-et-Loire), the
former of these compilers took orders, but devoted
all his time to historical writing. The Memoria
nostri Temporis (published in 1548, and translated
into French two years afterwards), the Chronique de
Savoie (1552, 4°; 1602, folio), and an interesting
journal extending from 1572 to 1573, are works
which bear evidence, at any rate, of considerable
industry; but the book which concerns us most here
Paradín de Cuiseaux's “Annales de Bourgogne." 339
is the Annales de Bourgogne, published in 1566,
in a folio volume. The preface, addressed to the
most illustrious, high, and mighty prince, François
de Bourbon, Dauphin of Auvergne, governor and
lieutenant-general for the king, begins with an
appeal to rulers and magistrates, founded upon
the Scriptures and illustrated from the history
of the Assyrians, Babylonians, etc. The author
then declares his intention of committing to writing
the annals of the people of Burgundy, being there-
unto moved-first, by the spirit of patriotisın, and,
secondly, by the moral qualities of the Bourguignons
and the natural advantages of the territory itself.
The work is divided into three books: the first,
beginning with the settlement of the Burgundians
in Gaul, goes down to the destruction of the king-
dom of Burgundy; the second describes the for-
mation of the duchy, and traces the genealogy
of the dukes to Hugh Capet-it terminates at the
death of Philippe de Rouvre in 1361; the third
comprises the history of the dukes belonging to
the house of Valois. Paradin deserves a great
deal of credit for his diligence and his enthusiasm
in the cause of history; he travelled through part
of France and the Netherlands in quest of materials,
and contrived to find a kind appreciator of his
merits in Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, who intro-
duced him to King Henry II. This monarch gave
him assurances of his protection and good-will,
speedily adding to these assurances a substantial.
340
Early Chroniclers of France.
proof, in the shape of a canonry attached to the
chapter of Beaujeu. Unfortunately, with all his
learning and industry, Paradin had not that critical
spirit which. we expect to find in historians, and
his credulity is sometimes amusing. Saint Julien
de Balleuse describes the Annales de Bourgogne
as a "most excellent volume, so useful that he
who possesses it need not trouble himself about
Froissart, Monstrelet, Olivier de la Marche, or
other such historiographers.”
This is somewhat
exaggerated praise.
On the same rank as Paradin we can place
Alain Bouchard, barrister at the Parliam
Rennes, and, chronologically speaking, the first
professed historian of Brittany. The title of his
work is Grandes Chroniques de Bretaigne, parlans
des très pieur, nobles et belliqueux rois, ducs, princes,
barons, et autres gens nobles, tant de la Grand-
Bretaigne, dite à présent Angleterre, que de notre
Bretaigne de présent érigé en duché, etc.; it was pub-
lished for the first time in 1514. The critic in
M. Michaud's Biographie Universelle finds fault with
Bouchard's style, which he describes as "aussi
gothique que les caractères dont on s'est servi pour
l'imprimer.” The defect is a real one, no doubt,
but it cannot be fairly made a cause of complaint
against the annalist who, living in the sixteenth
century, wrote like his contemporaries. The great
drawback to the Chroniques de Bretaigne is their
thoroughly unsound character, and the extreme
Cartularies.
341
credulity with which Bouchard admitted all the
fables vulgarized by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the
legends of the Round Table, and the facts con-
tained in the chronicle of the pseudo-Turpin.
Indeed, the fictitious element holds so important
a place in the work in question, that Lenglet-
Dufresnoy has included it in his Bibliothèque des
Romans, and another bibliographer classes it under
the heading Romans de Chevalerie !
Before bringing this chapter to a close, we must
say a few words about another class of books, to
which attention has been given in France only
since a comparatively recent date, but which are
of the utmost importance for the political, civil,
and religious history of the Middle Ages; we mean
the cartularies or records of monasteries or other
ecclesiastical communities. At a very early time
these establishments felt the necessity of preserving
carefully the charters, letters, bulls, and other title-
deeds which secured to them the enjoyment of
their estates and their privileges; loose documents
might easily be lost or mislaid, and, besides, the
difficulty of deciphering the writing of various
epochs was a serious one. Hence the custom of
transcribing all these pièces justificatives in registers
provided expressly for the purpose. The habit of
keeping cartularies spread throughout Europe
during the tenth and two following centuries;
and, after having originated with monasteries and
churches, it was adopted by kings, barons, and
municipal corporations.
342
Early Chroniclers of France.
There are three kinds of cartularies: the first,
which are, of course, the most valuable, contain the
original documents themselves; the second give
transcripts duly authenticated; the third consist of
copies which may be perfectly trustworthy, but
still have not been verified and examined by duly
qualified persons. The instruments belonging to
this last class cannot be appealed to in a court
of justice, and yet they enjoy almost the same
authority as the others, especially, I. when they are
of ancient date ; 2. when they have been compiled
before the custom had obtained of getting the
cartularies collated by lawyers or magistrates ;
3. when, belonging to a relatively recent date, they
were compiled with the sanction or by the autho-
rity of trustworthy persons, and not for the purpose
of sanctioning some act of usurpation. There
are, moreover, other record-books or registers con-
taining notices and quotations from charters, with
explanatory notes and the narrative of historical
facts. These cartularies, which thus may be almost
classed amongst chronicles properly so called, have
often been attacked by modern critics, but still
they are valuable as a source of information.
The cartularies, under the various designations
of pastoral, livre admirable, livre d'or, livre noir,
livre rouge, etc., offer a great diversity in the order
or classification of the documents which they
contain. Some (Le Petit Pastoral de Notre Dame
de Paris, for instance) are arranged in chapters,
Cartularies.
343
according as the pieces inserted have emanated
from, 1. popes; 2. kings; 3. counts; 4. bishops ; ;
5. abbots; 6. deans and chapters, etc. Others prefer
to adopt a kind of geographical or topographical
method, and classify the documents under names
of localities. Others, again, simply adhere to the
chronological system, inserting the charters and
title-deeds just as they have been obtained ; the
cartulary becomes thus a kind of journal. In a
very great number of record-books no order what-
ever is followed. Sometimes there is a considerable
interruption in the series of entries; the last blank
pages of the volume are used for the purpose of
making considerable additions ; in some cases the
margins are turned into account for the insertion
of notes or even small acts.
A few cartularies had been published in France
before the Revolution of 1789, but it is only within
the last forty years that an effort has been made to
print as a collection these interesting monuments
of mediaval history. The suggestion originated
with M. Guizot, and one of the most competent
antiquarians, the late M. Guérard, was appointed to
superintend the undertaking, and to give it the
benefit of his active co-operation. A certain number
of cartularies have already appeared, forming part
of the Collection des Documents Inédits ; M. Guérard
himself being responsible for those of Saint Père
of Chartres, Notre Dame of Paris, Saint Rémi at
Reims, besides the Polyptyque of the Abbot Irminon,
344
Early Chroniclers of France.
which, together with its commentary, is so invalu-
able a source of information for the history of
society during the Middle Ages.
The interesting collection of historical songs
published by M. Leroux de Lincy is entitled to a
very distinguished place in our notice of mediæval
memoirs, for these short poems are certainly the
record of important events and well-known his-
torical characters, written by contemporaries; and
if the chansons de geste often furnish us with trust-
worthy evidence, if the Roman de Rou, the Roman
de Brut, and the poem on the Albigenses deserve
to be taken into serious consideration by historians,
the same remark applies to the Recueil de Chants
Historiques et Populaires, for which we are in-
debted to M. Leroux de Lincy.
The habit which the French soldiers had of com-
posing popular songs can be traced to the earliest
times of the monarchy ; under the Merovingian
dynasty, they were written in Latin, and some speci-
mens of these pieces have been preserved for us.
Thus, in the Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes we
find a popular song composed in honour of King
Childebert, and Lebeuf (Dissertations sur l'Histoire
Ecclésiastique et Civile de Paris, vol. i. p. 426) has
printed a Latin one, which celebrates the exploits
of Eric, Duke of Friuli. We know that Charle-
magne had collected together those which his
soldiers were accustomed to repeat amongst then
selves. Lebeuf (Recueil de Divers Écrits, vol. i. pp.
Troubadours and Trouvères.
345
333–369) gives us a number of rough and patriotic
lyrics referring to the reigns of Charlemagne's
successors and of the early Capetians; some are in
Latin, some in French. With the twelfth century
begins an era of national literature for France; the
idioms of Langue d'Oil and Languedoc rise to the
position of vulgar languages, and they are soon
employed in celebrating the prowess of knights,
barons, and soldiers who took part in the Crusades.
Troubadours and trouvères vie with each other in
composing the martial poems which served both as
a record of ancient deeds and as an incentive to
fresh exploits; and, during the period of time
included between the accession of Philip Augustus
and the death of Louis XI., we find a rich crop of
historical songs, not possessing much merit, perhaps,
if considered as literary compositions, but ex-
tremely valuable as pièces justificatives illustrating
certain episodes in mediæval history. “The French
soldiers," says Leroux de Lincy, “are often judges
carried away by their passions, and they treat with
undue severity the heroism spent upon causes
which are either desperately lost or condemned by
public opinion, but in most cases the judgment they
passis very fair, and has been ratified by the verdict of
history." A great many of these compositions will
be found in Raynouard's Choix des Poésies Originales
de Troubadours, and in the Romancero Français,
published by M. Paulin Paris. A few examples will
serve to show the use of popular songs in illustrating
346
Early Chroniclers of France.
historical facts of much importance. It is well
known that, towards the beginning of the fifteenth
century, the inhabitants of Liége having rebelled
against the bishop, John of Bavaria, besieged him
in Maestricht and ravaged the neighbourhood of
that city. John, Duke of Burgundy, marched for
the purpose of reducing the insurrection, and
attacked them at Hasbain on the 23rd of September,
1408. This battle is one of the most noteworthy
incidents in the military career of the Duke of
Burgundy, who ran considerable danger, and
obtained in consequence the surname of Fearless
(sans peur), by which he has always been dis-
tinguished. Monstrelet, Pierre de Fénin, and the
monk of Saint Denis have given a detailed account
of this war, and of the severe chastisement inflicted
upon the rebels by the Duke of Burgundy. It is
curious to compare with these narratives the two
chansons which form part of M. Leroux de Lincy's
recucil, and to see how thoroughly the poet con-
firms all the particulars related by the chroniclers
whom we have just been naming.
The war of the public good and the battle
of Montlhéry occupy in the reign of Louis XI.
so important a place, that we cannot wonder at
their having been celebrated from various points
of view by the popular minstrels of the fifteenth
century. Some would take the part of the barons;
others, on the contrary, extolling the political
system of the wily monarch, would rejoice at
Louis XX. and the League of the Public Good. 347
the fresh 'effort made by him to strike down the
tottering edifice of feudalism. Jacques de Clercq
has inserted in his memoirs two ballads on the
subject; four additional ones have been printed by
M. Leroux de Lincy in the Chants Historiques et
Populaires. One of these pieces alludes to an
incident which the historians who have written
on the reign of Louis XI. do not mention, and
which is, however, one of the most curious episodes
in the League of the Public Good. The anonymous
poet says, addressing Louis XI.---
6. For those who have to rule the crown
May perhaps deprive you of your power.
Another poem, in like manner, contains the follow-
ing suggestion :-
• The fourth wishes to obtain as much money
As is worth the fine gold crown
Of the new king or regent
Appointed in France this year.” 2
Now, these two passages are a confirmation of
the fact that the barons leagued in 1461 against
Louis XI. had resolved upon dethroning him, and
selecting from amongst themselves a regent or
even a king, for the only direct heir to the crown
I 6 Car ceulx qui ont à régir la couronne
Te pouront bien l'oster de ta puissance."
2 " Le quart souhaite autant d'argent
Que vault la belle couronne dorée
De ce nouveau roy ou régent
Mis sulz en Franche ceste année."
348
Early Chroniclers of France.
of France at that time was a girl three years old.
There can be no doubt whatever respecting the
design entertained by the confederates, for it was
plainly acknowledged by Crèvecoeur in the exa-
mination he had to undergo after he had been
taken prisoner by the French troops.
The poems of Olivier Basselin and of Eustache
Deschamps deserve, to a certain extent, the name
of historical compositions, as they are full of allu-
sions to the events which marked the occupation
of France by the English. We find, besides, in
Monstrelet, the Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris,
and other contemporary memoirs, a number of
quotations from songs and ballads reported as
having been very popular, and intended to express
the feelings of the Burgundians and Armagnacs
respectively. For an account of these poetical
illustrations of history, we must refer our readers
to M. Charles Nisard's work, Des Chansons Popu-
laires, chez les Anciens et chez les Français.
Materials had thus been accumulating for several
centuries, which professed historians might work
into something like artistic shape, and around which
they might throw the graces of literary composi-
tion; but the time had not come yet for such
results, and the earliest French historians, properly
so called, are distinguished by their credulity, their
pedantry, and the tedious, heavy style of their
writings. As we have already said, the Chroniques
de France may be considered as the first attempt
Martinus Polonus.
349
to produce a national history, but they still par-
took more of the nature of chronicles, being in
most cases the record of what the successive
authors had actually seen, and possessing, there-
fore, the merit of works composed at first hand.
If we wish to come to an historian, we must
name the compiler Martinus Polonus, thus called
because he was a Pole by origin, and who, after
having joined the Dominican order, went into Italy,
became chaplain to Pope Clement IV., and was
appointed by him, in 1278, to the archbishopric
of Gnesnen; he died on the 29th of June of the
same year, just one week after his nomination.
The chronicle of Martinus Polonus (Martini Poloni
Chronica Summorum Pontificum Imperatorumque,
etc.) was published for the first time at Bâle in
1559, in folio.
It was originally, as the title
sufficiently shows, a mere collection of annals
bearing upon the popes and the Emperors of
Germany, extending from the apostolic times to
the year 1277. Additions, however, were made
to it at various times by Herold, Suffrid, and
Fabricius; and Bernard Guidonis, Bishop of
Lodève, entirely recast the work, adding a number
of passages from authors which Martinus Polonus
had neglected to consult, and bringing it down
as late as the year 1328. After him, the next
continuator we have to name is Father Echard
Ververon, or Verneron, who wrote the history of
the popes and of the empire as far as the death
350
Early Chroniclers of France.
of Urban V., in 1378; and it was this compila-
tion which Sebastian Mamerot translated into
French under the title La Chronique Martiniane de
tous les Papes qui furent jamais, et finit au Pape
Alexandre VI. dernier décédé, printed about 1504,
by Vérard, in folio. This curious work contains,
amongst other things, a number of documents on
the history of France, which were added on, as the
Abbé Lebeuf supposes," for the purpose of swelling.
the second volume, but which, at the same time,
deserve the attention of students. We must do
Mamerot the justice that, in his translation, he
shows a judgment and a discrimination which
are altogether wanting in the original work. The
Martini Poloni Chronica, collected from all quarters,
and containing extracts frequently from the most
untrustworthy sources, is uncritical in the highest
degree. Mamerot, on the other hand, suppressed
a large number of passages which Bernard Guidonis
and the latter continuators had inserted-passages
of so absurd and childish a character, that they
would have disfigured a work having the slightest
pretensions to be called historical. The authors
consulted by Mamerot in the preparation of his
second volume are Jean de Montreuil and most
of the chroniclers belonging to the fourteenth
century; the part referring to the reign of Louis
XI. is chiefly a transcript of the Chronique Scan-
Mémoires de l'Académie des Irrscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol.
XX. p. 224.
Nicole Gilles.
351
daleuse. Mamerot composed, in addition, a work
describing the high deeds of Godefroy de Bouillon,
Saint Louis, and other princes who took a part in
the Crusades.
Nicole Gilles was a political personage, as well
as an historian. Born in the fifteenth century, he
held the offices of notary and secretary to King
Louis XII., besides the post of secretary to the
treasury; he died at Paris, in 1503. The Annales
et Chroniques de France ... jusqu'au Roi Charles
VIII, may be regarded as the first attempt made
to write the history of France as a distinct
work, and a very tame attempt it is. Gilles
merely satisfied himself with abridging the Chro-
riques de Saint Denis and the memoirs of Guil-
laume de Nangis, the only portion having the
slightest claims to originality being that which
treats of the reign of Louis XI. M. Augustin
Thierry is rather severe in his appreciation of
Nicole Gilles. It was absurd, of course, to repeat
as facts the old legends about Francus, Marcomer,
and the classical origin of the French nation; but
we cannot much wonder at the uncritical state-
ments of the old historian, when we see how Velly
and even Anquetil have distorted facts and mis-
represented characters.
On the same line as Gilles we must place Robert
Gaguin, born in the province of Artois, about the
year 1425, and who died in July, 1562, after
most useful and honourable career,
He obtained,
tlong
352
Early Chroniclers of France.
at an early age, great and, as it seems, deserved
reputation as a lecturer on rhetoric, and the services
he rendered to the University of Paris so far re-
commended him that he was elected general of
the order of the Trinitarian friars. Three kings
of France-Louis XI., Charles VIII., and Louis
XII.--employed Gaguin upon negotiations of an
extremely delicate nature, and on one occasion, ,
in 1491, when he had been sent as ambassador to
England, he pronounced a speech which must
have been a masterpiece of tact and of genuine
eloquence, if it was anything like the one given by
Velly in his history of France. Robert Gaguin
was entrusted, both by Charles VIII. and by
Louis XII., with the keepership of the royal library,
and the high esteem in which he was held at the
Sorbonne enabled him both to render important
services at the University of Paris, and to assist
the Government with his advice on difficult occa-
sions. The historical work which has entitled
Gaguin to a place in this sketch is entitled Com-
pendiulial supra Francorum Gestis a Pharamundo.
The first edition goes down only to the year 1491 ;
it was then continued as far as 1499, and a third
edition, published in 1521, brought the narrative to
the end of the reign of Louis XII. Robert Gaguin
has been accused of flattery and of partiality,
but the character he gives of Louis XI. should
surely exonerate him in this respect. We think
that, on the contrary, he is remarkable for the
“Chronique Martiniane."
353
We may
fairness of his appreciations, and Erasmus--no
mean judge in literary matters--praises not only
the method and accuracy of the Compendium, but
the clearness and beauty of its style.
add that the compilers of the Chronique Martiniane
were under great obligations to our author. With
him we come to the end of the subject. The his-
torians who succeeded him belong to the period of
the Renaissance, and when Pierre Pascal entered
upon his duties as historiographer to King Henry
II., mediævalism had long been a thing of the
past.
FR,
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
A.
Alcuin, ? 735-804.
Alexander III. (Roland Rainuce Bandinelli), pope, 1159.
Alexis I. Comnenus, 1048-1118; Emperor of Constantinople, 1081.
Amaury I., ? 1135 or 38-1173 ; King of Jerusalem, 1162.
Amaury de Montfort, 1192—1281, Constable of France.
Anastasius, librarian at the Vatican (ninth century).
Anne de Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI., ? 1462-1522 ; Regent of
France, 1483.
Ansegise, ?-833, Abbot of St. Wandrille.
Armagnac (Bernard VII., Count d'), 1391–1418.
Arteveld (Philip van), killed in 1382, at the battle of Roosebeke.
Arthur, King of England (sixth century).
Augustine (Saint), 354-430.
B.
Bajazet 1. (surnamed Ilderim = the Thunderbolt), Sullan, 1389;
died 1402.
Balue (Jean la), ? 1421-1491, cardinal, chaplain to Louis XI.
Baudouin I., Count of Boulogne, King of Jerusalem, 1100-1118.
Baudouin II., King of Jerusalem, 1118-1131.
Baudouin III., King of Jerusalem, 1144-1162.
Baudouin IV., King of Jerusalem, 1174-1185.
Baudouinz IX., Count of Flanders, first Emperor of Constantinople,
1171-1206.
Bedford (John Pantagenet, Duke of), 1389-1435, youngest brother
of Henry V. of England.
Benedict XIII. (Pedro di Luna), antipope, 1394-1424.
356
Biographical Inder.
Berri (Jean, Duc de), 1340-1416, third son of Jean II., King of
France.
Boheniond, Prince of Antioch, son of Robert Guiscard, died 1111.
Boniface III., Marquis of Montferrat from 1183 to 1207.
Boucicaut (Jean le Maingre, Sire de), 1364-1421; Marshal of
France, 1389.
Bourbon (Charles, Duc de), better known as the Constable of Bourbon,
1489–1527
Briçonnet (Guillaume), ? 1471-1533, Bishop of Meaux, ambassador
of France at Rome.
Brosse (Pierre de la), died 1278, Prime Minister of Philip the Bold,
King of France.
C.
Cauchon (Pierre), Bishop of Beauvais, died 1443.
Charlemagne, 742-814, King of the whole of France, 771; Emperor
of the West, 800.
Charles Martel, 689–741 ; Duke of Austrasia, 714.
Charles the Bold, 1433-1477 ; Duke of Burgundy, 1467.
Charles the Bad, 1332-1387 ; King of Navarre, 1349.
Charles II. the Bald, 823-877.
KINGS OF FRANCE.
Charles III. the Simple, 879-929; King of France, 893.
Charles IV., 1294-1328; King of France, 1322.
Charles V., 1337-1380; King of France, 1364.
Charles VI., 1368–1422 ; King of France, 1380.
Charles VIII., 1470-1498 ; King of France, 1483.
Charles, Duke of Orléans, 1391-1466.
Charles, Count of Blois, died 1364.
Charles IV., emperor, 1376-1378.
Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, 1525-1574.
Charles d'Anjou, Count of Maine, died 1472.
Chartier (Jean), died 1462.
Chartier (Alain), 1386-1458 ?
Childebert, King of Paris, 511; died 558.
Clément IV. (Guy de Foulque), 1200-1268 ; pope, 1265.
Clément V. (Bertrand de Got or Goth), pope, 1305; died 1314.
Cloatire I., ? 497–561; King of France, 558,
Clotaire II., King of Soissons, 584 ; of France, 613; died 528.
Blographical Inder.
357
Clovis I., 465-511 ; king, 481.
Clovis II., King of Neustria and Burgundy, 638; died 656.
Caur (Jacques), 1400-1456.
D.
Dagobert I., 604-638, King of Austrasia, 622 ; of France, 631.
Dandolo (Enrico), Doge of Venice in 1192; died 1202.
Deschamps (Eustache), 1325-1421.
Du Guesclin (Bertrand), 1314?-1380 ; Constable of France, 1370.
E.
Edward III., 1312–1377 ; King of England, 1327.
Edward IV., 1422–1483 ; King of England, 1461.
Eleanor of Guienne, 1122-1203.
Eudes, King of France; died 898.
F.
Ferry IV., Duke of Lorraine in 1312.
Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou, 987 ; died 1040.
Foulques le Réchin, 1043-1109; Count of Anjou, 1060.
Foulques le Roux, Count of Anjou, 888 ; died 938.
François 1., 1494-1547 ; King of France, 1515.
Frederic I. Barbarossa, 1121-1189; Emperor of Germany, 1152.
Frederic II., 1194-1250; Emperor of Germany, 1197.
G.
Gaston de Foix, 1489-1512.
Genseric, King of the Vandals from 428 to 477.
Geoffroy Martel, Count of Anjou from 1041 to 1060.
Geoffroy le Bel, Duke of Anjou, 1129; died 1150.
Geoffroy Grise-Gonelle, Count of Anjou, 958; died 987.
Gilbert de Montpensier, died 1496.
Godefroy de Bouillon, 1058–1100.
Gondebaud, fourth King of Burgundy, ?-516.
Gregory IX., pope in 1227, died 1241.
Gregory XI. (Pierre Roger de Beaufort), born 1332 ; pope, 1370 ;
died 1378.
Guillaume au Court-nez, Duke of Aquitaine, died 812.
358
Biographical Inder.
Guillaume Longue-Épée
, Duke of Normandy, 927.
Guy de Châtillon, Count of Blois, died 1342.
Guy de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, 1192 ; died 1194 or 1195.
+
H.
Henri I., 1005-1060; King of France, 1031.
Henri II., 1518-1519; King of France, 1547.
KINGS OF ENGLAND,
Henry I., 1068–1135; king, 1100.
Henry II., 1133-1189; king, 1154.
Henry III., 1208-1272; king, 1216.
Henry IV., 1367–1413; king, 1399.
Henry V., 1388–1422 ; king, 1413.
Henry VI., 1422–1471; king, 1422.
Henry VII., 1458-1509; king, 1485.
Henry VIII., 1491-1547; king, 1509.
Hugues Capet, King of France, 987; died 996.
I.
Ingelberga, 1193-1236.
Innocent III. (Lothario Conti), pope from 1198 to 1216.
Innocent IV. (Sinibad be Fiesko), pope from 1243 to 1254.
Isaac Comnenus, Emperor of Constantinople from 1057 to 1059.
J.
Jacques de Vitry, ?-1240 ; Archbishop of Ptolemaïs, 1217.
James II., King of Scotland, 1430-1400; king, 1437.
Jean de Brienne, Emperor of Constantinople, 1231; died 1237.
Fean sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy, 1404 ; murdered, 1419.
Jean Il., King of France, 1319-1364 ; king, 1350.
Jean de Montfort, claimant of the duchy of Brittany, died 1345.
Jeanne d'Arc, 1409–1431.
Jeanne de France, 1465-1505, daughter of Louis XI.
Jeanne de Navarre, died 1304, married Philip the Handsome, King
of France.
Fohn, King of Bohemia, king in 1310, died 1346.
Joinville (Geoffroy V. de), 1196-1205.
Julius II. (Giuliano della Rovere), 1443-1513; poce, '1503.
Biographical Inder.
359
L.
La Trémouille (Louis II., Sire de), 1460–1525.
Leo X. (Giovanni de' Medici), 1475-1521 ; pope, 1513.
Zothaire, ? 795-855 ; King of France, 817; and Emperor of the
West, 840.
Louis II. de Bourbon, 1337-1416.
KINGS OF FRANCE.
Louis III. the Stammerer, 846–879; king, 877.
Louis VI. the Fat, 1081–1137; king, 1223.
Louis VII., 1120-1180 ; king, 1137.
Louis VIII., 1187-1226; king, 1223.
Louis IX., 1215-1270; king, 1226.
Louis X., 1289-1316; king, 1314.
Louis XI., 1423-1483; king, 1461.
Louis XII., 1462–1515; king, 1498.
Louise de Savoie, 1476-1531, Regent of France.
M.
Manuel-Paleologos, Emperor of Constantinople, 1391; died 1477. .
Marcel (Etienne), killed in 1358.
Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England, died 1472.
Margaret of Austria, 1480-1530, married to Philibert, Duke or
Savoy.
Marguerite de Provence, Queen of France, 1221-1295.
Marie de France, thirteenth century.
Mary of Gueldres, wife of James II. of Scotland, died 1463.
Maurice de Sully, ?-1196; Bishop of Paris, 1160.
Maximilian 1., 1459-1519; Emperor of Germany, 1493.
N.
Nicolas V. (Tommaso Parentucelli), pope from 1447 to 1555.
Nomenoé, died 851.
O.
Olivier Basselin, died 1500 ?
Olivier de Clisson, 1332–1407.
Otho II., 955-983 ; Emperor of Germany, 973.
360
Biographical Inder.
Peter the Hermit, ? 1050-1115.
Peter II., King of Arragon, reigned from 1196 to 1213.
KINGS OF FRANCE.
Philip II. Augustus, 1165-1223; king, 11So.
Philip III. the Bold, 1245-1285; king, 1271.
Philip IV. the Fair, 1268–1314; king, 1285.
Philip V. the Long, 1229?-1332; king, 1317.
Philippe de Rouvre, Duke of Burgundy, 1345-1351.
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, 1306-1467.
Q.
Quesnes de Béthune, died 1224.
R.
Raymond VI., Count of Toulouse, died 1222.
Raymond VII., 1197–1249, Count of Toulouse.
René I., 1408–1480 ; Count of Provence, 1431.
Richard 1. Cæur de Lion, 1157–1199 ; King of England, 11€9.
Richard I. the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, 935-996.
Richard II. the Good, Duke of Normandy in 996, died 1027.
Richard II., Prince of Capua in 1091.
Robert II., Count d'Artois, 1250–1302.
Robert Guiscard, ? 1015-1085.
Roger I., 1031-1101, Count of Sicily.
Roger II., 1097-1154, Count, then King of Sicily.
Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, king, 778.
Rollo, first Duke of Normandy, ? 860–932.
S.
Saintré (Jean de), 1320-1368.
Sancho VII., King of Navarre in 1194.
Simon de Montfort, ? 1160–1218.
T.
Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury, ? 1370–1453.
Tancred de Hauteville, died 1112.
Biographical Inder.
351
Theodore Lascaris I., Emperor of Constantinople, 1206 ; died 1222.
Theodoric I., King of Austrasia, ? 486–534.
Thibaut II., Count of Champagne in 1125.
Thibaut IV., Count of Champagne, 1201-1253.
Thomas d Becket, 1117–1170; Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162,
V.
Valentine de Milan, Duchesse d'Orléans, ? 1370-1408.
Valentinian III., 419-455; emperor in 424. .
W.
Walter the Penniless, eleventh century.
Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, Emperor of Germany from 1378 to 1400.
William Rufus, King of England, 1087; died 1100.
Avó
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
A.
Agincourt, a village of France, in the department of Pas-de-Calais.
Agnadel, a small town in Lombardy (Lodi).
Aigues Mortes (L. Aqua Mortua), a town of France, in the depart-
ment of Gard.
Aire (L. Aeria Atrebatum), a town of France, in the department of
Pas-de-Calais.
Aix (L. Aquæ Sextiæ), a town of France, in the department of
Bouches-du-Rhône, formerly capital of Provence.
Alost, a town in Belgium (Eastern Flanders).
Amboise (L. Ambacia), a town of France, in the department of
Indre-et-Loire (province of Touraine).
Amiens (L. Samarobriva, then Ambiani), chief town of the depart-
ment of Somme, formerly capital of Picardy, in France.
Angers (L. Juliomagus, Andes, or rindecavi), chief town in the
department of Maine-et-Loire, formerly capital of Anjou, in
France.
Anjou (L. Andecavi), a province of France, situated between those
of Poitou, Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and Brittany.
Antioch (L. Antiochia ad Daphneri, Antakieh), a town in Syria.
Aquitaine (L. Aquitania), one of the four great regions of Gaul.
Arcis-sur-Aube, a small French town, in the department of Aube.
Ardres, a small town in France (Pas-de-Calais).
Argenteuil, a village near Paris, in the department of Seine-et-Oise.
Argenton (L. Argentomagus), a town in the province of Berry
(Indre), in France.
Geographical Inder.
363
Arras (L. Atrebates, Nemetacum), formerly capital of the province of
Artois, chief town of the department of Pas-de-Calais.
Artois, one of the provinces of Northern France ; comprises nearly
the district occupied by the Atrebates.
Auvergne, a province in the south-east of France.
Avenche (L. Aventicum), a town of Switzerland (Vaud).
Avesnes (L. Avenæ), a town in the department of the Nord (province
of Artois).
Avignon (L. Avenio), a town in France, chief place of the depart-
ment of Vauclure.
B.
Bar-sur-Aube (L. Barrum-ad-Albulam), a small but ancient town of
Champagne (department of Aube).
Bayeux (L. Augustodurus), a city in the department of Calvados
(Normandy).
Béarn, a province of France, comprising part of Novempopulania;
capital, Pau.
Beauvais (L. Cæsaromagus, Bellovaci), capital of the department of
Oise, in France.
Berry, a French province, corresponding to the territory of the
Bituriges.
Biclar, an ancient town in the south of France, now destroyed.
Blaisois, or Blésois, formerly part of the province of Orléanais.
Blois (L. Blesiæ, Blesa, Blesum), formerly capital of Blaisois, now
chief town of the department of Loir-et-Cher.
Bouillon (L. Bullio), capital of the old duchy of Bouillon, now part
of Belgium.
Boulogne (L. Gesoriacum, Bononia), a seaport town in the depart-
ment of Pas-de-Calais.
Boulonnais, a small district in the north of France, formerly part of
Picardy; capital Boulogne.
Bourges (L. Avaricum, Bituriges), chief town of the department of
Cher; formerly the capital of Berry.
Bourgueil, a small town in the department of Indre-et-Loire
(province of Touraine).
Bouvines (L. Boviniacum), a village in the department of the Nord.
Brabant was formerly a duchy of the German empire, in the circle
of Burgundy.
364
Geographical Ender.
Brétigny, a hamlet in the department of Eure-et-Loir (Pays Char-
train).
Brie (L. Brigensis Saltus), an old province forming part of the
governments both of Ile-de-France and of Champagne.
Brittany (L. Britannia Major, Armorica). This province, the capital
of which was Rennes, now forms five departments.
Bruges, a town in Belgium, capital of Western Flanders.
C.
Caen (L. Cadomus), chief town of the department of Calvados,
formerly capital of Lower Normandy.
Cahors (L. Divona, Cadurci), chief town of the department of Lot
(province of Quercy).
Cambray (L. Cameracuni), a town in the department of the Nord,
France.
Canterbury (L. Durovernun, Cantuaria), chief town of the county
of Kent.
Capua, a town of the old kingdom of Naples (Terra di Lavoro).
Carcassonne (L. Carcaso), capital of the department of Aude, in the
south of France.
Castillon, a small town in the department of Gironde.
Châlons (L. Catalauni, Duro Catalaunun), chief town of the depart-
ment of Marne (province of Champagne).
Cerdagne, a small district near the Pyrenees, part of which belongs
to France (Pyrénées Orientales), and part to Spain.
Champagne, one of the most important provinces of ancient France;
its capital was Troyes; forms four departments.
Chartres (L. Autricum, Carnutes), chief town of the department of
Eure-et-Loir (province of Beauce).
Châteauneuf de Randon, a small town in the department of Lozère.
Chimay, a small town in Belgium (Hainaut).
Clermont (L. Nemetum, Augustonemetum), chief town of the depart-
ment of Puy-de-Dôme, capital of Auvergne.
Cocherel, a village of Normandy (Eure).
Conflans, a small town near Paris, on the confluence of the Seine
and the Marne; hence its name.
Corbie, a town in the department of the Somme (province of Picardy).
Crécy, a village of Picardy (Somme).
Geographical Under.
365
D.
Damietta, a seaport town in Lower Egypt.
Dijon (L. Divio), chief town of the department of the Côte-d'Or in
France, capital of Burgundy.
Dol, a small town in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine (Brittany).
Dover (L. Dubris), a seaport town in Kent.
Dreux (L. Durocasses), a town in the department of Eure-et-Loir.
F.
Flanders. This vast province, extending over the Belgica Secunda,
had Ghent for its capital.
Flavigny, a celebrated Benedictine abbey in the department of
Côte-d'Or.
Fontenelle, an abbey in the department of La Vendrée.
Fornovo (L. Forum Novum), a small town in Italy (Parma).
Franche-Comté (Maxima Sequanorum), belongs to France since
1678.
Frascati, almost rebuilt by Pope Paul III. about 1550.
Friuli, a province in the north-east of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea.
G.
Gembloux, or Gemblours, a town in Belgium (Namur),
Genoa (L. Genua), a well-known town in Italy.
Gnesen, a town in Prussia (Posrania).
Grenoble (L. Cularo, Gratianopolis), capital of the department of
Isère.
Guelders, a province of the kingdom of Holland.
Guines, a small town in the department of Pas-de-Calais.
H.
Ham (L. Hametum) a town in the department of the Somme
(Picardy).
Hainaut (L. Hanogovensis Comitatus), a province of Belgium.
I.
Ile-de-France. This important province was so called because, being
situated between the Seine, the Marne, the Aisne, the Ourcq,
and the Oise, it formed nearly an island.
366
Geographtcal Inder.
J.
Jumièges (L. Gemeticum), a village in the department of Seine-
Inférieure (Normandy).
L.
Languedoc (including the greater part of Septimania) was so called
because its inhabitants spoke the language in which oc is the
sign of affirmation.
Laon (L. Bibrax, Lugdunum Clavatum), chief town in the depart-
ment of Aisne.
Lauresheim, or Lorsch (L. Lauriacum), a town in Germany (Hesse-
Darmstadt).
Liége (I. Leodum, Leodicum), a city in Belgium.
Limoges (L. Augustoritum, Lemovices), chief town in the department:
of Haute-Vienne, capital of Limousin.
Lisieux (L. Lexovii, Noviomagus), a town in the department of
Calvados.
Loches (Luccæ), a town in the department of Indre-et-Loire (Tou-
raine).
Lodève (L. Luteva), a town in the department of Hérault.
Louvain (L. Lovanium), a city in Belgium (Brabant).
Luxemburg, formerly a province of the Netherlands, now a private
possession of the King of Holland.
M.
Mâcon (L. Matisco), chief town of the department of Saône-et-Loire
(Burgundy).
Mailross or Melrose, a small town in Scotland (Roxburgh).
Maine. This French province forms now the departments of Sarthe
and of Mayenne.
Marignano, a small town in Italy (Lombardy).
Marmoutiers (L. Martini Monasterium), a village near Tours
(Indre-et-Loire); formerly the seat of a celebrated monastery.
Marseille (L. Massilia), an important French seaport town, capital
of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône.
Metz (L. Divodurum, then Mediomatrices), a city in Lorraine.
Milan (L. Mediolanum), capital of Lombardy.
Mons-en-Puelle, a French village in the department of Nord.
Geographical Inder.
367
Montereau (L. Condate Senonum), a small town in the department
of Seine-et-Marne.
Montferrat, in the north of Italy, was formerly a marquisate (tenth
century), and then a duchy (1573).
Montlhéry (L. Mons Letterici), a French village in the department
of Seine-et-Oise.
Montpellier (L. Mons Puellarum, Mons Dessulanus), capital of the
department of Hérault, in France.
Montreuil-Bellay, a small French town in the department of Maine-
et-Loire.
Moulins, capital of the department of Allier.
Muret, a small town in Languedoc (Haute-Garonne).
N.
Nangis, a town in the department of Seine-et-Marne.
Navarre was formerly an independent kingdom; belongs now to
Spain.
Navas de Toiosa, a plain in Spain, near Jaen.
Nemours (L. Nemus, Nemosium), a town in the department of
Seine-et-Marne.
Nevers (L. Noviodunum, Nivernum), chief town of the department
of Nièvre (capital of the province of Nivernais).
Nicomedia (now Isnikmid), a town in Bithynia.
Nicopolis (now Nicopoli), a town in Turkey (Bulgaria).
Nogent (L. Novigentum), a small town in the department of Haute
Marne.
Normandy. The capital of this important duchy was Rouen ; it
includes now four departments, and part of a fifth.
Northampton. Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou were defeated
there in 1460.
Novare, a fortified town of Northern Italy (Sardinian dominions).
0.
Orange (L. Arausio), a town in the department of Vaucluse.
Orbieux, a small river in the south of F:ance.
Orléans (L. Genabum, Aurelianzł, chief town of the department of
Loiret (Orléanais).
368
Geographical Inder.
P.
Pampeluna (L. Pompeiopolis, Pampelo), a fortified town in Spain
(Navarre).
Parcé, a small town in Touraine.
Patay, a small town in the department of Loiret (Orléanais).
Pavia, the chief town of a province in Northern Italy.
Péronne, a town in Picardy (department of the Somme).
Pisa, a city in Tuscany.
Poitiers (L. Limonun, Pictavi), chief town of the department of
Vienne (capital of Poitou).
Pontigny, a village in the department of Yonne.
Pontlevoy, a small town in the department of Loir-et-Cher.
Pontorson (L. Pons Ursonis), a town in the department of Manche.
Pont Saint-Maxence (L. Litanobriga), a town in the department of
Oise.
Ptolemaïs, or Saint Jean d'Acre, a town in Syria.
Puy, Le (L. Civitas Vellavorun), chief town of the department of
Haute-Loire, capital of Velay.
Puy-Laurens (L. Podium Laurentii), a small town in the depart-
ment of Tarn (Albigeois).
Q.
Quesnoy-le-Comte (L. Quercitum), a town in the department of the
Nord.
R.
Reinis (L. Durocortorum, Remi), a city in the department of Marne.
Roncevaux, a village in Spain (Pampeluna).
Roosebeke, or Rosbecque, a village of Belgium (Western Flanders).
Roussillon, an ancient province and government of Southern France.
S.
Saint Denis (L. Dionysiz fanum), a small town near Paris, in the
department of the Seine.
Saint Gall, a canton and town in Switzerland,
Geographical Index.
369
Saint James of Compostella, a town in Spain (Galicia).
Sainte-Maure, a small town of Touraine (Indre-et-Loire).
Saint-Pol, a small town of Artois (Pas-de-Calais).
Saint-Quentin (L. Augusta Veromanduorum), a town in the depart-
ment of Aisne.
Salernu, a province and town of Southern Italy.
Salisbury, chief town of the county of Wilts, in England.
Satalieh, a town in Asiatic Turkey (Anatolia).
Saumur (L. ? Segora ; in modern Latin, Salmurium), a town in the
department of Maine-et-Loire.
Sens (L. Agendicum, Senones), a large town in the department of
Yonne.
Sivray, or Civré, an ancient town of Poitou (Vienne).
Sluys, a small town in Flanders.
T.
Tewkesbury, a town in Gloucestershire.
Tiberias (now Tabarieh), a town in Palestine.
Toulouse (L. Tolosa), chief town of the department of Haute-
Garonne (capital of Languedoc).
Touraine. This province of Central France forms now the depart-
ment of Indre-et-Loire.
Tours (L. Cæsarodunum, then Turones). capital of Touraine.
Trèves (L. Troveri), capital of Belgica Prima in the time of Julius
Cæsar.
Troyes (L. Augustobona, Tricasses), chief town of the department of
Aube.
Tyre, the capital of Phænicia.
U.
Utrecht (L. Trajectum ad Rhenum), a city in Holland.
V.
Valenciennes, a large town in the department of the Nord.
Vaucouleurs (L. Loricum), a small town in the department of the
Meuse.
Vlaux-de-Cernay, a village in the department of Seine-et-Oise.
FR.
2 B
370
Geographical Index.
Velay (L. Vellacum), a small district in the province of Languedoc.
Vendôme (L. Vendocinum), a town in the department of Eure-et-Loir.
Villedaigne, a locality in the department of Aude (Languedoc).
Vitry-sur-Marne, a small town in the department of Marne.
W.
Waverley, a small town in Yorkshire.
Windsor. Charles, Duke of Orléans, was detained a prisoner there
after the battle of Agincourt.
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